The Unknown Ahead

I love the sound of the Hawaiian language. If you’re ready to say Aloha to Kauai, I’m here to help! Better yet, bring the Keiki (children) along for the adventure. We’re going to relax on the beach, check out some epic nature, keep an eye open for sea life, and have some amazing food. Let’s get a lei and a mai tai, because we’re heading to the “Garden Isle” of Hawaii.

Depending on your home location, Hawaii can be a pretty epic trip. Coming from Chicago, it was about 9 hours of travel time to Honolulu and then an additional short flight to Kauai. If you’re coming from the West Coast of the US, it’s a little easier, but still a commitment at around 4 hours. Is it worth it? I’d say yes. Hawaii is certainly a bucket list trip for most people, and the beaches are gorgeous. Additionally, there is such a unique culture to explore here that it’s certainly worth the travel time. The other plus is that there is no passport needed and no customs line when you travel back to the mainland.

Hyatt Grand Resort Kauai

The Hyatt in Kauai is absolutely stunning. The rooms are large and come with balconies so you get that ocean breeze all day long. There is a really large beach, a saltwater lagoon for swimming, winding pools throughout the property, a lazy river, water slide, hot tubs, and an adults-only section if you prefer not to get splashed in the face. All of the pools are open 24/7 if you’re inclined to enjoy a night swim and check out the stars. Rooms here go for about $600 – $1200 per night depending on the time of year and desired view, but we used Hyatt points to stay for free.

The Hyatt offers a lot of activities for kids throughout the week. There are parrots in the lobby atrium to visit every day around 10, kids can feed the koi fish every morning, there are lei making classes, hula dances, art lessons, water slide races, and more. When you check into your room, they’ll give you a whole sheet full of the week’s activities. There are also adult activities available like yoga near the ocean in the mornings. All of these offerings are free! You’ll need to register for some of them using a QR code, but there is no additional cost.

One of the best parts of the Hyatt were the daily visitors to the beach…the Monk Seals! I’m not kidding when I say that there were seals chilling on the beach every.single.day. There was often a baby too! The hotel puts signs around the seals to give them some personal space, but you can get really close to these adorable creatures. They literally hang out on the beach for the whole day. I think I was even more excited to sit in the sand and watch the seals than my kids.

The Hyatt also offers a luau onsite for an extra cost on Wednesday and Saturday nights. You can book that experience HERE. It’s about $200 for adults and $100 for children. That fee gets you a huge buffet, open bar, a souvenir lei and loads of Hawaiian hula, music, and fire dancing. The buffet was really nicely appointed with salads, veggies, poke, hula chicken, fish, pulled pork, and many desserts.

The Waimea Canyon

While visiting Kauai, you have to check out the Waimea Canyon. This is basically the Grand Canyon of Hawaii and quite an impressive display of nature. The state park is on the west side of the island and is easily accessible by car. If you’re staying at the Hyatt, it’s about a little less than an hours drive, and the drive is beautiful too. There are several look-out spots where you can park and gaze down into the canyon. You’ll have to pay a fee for visiting at the first lot and put a tag in your car. From there, you can roam around the various lots, look-outs, and hikes at your leisure. It definitely gives Jurassic Park vibes. You can even see the Manawaiopuna waterfall where the iconic helicopter scene takes place. (If you’re interested in Jurassic Park tourism, check out this tour operator)

After looking at the scenery from several vistas, we decided to take a little hike on the Waimea Canyon Trail. It was well groomed, but full of tree roots and rather steep inclines. You can hike the entire 1.8 miles into the canyon…but then you have to hike back too. We weren’t fully prepared for the elevation, so we didn’t do the entire hike. If we had better prepared the kids though, we absolutely would have done the whole thing. Even the smaller portion that we accomplished was really beautiful. There are a ton of hiking options – you can see a map HERE.

My not-so-brave kids weren’t keen on the idea of a helicopter tour, but it is a really popular activity here! Everyone we talked to that did a helicopter excursion loved it! These run about $400 per person for a 50 minute tour. I don’t want to suggest a specific company since we didn’t do it personally, but there are many highly rated options on TripAdvisor.

On your way to or from the canyon, you can also make a mini-stop at Red Dirt Falls. There’s no parking lot, and you can barely even see it from the road, but it’s a cool spot to let the kids roam. Pop it into the GPS and just pull over to the side of the road. You’ll see the obvious red dirt (it’s really red) and then just hop over the traffic guard rail. I know that seems weird, but just do it.

