7 Days in Kauai, Hawaii to work on your tan

and get salty in the sun!

Just get off the couch for some fun in the sun!

So you decided to check out Kauai, huh? With so many beautiful Hawaiian islands- what makes it the best choice? The Garden Island is so appealing because it is so much more RAW and NATURAL than any of the other islands. If you are a lover of the great outdoors and want to do more than just lay on the beach, Kauai is the place for you! What it lacks in luxury shopping malls it makes up for with incredible hikes and beautiful views from high atop a canyon. So take a look at these suggestions for an active, outdoorsy week in the Garden Island!

Day 1: Time to take flight! After you check in to your hotel, head out to meet your pilot for a helicopter tour of Island. We booked Jack Harter Helicopters in Lihue. It was about $300 per person per hour, but so so worth it! It was a great way to see the island as a whole. The views of the Na Pali Coast and Waimea Canyon were so cool!

Day 2: Grab those hiking boots and head out to the quintessential Kauai hike- The Kalalau Trail. In all, the trail is 22 miles roundtrip. You will trek through lush foliage, skip through streams and trod through often muddy sea cliffs to reach your destination- paradise!

The trail starts at the Ha’ena State Park, where you will traverse switchbacks and scale the side of the canyon. It rains often here, so the trail can get muddy and slippery- so where appropriate light hikers! There were some tourists on the trail in flip flops, and they were sliding all over the place. Be smart and where boots with a tread! The easiest part of the hike ends at the rock covered Hanakapi’ai Beach.

If you have time, hike onward for two extra miles into the valley to check out the 300 ft. Hanakap’ai Waterfall. Voila! Where are all the tourists? Serenity, now! After the waterfall, the hike gets a little dicey and dangerous- and far more remote. Get comfortable with nature and head down long switchbacks, traverse scary ridges like the Crawlers Ledge (eek!) and make your way to Kalalua Valley. Pitch a tent at the halfway point in the Hanako Valley if you are super tired from the all-day trek. There is a stream to filter water and a waterfall for a bath!

If you are really feeling it and want to go further to Hanakapi’ai Beach you will have to purchase an overnight permit from the Department of Land and Natural Resources. These permits sell out way in advance, so get your permit several months ahead of time.

Day 3: Another day the NaPali Coast! Check out the Awaawapuhi Trail for a challenging trail heading up to a mountain overlook. Drive to Highway mile marker 17 on the west side of the island. Hike up 2500 ft. to a spectacular cliff-to-ocean view into the valleys below. Beautiful! And NO tourists as far as the eye can see! Bring a picnic lunch and hang out in the fresh air and tranquil space. beware venturing beyond the railing- its a looooong 2000ft. drop below! Its 6 miles roundtrip and should take 2.5-3 hours depending how many Insta photos you take!

Day 4: Wailua Waterfall Kayak Tour This may be our favorite day out of the whole trip. It was unexpected joy as we met at Outfitters Kauai, Poipu. The tour company drives the group to the kayak launch and off you go! Be prepared to paddle for 60-90 minutes in total. You will traverse through the lush, tropical Wailua River in the “divorce kayak”- a tandem…which we love!

Make your way through low lying trees and brush to an opening where you dock the kayaks and hike for two miles on a muddy, rocky trail. Our tour guides prepared lunch for the group as we frolicked in the waterfall.

Day 5: Mountain Tubing in a Sugar Plantation We used Kauai Backcountry Adventures right by the Lihue Airport. We were given a bunch of equipment (Bring water shoes! You can rent them- but who wants to pay for that?) and jumped into a jeep to head to the beginning of the float. Its not like riding on rapids. Its kind of like a lazy river with an extra punch of excitement. The river flows swiftly enough that it moves you along in and out of tunnels. You do not even have to paddle! The tour company gives you a headlamp so you can see what you are doing in the tunnels. But, bring a waterproof iPhone case so you can take pictures. I forgot mine so we have no documentation of this excursion! You will have to take my word for it! Lunch is served at the end, so don’t worry about going hungry! Make sure to bring a towel and change of clothes, as you will have gotten completely wet from this adventure.

Day 6: Sunrise downhill bike tour Outfitters Kauai escorted us to our LEAST favorite activity of the trip. A group is driven 3600 ft. at sunrise to look out from the top of the mountains to the Pacific Ocean. Then you take off for a slow descent downhill on your cruiser bike. This all sounds great if you prefer not to break a sweat- but we are Salty Travelers! We had anticipated putting a little more effort into the bike ride. The reviews are great for this tour- but we were disappointed that it was so “inactive”.. In fact, bike riding in general is not very common on the island. we brought our gear with us and planned on renting road bikes. But after talking to some of the locals, there are few places to ride on the island. You can rent a cruiser on the beach, but there is not much opportunity to log significant mileage or get any significant “exercise.” So we bailed on the road riding.

Day 7: Lazy beach hiking and Duane’s Char Burgers!

Our last day on the island we took it easy and had a morning stroll to watch the Monk seals on Poipu beach. They feed in the area so several were sunbathing right on shore! It was really cool to watch them during a mating ritual crying and barking at each other. So cute.

Later that afternoon we hiked around the shoreline and grabbed a roadside burger at the now-defunct Duane’s Ono Char. What a shame that this gem has closed. Check out some of the many roadside food trucks for great local lunch options!

Tip: We stayed near Poipu since there were so many activities we wanted to do that were located on the east, west and southern parts of the island. There is a gorgeous hotel on the northern most part of the island in Princeville. But driving from Princeville all the way to east side of the island to hike (because no road goes through to the east side) takes more than 2 hours. Plan your days if you want to hike and stay at a hotel that is locationally desirable!