hawaii – Exploring With Gratitude

Honeymooning in Kaua’i – Part 2 of 2

Well, I think it is safe to say that this has not been my most active year for writing blog posts. Even my goal of writing shorter, more focused posts, did not help – it has been 3 months since I published my last post. For those who do not know, I work a full-time job and also do photography professionally on the side, and I had an incredibly busy year between weddings, family sessions and other events.

Now that I am done with my excuses, it is time to write the sequel to my last post. In Honeymooning in Kaua’i – Part 1 of 2, I discussed the hikes we completed on Kaua’i, while in this blog post, I will talk about other activities we did on the Island, where we ate, and where we stayed!

Accommodation

Let’s start with accommodation. While researching different places to stay, we quickly learned that Kaua’i is expensive – if you want to come here for a visit, the faster you realize this and accept it, the easier it will be to choose your accommodation. After hours of searching, we decided to stay at the Lawai Beach Resort.

The Lawai Beach Resort is a beautiful property located on the southern part of Kaua’i. While it is a timeshare property, owners have the option of putting their unused weeks into a rental pool via Hawaii Time Share Exchange, which is how we completed our booking.

We ultimately decided on a 1-bedroom ocean-view suite in the Banyan Building at the Lawai Beach Resort – it was very clean, well-equipped and spacious with a full kitchen, living room, dining area, bedroom, bathroom and in-suite laundry. While we did not spend a lot of time in the suite, we liked having a comfortable space to return to after a long day of exploring. The property also has great amenities such as multiple swimming pools, roof top decks, as well as a gym. The only amenity missing is a restaurant; however, there is one right across the street, Beach House Restaurant – Kaua’i (although, we did not eat here as it is considered fine dining aka $$$ and had limited vegan options), and many others within a five-minute drive.

While we were very happy with our accommodation overall, the only downside was that we did not spend a lot of time on the southern part of the Island. While this area is stunning, we just happened to spend most of our time on the east (near Kapa’a). It also takes almost one-and-a-half hours to drive to the northern part of the Island, a drive we ended up doing twice. A couple of our friends who are seasoned Kaua’i visitors will spend two weeks on the Island and split their accommodation time equally between the north and the south – something for us to consider for our next visit ツ.

*The view of the ocean from our room in the Banyan Building at the Lawai Beach Resort*

Food

Now that you know where we stayed, it is time to talk about where we ate!

Remember how I said Kaua’i is expensive? Well, the high prices do not end with accommodation – the restaurants are expensive, too, which should not be a surprise – I can only imagine that it is very costly to bring supplies to Hawai’i from other areas of the world, and then add in the exchange rate…

This is why it was important to us to have a kitchen at our accommodation, as we opted to make most of our meals here. We stopped at Costco and Walmart to pick up oatmeal for breakfast, snacks (apples, protein bars, etc.), and items for making sandwiches for lunch and basic dinner meals such as pasta with veggies and vegetarian meatballs. While I know this does not sound exciting or glamorous, this was the only way we could keep the trip affordable. We also picked up a “paper” cooler from Walmart to keep our food cold while we were on the road during the day!

But, do not worry – we did treat try some of the local restaurants during our visit:

