Day 1:
We arrived at Lihue International Airport, Kauai around just before noon on our morning flight from Los Angeles.
We took the Hertz airport shuttle to the car rental lot and were soon on our way to our hotel. We were staying at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa for 2 nights.
After checking into the hotel and freshening up, we decided to go have lunch first. I had read great Tripadvisor reviews of Da Crack in Poipu area in Kauai (very close to the Grand Hyatt).
So we decided to go there to grab some lunch-to-go and go to Poipu Beach. Karen went with shrimp-burrito while I went with ahi.
There were lots of people on the beach and the waves were a bit rough on one side. We made our way to the side where there were rocks just outside the beach and acting as breakwater made for a more pleasant swimming experience.
After spending couple of hours at the beach, we drove back to the resort. Me and Karen ended up spending some time at the hotel pool and then spent the late afternoon at the hotel beach.
In the evening we drove to the Koloa town and had dinner at The Garden Island Grille.
Day 2:
In the morning we drove to Lihue and had breakfast at the Kalapaki Beach Hut.
This restaurant is right next to the Kauai Marriott Resort which has its own beach. We had booked the 11:30 AM Tubing excursion trip with Kauai Backcountry Adventures and with about 1.5 hours to kill we decided to just relax at the beach.
After arriving at the Kauai Backcountry Adventures office, we received the gear for our trip (gloves, helmet with flashlight) and after waiting for a short while we got on the van to go to the tubing site. The guide introduced us to Kauai history and various interesting facts about the island and we also made a couple of scenic stops.
After we reached the tubing site we got on our way along the canal through the sugarcane fields and small caves.
The tubing adventure lasted about 45 minutes and like all good things it finally had to end. Karen had a blast and considering this activity was the main reason we even arrived in Kauai, I would say it was time and money worth spent.
The guides then took us to a picnic area where lunch was provided (sandwich, chips, and a cookie).
After leaving Kauai Backcountry Adventures office we drove northern part of Kauai towards Princeville. Our next stop was Queen’s Bath which is located close to St. Regis Resort in Princeville, Kauai. There are very few parking spots available here and we waited about 10 minutes for someone to leave so we could park.
The walk downhill towards Queen’s bath is muddy, narrow and slippery (especially after it rains which is quite a bit in Kauai). Be sure to bring water-shoes. We passed by some people wearing slippers and wondered what were they thinking !!
After getting down to the rocks at the bottom of the hill you go around a bit to reach Queen’s Bath. We had checked surf-report at our resort after reading instructions on tripadvisor and since the surf was below 4 ft, Karen ventured out into the Queen’s bath for a swim.
Please use caution getting into the water here and it is strongly advisable to not stand or get near the outside area (ocean-facing) of Queen’s bath as a strong wave can (and has over time) sweep people out to the sea.
After spending about an hour at Queen’s Bath we drove back south towards our resort but not before a quick half-hour stop at Wailoa Falls.
By the time we reached our resort, we were pretty tired from a long day. We had a very early next-morning flight to Maui and went straight to bed.