Hāʻena State Park & The North Side

There is a huge portion of Kauai that isn’t accessible by car due to the dramatic landscape. You can visit the northern most part of the island by car and do some epic hiking down the Kalalau Trail, but this is where I majorly failed as a trip planner. I plotted out several smaller hikes here that I thought the kids would enjoy, but had no idea that you need a permit to hike here…and they sell out months in advance. Oops.

If you’re interested in hiking at Hāʻena State Park, you’ll need to visit gohaena.com and secure your permit. The fees are nominal at $5 per person for hiking. You can park onsite or use the shuttle for an additional fee. Also know that there is NO cell service in the park.

Since I failed at hiking, we decided to visit some nearby beaches on the north side of the island instead. Here are my suggestions:

• Haena Beach – Lovely sand, a little wavey, big black boulders to explore, public restrooms, decent parking. Across the street are the Maniniholo Dry Caves.
• Ines’s Secret Beach – A reef protects the area from large waves, limited parking.
• Hideaways Beach – This was my favorite beach in the area. There’s a steep hike down to the beach, but the view is amazing. Gentle waves, snorkeling, plenty of shade.

If you decide to beach hop, I would suggest the following items:

• A dry bag – pop your wet suits in it when you’re done OR use it to keep items dry, like fresh towels.
• Water shoes – the sand is actually really fluffy and nice, but there are a lot of tide pool areas to explore that are full of rocks. Plus, it’s easier to peel off your shoes and get in the car as opposed to scraping sand off of your toes.
• Light weight towels – simple to dry off, shakes off sand easily, and packs small.
• Small, durable backpack – I LOVE the brand Fjällräven for backpacks, crossbody bags, and travel essentials.
• Goggles and snorkel for the kids
• Aaallllllllll the sunscreen. If you haven’t tried Supergoop, it’s awesome and reef safe too!

Nā Pali Coast by Boat

Since I messed up the hiking bit, we needed to see the Na Pali Coast another way…by boat! Luckily we found Captain Kevin and his crew at Blue Ocean Adventures. This was a top boat tour! We did the morning catamaran adventure, and it was awesome. You have to get to the harbor at 7AM…yeah, that’s early…but sooooo worth the morning alarm! Captain Kevin grew up on Kauai and starting driving a boat well before he was old enough to drive a car. He is a master at navigating the waves and knows every inch of the Na Pali Coast, including all of the dolphin pods in the area!

We learned so much on this trip about Aloha ʻĀina or the Hawaiian’s “love of the land”. Given the dramatic mountains and valleys, it’s amazing to me that there used to be a thriving community of several thousand Hawaiian people that called the Coast their home. By 1930, no one was left here; however, the Hawaiian people still regard some of these areas as sacred.

In addition to the amazing scenery and history, we were able to see a lot of wildlife on our boat ride! We saw hundreds of dolphins (yes, hundreds…this isn’t an exaggeration), several whales, and many sea turtles. We stopped to snorkel and have lunch on the way back home. Although the water was a little chilly in March, the boat had a giant water slide that was irresistible and plenty of sea turtles to watch.

Drumming & Fire Class

Have you ever checked out AirBnB Experiences? You should! This site gives locals the opportunity to show off their hometown and talents. We’ve done some AirBnB Experiences in other cities too, and they have never disappointed. Want to learn to surf? Cook a local meal? Hula dance? Beekeeping? Ukulele? Spearfishing? The options are limitless! We chose to hang out with Phil and learn to drum and play with fire.

First of all, Phil has Hawaiian charisma for days. It was so much fun to meet him, learn about his family, and hear about their Hawaiian traditions. He was so open about what Hawaii meant to him. Honestly, it was a really moving experience. You can listen to our drumming in the video below. It was a lot of fun! Since I’m a music teacher in real life, it was especially meaningful to me that he took so much care in sharing how drumming built community.

And now…the fire portion of class! Things work a little differently in Kauai. No waivers signed. Lots of real fire. What could go wrong?

