Kauai Attractions - Kauai Vacation Packages


	Kauai Attractions Main Areas of the Island of Kaua'I Poipu, a planned community, is Kaua'i's most popular resort, with the widest variety of accommodations, from luxury hotels to B&Bs and condos. It offers 36 holes of golf, 38 tennis courts, and perfect beaches. Kahaleo/Lawai: Just a short 10- to 15-minute drive inland from the beach at Poipu lie the more residential communities of Lawai and Kalaheo. Koloa is a tiny old town of brightly painted sugar shacks just inland from Poipu Beach is where the Hawaiian sugar industry began more than 150 yeats ago. The mill is closed, and the plantation town is now a major tourist attraction, with small shops, an old general store, and a vintage Texaco gas station complete with a 1930s Model A truck. The Coconut Coast, on the east coast of Kaua'i, bustles with traffic, shops, and condos. The North Shore, is rainy, lush, and quiet, with spectacular beaches and deep wilderness. Because of its remote location, the North Shore is isolated from the rest of the island. Lihu'e is where most visitors arrive. This farm town, and now the county seat, was founded by sugar planters and settled by descendants of Filipino and Japanese cane cutters. It is plain and simple with inexpensive lodging, dining, and island shopping. Western Kaua'i: This region, west of Poipu, is more remote and contains one of Hawaii's most spectacular natural wonders, Waimea Canyon (the Grand Canyon of the Pacific); and farther upland and inland, Kokee State Park. Hanapepe: was once one of Kaua'i's largest towns. Founded by Chinese rice farmers, it was used as a backdrop for the miniseries The Thornbirds.. It has galleries selling antiques and local art and crafts. Nearby, at Salt Pond Beach Park, Hawaiians since the 17th century have dried a reddish sea salt in shallow, red-clay pans. Swim or snorkel there and observe an ancient industry still in operation. Waimea: This little coastal town, the original capital of Kaua'i, is peaceful and quiet On his search for the Northwest Passage in 1778, British explorer Capt. James Cook dropped anchor at Waimea and discovered a sleepy village of grass shacks. In 1815, the Russians arrived and built a fort (now a national historic landmark). The Coconut Coast: The eastern shore of Kaua'i north of Lihu'e contains an expanse of beaches bordering little coastal . This area is popular with budget travelers and contains the island's major shopping areas. Kapaa: The center of commerce on the east coast, this restored plantation town looks just like it did hundreds of years ago. However, everything has been rebuilt and carefully restored following the visit by Hurricane Iniki, which destroyed the town in 1992. The North Shore: Kaua'i's North Shore may be the most beautiful place in Hawaii. Exotic seabirds, jagged peaks, and wilderness lie beyond the Coconut Coast. Kilauea: This village is home to an antique lighthouse, tropical-fruit stands, little stone houses, and Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, a seabird preserve. Anini Beach: This residential district on a 2-mile reef (the biggest on Kaua'i) offers the safest swimming and snorkeling on the island. A beach park is open to campers and day-trippers, and there is a boat ramp where locals launch sampans to fish for tuna. Princeville: Princeville Resort is Kaua'i's biggest project, an 11,000-acre (4,452ha) development set on a high plain overlooking Hanalei Bay. Hanalei: the gateway to the wild Na Pali Coast.. The 2-mile- (3km) long crescent beach, the biggest indentation on Kaua'i's coast, is ideal for families in summer, when the wild surf turns calm. Haena: This 4 mile coast has lagoons, bays, beaches, snorkeling, and a botanical garden. The Na Pali Coast (na pali means "the cliffs") is a place of extreme beauty and Hawaii's last true wilderness. Attractions Bell Stone The bellstone, when struck sharply, would resonate a note over the entire Wailua Valley. Royal births were announced this way. Cleopatra's Barge. Cleopatra's Barge, built in New England in 1816, was the first ocean-going passenger ship built in the United States. In 1820, it was sold to Liholiho (King Kamehameha II) for the sandalwood trade and renamed Ha'aheo o Hawaii (the Pride of Hawaii). Four years later, the