We had six days on Kauai to visit and capture as many places as we could.  Many days, we were up before sunrise and returned after sunset.  If you are looking for a relaxing vacation, I definitely wouldn’t recommend trying to visit as many spots as we did.  However, some of these places were breathtaking and we would recommend to all, while others were a let down and we wouldn’t recommend them as strongly (aka secret tunnels hike).

Waimea Canyon

Awaking at 4 am to be out the door at 4:30, this was probably our most productive day, full of breath taking views and adventure.  We went up to Waimea Canyon also known as the Little Grand Canyon.  Driving up the canyon, we soon got into the clouds and quickly understood why we were the only car on the road.  Mornings are not the best time to visit Waimea Canyon as all the viewpoints are blocked by a thick sheet of fog.  If we were to do this again, we would wait until 9 or 10 am to start our journey up as there will be a better chance that the clouds have rolled out by then. 

At the top of Waimea Canyon there is the Kalalau and Pu’u O Kila lookouts that give you a gorgeous view over the Nepali coast.  From here you are able to follow the ridge line with your eyes down a thousand plus feet to the coast.  Out of all of the place we flew our drone, this was definitely the favorite.

Chasing Waterfalls

Who knew it would be so hard to find a decent waterfall to jump off of in Kauai.  Before making this trip, we put together a list of 4 to 5 waterfalls we wanted to visit / jump off of.  Some of these included: Kilauea falls, Kipu falls, Halii falls and Ho’opi’i falls.  After wasting about a half day trying to either find the road to or be completely restricted from accessing some of these falls, we about gave up on this hope.  In one last effort, we decided to try Ho’opi’i falls, which out of all the falls looked like the lease accessible.  However, the opposite was true, the roads where easy to find and there was a nice path leading right down to the falls. 

Ho’opi’i falls was a small but beautiful water fall that had a great pool about 50 feet from the falls that is nice and deep for cliff jumping.  It is possible to get the epic jump right from the top of the waterfall, however, we strongly recommend checking the depth of the pool before jumping as rocks do tend to move as Dan found out quite uncomfortable as he landed on one only about 4 feet under the water.

Secret Tunnels Hike

Secret tunnels hike was a great once in a life time adventure, because we will never want to do it again.  Going up to the tunnels, we actually missed the trail and ended up finding a trail that took us to where the three rivers you cross on the correct trail come together.  Looking at our options, instead of back tracking, we decided to hike the third river to the right which lead close to where the tunnels where supposed to be.  Now don’t feel bad for us for having to hike the river, because after hiking the correct trail back, I would recommend hiking the river any day over the trail, if you can even call it a trail.

The actual tunnel was pretty cool.  It is about a mile long tunnel that was originally built to bring water to the other side of the island for arrogation.  You hike in about 3 – 4 inches of water  completely straight from one side of the mountain to the other.  There are actually two tunnels that you are supposed to be able to hike, however we heard the second tunnel is now collapsed.

Snorkeling Tunnels (Not the Tunnels Hike)

I’m sure I’m not the first source to tell you about tunnels as it is one of the more popular places to snorkel on Kauai.  This is because it is fun, there are a lot of crevasses that you can swim through as well as small tunnels.   One of these small tunnels may have been too small as I tried swimming through it with the GoPro thinking I’m going to get a great shot.  I ended up getting a little stuck and start frantically pulling with my arms trying to get through as fast as I could.  Unfortunately, the shot was lost but I believe we got plenty of others to show case the beauty.

Catching The Surf Shot

This surfing shots definitely took the longest to get as it isn’t just about showing up and quickly catching the perfect wave.  The surf wasn’t the best the week we were there and we ended going to a few spots before ending up at Duke’s in Kapa’a.  These waves are smaller and are meant more for long boards so if that is what you ride, this is the place to do it.  However, Dan was on a short board making it tough.  Another spot we wish we could of filmed was Poipu, however it was a little too far out to capture well from shore so we weren’t able to film there.

All in all, Kauai is our favorite island when it comes to finding that paradise beauty that you think of when you think of Hawaii.