RUSSELL’S by Eat Healthy Kaua’i: One of two fully vegan restaurants on the entire Island, and as it turns out, they are now permanently closed. I am really glad we had a chance to try and support this restaurant while it was open – I enjoyed the Jalapeño Cheddar Bites and Tempeh “Bacon” B.L.T. Sandwich. I also had a lovely chat with the owner, and learned that the restaurant was named after his beloved late Golden Retriever, Russell.
Kaua’i Island Brewing Company: Our friends know that Justin and I are always on the lookout for a brewery, especially after a hike. We went to Kaua’i Island Brewing Company during happy hour (another great way to save a bit of money while traveling) and ordered the edamame, onion rings and a cold beer – would highly recommend!
The Greenery Cafe: This was our first stop after getting off the plane and getting our rental car – we were looking for something quick but healthy, and stumbled upon The Greenery Cafe as it was close to the airport. I enjoyed my Kale Salad from here – everything tasted very fresh and made for a nice first impression of the Island.
Paco‘s Tacos Cantina: This was my first time having Paco’s Tacos Cantina, even though it appears to be a chain restaurant throughout the United States. We ordered the veggie vegan burritos from the Kilauea location on our way back to the Lawai Beach Resort after completing the Hanakapi’ai Falls trail earlier in the day. At this point, it was past 4pm, I had just completed over 12kms of hiking, and I had not eaten anything except a few snacks since breakfast that day – I was definitely “hangry” (and I was also soaking wet – to add to my mood), and while it was not the best burrito I have ever had, it hit the spot (you can ask Justin, but hangry is a real emotion for me).
We had shave ice from three different locations: Waikomo Shave Ice, Wailua Shave Ice and The Fresh Shave. Shave ice is very popular in Kaua’i and we loved all the flavours we tried from all three places.

*I am horrible at taking pictures of food, but I did manage to get a photo of this Gold Dust Day Gecko who was licking shave ice droplets off the picnic table!*

Dark Horse Coffee Roasters: Justin always like to have a coffee for the road (and we did a LOT of driving in Kaua’i), and he really enjoyed the oat milk latte from Dark Horse Coffee Roasters – we stopped here multiple times before leaving the southern part of the Island!
Holy Grail Donuts & Bakery: These donuts are made fresh to order! You get to choose your toppings, and then a few minutes later, you have hot, fresh donuts – delicious!

Activities

Believe it or not, but we did participate in activities other than hiking – hard to believe, right ツ? Here is what we did:

Kaua’i Coffee Company: We did a self-guided walking tour of the Kauai Coffee plantation, which takes you through a series of information boards that talk about the history of the estate, types of coffee grown on the farm, the growing process, and more. Note that the self-guided tour is free and can be completed any time during operating hours, but you will need to reserve your spot for one of the paid guided tours in advance – here is your warning to plan ahead! While on the property, you can also try different coffee samples, get a coffee to-go, or buy your own coffee beans to take home (Justin bought the biggest bag available, and I am surprised he found somewhere to put it in his luggage).

Spouting Horn Blowhole: Not far from the Lawai Beach Resort, and on the way to to the Kaua’i Coffee Company, we stopped to see the Spouting Horn Blowhole – this is a natural phenomenon where the ocean water shoots through a lava tube along the coast. The Spouting Horn Blowhole is fenced off, as people have died by getting too close to blowholes in the past.

Warehouse3540: This is a small series of shops located right by Waikomo Shave Ice. I love browsing through small shops while traveling, and this was probably my favourite find on Kaua’i – I ended up purchasing a fresh water pearl necklace from one of the vendors here (Lily Koi jewelry). Other shopping areas I enjoyed were Old Koloa Town and The Shops at Kukui’ula.
Makena Charters – Nā Pali Coast Boat Tour: One of the activities we “splurged” on during our trip was a boat tour of the Nā Pali Coast. The tour was around 5-hours long, and there are two time options – 8:30am and 2pm. We opted for the afternoon boat as the reviews we read indicated better lighting for photos, although I will say it was still very bright! The tour takes you from the south-west of the Island, all the way to the north, allowing visitors to see the entire “rugged” Nā Pali Coast. All throughout, the tour guides talked about the history of the Coast, discussed film productions, and pointed out different points of interest such as waterfalls and small goats walking along the ridges. Once we turned around to start heading back, we stopped for a short snorkel where Justin swam next to a sea turtle (at a respectable distance), and we even saw dolphins and a humpback whale! The dolphins truly put on a show, as they were playing and riding the waves from the boat. Overall, we really enjoyed the tour – the only downside was that the water was very rough. However, our boat driver was very skilled and experienced – Justin was incredibly impressed with his ability to approach the coastline; he even managed to drive under some waterfalls, where several people voluntarily got wet!

