...because it has the most to offer! The scenery is breath taking, the beaches are not crowded, the people are a lot more friendly, and you can fly direct out of Seattle! The Nā Pali Coast and Waimea Canyon (aka "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific") are two of the most spectacular sites to be seen in the entire USA!
Sand? I thought tall grass that needed a good trim was more your environment? Speaking of which, my back yard is getting out of control, fly the zero turn out here and ill distract the mrs for you.
Have you been to Waimea? Literally on the opposite side from Hanalei. There aren't a lot of people and the beach is great. Either way, John, Kauai is where I would go
This is a good synopsis. We went to Kauai for a couple of weeks once and it got really boring after the first week or so. It was a tiny island with not much to do. They only had one movie theater for the whole island. A couple of big resorts, lots of empty beaches, and an INTERSTATE highway that ran in a big circle around the island. We went before the hurricane destroyed it, so it's been rebuilt since then, and a lot may have changed. Oahu is big city. Maui is somewhere in between, but definitely a good time. You can do a condo and have a kitchen of your own, or you can do the resort thing. Either works great. We paid a lot of money to stay in a hotel room there and it had a "view" if you go out on the balcony and look between two buildings to your left. That was at the 4 seasons, $450/night, and 15+ years ago. I recommend this place: https://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/usa/hawaii/maui/south-maui/kihei/south/mana-kai It's situated on the best piece of land in the entire united states. If you get out of the resorts, you'll find Maui and Oahu are quite country style. There are ranches with horses and cows and pigs and so on. If you really want seclusion, you can go to Lanai or Molokai. Lanai has two really upscale resorts and some of the most breathtaking golf courses anywhere. You won't get knifed since you're not so lily white. They won't care about your wife being lily white. And you don't have to worry about la migre letting you back in.
Exactly. Kauai is beautiful, but the developed areas are primarily on the windward (east) side of the island. Those winds bring the rains. As I understand it, HCP's planning on going in February during the All-Star break. Pretty iffy on the weather, particularly in the Princeville area. I went to Kauai in late January one year and never was able to get out to Hanalei because the rains flooded out the roads. And, speaking of roads, Kauai is a dinky island and there's only one road around the thing. One night I was trying to get back to my condo and there'd been a wreck on the road. Sat for an hour before the cops finally directed us around the thing by going out through cane field roads. Personally, I'd love to take lawai'a up on a guided tour of some of the Big Island's lesser known beaches sometime. But I'd be careful if I were you, HCP. My bet is that it's more the Mrs. than the HCP that he wants to meet.
That's just unreal. I've seen pics of that coast before, but didn't realize thats where it was. Helicopter ride for sure right?
The scenery on any of the islands is eye candy. Lots of lush green and rugged cliffs and volcanic mountains and foothills. Here are a couple of pictures of a golf course on Lanai.
As far as hotels, something like this would be ideal. But i understand if you stay at a resort, the food and drink are usually included. Probably cheaper than is we got our own little cottage I bet.
It rains 24/7 on Kauai, and a lot on the other islands. It's mostly on the top of of the volcano and on the windward side of the islands. The early Hawaiians built aqueducts to carry water from the green side of the island to the desert side.
I played that course from the tips. One one hole the tee was on a ledge over the ocean and it was about 260 to land on the fairway over the water. Anything short was in the ocean. We drove up and I saw it and told my buddy we should just go drop on the other side He said we paid to play so we should at least try. We both made it over. My ball barely did. I don't think there's a course anywhere that is as beautiful as this one. I know you like golf.
Hanalei is on the north shore of Kauai. Waimea is on the west shore North shore is a tropical paradise. Mountains, waterfalls, pretty good little town with good food and shops. For scenic beauty, I'd stay on the north shore West shore has a great beach that is much less touristy and has a magnificent canyon that is spectacular. Less rain in the south and west Good news is that the island is small enough that going from one to the other is basically 1.5 hours....depending on traffic
Helicopter or boat tour. You can drive to the top of the canyon and look down into it on one side and the coastline on the other.