EXPLORING HAWAII'S GARDEN ISLAND: KAUAI | Hawaii Travel Vlog Ep 2
- I often get asked what my favorite travel destination is. I think I finally have my answer. Hello from Kauai in Hawaii where every corner is a slice of paradise from its dramatic cliffs and majestic canyons to its pristine beaches and hidden waterfalls. Kauai was everything I imagined and more.
In the last vlog, you saw me explore Maui with my family. After a short flight from Maui, we landed on this lush tropical gem ready for our weeklong adventure in Kauai. Made it to Kauai. We've got quite a rainy welcome here. So Kauai is actually known as the garden island.
And as we were landing we could see why, because the whole island is super lush and green and because it's so tropical and green, I guess it rains a lot over here. I think off the four islands. This is probably the rainiest is what I read. But anyway, we got off at the airport, took a shuttle and came to this car rental pickup place called Sixt. We've already pre-booked the car here, so we're just gonna pick up our car and then head to our hotel.
That's our car for the next one week. - After a super scenic drive, we've made it to our hotel. So we're staying at the club Wyndham up north in this neighborhood called Princeville.
This is our home for the next four nights. I'm surprised how spacious it is, honestly. Oh my God, look at the view. This is so beautiful.
Well look at that view. This is insane. This is bedroom number one again, very spacious and you have a view of the ocean. And this is bedroom number two. No ocean view, but it's also really nice.
- Let's make it better. We got - This Villa is amazing, especially the balcony. I feel like we're gonna be sitting here a lot. Vikram, what do you think?
- It's amazing. The best view. - Yeah, the view is just so good and for some strange reason, the bathrooms here don't have doors. So both the bathrooms in the different like bedrooms don't have doors because of which It worked in our favor actually because we now have the bigger bedroom because it has like a separator door in the middle. So we're going be using that. So yeah, we have a nice view that we're gonna be waking up to - So we just drove down to the neighboring area called Hanalei, which is actually one of the most popular areas up north over here, stopping by at the grocery store to pick up some stuff and then we're just gonna head out for dinner.
- So for dinner we've come to this really cute looking restaurant called Postcard. They don't have too many vegetarian options, just like three items. So we ordered all three of those and the food is actually looking great. So let's dig right in. - Good morning everyone. It's officially day one of our sightseeing here in Kauai.
We're back in Hanalei right now, which is right next to our resort. And today we've booked a boat tour for ourselves. So one of the attractions here in Hawaii is the Na Pali coast, which is really popular. If you've watched Jurassic Park you've probably seen it It was shot on this island and a lot of it was also on the Na pali coast. So we'd originally booked a sunset tour for ourselves because that's a nicer time to see it. But yesterday they called us and said because of the weather, the evening tour has been canceled.
So we've changed it to the morning now. So we had to wake up at like 5:00 AM get ready and get here for our tour. It's about to start but just grabbing some coffee. By the way, there are so many cute restaurants and cafes in Hanalei, so definitely need to come back and explore Hanalei a bit more.
But yeah, I'm really excited for the tour today, even though it's raining and the weather isn't the best right now, but the northern part of Kauai is actually known to have really rainy weather. The south is more sunny, so I think this is kind of expected. Also, there are tons of chickens and roosters on this island, like everywhere you can see them. Even when we landed, I think I saw some at the airport outside the airport as well. But anyway, let's go get some coffee and then head on our boat tour.
So just walking up to our boat now and first have to walk through the river to get on our boat that there is our boat. - You guys can take your time. - As we set sail, we had no idea what we were in for.
The landscapes were already so stunning and at one point the captain stopped the boat and we were greeted by so many dolphins. It was unreal. And then suddenly it started pouring. But somehow that just made the landscapes even more majestic and magical.
We are in one of the rainiest places on earth after all those cliffs and waterfalls, shrouded in mist looked straight out of a dream. We even ventured inside some of these caves. We also took a break to hop into the water and snorkel. That was one of the best tours I've been on in my life.
No exaggeration. The Na Pali coast is so stunning. Honestly, I don't think I've seen landscapes like that before. The mountains there and the carvings just looked so different and unique and very much like Jurassic Park because it was actually shot there. How did you like that tour? - It's one of the best tours that I've ever taken.
One of the best spots that I've ever seen in my life. - And what was the highlight for you? - The view, I mean the, it was so, it was so beautiful. - Yeah, it was stunning. And mummy, what did you like the most about the tour? The views were good and I did snorkeling by myself for the first time, so that was very, very satisfying. She's been snorkeling a couple of times before, but usually someone like holds her and takes her in.
But today she did it on her own. Yeah, so yeah, so well done. That is quite Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara types all in all. I think today has been great so far.
But right now I'm at this place called Kilauea Wildlife Refuge. So there are tons of birds native to Hawaii over here and you can actually probably hear some birds in the background as well because they're quite loud. There's actually a famous viewpoint over here with a view of the lighthouse. So the view itself is free in the back there, you can just stand there and see the view.
But we paid a ticket to come inside and see the lighthouse from closer and also see some of these birds - Quite a nice view from up here. So we walked up all the way there to the lighthouse. Like I mentioned, you have to pay to go inside.
This is the free view, quite a nice view, but I think it's definitely worth going inside. It was really beautiful. We saw so many different types of birds and the views from inside were also great, but we haven't eaten anything proper all day.
So I'm gonna drive around and find a place to get some. We've come to the main market in the Kilauea town. We're right now at this place called Kilauea Bakery, which is super cute and we've gotten ourselves some pizza.
