Incredible Kauai: Cliffs, Canyons & Sunsets

Highlights include a boat trip to see the cliffs of the Na Pali Coast, a drive through Waimea Canyon all the way to the very end of the road (with stops along the way to hike and gape at the scenery), visits to some of the more off-the-beaten-path towns along the north and east coasts, and a drive along the more rugged north coast with stunning beaches and great surf.

Quick Tips:

Spend at least 5 days in Kauai, no less--and you can easily fill at least a week if not more on this beautiful, laid-back island. While driving around, stop off in some of the small towns along the road; they're very charming and have an almost old-world kind of feel--sort of like Key West or the French Quarter of New Orleans--but without all the chaos and schlock!

Best Way To Get Around:

Definitely rent a car--preferably a convertible--while in Kauai. There's just no other way to see the island and all of its charms.

The oceanfront Garden Isle Cottages are a perfect place to stay if you prefer autonomy and privacy to a bigger resort or hotel. Each of the four cottages has a full kitchen, big comfy living room, bedroom, and spacious lanai overlooking a pretty little cove and the ocean.

Location-wise, it's a few minutes' drive from Poipu Beach, but off the main drag enough that it's peaceful and private. Being situated on the southern coast of Kauai gave us close access to Waimea Canyon and boat departures for the Na Pali Coast, and it was only about an hour's drive all the way to the north coast.

Very highly recommended--I would definitely stay here again!

The Beach House restaurant bills itself as the quintessential dining experience in Kauai. What it definitely has going for it is absolutely killer sunset views, and you must arrive early or right on time for your reservation to get one of the prime sunset-viewing tables. No doubt about it -- the sunset is the reason to come here, and not only are all the diners fixated on the view, but the huge grassy lawn out front fills with families, photographers, and romantic couples all angling for the best glimpse.

The decor of the Beach House is frankly a bit generic, kind of like a mid-range hotel restaurant -- pretty, but bland. The food is good -- I had the famous macadamia-crusted mahimahi, which was fabulous, and the cocktails of the very-colorful-multi-layered-little-paper-umbrella variety. Our waiter was sweet and attentive, and helpful with suggestions on where to go out for a drink and some live music later that night.

All in all, worth a splurge on a special night . . . but very touristy and not at all off the beaten path!

Tidepools restuarant is one of the dining options at the Hyatt hotel, which was not where we stayed... but after an evening visit, we vowed we'd return one day and stay here in style! The hotel is unbelievable, but I'll get to that in a moment.

The restaurant is really unique and beautiful, built around a complex of--you guessed it--pools of ocean water that are filled with koi, those huge goldfish you always see swimming around Buddhist temples. These fish do a never-ending circuit around the perimeter of the restaurant, and it's fun to watch them go by as you enjoy your meal.

The atmosphere is very romantic, with thatched roofs and secluded, semi-private tables with lots of space between them, dim lighting, and lots of candles and tiki torches. The food was phenomenal and there was lots of it--we had some kind of crab appetizer called something like "slipper crabs"--I can't recall the name exactly, but they were absolutely delicious! I had some sort of local fresh fish for a main dish, which was flavorful, interesting, and perfect. No complaints about Tidepools; the ambience, service and the food are terrific! The price is pretty high, but you do get what you pay for.

We walked through the grounds of the Hyatt hotel after dinner, and it's just ridiculously impressive. The main swimming pool is more like a water ride at a theme park--it has one of those "rivers" that snakes and twists under bridges and past trees and waterfalls. There are, of course, a few more pools, both fresh and sea water, and a long tiki torch-lit walking path that winds past all of them. The hotel lobby is suitably posh--all marble and polished wood with a very luxurious, tropical Hawaiian theme to it.

If you can afford it, try to stay here for a few nights--if the rooms are anything as nice as the grounds and lobby, you won't be disappointed!

We drove the 17-mile road up and through the canyon itself, and then into Kokee State Park. There are many, many dozens of lookout points to stop at along the way, and try to stop at them all--not just the "official" very touristy ones. Take Waimea Canyon Drive, NOT Kokee Road, as the latter is filled with slow tour buses and is not nearly as scenic.

