To celebrate Jordan’s graduation, our birthdays, and our 7 year anniversary, we saved up and splurged on a vacation to Hawaii! While it was a long flight to get there, it was certainly worth it. We went on lots of adventures, saw some incredibly beautiful scenic views, and ate tons of fish tacos and shave ice! I’m so excited to share with you some photos from our trip, as well as our itinerary and tips in case you’re planning a Hawaii trip soon too!
We first went to the island of Kauai (which ended up being our favorite) and stayed at the Aston Islander on the Beach. We enjoyed our stay here, and while the accommodations weren’t anything fancy, we prioritized going on more adventures/excursions than staying at a really nice resort for this particular trip, since it was already quite pricey! The central location turned out to be absolutely perfect, and we loved having so many delicious places to eat at nearby! (Our favorite place to eat was the Kilauea Fish Market. We probably ate there 5 times!)
Day 1: We were up early due to the time change and after eating some delicious coconut pancakes at Kountry Kitchen, we biked the Kauai Path with complimentary bike rentals from our hotel. It was a beautiful, paved path along the beach and we enjoyed it, but I wouldn’t say this was a must-do activity if you are only going for a few days.
Afterwards, we drove north to see the beautiful Kilauea Lighthouse (above) and then went to find Queen’s Bath (below), which ended up being our favorite activity of the day! We jumped in from the higher rocks on the right and just loved swimming and marveling at such a beautiful, naturally created pool! An absolute must-do in our opinion!
Tip: Wear water shoes with great tread for the hike down to Queen’s Bath and to walk across the hot lava rocks! I wore these and absolutely loved them! Super comfortable straight out of the box, perfect for all our hikes, and I got tons of compliments on them. As a bonus, the brown color I got was perfect for blending in with the red clay/dirt in Kauai that is notorious for dying your clothes/shoes!Next we checked out the view from the Princeville Resort (below), the nicest resort on the island, before heading up farther north to snorkel off of Tunnels Beach.
Tip: We brought our own snorkel gear and would highly recommend it since there are so many wonderful places to snorkel right off the beach!Day 2: We splurged and went on a helicopter tour of the island, since we heard it was a must-do! There were definitely amazing views to be seen, but it was a bit cloudy/windy/rainy for parts of our tour and I definitely felt a lot of motion sickness.
Tip: I would tell everyone wanting to go on a helicopter tour to take some dramamine! It will go a long way in helping you enjoy the whole tour!Next we went to see the iconic Wailua Falls! (below) This was really easy to get to and definitely worth seeing!Afterwards, we went to hike the Sleeping Giant Trail. It was super steep, and parts of the trail were unmarked and confusing, but we finally figured it out and made it all the way to the top! (below) A great, satisfying hike, but we wouldn’t say it’s a must-do.We rewarded ourselves with a shave ice from Ono Ono Shave Ice, and it was heavenly! They had the best price and gave you a very generous amount! I had the Hawaiian Delight flavor (banana, pineapple, coconut) with vanilla ice cream in the middle and it was the best!
Tip: Do not be alarmed by the roosters and chickens that are literally everywhere. 🙂
Day 3: We drove to the western part of the island to see the Waimea Canyon and hike the Awa’awapuhi Trail! The Awa’awapuhi Trail was a tough hike with mostly trees until the very end of the trail when it opened up into the most epic views of the Kalalau Valley & Na Pali Coast that makes it totally worth it. We daringly went out to the edge via a sketchy path with steep drops on either side of it. Lots of signs telling you to only go past at your own peril, but we very carefully did it. 🙂Beyond that point, the path gets even more narrow, so I carefully inched a bit further on all fours and then sat (below) to take in more of the views.Below is the view from where I am sitting! Eep! But also, amazing! Definitely a must-do!Day 4: We went tubing down the old sugar cane canals! This was actually a pretty family-friendly activity in our opinion, but still a lot of fun! We relaxed for the rest of the day to get ready for another big hike the following day.Day 5: We hiked the Kalalau Trail (!) and I was so excited to check this off the bucket list! It was probably the sketchiest, muddiest, wettest hike we’ve ever gone on due to the pouring rain that started halfway through our hike for approximately an hour, and people were sliding all around on the red mud because the trail is pretty rocky and steep. Due to the weather, we made it to Hanakapai’ai Beach (gorgeous!) but only went part of the way up towards the Falls and decided to turn back when we saw a man walking out with a broken arm! The trail itself even turned into a waterfall from the rain, but eventually the sun came out as it always does in Hawaii and the views were incredible and totally worth it!
