I just realized I never gave you all part 2 of our Hawaii adventure, and that’s a shame because it was honestly my favorite part of the trip.
My boys (twin, 18) and I spent 10 days in Hawaii last summer. The first part of our adventure was spent on Oahu so please go read that first..
But for the longest part of our trip, we would be in a condo on Poipu beach in Kauai!
I had spent many summers in Kauai when I was very young, and although I don’t remember much, I do remember absolutely falling in love with island life there. The people, the traditions, and the authentic, laid back island culture are so refreshing and very different from what you get on Oahu.
A quick word on inner-island travel: it’s super easy. The only downside is that yes, you still have to go through security, but the flight was super fun and very old-school and I loved it. And the views on the way over were UNBELIEVABLE.
I was concerned because our condo didn’t have A/C, but truthfully, I shouldn’t have been. The louvered shutters meant plenty of air circulated because of the lovely trade-winds and although yes, it was humid, I adjusted quickly.
We stayed right on Poipu beach at Plantation Gardens. I believe this made my 5th or 6th trip there, including our honeymoon back in 1990. Even after 28 years away, this place has remained relatively unchanged and I love that part. The restaurant there is still lovely, the grounds still amazing, and the largest cactus garden in the world still in fairly good shape. Here’s a quick video I shot on the lanai. Sorry it’s a little shaky – I need to up my video game:).
This is the link to the unit we stayed in, and I thought it was just perfect. It’s not directly on the beach, but just a short walk, and we made the decision to trade more space for ocean views. I actually loved the garden location as it was super peaceful and we saw so many amazing birds!
The ocean was a little rough while we were there and I must tell you that if you’re not an experienced swimmer, please listen to lifeguards and warnings. The ocean doesn’t play and we saw two people that needed to be rescued and one I was very scared for.
Right across the street from the condo there is a shopping center with some great restaurants, one of which, Keoki’s Paradise, the condo owners gave us a gift card for as a thank you. We had a lovely meal there one night with great live entertainment. Wanna go back there with me??
Our time there was very relaxed, plenty of snorkeling, plenty of beach time, but our one big excursion was unbelievable and I have to tell you, I would do it again in a heart beat! We did the Napali Snorkel and Scuba excursion with Blue Dolphin Charters and it was worth EVERY DIME. So amazingly beautiful and fun. Yes, it can be a bumpy ride, but the views, the crew, all of it just spectacular. A must do, in our opinion and an experience we will never forget.
If you’re a big fan of the George Clooney movie The Descendants, then you must go to Tahiti Nui, the home of the original Mai Tai! They filmed a great scene here in the movie.
The drive there was gorgeous and we adventured all along the way, stopping where it looked amazing (which was like every 10 minutes) to get out and explore.
We are all wanting to go back and as soon as possible. There were so many amazing moments and because I’m writing this so many months later, I know there are details I’m leaving out – BAD TRAVEL BLOGGER;). But reliving it is fun, too:). I hope you enjoyed coming along!