*The picturesque Nā Pali Coast. Also, it is very difficult to take a good picture on a moving boat, especially on rough waters!*

*Another picture of the Nā Pali Coast* *– can you spot the waterfall?*

Lydgate Farms Chocolate Tour: The other activity we splurged on was a tour of Lydgate Farms. We really enjoyed the chocolate tour we did in Costa Rica in 2024, and wanted to have another opportunity to learn more about the chocolate making process. Lydgate Farms is situated on 46 acres of land in Kapa’a and was rated in the top 50 best chocolates in the world. Hawai’i is the only US state that can grow chocolate, since it is situated 22° north of the equator (within the tropical zone for growing chocolate). During the tour, we learned about the chocolate making process, toured the property, and tried multiple chocolate and fruit samples. I really appreciated how one of the tour guides would give me extra dark chocolate samples when I told her I was vegan – I ended up with so much chocolate that I had to put all my samples in a bag, and ate them over the next few days! Overall, we really enjoyed the tour and would recommend it to others!

*A *Whit*e-Rumped Shama hanging out in a papaya tree at Lydgate Farms*

We also checked out several beaches during our trip. My top two favourites were Poipu Beach and Hanalei Bay. Poipu Beach is located on the southern part of the Island, and was very close to our accommodation. It was a great spot for relaxing and swimming, and likely snorkelling, although we did not attempt to snorkel here. We also saw many sea turtles and sea lions resting here on the beach! Hanalei Bay and Pier, located on the north side of the Island, was the nicest beach on the Island, in my opinion. It is a great spot for a beach walk (especially since you can also walk out onto the pier), for swimming, lounging and surfing. I wish we could have spent more time here.

*Sea turtles and sea lions resting at Poipu Beach*

Sunsets: There is nothing quite like a Hawaiian sunset! We watched the sunset almost every evening right across the street from our accommodation – it was beautiful.

Rainbow Eucalyptus Trees: We made a quick stop at the Keahua Arboretum after we finished the Moalepe Trail (discussed in Part 1) to see the beautiful red and green colours of the Rainbow Eucalyptus Trees!

*The colourful Rainbow Eucalyptus trees*

The last thing that I will share about Kaua’i that has nothing to do with accommodation, food or activities is that there are so many wild chickens roaming the Island! Legend has it that “domestic” chickens (belonging to the Polynesians) escaped their coops during the hurricanes in 1982 and 1992, which is why there are now chickens literally everywhere on Kaua’i. The best part is that the roosters will let you know when it is time to rise and shine in the morning – around 4:30am – meaning you do not need to worry about setting your alarm clock when visiting Kaua’i ツ.

Always grateful,

Michelle

Honeymooning in Kaua’i – Part 1 of 2

When I have to start a blog with “Back in [insert month],” that is when I know I have fallen behind on my posts. You might recall that the reason I started this blog was to better remember and reflect on my trips, but if I am writing posts several months later, I have probably already forgotten some details! Here is my commitment to being more timely with my posts.

Back in March, Justin and I travelled to the island of Kaua’i, Hawaii for our honeymoon. While I love to travel and explore, by the end of a trip, I usually feel like my cup is full and I am ready to go home. But at the end of this trip, I was not ready to leave and I felt we had “unfinished business” in Kaua’i. Nevertheless, we maximized the time we had, and are looking forward to a trip back in the future ツ.

Our primary reason for choosing Kaua’i for our honeymoon was because of all the amazing hiking opportunities available on the Island. In this post, I will discuss all the trails we completed in detail, and I will publish a “Part 2” that will cover our other activities, food and accommodation. I am hoping that writing shorter, more focused blogs, will also help me to publish posts more frequently ツ.

Anyway – while our trip to Kaua’i was only a week long, we managed to complete six hikes, and they are discussed below in order of completion!

Maha’ulepu Heritage Trail:

The Maha’ulepu Heritage Trail was the first hike we did in Kaua’i. This hike is classified as moderate on AllTrails – it is 6km long, and has an elevation gain of 122m. The trail is located along the southern coastline of the Island, providing beautiful views of the ocean and coastal cliffs all throughout. The trail ends at Gillin’s Beach, but you will pass several other sights along the way including Poi’pu Bay Golf Course, as well as the biggest limestone cave and fossil site in Hawai’i – Makauwahi Cave (although, we only encountered the Cave because we took a “scenic detour”). If you are looking for a fairly easy and peaceful walk near the ocean, I would definitely recommend the Maha’ulepu Heritage Trail.