We stopped off at the entrance to the Black Pipe Trail and took about a 5-mile round-trip hike to another lookout point. Honestly, what we saw was not that much more spectacular than all the other scenery we'd already seen until then! But it was a nice, easygoing hike--a bit steep at times, but never very difficult or at all dangerous. Definitely worth the trip!

To see the Na Pali Coast, we took a Blue Dolphin charter boat, which departed from the southern coast town of Ele Ele, just 15 minutes' drive from Poipu. There are at least a dozen companies offering charters to the Na Pali Coast, and Blue Dolphin seemed to be reliable and one of the cheaper options. We took the Sunset Cruise, which departed at 2pm and returned just in time to watch a spectacular sunset!

It's about a 4-hour ride altogether, starting out along the southern coast, then turning north up the western edge of the island, which is dominated by these unbelievably beautiful green and red cliffs rippling and soaring into the blue sky. On the way there and back, we must have seen a few dozen whales jumping and playing in the water--it was amazing! They were usually far away, but you could make out their huge backs and massive tails disappearing into the ocean as they dove under.

The crew on the boat were great--really personable and funny, telling stories about Kauai's history and quirks. The one major drawback for me was that I got extremely seasick about 30 minutes in, and never recovered until we returned to dry land--stupid me! I forgot I was seasick-prone and didn't bring along any meds. The crew took good care of me, basically just bringing me water and consoling me, which was about all they could do. I admit that by 6pm, every single minute of the &%@$! sunset felt like an hour, and I was in no mood to admire the dazzling colors in front of me. But everyone else on the boat enjoyed the free drinks and buffet of snacks.

All in all, a great experience-but I will remember the Dramamine next time!

The crescent that forms Hanalei Bay contains a few different beaches on the north shore of Kauai, and is a beautiful place to spend a few hours. It's not all that secluded; there were probably a few hundred people in all spread out over a very long stretch of beach, but the backdrop of the charcoal and rust colored mountains fringed with mossy greenery, dropping right into the choppy blue water, made it a scenic and enjoyable stop.

There was a group surfing lesson going on while we were there, and while I myself was not brave enough to try, it seemed like even a beginner would have felt comfortable in the group. Some surfers were riding the waves further out at sea, away from the protection of the relatively calm bay. And there was a really cool section of water where we were able to walk out to sea maybe about 50-100 yards and still be knee-deep in water! Although the tide started coming in pretty quickly, so we had to scramble to get out!

Hanalei town is small and hippy-ish and charming. We ate at a restaurant called Tahiti Nui which had a limited menu of fresh mahi mahi and burgers and fries, that kind of thing. A perfect, pretty cheap place to grab a bite and be on our way!

'Anini Beach is a small, off-the-beaten-path beach on Kauai's north shore, which apparently is a favorite among locals. How do I know this? I saw one of them, quite a famous one at that, hanging out with his family... and let's just say he likes his martinis shaken, not stirred! Pierce Brosnan himself, who owns a home nearby. Pretty funny to have a celeb sighting out in the middle of nowhere!

The beach is really pretty - the water is *extremely* calm and crystal clear, but the sand, while white and clean, is a little hard and unforgiving. Not powdery like the other beaches, more like tiny little rocks. I did some snorkeling in the water at Anini Beach (with my own gear, you can't rent any there) and there wasn't all that much to see, but it got me geared up for a few days later at Hanauma Bay in Oahu! There was a guy windsailing and a group of people taking a painting class, trying to capture the millions of blue-green hues of the water and sky.

Overall, this is a highly recommended secluded beach for a few hours' stop on a sunny day!

Poipu Beach is probably the most popular of all the Kauai beaches, by far. It''s a pretty beach, but was way too crowded for our taste -- we only went for one afternoon and I probably wouldn''t go back again. It''s a big family beach and while the water is clear and beautiful and the sand powdery and white, it was just too noisy. Still, one highlight was seeing a few cute seals sunning themselves on the sand in a specially roped-off area, just loving life!

Salt Pond Beach, on the other hand, a few miles west of Poipu (driving along the southern shore of the island), was more to our liking. A secluded, crescent-shaped beach with calm water and fringed with coconut trees was a perfect place to spend a quiet afternoon reading and playing scrabble. Plus, I got to take one of my top three favorite photos of the whole trip -- the lifeguard and surfboard shot below.