kauai rules...
                      (says Chris)

It's my favorite place in the world.  If it weren't for family & the need to make enough $$ to support a family, I couldn't think of a better place to be.  Here are some of my favorite things about the island...  (starting from Poipu & going outward as that is a likely hotel designation)

POIPU/KOLOA

Favourite Restaurants

• OH! Ok, great, fabulous, incredible poke & seared ahi at Koloa Fish Market in Koloa across from the Post Office. Good meals there...take out too. Got to go there!
• There are Lappert’s Ice Cream around the island which rule…super rich & supper yummy. Usually went to the one in Old Koloa Town.
• Eat breakfast at Joe’s on the Green…just good breakfast off a golf course view. Decent course too.
• Keoki’s is a great place if you’re staying at Poipu Kai…in Poipu. Great bar. Great food. Used to hang out there a lot. Have live music too.
• They have a Roy’s in Poipu that is awesome. Best chocolate soufflé anywhere. : ) By the way Opakapaka is an incredible fish if you see it at Roy’s. Ono is great too.
• There’s also a restaurant/bar called Brennacke’s right at Poipu Beach. They have great seared ahi & good, cold Steinlager. It’s on the 2nd floor & they leave the windows open the breeze blows in & when the whales are running, you can even see them from there.
• Dondero’s is a great Italian restaurant in the Hyatt if you need a good fancy dinner.
• Tidepools is a great Pacific Rim restaurant in the Hyatt if you need another good fancy dinner.
• Dinner there at Lawaii Beach at sunset at Beachouse. Totally romantic & just gorgeous sunsets…make reservations for a good table or get their early. Great sunset!!!
• You should go to Stevenson’s Library (bar) in the Hyatt one night. It’s beautiful & cool. Definitely do that.
• Pizzetta’s in Old Koloa Town is cool. We used to hang out there in the bar & eat & drink.

Favourite Sites

• Poipu Beach is a good beach. There are turtles out around the point between the 2 beaches, Shipwrecks & Brennecke's (where the rocks are). Saw them snorkeling there. 
• If you want to get a massage, the Hyatt has an awesome spa. They have the best Spa Director, Laundry staff, Housekeeping managers & just about everything else!
• There’s a great, great beautiful beach that’s semi-hidden. It’s called Mahalapoo. You drive toward the Hyatt & go past it on to the dirt road until it dead ends. Then you turn right until it ends. If you park there, you can walk through on the right to a super gorgeous beach. If you turn left at the dead end, you can drive in for more beach & then even hiking near the end (up along the ridge where Harrison Ford & Anne Heche jumped off the rocks in 6 Days, 7 Nights. There’s another kick ass private beach you can hike to going from there but it’s rough going & would probably be hard to find without a local. If the snorkel/sail cruises are going east (which isn’t normal), they sometimes stop at the beach they filmed the beginning of the Lost World at if you remember that. I used to paddle to it (about an hour each way).
• Walling it is also good...going down to Poipu & then toward the Sheraton & then turning right at the beach. There's a long expanse of wall where we just to bring a 6 pack & some snacks (seared ahi from Koloa Fish Market!) & watch the sunset.
• If you want a club, turn left at the beach here & go to The Point at the Sheraton. It’s the one place I know always was always going on Friday nights. Had a lot of fun there. It’s actually pretty cool because the club is right on a point & has windows on all sides so you can see the ocean at night. Play good music too.
• If you go just past the Sheraton, there’s another cool beach there. You can get drinks by the Sheraton pool too & they have surfing lessons sometimes.
• Snorkel at Lawaii Beach. Good, lots of fish & mellow.
• If you’re a good swimmer, you can go the other side of Beachouse from Lawaii beach (also have to go past the hotel). The place is called PK’s (Prince Kuhio Beach). It’s more rocky & is a bit of a pain to get out but there are like 5 big ass sea turtles out there (a ways out). I used to go out there a lot. Kind of deep (20-30 feet??).
• Na Pali snorkel cruise is awesome with Captain Andy’s. LeRoy is the best captain around.
• I used to like to drive out to Kukuiula Harbor (down toward Poipu & then off toward Lawaii & Spouting Horn (also cool) & then park & read on the end of the dock with the windows open. Another great sunset spot.
• Spouting Horn is cool to check out.. Quick to do. Cool stands with local jewelry & stuff to buy (pretty cheap).

GOING WEST FROM POIPU

Favourite Restaurants

• Kalaheo Coffee Company is a great breakfast spot on the way out to the west side if you're interested. We used to eat breakfast & get coffee before we drove up to Waimea Canyon/Kokee (Grand Canyon of the Pacific) about an hour.
• Good sandwiches at Grind’s in Ele Ele. Where Captain Andy's gets their food from.