The weather has finally cleared up. The sun is out, it's about to set in an hour. I think I'm now at the Hanalei Pier that in the back there is the pier. Everything is just looking so beautiful right now. We actually started our tour this morning from here.
Somewhere in the back there is the river, - The weather right now is perfect. Look at the view behind me. Looks like a painting. If we had gotten to do the boat tour right now, like it was originally planned, this is what the view would've looked like on the coast, which looks stunning.
So I don't know if we missed out. I feel like maybe we have to come back and do the tour again for the sunset view, but this is literally the view from a parking lot. That's our car in the back. How stunning is this For dinner, we've come to this place called Ama and the vibe here is amazing. There's live music. This place is so cute. Honestly, Hanalei is full of really nice eating joints.
I'm loving the vibe over here. But yeah, this is a ramen place. So we ordered some ramen, some Asian salad. The food is looking really good and some wine. Good morning everyone. It's a beautiful day in Kauai. The sun is out and the weather is really nice.
Today we're just having a very chill morning. Later in the day we're actually going for a hike, but until the afternoon we're kind of just chilling in Hanalei. So we've come to this place called Hanalei Bread Company for breakfast, which had really good ratings online. This behind me is the place. This whole part of Hanalei is just so lively and nice. There are lots of like cute shops, really nice cafes and restaurants in the back there is where we were eating yesterday.
So it's quite a small but quaint and cute little town. But just got done with breakfast. The food was amazing. And today's a Sunday, so I don't know if it's like an island life thing or a Sunday thing, but everyone's just out and about chilling and having a very relaxing time.
Like I mentioned, we're going on a hike later this evening and also visiting a beach where I think we can snorkle. So just gonna go figure out if we can rent some snorkel gear. One of the things you have to try when you're in Kauai is shaved ice. It's basically like ice gola. We've gotten ourselves a large one. Look how large it is. Bigger than my face. So we've gotten the
colada flavored one. Let's try it out and see how it is. I don't even know how to eat this Now.
This is actually really delicious. Definitely worth trying when you're here. Been a super chill day so far, but right now, like I mentioned, we are going on a hike. So we are inside a state park called Ha'ena State Park and the trail is called Kalalauu Trail. It is supposed to be one of the most scenic trails in Hawaii, but you need to plan a bit in advance to be able to do this because there is reserved parking. They only have a hundred parking spots and three time slots in the day.
And the reservations open up a month in advance and they get sold out within minutes. So my dad planned this in advance and booked this for us, which is great. The whole trail is 11 miles long and it's a multi-day trek. It's supposed to be a very difficult trek. We actually saw some people while on the boat yesterday doing that trek. And the path is very treacherous.
So it's only for like experienced trekkers, but you can also do a part of the trail, which is supposed to be very scenic (and easier to do). You get like a few really nice viewpoints. So that's what we're gonna be doing. And also then we're gonna be heading up to Ke'e Beach, which is also inside the park. And we rented out snorkeling equipment. So hopefully we'll get to do some snorkeling as well.
- Because it rained so much yesterday, the whole path is quite slippery and lots of puddles along the way as well. But the view from here of Ke'e Beach is so beautiful. - This was such a beautiful hike. The view from the top. I mean we didn't go all the way obviously, but the viewpoints along the way were just so nice.
But we're just walking back right now. Hopefully we will make it back in time to go to the beach as well. - Wow, look at that view. The sun is about to set, made it to Ke'e beach and it is so stunning. The sun is about to set. Unfortunately, I don't think we have time to snorkel because we have to walk like 10 minutes to our car to get the snorkels.
So probably just gonna go for a swim in the ocean The water feels so nice after the hike. It is kind of cold though. - Today's ended up being such a fun and adventurous day. The hike and the beach were both stunning. How was it - We should have gone a bit earlier.
Maybe a couple of hours earlier - Yeah, but we only got the parking for 4:30 PM so it is possible they wouldn't have let us in. So we were actually there at 4:30. But right now we've come to Princeville center, which is right next to where we're staying for dinner, eating some Chinese food. This actually reminds me of home - Good morning everyone. It's day three in Kauai, and today is kind of like a chill day.
We don't have anything officially planned, but we decided that we're gonna go to this beach nearby to go snorkeling. So you can actually see that beach from here in the back there. That's Anini beach, it looks very close from here. But if you wanna drive down, it's like a 20 minute drive around the town. Also, I kind of randomly woke up early this morning and saw the sunrise from my balcony and it was just so beautiful.
But anyway, this beach is supposed to be very calm, so easy to snorkel. And if we're lucky we could spot turtles there. So yeah, keeping my fingers crossed.
Let's head to Anini beach. - Made it to Anini Beach. Look how beautiful it is. The water is very blue and I think the reef sort of ends in the back there. So that's where the waves are crashing. So it's actually a very calm, relaxing beach.
We just parked our car in the back there. Got ourselves some beach chairs. This is our spot for the day. - Having breakfast here at this place called Nourish Hanalei. And this is the view from here When in Hawaii you have to try out some açai balls.
So having an Acçai bowl for breakfast, it's actually lunchtime. - How beautiful is that view? So we've just come back here to Hanalei for dinner. We've come to this place called Tahiti Nui.
It's a cocktail lounge and looks really nice. They've got a few vegetarian pizza options. So we ordered some pizza and I've gotten myself a mai tai.
2024-08-06 09:41
