Princeville
Accessed via a steep ten-minute hike from the eponymous condos, exquisite SeaLodge Beach – officially Kaweonui Beach – is a short stretch of coarse…
Must-see attractions in Kauaʻi
Princeville
Immediately west of the Princeville Center, a roadside overlook offers a superb panoramic view over verdant Hanalei Valley, with Hihimanu Mountain…
Lihuʻe
Once ranked among Kauaʻi's most productive sugar companies, Grove Farm was acquired in 1864 by George Wilcox, the Hilo-born son of Protestant missionaries…
Waimea Canyon & the Westside
The main viewpoint at this large lookout (elevation 3640ft) faces down the deep gorge carved by Waiahulu Stream as it races to join Waimea Canyon. Look…
Hanalei Bay & the North Shore
At this beautiful county-run beach, just under a mile before the end of the road, the sea is usually smooth and safe for swimming in summer. Ask…
Hanalei
Home to missionaries from 1837 onwards, this historic two-story dwelling lies hidden from the highway at the far end of a footpath that leads behind Wai…
Poʻipu & the South Shore
Open for occasional tours, this sublimely peaceful site once held a Hawaiian heiau (temple). In 1904, however, Japanese immigrants placed 88 miniature…
Princeville
Lovely little Pu‘u Poa Beach stands immediately below the Princeville Resort, on the edge of Hanalei Bay. It’s a great spot for family swimming and…
Poʻipu
With a sandbar bottom and a notch of sand and sea wedged between two lava rock outcrops, this little beach flanks the eastern edge of Po‘ipu Beach Park…
Wailua
Thought to be the oldest luakini (temple dedicated to the war god Ku, often a place for human sacrifice) on the island, Holoholoku Heiau is located a…
Waimea Canyon & the Westside
This two-room museum doubles as the visitor center for Koke‘e State Park. Helpful staff provide detailed current hiking advice, and sell useful, albeit…
Hanalei Bay & the North Shore
Set up by the late founder of E-Trade as a gift to the people of Kaua‘i, this community park is home to a mini-golf course, a cafe and an excellent…
Waiʻoli (Pine Trees) Beach Park
Hanalei
Offering respite from the sun, this park is equipped with restrooms, outdoor showers, beach volleyball courts and picnic tables. Winter brings big swells,…
Poʻipu
At the far eastern end of the Maha‘ulepu Heritage Trail, Ha‘ula is an isolated bay and pocket beach nestled into the shoreline. You’ll feel like Robinson…
Hanalei
Pretty much at the center of Hanalei Bay, this scenic beach park commands a white-sand crescent just made for walking or jogging. Waters are typically not…
Waimea Canyon & the Westside
This breathtaking vista, at an elevation of 3400ft, stands at the intersection of several almighty raw red cracks in the earth. The views here are very…
Hanalei Bay & the North Shore
Flat-bottomed Maniniholo Dry Cave, across from Ha‘ena Beach Park, is deep, broad and fun to explore, though the further you penetrate, the lower the…
Poʻipu
The beach at Kawailoa Bay has sand dunes at one end and cliffs at the other. Reliable breezes mean it’s a popular spot for windsurfing and kitesurfing as…
Hanalei
Protected by a reef on the western bend of Hanalei Bay, sandy-bottomed roadside Waikoko beach – literally ‘blood water’ – offers shallower and calmer…
Lihuʻe
The island’s largest museum is set in two buildings – one of which was built with lava rock in 1960. Come here for a quick grounding in Kauaʻi’s history…
Wailua
Perched high on a hill overlooking the meandering Wailua River, well-preserved Poliʻahu Heiau, a luakini (temple dedicated to war god Ku), is named after…
Waimea Canyon & the Westside
First erected to span the Hanapepe River in 1911 and rebuilt after the 1992 hurricane, this wood-and-cable suspension footbridge is just three planks wide…
Poʻipu
Introduce tots to the ocean at this beach, where the water is barely thigh high. The sandy shore runs behind the beach homes on Ho‘ona Rd west of Koloa…
Hanalei Bay & the North Shore
Two wet caves lie within Ha‘ena State Park. Carved by the endless pounding of the ocean, the massive cavern of Waikapala‘e Wet Cave is as enchanting as it…
Poʻipu & the South Shore
If driving from Lihu'e, take Maluhia Rd (Hwy 520) to navigate under the fairy-tale Tree Tunnel, a mile-long canopy of towering swamp mahogany trees (a…
Wailua
In the sacred Waimea River Valley, the Hikinaʻakala Heiau sits south of the Wailua River mouth, which is today the north end of Lydgate Beach Park. In its…
Waimea Canyon & the Westside
The reward for hikers who make it all the way through bog and forest to the far end of the Alaka‘i Swamp Trail, the Kilohana Lookout (4022ft) commands…
Waimea Canyon & the Westside
Although they're across on the far wall of the canyon, these 800ft falls cam be seen from several vantage points along Waimea Canyon Dr, including the Pu…
Princeville
A gorgeous sight and one of the most dangerous spots on the island. Drownings are all too common here.
Poʻipu
The site of a pre-contact Hawaiian village just inland from Po‘ipu Beach was set aside by the county in 2010. You can’t enter the complex, which is being…
Kapaʻa
From the highway, you’d think that Kapaʻa is beachless. But along the coast is a low-key, mile-long ribbon of golden sand. While the whole area is…
Waimea Canyon & the Westside
With more than 4 million trees planted on former sugar fields, Hawaii’s largest coffee estate produces around 60% of the state’s entire crop. In the…
Poʻipu
Unless you’re an expert surfer, bodyboarder or bodysurfer, keep your feet dry at ‘Shipwrecks,’ the half-mile crescent of light gold sand that skirts…
Kapaʻa & the Eastside
Despite having no sign from the highway, this locals’ beach is an easy getaway. Backed by pines and palms, it's blessed with excellent swimming thanks to…
Kauaʻi
Made famous in the opening credits of Fantasy Island, these falls appear at a distance. When they are in full flow and misting the surrounding tropical…
Alekoko (Menehune) Fishpond Overlook
Lihuʻe
This roadside overlook offers an oft-photographed vista of the Huleʻia Valley, where the Huleʻia River winds beneath a ring of verdant peaks. The river is…
Waimea Canyon & the Westside
Little is now visible of Hawaii’s most remarkable example of pre-contact cut-and-dressed stonework, supposedly constructed within a single night by the…
Lihuʻe
If you’re curious about how Kauaʻi’s powerful sugar barons lived, visit this historic plantation estate turned shopping complex, which also hosts a luau…
Russian Fort Elizabeth State Historical Park
Waimea Canyon & the Westside
A Russian fort in Hawaii? Yes, really. Constructed in 1817 above the southern bank of the mouth of Waimea River on the site of an ancient heiau (temple),…
