Our 2 Day Itinerary in Kauai, the Garden Isle
We visited Kauai on my birthday and this was our last Hawaii Islands on our one week excursion. We boarded an early morning flight at 7AM and landed in Lihue Airport at around 8:30 AM. Renting cars in the pandemic has been so expensive, that in Kauai we did not get a rental from one of the standard rental companies. But instead we opted to go with Turo and rented a red mustang for 2 days. Here is our 2 day itinerary in Kauai:
Day 1
As soon as we landed, we decided to offload our baggage at the Hilton Garden Inn, Wailau Bay. The resort staff was accommodating to keep our luggages while we roam Kauai. We were so ready to see Kauai. But before that we decided to load ourselves with some malasadas at Passion bakery cafe in Kinipopo Shopping village.
Hogging on Masaladas
From there we headed to the sleeping giant trail. There are limited parking spots here. We just got lucky as someone was leaving while we entered in. This is a 3.4 mile heavily trafficked trail and make sure you dont go empty stomach here. It's a bit challenging towards the end but the views at the top are so worth it. We were on a time crunch but still decided to make it all the way to the top. The trail ends at a picnic shelter on the "chest" of the Sleeping Giant in Nonou Forest Reserve, where there are vistas of the ocean coastline, as well as inland to the Wailua River and Mount Waialeale. The west side trail joins this trail near the 1.5 mile post.
After descending the Sleeping giant and its magnificent views, it was time for some snack time. Our next destination was Port Allen Marine Center, where we were to on board our first sunset cruise to see the Napali Coastline. What an evening!
We had booked this sunset cruise with Capt Andy's staff and it was worth the price. Napali coast is just outstanding, no wonder its been used in so many movies and songs. The waters lining the shore have one of a kind reef that reflects this pristine blue waters. That itself along with misty ridges in worth every penny spent. On our way back, we got to see some wild Hawaiian monk seal. So keep an eye in the waters! Also notably there were dolphins playing all along the cruise ride. This is the first time in my life when sunset was overrated as everything surrounding it was way too spectacular. It is experiences like this that make me travel more.
Day 2
After having such a wonderful day, we decided to take the last day of our trip easy. It was no match to Day 1 but all days shouldn't be same right! We started the day with a hot bagel and cup of coffee at Small Town Coffee Co. Instead of having it at the truck side, we decided to have it on the Kapaa Beach watching the sunrise in the distant. From there we drove to the Napali Coast Wilderness Park. This is good 2 hrs drive all the way to see the ridges but from the other side of the ocean. My favorite was the Pu’u O Kila Lookout. There are tons of trails in this area so you can chose based on your capacity the day you come here. We were so tempted to do some trail, but we did not give in as we had so much to see. Starting from the last Pu’u O Kila Lookout, we made stops all the way in between to various other lookouts till we reached the bottom in Waimea. I bought Kolulu at the Ishihara market, but this place is popular by locals for their poke and lunch specials. So feel free check this out. From there we went to Kauai Coffee Company. Tasted some coffee and also bought a few souvenirs for friends and family at home.
It was time to eat and today we wanted to take our last bites of tropical fruit before we head to Minnesota. So we went to Koloa Fruit stand. You will find cheap and fresh fruit here. The highlight is the mini pineapple that gets sold quickly. We snacked on Mango and coconut meat. Our next stop was Poipu beach park where we saw a monk seal again, but this was way crowded for us to stay. So we headed for dinner to Anattas Thai Street Food (Lihue). You wont get such authentic Thai food in Kauai. It was a delight to our taste buds. So much that I had for my next day lunch as well here. Their green curry and fried rice both were epic. We called it for the night by having some drinks at Mamahune's, especially the Mai tai's.
