Lounging With the Turtles On Kauai

As our floating resort cruised into scenic Nawiliwili Harbor, we had a simple plan in mind for our day on Kauai.

We would take an Uber to Poipu and spend the day at the beach.

Easier still would have been to just walk about 15 minutes to Kalapaki Beach, a picturesque cove where you can swim or boogie board, with restaurants of the Marriott accessible for beverages, snacks and services.

Kalapaki Beach is rated as one of the top places to go on Kauai, so it wouldn't be a bad choice for cruisers, but it doesn't have excellent snorkeling, which is key for us on a tropical vacation.

On this particular day, we arrived in Poipu to find we had beat the other tourists, a first for us!  That's an advantage of not taking the shuttle to the airport to rent a car first thing.

Better still, several huge sea turtles had beached themselves, claiming their own parcels of sand for the day.

One happened to choose a spot right in front of the ideal place for us to plunk down our towels, though we didn't realize he was there until Julie walked down to the water.

We spent our time snorkeling and warming up, this time with the added diversion of observing the sea turtles on the beach.  There also were chickens, including a family unit with a strutting rooster and a hen watching after her chicks.

As I swam in from one great snorkel, I saw a huge dark form approaching.  It took a moment for it to register, but as it glided rapidly past me, I could see it was one of the sea turtles warmed by the sun and ready to return to the sea.

Our day went perfectly, with bright sunshine, great snorkeling and no hassle transportation in each direction.With tax it cost $25 to get over to Poipu and then $32 to get back, plus tips, so altogether, we spent about $70 for our "snorkel excursion," because we brought our own masks and snorkels.

The Garden Island of Hawaii offers many other possible excursions, including a boat ride to the Fern Grotto in Wailua River Valley, helicopter trips to see waterfalls featured in "Jurassic Park" and "Fantasy Island," and "the Grand Canyon of Hawaii," Waimea Canyon State Park.

On our first trip to Kauai, Julie and I experienced all those and more, staying at a hotel on Coconut Beach.  That was years before digital photos became the norm, much less when I started blogging, but thinking back conjures up happy memories.

It's funny the things we remember.  The air and land package was probably a deal of some kind, which I believe was five nights (four nights with one night free) instead of a full week, both to watch our budget and because my mom was watching our kids so we could have this extended "date night."  The price has been long ago forgotten, replaced only by recollections of the quality of the experience.

There was a free mai tai and torch lighting ceremony every evening at sunset, and upon mentioning that, Julie says she gained three pounds from drinking those mai tais.  At that time while we were raising our family, we rarely had alcohol in the evening, which made that particularly memorable.

Another clear remembrance was being at a strip-mall Thai restaurant,  when an older gentleman sitting at the next table facing the storefront window from behind Julie came over to say, "I just have to tell you what beautiful hair you have.  It's like angel's hair, golden and wavy with the sun shining around it like a halo."

He was talking to Julie, apparently.

It was a fantastic "once-in-a-lifetime" trip.

Our subsequent visits have all been on cruises.  Until this trip, we've always rented cars and went to the rainy side of the island to Ke'e Beach as well as the sunny side at Poipu.

I personally prefer Ke'e's rainy side, where you can also visit beautiful Hanalei, Princeville and some waterfalls en route.  Hiking the Na Pali Coast to the cove where fresh water cascades through the rocks to join the ocean is an incredible experience, and the snorkeling at "Tunnels" always gets us up close and personal with lots of beautiful fish.

On NCL Pride of America, which includes an overnight stay in Kauai, you have plenty of time to rent a car to spend a day on each side of the island, which is a strong reason to choose that all-Hawaiian itinerary round trip from Honolulu, albeit requiring over-water flights.

Poipu is considerably closer to the cruise port than Ke'e, making it the more logical choice for single port days in Kauai.  The traffic jams between the two sides of the island became worse with each subsequent visit, but it was the lack of parking near Ke'e on our last trip that finally deterred us from trying that combo again on our most recent trip.

What should you do in Kauai?

That depends on what appeals to you personally, but I think a big clue comes in its nickname: "the Garden Isle."

If I were just spending a single day as a once-in-a-lifetime trip, then I would go somewhere that embodies that flowers, jungle and waterfall scene, possibly the Wailua River Valley or a hike along the Na Pali Coast.  As you may guess, Kauai also makes a wonderful place for a helicopter tour, if you want to splurge.

Then again, you may want an extended land stay vacation on Kauai, an island many people claim as their favorite because of its great natural beauty and diversity of attractions.

"Better service leads to better trips!"

P.S. If you've been following the volcanoes thread, Kauai is the northernmost island in the chain, so you will understand that it is the oldest of all the Hawaiian Islands at about five million years.