Live Dive Repeat and More: Kauai, Hawaii August 2017

The Garden Island - Kauai

Hanalei Beach

Where I stayed

I stayed at three campgrounds, Anini beach in the North Shore, Salt Pond on the south side and ? aka Tunnels in the North Shore. Out of the three I enjoyed Anini beach the most (pictured below). We stayed primarily at Anini beach, feet from clear blue waters. It's very calm and shallow in this area. If you like snorkeling it's a good spot but you have to go out pretty far to see any fish. Sunsets and sunrise are amazing and spectacular. You don't have to be a professional to get a great shot. My friend James described my sunrise photo as "it looked like the sky was on fire". Simple enough and true explanation. If your looking for night shots of the stars, great spot. Very clear and bright. Be aware that Kauai has chickens that free roam all over the island. That weren't to terrible at Anini but they made their presence known. They will crow at all hours and snatch your PB&J if your not looking.

Tunnels was my second favorite. We set up very late at night and didn't get a primo spot. Honestly, we just couldn't see anything. Be aware that the ground is rock hard and you will need a sturdy shoe to pound in your stakes. Yes, you will need stakes! Think of the Three Little Pigs, Tunnels will try to huff and puff and blow your tent away. Why did I love it? I woke up to pink skies and waves pounding against the sand. The chickens didn't bother us much or maybe the waves drowned them out. I was a beautiful spot.

Tunnels

My least favorite campsite was Salt Pond. It was very, very windy. As you can see from the picture below there is a salt pond. To the right is the beach, picnic tables, outdoor showers and public bathrooms. Oh and also about a thousand chickens, 30 of them starting crowing at 2 AM.


KAUAI BEACH HOUSE HOSTEL	https://kauaibeachhouse.net/

https://kauaibeachhouse.net/ Kauai beach hostel, while rode hard and left wet is still a great and cheap place to stay. Hawaii is expensive! It's cute, the staff is friendly and it has great views. I also loved taking a chair out by the water and falling asleep under the palm trees.

Snorkeling and diving

One of the best places for snorkeling I've found is Poipu Beach. Not because the beach is all that but because 1. it has a variety of fish and 2. it's easy to access. You will see Moorish Idol, remember the old scarred fish from Finding Nemo, lots of those are swimming around. Also, Parrotfish and I think I saw a few Hawaiian state fish.

Another favorite is Hideaway Beach near Princeville. St. Regis hotel will valet park you for free, though I always gave them a tip. This beach is spectacular! This one is a little bit harder to get to. To get to the trail you will need to go back to the small beach parking area and look for a path between two fences. Walk until you see the cliffs, pano views. So you go down a few stairs and then hang onto the ropes that will help you down the incline. It's not that hard but could be hard on those with bad knees. Beautiful photo opp when trail flattens out, amazing view of the reef and a palm tree. Go early, before the tide comes in and takes the beach, before 3 pm. If you want to see turtles, this is the beach.

Ke’e beach, this one is as far north as you can go. This is where the Kalalau trail starts. It's a very pretty Beach with the Na Pali coast off to the left and a short stretch of beach to the right. Lots of shade here for those that need it. Come early as the small parking lot fills with early morning hikers, by 8 am it's full. There is a bigger parking lot down the road but it will also fill up fast. Take a short steep hike up the Kalalau trail for panorama views of the beach.

Now let's get to diving

I choose to go with Seaport Divers. They are a 5 star PADI rating and they have a nice boat. One of those that has a ladder off the back and integrated BCD weights. That's why I choose them. Hawaii diving is not cheap. Unlike the Caribbean which has dive packages for multi trips, Hawaii companies offer 10% off after you do a dive with them. 2 tank dive cost $188 and Ni’ihau cost a whopping $400 dollars for an all day, 3 tank dive.

For the regular dives, I choose to do the am dives for experienced divers. Both times we went to Turtle Bluffs and Sheraton Caverns. Neither disappointed, but have to admit Sheraton Caverns was my favorite. It is described as blown out lava tube formations with overhangs and archways. It was a fun dive and it had more turtles than Turtle Bluff, go figure...

Let's talk about Ni’ihau! This is a must do dive if you come to Kauai. I was not so sure about all the hype but it proved me wrong, joyfully wrong. It takes 2.5 hours to even get to The Forbidden Island. Not much to look at, it's a very dry looking Island. The first dive we did was Vertical Awareness and is a bottomless pit. You look down into the inky darkness and think “does it ever end”. It is a 280 ft wall and lava shelves and the visibility is well over a 100 ft. I went to a depth of 105 ft and didn't really notice because it was that clear. Blue endless water with hundreds of fish swimming around you. Truly an excellent dive, one of my favorites. The second dive was Ni’ihau Arches, not as deep as the others, I went to 70 ft. There were amazing swim throughs and it looked like the lost city of Atlantis. Where was the Greek status! It was fascinating and thrilling. I loved the ledge we came to where this little yellow fish swam upside down as you looked up from the sea floor. When you looked up the water on the roof of the ledge, it looked like it was reflecting. The third dive was a drift dive called Pyramid Point. Drifted along endless walls that towered over us. When I'm describing these dives I'm going by memory and let's be honest sometimes they can blur together, so don't quote me on these individual accounts. All the dives we saw seals chillin and diving, sharks circling. Got a selfie with a friendly seal, at a safe distance of course. Never a boring moment.

Places to eat and not to eat

Nothing in Kauai is really cheap, expect to pay for average food $15-20

Kapa’a

Do eat

Bubbas burger joint, cheap food and it's good. $4 hamburgers. Can't go wrong.

Tiki Tacos da bomb and it's not expensive. One taco can do the trick. A

Glass coke and taco about $12

Maybe eat

Mermaids Cafe. Hawaiian style food but it was kinda bland. It smelled amazing, so I was a bit disappointed. $15 but you get a lot of food.

Don't eat

Island Palm Island bar and grill. Just don't! I got basil chicken. It was spicy, which I like but not much else. They over loaded it with mushrooms and cabbage. My friend got sesame chicken that looked like something frozen, defrosted and smothered in sauce. $15 or so per plate. Rice is $3.

Bull shed $25 for an muh steak kabob. My friend said his prime rib was awesome. However, he did just get off the Kalalau trail and would have ate anything at that point. I just didn't care for it.

Poipu

Do eat

Da Crack $10-15 for yummy burritos or tacos and they give you enough to eat.

More pics :)