*The Makauwahi Cave we accidentally stumbled upon!*

Sleeping Giant (Noun Mountain) East Trail:

The Sleeping Giant East Trail was my second favourite hike that we did in Kaua’i. This hike is approximately 5km long, and it gets its name from a local legend, which tells of a “giant who feasted so much at a party in his honour that he laid down for a nap and never awoke” (as per AllTrails) – and I can verify that from a distance, the Sleeping Giant actually looks like a face! What made this hike a bit challenging was the fact that we did it right after it rained, making the trail slippery, and there is also a rock scramble near the end. However, the panoramic views from the top were worth it – we could see the nearby towns of Kapa’a and Waliua, as well as the Pacific Ocean. We found out after-the-fact that there are apparently caves you can explore right under the main viewpoint – if you end up at this trail, make sure you do not miss them like we did. But in the end, I am happy to report that we successfully completed the hike without waking the Sleeping Giant ツ.

*Views from the top of the Sleeping Giant (as you can see, it was not the nicest weather day*)

It is also noteworthy that there are two Sleeping Giant trails – the one we completed was on the east, but there is also a west trail that is shorter – it is only 2.7km long. We did not try this option, but basic math tells me that you should be able to get to the views faster, although it will be a steeper climb over a shorter distance.

Ho’opi’i Falls Trail:

The Ho’opi’i Falls Trail is an easy walk we completed after conquering the Sleeping Giant. We felt we had some energy to keep going, but we were not looking for anything too strenuous as it was starting to get warm, and we were starting to get hungry (or “hangry” in my case ツ). This is an out-and-back trail that is mostly flat (64m elevation gain), ending at a beautiful little waterfall with a swimming hole. The hardest part of the trail was getting down to the waterfall, but there are lots of trees you can use to support your descent. This was the perfect way to end our hiking/walking activities for the day before heading back to our hotel to relax by the pool.

*The swimming hole at the base of the Falls*

Hanakapi’ai Falls:

Hanakapi’ai Falls was my favourite hike of the trip, but was also the hardest and scariest, as well. This hike is located along the Nā Pali Coast in Haena State Park, and visitors are required to make reservations in advance. We tried making vehicle reservations on multiple occasions – staying up late as reservations are released 30-days in advance in HST – but we were not successful and had to opt for the shuttle option, instead. When we arrived at the park and saw that the parking lot had room for less than 10 vehicles, we were not surprised that we were unable to get a vehicle reservation!

Anyway, the Hanakapi’ai Falls trail is rated as hard on AllTrails, as it is 12.2km in length and has an elevation gain of 726m. Most of the elevation gain is at the start, before crossing the first stream crossing, and then a gradual incline for the remainder of the trail. When we first arrived at the trail head (via shuttle), there was a Haena State Park employee who greeted us, advising about the Hanakapi’ai Falls trail and conditions. When she told us that we would have to cross the “stream” five times before getting to the falls, I imagined a little bit of water, where the bottom of my hiking boots might get wet… but I was very wrong. In this case, the stream went part way up my thighs, and I am nearly 5’8” tall! Because it was raining, and had heavily rained during previous days, the stream was rising and moving very quickly, making it hard to get across. Luckily, we had hiking poles to help with stability and water resistance, but it was still difficult to walk through the stream, nonetheless. It was a bit funny how concerned I was about getting wet during the first crossing, but forgot all about it by the third time ツ.

The trail itself is absolutely stunning – the surrounding forest is lush with greenery, and from certain points on the trail, you can see the Nā Pali Coast. The Hanakapi’ai Waterfall, itself, is one of the most impressive waterfalls I have ever seen – the lower falls (where the trail ends) are around 300-400 ft tall, but it is estimated that the entire waterfall is over 1,600 ft! We were able to stand right at the bottom, providing for an amazing perspective of the waterfall – we could feel the mist, and some people were even swimming at the base.