Favourite Sites

• I lived in Kalaheo. There’s a $7 crappy golf course where you can rent clubs up there at the top of the hill called Kukuiula which actually has incredible views. Usually isn’t in perfect condition though. So worth $7 or so though!  Views of a $200 course!
• Hanapepe is a cool little town. There’s a Mexican place on the road which I can’t remember the name of but they have great margarita’s. Just past Ele Ele on the right.
• I really like Waimea out on the west side...sleepy little town. Good loco moco & cold beer at Da Booze Hut (on the right going). :) Waimea Brewing Company (on the left) is a good place to have a beer too. They also have the best shave ice on the islands at a little place called Jo Jo’s (on the left going there).
• If you go to Waimea Canyon, there are tons of great hikes up there & it’s at like 3,000 feet elevation so cooler. Pretty cool. If you do, definitely drive all the way to the Kalalau Lookout (early before the clouds roll in, it’s really nice & really beautiful). The views are awesome.
• Majors is a great beach. It’s on the Army base so you have to show your driver’s license but it’s cool. We used to camp here too. (Poli Hale’s better…just a bit farther though)
• If you have a 4 wheel drive, you might check out Poli Hale. All the way west through miles of cane fields but just an incredible beach. My sister's favorite place in the world. You can get there if you stay on the road (no 4wheel drive) & park & walk up the sand. With 4 wheel drives, people just drive out on to the beach & camp there. Worth it even for sunset. Sunsets are big. You’ve got to get sunsets. My first trip, I was trying to snorkel every single day & see sea turtles wherever they were but by my 2nd or 3rd, I got Kauai. My friend Robin brought me to Hanalei Bay for sunset & we drank a 6 pack watching it. It was awesome. Sunsets are important on Kauai. Check them out. That’s what Kauai is about…not running around & seeing how many activities you can squeeze in. Relax & enjoy the beauty there.

GOING EAST & NORTH FROM POIPU

Favourite Restaurants

• I’d find Hamura's Saimin (so divey) for the best saimin (noodle soup) on maybe all the islands. Anybody can tell you where it is (it's in Lihue where Wilcox is by the way).
• You should definitely go to Duke’s in Lihue too. They have great food & drinks & are right off Kalapaki Beach which is really nice. My old canoe club is located on that beach. They also have volleyball nets where I used to play (this is all in front of the Marriott).
• If you need sushi, Tip Top is the best. It’s a dive at the bottom of a Motel 6 looking place but it’s awesome. Super fresh local fish. A lot of the good Oahu places actually fly stuff in so it’s not as fresh but this places uses local fish which is really good.

Favourite Sites

• Don’t know if you guys golf but they have great golf courses (if expensive)…Princeville, Poipu Bay, Kauai Lagoons (Marriot).
• Opaeka Falls is a good pretty short detour - very pretty.
• Wailua Falls is another good pretty short one.
• You can rent kayaks & paddle the Wailua river which is pretty cool. There’s also Fern Grotto which is cool on the river. They have boat trips up there.
• Kapaa town is very cool. A good place to check out…small…

HANALEI

• This is probably my favorite place in the world. I love this town.

Favourite Restaurants

• If you're staying in Hanalei, there's a little place called Wake Up Cafe which is zero fancy but good for breakfast.
• Zelo's has pretty decent margaritas too. Done many an evening peach or mango margarita pitcher up in Hanalei at Zelo’s.
• There's a little restaurant counter up there at the Ching Yong Village (where the Big Save & everything else is). It's on the main street & just a few doors down to the right from the Big Save. They have INCREDIBLE food there. The kalua pork sandwich is INSANE! I've also had incredible stuff like curry ahi on brown rice with vegetables & such. So good. It’s between Zelo’s & Big Save (the grocery store) on the street. One of my favorites for sure.

Favourite Sites

• And if you do go up there (and you HAVE to), the absolute highlight is Hanalei Bay. Going up & turn right (just before Zelo's), go to the end of the road & turn right & go down a couple hundred yards to what looks like a little park with restrooms & such. Get a styrofoam cooler with beer in it & go sit there (walk through the park out to the sand) at Hanalei Bay for sunset. The absolute best place in the world.
  • I remember when I was out in the bay on a canoe for Garden Island Championships. I was looking down & could see the bottom perfectly (crystal clear water) & then I looked toward shore & saw in the background....5 waterfalls up in the mountains. Just incredible. My favorite place.
  • GOTTA do sunset with a cooler of beer here. GOTTA!
• Going past Hanalei is a beach Tunnels which is a bit hard to find. That’s another great snorkel spot.
• You can do that Kalalau hike from the Northshore…I think it’s 12 miles in to the valley & beach & you can camp & that’s supposed to be incredible but I’ve never done it. It’s all the way at the end of the road which is actually a great, great drive (to Ke’e Beach).

GENERAL

• Eat a Spam musubi. You’ll love it. Promise…
• Helicopter rides are insane if you have the cash. Really beautiful.
• I think there’s a new club since I left but I don’t know what it’s called.
• If you can organize a camping trip to Poli Hale, it's absolutely incredible.
• And if you can paddle outrigger canoe, that is also a blast.