This portion of class was really awesome. The girls played with Mauri poiballs and the boys received training in Samoan fireknife skills. We started with objects that were not on fire to get the hang of the motions. For the ladies, it was very much like jump rope – three swings and then a crisscross. The boys twirled over the left hand and then did the right. It was really just one move on repeat. It’s a lot easier when the object isn’t on fire! To me, this was really an experience in getting out of your comfort zone and trusting yourself. I loved it. My son struggled with the fear of fire. He tried it twice and then freaked out a bit. But in the end, I think it was a really powerful lesson to him that he can do hard things and embrace something that is scary. Although he didn’t really “succeed” in the full sense of the word, I think he learned a really big lesson about life and throwing yourself into something that requires bravery. And for that – thank you Phil!

Makawehi Bluff & Makauwahi Cave

Adjacent to the Hyatt is a great hike up to the Makawehi Bluff which only takes a few minutes of walking. The view is stunning, the ocean smells amazing, and there are crabs galore (ok, this last bit was more exciting for the kids…they love hunting crabs). When standing on the top of the Bluff, we even saw water spouts from whales in the distance. Definitely spend some time here soaking in the coastline, enjoying the trade winds, and checking out the tide pools. Then keep walking up the coast to the Makauwahi Cave. You literally have to duck and crawl into the cave, but then it opens up into a beautiful cave system and atrium. There is a suggested donation to maintain the cave.

There are supposed to be tortoises somewhere on this hike, but we never found them. Either way, it’s a really easy hike from the Hyatt if you’re feeling a little beached-out.

Food

And now for my favorite part of every vacation…the food! If you love seafood, start buying elastic pants now, ’cause you’re about to eat well!

• Tidepools – This is a restaurant at the Hyatt located in the middle of the koi pond. It’s a great ambiance, and the kids will love watching the koi the whole meal. The food was excellent, although on the pricey side at about $60 per plate. They did have a kids menu that was excellent and diverse.
• Da Crack – Tacos in the most delicious, pure form. I had the shrimp tacos, which were amazing. The kids had steak tacos and had no complaints. This is literally a hole in the wall restaurant that gives you food through a window to go. There is a grocery store next door that has a few picnic tables for you to enjoy the food.
• The Beach House – A perfect place to enjoy a sunset and some seafood. Lovely location on the water and a great kids menu. A little pricey at $50+ per dish. I had a lobster pasta that was really fresh and light.
• Keoki’s Paradise – Large restaurant in a shopping center with tiki vibes. Good tacos and fish dishes, and an extensive kids menu and activity booklet. Many cocktail choices. They also boast a “hula pie” that was next level decadent.
• Merriman’s – Huge seafood menu with tons of pupus (appetizers). They also have a kids menu. Known for sunset views, although we visited later in the evening.
• Kauai Sushi Station – Ok, this is a sushi food truck next to a CostCo. Sounds glamorous, right? Just do it. The sushi is really good and there are a lot of choices.
• Skinny Mike’s – There are A LOT of shaved ice (think snow cone) places in Kauai. The ones at the Hyatt are ok – big chunks of ice and syrupy flavors. There’s a place called JoJo’s that’s supposed to be good. But we found the best shaved ice at Skinny Mike’s. Super soft ice fluff and real fruit flavors. Soooooo good on a hot day.

Wasting Time

OK – have a few hours between when you’re kicked out of your hotel room and when you want to sit in an airport? I have the purrrrrrrfect solution! Visit the Cat Cafe! Situated right next to the airport is a little spot where you can play with some kitties while you await your flight. It’s $15 per person to chill with the cats for 30 minutes, but it’s also a donation to the Humane Society that takes such good care of animals in need. It’s hard to adopt a pet when we were heading back to our own two kitties in Chicago, but it felt good to support their mission and play with some cats.

Final Thoughts

Hawaii is a trek. It’s a long flight. It’s a big time change. Sometimes we were not our best selves on this trip. BUT, the Hawaiian culture is so unique and needs to be experienced. Every local that we met on this trip was so excited to share their culture with us and explain the meaning of ʻOhana. The landscape is indescribably beautiful. The volcano that created Kauai started erupting 10 million years ago. 10 million years. The island itself is over 5 million years old. To stand on the Nā Pali Coast and look at the towering mountains above you, really makes you think about your place in this universe. To look at the stars on the beach at night makes you feel like you’re a small part of those 5 million years of history. Go. Even if it’s a one-and-done bucket list trip, make the journey and find out what it’s like to experience Kauai.

To see a list of suggested places in Google Maps, click HERE.