I've often said Kauai is the most naturally beautiful Hawaiian Island.
On our first trip years ago, Julie and I stayed at a Coconut Coast resort with a very attractive package deal that included free Mai Tais at sunset. We rented a car to explore everywhere the highway would take us, but we also did tours, including the boat trip to the Fern Grotto. A highlight was a helicopter flight to view for ourselves the opening aerial shots from Fantasy Island.
Those gorgeous helicopter shots from Jurassic Park are also Kauai.
My memories of prices back then make even those seemingly extravagant splurges considerably less so, but I won't poison you against doing the excursions today simply because they now cost more. There's an economic lesson there about the present value of money, but I'm sure you can intuit that on your own.
If you take any excursion on your next trip, ten years later you'll be able to brag about how little you paid "back then."
When cruising Kauai, pick the excursion you'd most like to do and splurge. You won't regret it.
You can't see it all in one day, no matter how hard you try, and if you try to do that, you may end up remembering nothing.
We always rent a car in Kauai, because Julie may not want to do it all, but she does like to go to Ke'e Beach on the Na Pali Coast and Poipu on the sunny side of the island, which are pretty much on opposite ends of the only highway in Kauai.
This time was no exception, although we did make a detour en route to a viewpoint at Kilauea Lighthouse where the Princess naturalist Mark Harris said we might spot whales in the morning. Mark gave terrific presentations on many denizens of Hawaii's region, including dolphins, turtles, birds and whales during our sea days.
The view was awesome, but we wouldn't see whales until later in the afternoon, when humpback whales put on quite a show a few hundred yards off shore for everyone on Poipu Beach.
The whales spouted, breached and then flopped down hard on their bellies, and even waived their tails for us before slapping them down in a big splash.
I don't think we had ever previously arrived in Kauai on a Saturday, when there is a big farmer's market in Hanalei that attracts throngs of tourists and locals, with subsequently more traffic than we've ever seen while making our way to Ke'e Beach and nearby Tunnels for snorkeling.
Add the fact that this was an unusually sunny weekend day on the "wet side" of Kauai, and it seemed like many locals as well as tourists with rental cars had decided to head to the Na Pali Coast to hike or camp for the weekend.
Whatever the reason, we couldn't find a legal place to park anywhere close to Ke'e Beach, which was quite different from our last port day on Kauai when rain kept everyone away and gave Julie and me a private beach. We were the only ones in the main parking lot on that trip.
I had thought about inviting naturalist Mark Harris to ride with us in our rental car to Ke'e that day but thought that might be too pushy.
It turns out we should have, because when we later described what happened, he said he had a local friend who always lets him park in her private driveway right next to Tunnels.
We were disappointed to forego our scheduled snorkel dive at Ke'e, but we headed on the highway toward Poipu, stopping to view some waterfalls and valleys along the way.
In addition to spotting whales off shore that afternoon, we enjoyed terrific snorkeling at Poipu Beach, with the usual basking in the sun to warm up between refreshing swims.
As frequently happens on Poipu Beach, monk seals flopped up on the beach, and life guards quickly put up barriers to keep inquisitive tourists away from these protected animals that each weigh 400 to 600 pounds.
Driving usually works out well, as it did this time, but every vacation, the drive back and forth across the island produces new traffic challenges. This time it was the farmer's market and the number of people parked to hike Na Pali Coast on a sunny day.
Kauai was our last Hawaiian port, so allowing time to return the car to the airport and take the shuttle back to the ship was of paramount importance.
Keep in mind that if you are ever late getting back to the ship because of a traffic jam, accident or simply miscalculating how much time you have, you are on your own once the ship sails away on schedule with or without you.
Kauai loves your tourist dollars but really doesn't need another castaway.
The view was awesome, but we wouldn't see whales until later in the afternoon, when humpback whales put on quite a show a few hundred yards off shore for everyone on Poipu Beach.
The whales spouted, breached and then flopped down hard on their bellies, and even waived their tails for us before slapping them down in a big splash.
I don't think we had ever previously arrived in Kauai on a Saturday, when there is a big farmer's market in Hanalei that attracts throngs of tourists and locals, with subsequently more traffic than we've ever seen while making our way to Ke'e Beach and nearby Tunnels for snorkeling.
Whatever the reason, we couldn't find a legal place to park anywhere close to Ke'e Beach, which was quite different from our last port day on Kauai when rain kept everyone away and gave Julie and me a private beach. We were the only ones in the main parking lot on that trip.
I had thought about inviting naturalist Mark Harris to ride with us in our rental car to Ke'e that day but thought that might be too pushy.
It turns out we should have, because when we later described what happened, he said he had a local friend who always lets him park in her private driveway right next to Tunnels.
We were disappointed to forego our scheduled snorkel dive at Ke'e, but we headed on the highway toward Poipu, stopping to view some waterfalls and valleys along the way.
In addition to spotting whales off shore that afternoon, we enjoyed terrific snorkeling at Poipu Beach, with the usual basking in the sun to warm up between refreshing swims.
Driving usually works out well, as it did this time, but every vacation, the drive back and forth across the island produces new traffic challenges. This time it was the farmer's market and the number of people parked to hike Na Pali Coast on a sunny day.
Kauai was our last Hawaiian port, so allowing time to return the car to the airport and take the shuttle back to the ship was of paramount importance.Keep in mind that if you are ever late getting back to the ship because of a traffic jam, accident or simply miscalculating how much time you have, you are on your own once the ship sails away on schedule with or without you.
Kauai loves your tourist dollars but really doesn't need another castaway.
While the Hawaiian Island population may not have blown up to the apocalyptic future predicted by Paul Ehrlich, Kauai now has about 67,000 residents, up from 27,000 in 1960.
More significantly, an influx of almost 1.2 million annual visitors dwarfs the number of residents on Kauai.
Ehrlich's predictions of mass-starvation and the end of civilization have been so completely off the mark that an ever more financially secure world population has taken progressively more vacations each year, with the Hawaiian Islands a perpetual favorite destination from the time it became our 50th state.
This has led many residents to ask, "How many tourists are too many?"
More significantly, an influx of almost 1.2 million annual visitors dwarfs the number of residents on Kauai.
Ehrlich's predictions of mass-starvation and the end of civilization have been so completely off the mark that an ever more financially secure world population has taken progressively more vacations each year, with the Hawaiian Islands a perpetual favorite destination from the time it became our 50th state.
They lament that "Overdevelopment could ruin Kauai," but uber-wealthy techies and celebrities continue to buy up Kauai, eliminating some additional resort projects that could add more crowds.
Still, much of Kauai remains undeveloped, far from the one main highway that we depend on to see this beautiful Garden Island.
A big economic question we must all consider for Kauai and the rest of the United States is how much local quality of life are we willing to sacrifice at the altar of gross market growth?
"Better service leads to better trips!"
Still, much of Kauai remains undeveloped, far from the one main highway that we depend on to see this beautiful Garden Island.
A big economic question we must all consider for Kauai and the rest of the United States is how much local quality of life are we willing to sacrifice at the altar of gross market growth?
"Better service leads to better trips!"
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