Kauai - Waimea Canyon

[ZipLine]

Have you been to the Waimea Canyon? I was wondering if it is worth going since our time is so limited on the island. If so how about going for a sunset instead of a sunrise? What are some of the top picks for a first timer to Kauai? ;)

I appreciate any info or tips you can give.

Thanks,

[CruisinMK]

My personal favorite is the kilauea lighthouse, which is a national park.

You drive through lovely Hanalei on the way.

Waimea Canyon is nice too but it's the other way.

If you can afford and brave a helicopter ride, Kauai is the best place to try one.

 

The NCLA ships do a spectacular cruise by the ultra scenic Napali coast as you leave the island.

[ZipLine]

Great, thanks for the tip

[Suebee]

I also liked the lighthouse if youre heading that way, but the canyon, if you have never seen the grand canyon, is astounding! if you have one excursion, I thought Napali Coast was the Must See of Kauai, but the canyon and lighthouse would be 2 and 3 in my opinion.

[NJskibum]

If you were planning a a Helicopter tour, which would obviously fly over the Napali, and the canyon, what woudl you recommend? This is the one island that I am trying to decide what to do with limited time. I am planning on the heli tour day 1 (Will be on the pride of Hawaii), and just relaxing on day 2 since we leave port at 2pm.....Any help is appreciated....

 

Thanks in advance......

[CruisinMK]

Do the helicopter on day 2, then you have day 1 totally open for whatever

[spleen93]

But the advantage of doing the helicopter on day 1 is that if weather conditions prevent you from flying on day 1, then you have a chance to try for another ride on day 2. Just a thought. I'm sure either way you do it will be fine. :)

 

Spleen

[beachchick]

I just have to say that even if you have seen the Grand Canyon, it's worth seeing Waimea Canyon. They are two completely different experiences. It depends mostly on what kinds of sights you prefer.

 

beachchick

[ZipLine]

Waimea Canyon it is, but I will see it by driving. The Helicopter sounds fantastic but maybe next time. Have you seen the canyon at sunset? We can not make early morning so we thought sunset might be a good idea?? What do you think? Or are we best to just go during the day?

Thanks

[Sheila1]

Hi all!

Question (eventually): We will be on Kauai on Oct 25th from 8:00am to 5:00 pm (on the Wind).

 

I have read that there can be delays in actually arriving on time (or at all) on Kauai - (still haven't figured out why that would be? weather perhaps?)

 

I have also read that once arrived on Kauai, there can be further delays due to immigration if you are arriving from Fanning Island.

 

Because of this information, I have opted to book our heli flight in the afternoon, and have been given a flight time of 2:15 pm with a pick up at the harbor at 1:35 (Island Helicopters). Given that the flight is approx 1 hour, I figured we would be dropped back off at the port around 4:00 (give or take 15 minutes).

 

And now on to the actual question!!! Is it worth it for us to rent a car if we are potentially only going to be picking up the car around 9:00 - 9:30 am and have to be back at the harbor by 1:30 for our flight? (that's only four hours of touring)

If we only get dropped back off at 4:00 after, we may as well just get back on the ship at that point since we are leaving at 5:00.

 

If we didn't rent a car, what is there for us to do in the morning, and is there any transportation to do it?

 

Thanks!

[Suebee]

4 hours is plenty to see some of Waimea Canyon and have a nice, local lunch. Do it for sure.

[Sheila1]

Thanks! We will go ahead and do that.

 

Two more questions:

 

1. I see that we pick up the rental car in Lihue. Is this at the airport or in the town itself, and is this the closest place?

 

2. How long round trip does it take to drive to Waimea Canyon ?

 

Thanks!

[OptimusPrime]

Thanks! We will go ahead and do that.

 

Two more questions:

 

1. I see that we pick up the rental car in Lihue. Is this at the airport or in the town itself, and is this the closest place?

 

2. How long round trip does it take to drive to Waimea Canyon ?

 

Thanks!

 

1. On the PoH earlier this month we were picked up at the dock for a 5-10 mins ride to the rental location (we used thrifty, which was in town)

2. Driving leisurely and stopping at every place it took us from 10 am until 4 pm (This included car pickup, stopping all over the place and 1 hour-long beach stop).

[Victorian]

My personal favorite is the kilauea lighthouse, which is a national park.

You drive through lovely Hanalei on the way.

Waimea Canyon is nice too but it's the other way.

If you can afford and brave a helicopter ride, Kauai is the best place to try one.

 

The NCLA ships do a spectacular cruise by the ultra scenic Napali coast as you leave the island.

 

MikeKaye: You said that the NCLA ships go along the Napali Coast. Someone else recommended touring the Napali Coast. I assume the latter meant by car? If you are seeing by water, is it still worth seeing it by land OR is there something better to see by car?

[beachchick]

MikeKaye: You said that the NCLA ships go along the Napali Coast. Someone else recommended touring the Napali Coast. I assume the latter meant by car? If you are seeing by water, is it still worth seeing it by land OR is there something better to see by car?

 

Actually, no. The Na Pali coast is inaccessible by car. There are no roads. If you look at a map of Kauai, you'll see that the main road, which "circles" the island doesn't actually go all the way around. It stops on the west and on the north, leaving a big gap with no roads at all. That part is the Na Pali coast. That's why it's such a cool deal that the NCLA ships cruise the coast. When someone talks about a tour or shore excursion, they are talking about going by boat (or maybe doing some of it by kayak, I don't know if they do that though) or by helicopter. So, you can't see it "by land" in the way you are thinking. If you have a rental car, you can do Waimea Canyon, drive up to the north along the coast, go to Poipu, etc.

 

beachchick

[Suebee]

You can do the napali coast by kayak, with a guided group....even camp at one of the beaches in the summer.

 

But Beachchick is correct that Napali is seen only by water or air (unless you hike it from the tops of the cliffs.... :eek: )

 

The benefit of seeing Napali on a seperate excursion than the 'drive by' on the cruise is that it is a much closer look, you get to snorkle, and you would see dolphins and turtles come right up to the boat. Also, while the excursions dont go IN the caves, they do go right up to the mouths of the caves for a very close look.

 

The Napali excursions take 1/2 of a day. You can leave from the north shore or the south (by Waimea canyon area) but the north is more recommended viewing. There are also sunset cruises that do the same without the snorkling. On a clear day, you could see both the canyon and coast....it would be a full day, but it can be done. A rainy day would spoil the plans.