ship ran aground on a reef at Hanalei Bay and sank. Since 1996, Smithsonian archeologists have been excavating the wreck at the mouth of the Waioli River. Fern Grotto Children love this trip on a flat bottom boat up the Wailua River., accompanied by Hawaiian song and dance. The dewy, fern-fringed cave is an amphitheater filled with ferns and legends. Grove Farm Homestead Hwy. 58, 1/2 mile south of Nawiliwili Rd., Lihu'e, HI, (808) 245-3202. Formerly the 80-acre plantation home of George N. Wilcox, Grove Farm Homestead has been preserved as a depiction of life on a sugar plantation. Tours must be booked well in advance. The Hanalei Pier. The Hanalei Pier was featured in "South Pacific," filmed there in 1958. The pier was built in 1892 and used by local farmers to ship their rice until it was closed in 1933. After Hurricane Iniki, in 1992, the wooden pier was condemned and rebuilt from concrete. Hauola Place of Refuge At the northern end of the Hikina a ka la Heiau, which is part of Lydgate State Park, is Hauola (dew of life), one of two ancient places of refuge on Kaua'i. If a Hawaiian had broken a kapu or belonged to a defeated army, the goal was to gain entry to a sanctuary such as this. After going through rites conducted by priests here, they were free to return to their homes. Hikina Akala Heiau The Hikina a ka la (rising of the sun) Heiau is at the north end of the beach at Lydgate State Park. Evidence indicates it was built around 800 A.D. It was built on the first spot in the Wailua area that the rays of the sun touch each morning. Holo-holo-ku Heiau Holoholo Ku (run, run stand fast) Heiau, or the site where it formerly existed (a cemetery replaced it around 1890), is about 1/10-mile up Route 580 off Hwy. 56. A large stone adjacent to nearby ruins is the birthstone, the sacred site of royal births on Kaua'i. Kokee Natural History Museum at Kokee State Park at the top of Waimea Canyon Road. Admission is free 808-335-9975. Daily 10-4. Hiking maps and park information are also available at the museum. Part of the beauty of visiting the park and museum is the drive past Waimea Canyon, the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific" . The small museum is devoted to the flora, fauna, and natural history of the area. It also features collections of shells and Hawaiian artifacts. Ke'e Beach State Park Western end of Hwy. 56 Ha'ena, HI You can view the spectacular Na Pali coastline from this perfect beach. This is also where you'll find the start of the difficult 11-mile Kalalau Trail. Another path leads from the beach to an open, grassy meadow with a stone altar called Lohi'au's Hula Platform. It is said that Laka, goddess of the hula, did most of her dancing on this spot. Today's hula practitioners sometimes leave offerings here for her. Kalalau Lookout Waimea Canyon Dr., 4 miles north of Koke'e State Park Waimea, HI Kalalau Lookout, near the end of the road high above Waimea Canyon, marks the head of a challenging hiking trail that also passes Pu'u-o-Kila Lookout. On a clear day at either spot you can gaze into the valley at sawtooth ridges and waterfalls. Winds are strong.. If you turn your back to the valley and look to the northwest, it is possible to see the sands of Kalalau Beach. Kilauea Lighthouse and Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge Kilauea Lighthouse Rd. Kilauea, HI 808 - 8281413 Daily 10 - 4 A beacon for passing air and sea traffic since it was built in 1913, the lighthouse, a National Historic Landmark, still has the largest clamshell lens of any lighthouse in the world, but it has laid its traffic responsibilities aside. It is surrounded by the Kilauea Wildlife Refuge, home to eight species of seabirds, some of them endangered. Keahua Forestry Arboretum Keahua Arboretum is home to mango, monkeypod, eucalyptus trees. The streams are filled with life, and there are pools in which to swim. Picnic tables are scattered here and there and just beyond is access to the sacred area of Mt. Waialeale. Kaua'i Museum 4428 Rice Street. If you're in Lihu'e, drop in at the Kaua'i Museum, a local history and art museum for the islands of Kaua'i and Niihau. It features a permanent exhibit of geology, flora, fauna, pre-contact Hawaiiana, and artifacts from the missionary and plantation periods .