*Beautiful views of the coast from the Hanakapi’ai Falls Trail*

While we did not go swimming at the waterfall, it was raining so hard that it looked like we had gone swimming… I was absolutely soaked, head-to-toe (and to think I bothered doing my hair that morning). It was actually very difficult to get a photo without water on the phone or camera lens. To make matters worse, I had my passport in my Lululemon belt bag which also got wet. When I got home, I had to replace my passport well before the expiry date, and I had to complete a special form which explained how my passport was damaged – lesson learned to leave my passport at my accommodation the next time I decide to hike in a rain storm!

In the end, this trail was quite the adventure – it was slippery and muddy from all the rain, and the stream was more difficult to cross than usual due to the weather conditions – but it was all worth it!

*We were rewarded with a rainbow on our way back after enduring all the rain ツ*

Waimea Canyon Trail to Waipo’o Falls:

This trail is located in Waimea Canyon, which is often referred to as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. Waimea Canyon was created by a volcanic eruption over 5 million years ago, and is 13 miles long, 1.5 miles wide and 2,500 feet deep. While there are many trails to explore at Waimea Canyon, we did not have a lot of time here, as we were heading on a Nā Pali Coast Boat Tour in the early afternoon (which I will tell you about in Part 2 of this post). For this reason, we chose to do the Waipo’o Falls via Pu’u Hinahina and Canyon Trail, as it is a shorter hike – it is 4.2km long and took around 2-hours to complete.

The first part of the trail consists of walking through the forest as you descend into the canyon. I will note that there is a considerable decline on this trail, as it has an elevation gain of 342m (over 2.1km). I was happy to have a hiking pole with me, as there were also a lot of rocks and tree roots to navigate. However, once you emerge from the trees, you will not be surprised as to why Waimea Canyon is referred to as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific – it is truly an impressive sight of red and orange rock, mixed with greenery (much more colourful than the actual Grand Canyon).

*The incredible views of Waimea Canyon from the trail*

I am embarrassed to say that as I am writing this blog post, I am realizing that we did not see (or look for) Waipo’o Falls during the hike. There is a small waterfall at the end of this trail, which I had mistaken for Waipo’o Falls, but it is not the 800 foot waterfall we should have seen. Consider this your warning and reminder to make sure you look for this impressive waterfall (which fortunately, we did see from a different viewpoint in the park).

Make sure to also stop by the swing on the trail (which is located before the small waterfall) for a great photo opportunity!

Moalepe Trail:

The final hike we did in Kaua’i was the Moalepe Trail. Similar to Ho’opi’i Falls, this hike made for a leisurely afternoon walk. The trail is 8km long, and took us around 2-hours to complete.

I will be honest, the first part of the trail is not very exciting – you will walk along a dirt path for approximately 45-minutes without a single view in sight. However, stick to it because around the half way mark (2.5km into the trail), you will encounter a swing (yes, another one) with incredible valley views – a luscious, green canopy of trees. The swing is actually difficult to get onto, as it is quite high – Justin had to hold the swing in place for me, while I climbed onto a nearby stump to pull myself up! But, the struggle to get on was worth it – it was a great photo opportunity, especially with the scenery behind me.

*One of my favourite views of the trip!*

The views at the swing were definitely the highlight of the trail. If you are short on time, you could easily turn around and head back from here. The remainder of the trail is not well maintained – we would recommend wearing long pants as there is a section of “bush whacking” on the trail. Also, the end of the Moalepe Trail connects to another popular trail in the area called Kuilau Ridge Trail. We decided to briefly venture down the Kuilau Ridge Trail (which transition at the bridge), and came across another nice valley view, but it was not as nice as the view from the swing. The more I think about it, the more I would recommend to turn around after you reach the swing to make the most of your time ツ.

Well, I think that covers all the hikes we did in Kaua’i. Which one(s) would you try if you decide to visit this beautiful island? Make sure to keep an eye out for Part 2 of this blog post, which I hope to publish very soon!

Always grateful,

Michelle