This past weekend, Dan and I traveled to my final accessible Hawaiian island for Valentine’s Day. As of February 2022, I’ve visited Oahu, Maui, the Big Island, Lanai, Molokai, and Kauai. These are the six accessible islands of the main eight. I’m hoping that I’ll get to see Niihau and Kahoolawe at some point in my lifetime, but right now, it isn’t feasible to visit them. Here’s how our weekend went!
Our Kauai Itinerary
Our Kauai trip was a Valentine’s Day getaway, so we didn’t plan a hardcore itinerary. We knew this would serve as a short trip that allowed us to decompress from work and connect with one another. We wanted to see the island, but we didn’t want to feel rushed. We thought we’d be able to get a vibe for whether or not we liked it and if it was worth visiting again in the future.
Friday
We originally planned to leave in the morning for Kauai. Unfortunately, Dan had a work conflict pop up which delayed our travel until the 4:20 to 5:00 PM flight. We had rented a car through Turo a couple of months earlier, and we were able to pick it up right at the airport. This was just as convenient as traditional rental cars agencies and significantly cheaper. I also love that the money goes straight into the pockets of people living on the island.
Because we arrived later than we originally hoped, we agreed that dinner and cocktails were our ideal night. Dan found us a great restaurant called Avalon Gastropub that was within walking distance from our hotel, Kauai Shores. We enjoyed specialty cocktails, tapas, and entrees before calling it a night.
Saturday
On Saturday, Dan found a cute coffee shop right near the hotel called Imua Coffee Roasters. We enjoyed a breakfast of coffee and pastries before hitting the road. Our vague plan was to head over to Poipu Beach on the south side of Kauai. It was a great beach but incredibly crowded. We had gravitated toward it because of the reports of good snorkeling. Indeed, there was clear water and even a monk seal sunbathing on the beach. However, with so many people, it wasn’t the most relaxing atmosphere.
After about 45 minutes at the beach, we ended up driving further south to a nail salon to enjoy some Valentine’s Day pampering. After he finished up a very necessary pedicure, Dan headed over to Kauai Island Brewing Company to grab a flight while I finished up my mani/pedi. When I was done, I was able to grab both an acai bowl from Espresso & Juice and chocolate from Kauai Chocolate Company.
Back in the car, we headed back to Kauai Shores, so we could shower and get ready for our Valentine’s Day dinner. Dan had picked out a special restaurant for us to dine at called Hualani’s Restaurant. Between the lobster tempura, filet mignon, and chocolate cake we had, this dining experience was just delightful!
Sunday
On Sunday, we got up bright and early to take pictures at the Tree Tunnel. We first drove through the Tree Tunnel during our trip to the south shore the day before, and I loved the idea of taking pictures at that spot. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the calmest road, so I proposed getting up around sunrise. I hoped that by doing this we would avoid any traffic and would have a mostly quiet road.
This couldn’t have been less than the case. The road was just as busy at 7 AM as it was when we originally drove through it. Dan was a little less than thrilled with the prospect of needing to run out into a busy road to take pictures of me (and who can blame him), but he knew that we had already committed to it at that point. We decided that we would go out into the road only when the coast was clear on both sides. This normally left us about a 15-second interval to snap a few pictures before we were scurrying for safety. Here are some of the pictures we captured.
While heading back to the hotel, we decided to stop at one of the nearby waterfalls.
Naturally, after this early morning sightseeing, we were on the hunt for breakfast. Sadly, we couldn’t return to Iuma’s because they are closed on Sundays. So, we ended up finding a new spot called Java Kai. Because we planned to check into the Marriott Kauai Beach Club later that evening, we went back to Kauai Shores to pack up and check out.
After checking out, we drove up to the north shore and stopped along the way. Our stops included Moloa’a Beach, Kilauea Lighthouse, Anini Beach, Princeville, and Hanalei. We fell in love with Anini Beach. Dan went out into the water, which was calm and shallow with a colorful reef. He praised it for its interesting snorkeling. I sat on the beach and read my book thinking about how I could envision coming there for years to come with kids in tow.
We grabbed lunch in Hanalei and decided to head back to the Marriott around 1:30 PM. It was Super Bowl Sunday, and we wanted to catch part of the game after checking in. Check-in took a little bit longer than anticipated, and we ended up switching rooms because the room we were first described didn’t match the description of what we booked.
Nonetheless, we still managed to catch the 4th quarter of the Rams vs. the Bengals at the poolside bar with some drinks. After a couple of drinks by the pool, we headed back upstairs to use the room for a mini professional photoshoot I had hoped to do. Dan was kind enough to act as my photographer for the entire weekend.
After the photoshoot, we went down to grab dinner at the restaurant downstairs. We had considered going to a restaurant nearby, but it had gotten late fast. I ended up having a delicious crab-crusted salmon, so all is well that ends well!
Monday
We woke up around 7:30 AM on Monday and went out to grab waffles at Aloha Liege Waffles & Espresso. We highly recommend this as a breakfast option if you’re staying in this area! With check out at 10 AM, we packed our stuff and left the room but planned to spend a few hours by the pool.
Around noon, however, we knew that we wanted to go spend a few more hours on the island before heading to the airport around 4:15 for our 5:26 flight. On Saturday night, Dan had wanted to visit a place called The Warehouse, but our dinner reservation had run late. So, we decided to drive south to check out the collection of shops there.
After that, we landed upon the north shore as our destination. We both had really positive memories from the day before and knew that would be the spot we’d want to return to on a future vacation. It was a little out of the way, but why not spend our additional time there right now?
Before the airport, we managed to squeeze in some time in Hanalei to enjoy gyros and dole whip as well as return to Anini Beach, which was the perfect end to the trip.
Final Thoughts
Overall, besides the North Shore of Oahu where I’ve lived for the last 10 months, I enjoyed visiting Kauai the most of all the other islands. It was the island I could most envision living and/or visiting repeatedly for years to come. Because it was winter, it wasn’t the optimal time to visit the Napali Coast or a few other “must-see” spots on the island. So, rest assured, I’ll be back!
Read about my other trips: