| |
Guide to Kauai Island, USA - Hawaii
|
Click to go to Flight Prices for Kauai Island
|
Kauai Island
Hawaii's third-largest island, Kauai, with Niihau as its close neighbor, is relatively distant from the archipelago's popular landmasses: Oahu, Maui, and the most spacious of all, Hawaii Island. Nonetheless, it shares many of their best features, as well as some they've lacked since reaching mega-stardom. Nearer to the US than any of the Hawaiian cloisters, Kauai is a picturesque collage of the best of the tropical word, with a unique twist all its own. Rainforests, soaring cliffs, jagged earth, towering summits, and palm-lined untarnished beaches all come together on Kauai, where gorgeous atmospheric phenomena occur on a daily basis, and the sunrise is granted equal splendor as the sunset. The only aspect of Kauai possibly deserving of at least a bit of admonishment is the time at which one must leave its majestic landscape. Visitors to Kauai are hardly startled at all when learning its main purpose for existence is as an exhaust valve, per se; today an expired (let's hope it remains so) volcano rests within Kauai's center, looking over the island with its iconic black cone wrapped with centuries of forest growth. You can hike to the megalith's peak to stare down into one of the largest abysses you're likely ever to come across, and still make it back to the bungalow for a candlelit dinner along the shore by dark.
When to go:
Though Hawaii is by all means a tropical destination, it sits further north than many of the region's islands, effectively leaving it out of the Caribbean loop and positioning the group in a solitude state in the southernmost portion of the Pacific Ocean. Oftentimes, Kauai is the destination for those who consider summer in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, or any other nation in close range of the Equator, an exhausting experience. Similar to Florida's peninsular tip, you can guarantee a year-round emergence of warm weather - with a good amount of precipitation evening things out.
Getting there and around:
A trip to the island of Kauai will show you the epitome the phrase wonderland, but in order to see it, you'll need to get here first. Both Hawaii Island and Maui take care of nearly all international travel coming in and out of the archipelago, therefore a European jaunt (hardly the right term for the circumstances, but it's got a chippy connotation we thought you'd love) across the Pacific will have to be made to either island before making your way to Lihue Airport. When you arrive, you might be interested to know where the hotels/megaplexes are situated. Answer: There are none! A development rule upon Kauai is that no structure is to exceed the height of a coconut tree. (Obstruction of view, we suppose.) Unless you plan to stay within a 1-mile radius during the entire length of your stay, you're probably best off hiring a personal vehicle for the personal exploration you intend to on the island. If the chance encounter with wildlife larger than a gerbil frightens you, arranging for a guide may ease the tension a tad.
Attractions:
If Kauai was simply a scrunched duplicate of Maui or its (Maui's) larger neighbor, you'd quickly find streets lined with boutiques, international menus, malls of seemingly endless dimensions, and hotels that'd make the Queen envious. Instead, the island gives only what it has been given: unparalleled beauty. Think of it as ripe from Mother Nature's best dream. With some coordinates you may be able to find the site of some of the sites where Jurassic Park was filmed! Not a fan of mechanical, ginormous reptiles? The coastal reefs are always worth an afternoon with a blowhole.
|
|
|