Tip: Wear darker clothing if at all possible for this hike. You will get dirty from the red dirt/mud, and you will not believe the number of people we saw wearing (ruined) white sneakers and shirts!Day 6: We kayaked 18+ miles along the Na Pali Coast for “fun.” While the views were spectacular, they would have been just as spectacular from a boat with an engine! 🙂 We both took Dramamine beforehand but Jordan still fought major sea sickness the entire time, and our arms felt like they were going to fall off by the end of the day after paddling for over 8 hours!! We’re proud to say we did it and the guides were amazing, but we would honestly not recommend ever booking this tour. (Especially not for the price!)
Tip: If you ever do decide to still do this because you think (like we did) you’re more athletic and fit than the people who wrote honest, negative reviews, we’d definitely recommend wearing SPF swim clothing + SPF hats. We both put on sunscreen beforehand and tried to cover ourselves from head to toe in SPF gear, but the only exposed parts of our bodies (the tops of our ears + ankles) were still severely burned!
“We need a vacation from our vacation.”
We’ve never been more happy to be on land!!!Day 7: After the exhausting day we had previously, we took it easy at Poipu Beach, and ate fish tacos + a Mai Tai at the Beach House Restaurant. We loved the open air breeze and views from this restaurant! Then we checked out the Spouting Horn and just relaxed for the rest of the day.Day 8: For our final day, we got up early to find the Secret Lava Pools at Secret Beach! This was the first time we had an entire beach to ourselves, and we loved feeling like we were the only ones on the island! Then we snorkeled at Ke’e Beach and checked off one more bucket list item – drinking fresh coconut water directly from a coconut (!) before island hopping to Maui!
Have you ever been to Kauai or are you planning a trip there soon? Would love to hear what you loved most and what your experience was like! Is there anything that we missed?
Aloha for now! Check back soon to see our adventures from Maui!
Stephanie Scholl - Y’all would need a vacation from your vacation 😉 Ha! Jordan’s face on the kayak says it all.
Hawaii is seriously stunning and the landscape is magnificent – I am loving these images!!
The Van Dykes - Haha! That kayak trip was brutal! 😉 Thank you, friend!
Carole - Kauai is one of the most glorious places on earth – a real Garden of Eden. You did a great job of immersing yourselves in the beauty and I loved sharing it again vicariously as we texted/emailed many days sharing pictures and hidden places discovered on my visits there. Thanks again for the way you included me!
Did you feel like you caught some Hawaiian culture on this island? I believe it’s easily missed if it’s not sought out and that’s a shame. I would suggest squeezing in one more thing – the Smith Family boat trip up the Wailua River to the Fern Grotto (https://www.smithskauai.com/fern-grotto/) for some stories/legends of ancient culture, historical sites and listening/singing along to some Hawaiian songs accompanied by ukulele. I know their name doesn’t sound Hawaiian, but they are. The Fern Grotto is a true secret gem. Philodendron leaves along the trail are large enough to hide behind! And hearing the Hawaiian wedding song performed in the natural amphitheater covered in hundreds of lush ferns was a Hawaiian goose bump moment for me! Just an extra idea.
Your photographs are awesome!! Takes me right back. 🙂
Lauren - Love reading these posts! I wrote to you on Instagram about your time in Maui and can’t wait for those posts as we will be there for our entire honeymoon!
One question! When you are doing all of these activities do you take your photos with your phone camera or do you take your big one? I always struggle with taking my DSLR around for activities when on vacation because sometimes it just seems like a lot to lug around but then at the same time I feel like I need it for all the scenery.
P.s. Love your new home!!
The Van Dykes - Hi Lauren! Thank you so much! Maui posts are coming up very soon and I hope you find them helpful and have the best time on your honeymoon!! 🙂
I actually ended up just taking my medium format film camera (which is HUGE and even heavier than my DSLR) for a few scenic shots, a waterproof point & shoot for our water adventures, and my iPhone. For the majority of our more intense hikes and such I ended up just taking shots on my iPhone because it just became too much. 🙂 I completely understand the struggle but I’m thankful for the few shots we did take on our nicer camera! Hope that helps!