A week on Kauai

Shore diving at Koloa Landing we saw several giant sea turtles, eels, about 50 different kinds of fish. Snorkeling at Beach House (south shore near Koloa) also was very good. SeaSport Divers were very good for boat charters. Enjoyed driving up Waimea Canyon as far as it goes. Several good hiking trails in that area that were easier hikes than the trail that goes along the Na Pali Coast. We only made it about a half mile on the Na Pali Coast trail - steep and slippery, but the views and scenery are worth it for even a very short hike.

The Kai Guava Plantation was fun to visit. The Macademia nut ice cream cones are terrific. We also enjoyed the coffee plantation and all the free samples of different blends of coffee - we came home with several bags of Kona coffee - and we usually only buy Starbucks. It's very good. Our favorite drive was through the tree tunnel on the way to Koloa.

Quick Tips:

It's not the best island for scuba diving, but it was still pretty good and there were plenty of other things to see and do. Kauai is appropriately named "the garden Island". Most of the island is lush and green. We had sunshine the whole week and only occasional sprinkles of rain. It rained a lot in the mountains, but close to the ocean, it was usually sunny.

Best Way To Get Around:

Renting a car at the airport was easy. We drove all over the island and covered every main road, but only used two tanks of gas in a week.

We stayed in a one-bedroom, 2 baths with partial view of ocean. There's a king bed in bedroom, and a hide-a bed in living room. A nice kitchen, and a great balcony patio on 3rd floor. It's on the shady side of the building and stayed cool without air-conditioning. There are cool breezes through plantation shutters. The villas are adjacent to the Raddison and use the hotel pools and facilities. Very gracious personnel throughout facilities.

Best Things Nearby:
Beaches, snorkeling, scuba diving, gorgeous waterfalls, every view is scenic.

Best Things About the Resort:
It looked brand-new. Immaculately clean and in perfect repair. Guests were able to use all the Raddison facilities--fabulous pools next to the ocean, exercise room, etc.

Resort Experience:
This was probably one of the nicest condos we've ever traded for. Even though it only had one bedroom, it had 2 bathrooms. This was handy since we had our 12-year old with us and lots of wetsuits and scuba gear.

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
• Activities: Excellent
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

Diving Sheriton Caverns is a must even if that's the only boat dive you do. Shore diving at Koloa Landing is easy access and inexpensive since we only had to rent tanks and weights (we brought all our scuba gear).

As we left the airport on our first visit to Kauai, we marveled at how beautiful and lush everything was. Every view is scenic, with tall green mountains, gorgeous beaches, and colorful plants and trees. We drove by 40 foot long hedges of poinsettias planted in peoples yards. They were over four feet tall and very thick with bright red leaves. I had never seen poinsettias anywhere except in pots at Christmas time.

The tree tunnel of Eucalyptus trees on the road down to Koloa was spectacular. The hanging vines are amazing (I used to think they were just a Hollywood/Tarzan thing, but they are real!). We were able to drive from Lihue north as far as the road goes in about an hour. Driving South and West as far as the road goes also takes about an hour from Lihue.

The island is small, but we found plenty to keep us busy for a week. Our favorite activities were scuba diving and snorkeling. We identified over 50 kinds of fish in five days of diving and snorkeling.