July 2019

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I'd just like to start off by saying that I was kind of indifferent about going to Hawaii for our honeymoon. I was really thinking I wanted to go somewhere more exotic, but we stuck with it, and now I want to move there forever, so that says a lot! My feeling was that everyone goes to Hawaii for their honeymoon, but let me tell you, it's for good reason! Kauai was ammmmazing! Our favorite between Kauai and Maui. So beautiful and mostly untouched by humans! We did so much adventuring in Kauai and ate the BEST food. We stayed at the Kauai Marriott Resort and it was a great spot with gorgeous views.

 

Things to do:

-Wailua Falls-one of our favorite spots of the whole two weeks!! Bring water shoes or sneakers and climb down to the bottom! There's a little hole in the fence and you can make your way down the steep hillside. Semi-dangerous if wet but we are not crazy hikers or anything and didn't find it to be that hard, it was really fun actually! Once we got to the bottom, we were the ONLY people there and it was like a private little paradise and we had an awesome time swimming in the water.

 

-'Opaeka'a Falls- Beautiful quick pit stop to make. Can't get up near it but worth stopping if you're in the area!

 

-Queen's Bath-definitely a cool spot, but there's only about 10 parking spots. We didn't have time to wait around for a spot, so we tried to park illegally, our rental car got booted, and we had to pay $150 parking ticket. Only go here if you have time to spare or are willing to pay for the ticket! We jumped off the cliff sides of the "bath" and it was an amazing sight to see, but it was crowded and probably not worth the $150.

 

-Hanalei Bay-MUST see. Amazing beach, not crowded, beautiful mountain views

 

-Any boat tour by Captain Andy's

        -We did two tours with them. First we did the "Classic Na Pali Snorkel Picnic Sail". Awesome catamaran sail, saw turtles and dolphins and even had an excellent lunch on the boat. Andrew was raving about the deli sandwiches they provided. https://www.napali.com/sail/snorkel/

        -We also did the "Raft Na Pali Snorkel Adventure" which was equally as fun but definitely more exhilarating. You sit on the side of the small boat and have to hold on tight! We saw turtles and dolphins again and got a more up close and personal view of the sea caves, so much fun. https://www.napali.com/raft/snorkel/

 

-Polihale State Park-BEAUTIFUL beach, busy during the weekend so if you go here, go on a week day, we had a huge stretch of beach all to ourselves

 

-Jack Harter's Helicopter tour (or any helicopter tour)- I think this was the highlight of the honeymoon for me. Definitely expensive, but we did the open door helicopter and it was the most incredible excursion I've ever done! The majority of Kauai you can't see except for by helicopter, so to get to see so much of the island was awesome. I was unexpectedly moved to tears by all the beauty of it! There were waterfalls everywhere we looked. I can't express how unbelievable this experience was. A little bit scary at first since I had never been on a helicopter before, but so worth it.

 

-Ho'opi'i Falls Upper and Lower-We did a very cool and easy hike to see both of these falls. At upper Ho'opi'i we were able to cliff jump into the falls and that was so fun! The lower falls were just a pretty sight but was cool to see because they are featured in Jurassic Park. We parked in a residential neighborhood right by the opening of the trail and had no parking issues.

 

-Spouting horn-a sight to see but not really worth it in my opinion. We drove here on our way to dinner but wouldn't go out of my way to see it.

 

-Waimea Canyon- called "the Grand Canyon of the Pacific". We didn't make time to do any hikes here although I heard that one of the hikes is beautiful. We drove around and stopped at some of the lookouts which was as much of seeing it as I needed. 

 

Restaurants we loved in Kauai:

-Oasis on the Beach-THE BEST! We had such amazing food here and sat right on the beach, beautiful views. You HAVE to get the crispy okinawan sweet potato chips. We devoured them in about 2 minutes and immediately ordered a second round. https://oasiskauai.com/  

 

-Makana Terrace-gorgeous views, great dinner https://www.princevilleresorthawaii.com/eat-drink/makana-terrace

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-Tidepools- a very nice restaurant surrounded by a koi fish pond. Very cool atmosphere

 

-Scorpacciata Neapolitan Pizza & Wailua Shave Ice- these are both food trucks right next to each other and were excellent. Shave Ice is a big deal in Hawaii. We had it two other times besides here and it wasn't even close to as good as this place was.

 

-Porky's Kauai- if you like BBQ, you MUST stop here. I think this was the best meal I've ever eaten. I got a grilled cheese with pulled pork in it and I died and went to heaven. https://www.porkyskauai.com/

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I am so ready to move to Kauai, you've gotta check it out!