9.24.2022. Nāpali Coast. Kauai. Hawaii.

As mentioned, I chose Kauai as my first Hawaii island to visit due to my interest in its flora. It was also Nāpali Coast that caught my attention, as I love unusual landscapes. After doing ample research on helicopter rides versus boat rides, I decided that a boat tour is the one for me. I opted for the sunset tour of Nāpali Coast. My friend and I even sat up front on the catamaran on the ride out. I can say that you can skip that and be more comfortable staying dry unless you really want that experience. Be forewarned: you and everything on you will get completely drenched. We also took dramamine just in case as the water is extremely rough.

Holo Holo Charters

9.23.2022. Smith Family Garden Luau. Kauai. Hawaii.

If you did some research you will find that the Smith Family Garden Luau is one of the best in Kauai. The other thing to note is that you should pick a date and buy your tickets as soon as you can because they will sell out well in advance. I would highly recommend going for the luau in the evening and walk around their garden. The lush garden was my favorite part.

Smith Family Garden Luau
3-5971 Kuhl Hwy
Kapa'a, HI
808.821.6895

9.21.2022-9.26.2022. Food. Kauai. Hawaii.

The moment you all have been waiting for: all that I ate...

Again, a reminder that Hawaii is quite a travel destination and trips can be booked a year in advance. It will be exceptionally difficult to get a last minute reservation for anything amazing. So please plan well in advance to ensure best options. Since you will be dealing with island time and service during the Covid era, it is ill advised to try to pull a favor.

Beach House Restaurant
5022 Lawai Rd
Koloa, HI 96756
808.742.1424 

As note in the first post, we had dinner at sunset at Beach House Restaurant to take advantage of the view for our first night in Kauai. 



Wailua Shave Ice
4-831 Kuhio Highway
Kapa'a, HI 96746
808.634.7183

This was the best shave ice I have ever had. So much that we wanted to go back another day for more. However, we were exploring different parts of the island and never made it back.



Anuenue Cafe
2360 Kiahuna Plantation Dr
Koloa, HI 96756 

808.469.7000

Up the street from where we were staying is a cute little shopping center with food options. For breakfast one morning we decided to grab food at Anuenue and ate at the outdoor courtyard. Watch out for the rogue chickens all over the island gunning for your food! I got the French toast and it was to die for.

In this shopping center is also our favorite juice shop Kauai Juice Co. Those are some of the best juices I have ever had. Local Kauai produce cannot be beat, especially in terms of tropical fruits. Be sure to also check out their sauces and salts and other goodies that make great gifts!

Little Fish Coffee Poipu

2294 Poipu Rd
Koloa, HI 96756 

If you walk down to the street from the Anuenue Cafe shopping center, there is a wonderful coffee shop that also serves breakfast. We enjoyed our breakfast there with the chickens wandering around. 





Keoki's Paradise
2360 Kiahuna Plantation Dr
Koloa, HI 96756
808.742.7534 

We decided to have lunch one day at our nearby shopping center. I would highly recommend coming here for happy hour or dinner. The food is good and the ambience is amazing. 







Kakaheo Cafe & Coffee Company
2-2560 Kaumualli Hwy
Kalaheo, HI 96741
808.332.5858

One morning, we decided to switch it up and go to another neighborhood to explore. So we ended up having breakfast in a much more local neighborhood. It was nice to experience more of a local less touristy vibe and see the different foliage across town and its microclimates on Kauai.



Living Foods
2829 Ala Kalanikaumaka St Suite 124
Koloa, HI 96756
808.320.7642

One of my musts while traveling is checking out local specialty food stores. I love buying gifts to bring home so I can cook with them long after my trip. It's always fun to see what local specialty items are wherever I am. Look at the fruit!

In this shopping center there were 2 high end Hawaiian shirt stores where I bought some gifts for loved ones as well.



Holoholo Grill
8581, 2641 Poipu Rd
Koloa, HI 96756
808.742.2538

I highly recommend coming for dinner at Holoholo Grill. I am not a cheese person but I asked for more flatbread so we can kill off that macadamia nut crusted brie with garam masala pineapple chutney. Also, the senzai unagi pokiest crunch was to die for. But most of all, you will be blown away by the pool there, which is in the top 10 of America for obvious reasons.







Red Salt
2251 Poipu Rd
Koloa, HI 96756

While we did very well for all our meals, the stand out for this entire trip was breakfast at Red Salt. It was so good that we decided to return for our last dinner in Kauai.

For breakfast we shared the ko'a kea French toast, lobster Benedict (star of the show), and I tasted my friend's city mimosa flight (coconut, cactus pear, and ube).







For dinner we shared a salad with the scallops and a lobster risotto.

9.21.2022-9.26.2022. Sheraton Kauai Resort. Kauai. Hawaii.

I stayed at the Sheraton Kauai Resort near Poipu Beach. The location was amazing and our room was so comfortable. You can walk across the street and be on the beach. We were turtle watching at night and they stay until morning to rest. Sadly I did not see a seal. This view compensated for the lack of seals. You can do yoga every morning with that view even. I most definitely did not. My friend did however. Friendly reminder that this hotel is fully booked year round.

Sheraton Kauai Resort
2440 Hoonani Rd
Koloa, HI 96756
808.755.6588

9.21.2022. Kauai. Hawaii.

I bought my trip to Kauai back in 2019 as I was supposed to be on holiday there in the fall of 2020. This was my first real holiday since 2019 as all other "trips" I have taken are short road trips by myself or a long weekend with 2 girl friends near by in California, mostly to escape my tiny apartment for a few days. This trip has also been postponed twice. It felt like a miracle that I was actually in Kauai at all and it's been a running joke amongst my friends.

Hawaii was its own country until in 1893 when it was taken illegally, one of whom was Mr. Dole the pineapple guy, took it over by force and put its queen under house arrest and forcibly took over the country. That is likely why you may experience hostility if you were Caucasian from the locals, especially in Kauai. Locals are not typically a fan of colonialism. Please respect the culture and its people wherever you travel. 

It's so expensive in Hawaii that prices are as high as San Francisco's. The difference; however, is that there is mostly tourism there rather than an abundance of tech or finance jobs that pay a high wage. Please tip extra generously when you visit and support local businesses. Most people have multiple jobs to make ends meet and the only way to get affordable housing is if you knew someone to get in on an affordable lease.

There are only 6 ICU beds in all of Kauai. Let that sink in.

All islands of Hawaii is under one school district. It is so underfunded that it often competes with Mississippi for the worst school district in the country.

Now that I have armed you with a few very important facts, I will continue with some recommendations. I chose Kauai due to its rugged terrain and relatively smaller crowds (for Hawaii anyhow). I also love nature and tend to enjoy seeing different flora on my travels. You will need to plan months in advance to get any decent reservations and tickets. It is Hawaii after all. There is no slow season and I was told by my hotel that they are fully booked year round. Also, everyone is on island time and things may take longer. You should adjust to island time as soon as humanly possible to get into holiday mode. I had my phone on airplane mode and was off the grid almost the entire time. I highly recommend it.

After being greeted by a rooster almost immediate upon my exit at the most photogenic airport I have ever been in, For our first dinner, I opted for a sunset view at Beach House Restaurant. The food was excellent and the view was even better. Many people gathered at that beach at sunset to admire its last light. You can see why.

Beach House Restaurant
5022 Lawai Rd
Koloa, HI 96756
808.742.1424