Kauai

When one of my best girl friends, Tara, called me to excitedly deliver the news that she’d registered to attend a photography workshop in Hawaii, the sentence that flew out of my mouth after congratulations was “if Mike can’t go, I’ll go!” Mike is Tara’s husband so although Tara has quickly become my international travel companion, I knew there was little chance he’d turn down the opportunity to go to Hawaii. In my gut I felt like something might change and a few weeks later Tara excitedly called me, to this time ask me to come with her. I’ve been to Hawaii twice before; once to Kauai and once to Maui. Although Maui is lovely, I knew Kauai would be more our pace. It’s not too touristy, offers world class hiking, scenery and adventure–it was perfect for us.

1. Choose to Camp

Tara and I knew we wanted to camp as soon as we started planning this trip. Not only to save money for experiences but to get closer to the ocean than any luxury accommodation could afford. Camping turned out to be much less of a hassle than we thought. We checked bags and flew with our lightweight gear made for our Canadian backcountry adventures.

We determined there are two types of parks; State and County. You have to get permits for both and County is definitely less expensive, although more of a hassle. We booked a few nights at State Parks ahead of time and decided we would get permits for the County Parks in person at their office, as this would leave us room for flexibility. It turned out to be a blessing that we did because we fell in love with our first camping location, Polihale and never wanted to leave the furthest corner of the Island before the beginning of the Na Pali Coast Park.

We also enjoyed Kokee State Park, located up Waimea Canyon as it offered refreshing weather, access to incredible trails and a delicious restaurant a few yards away from our tent. Since there is a significant altitude change, be prepared for the weather to look a lot different than it does at sea level.

Travel Tip: We booked our first, middle and last nights in accommodations which allowed us to get sorted on each end after and before travel, and gave us the opportunity to regroup, pack and shower midway through our trip!

2. Travel in the Off Season

We booked our trip to Kauai for mid-November and the weather was perfect for us and far less touristy. We found flights for a great price and were able to always find spots at campsites as the locals find the weather that time of year decidedly chilly. Although I definitely recommend packing layers for chilly evenings. Winter swells means that certain activities like a Na Pali Coast Boat Tour and Queens Bath may be touch and go.

3. Rent a car through Turo

After researching camping and adventuring on Kauai, renting a 4×4 vehicle came highly recommended. Tara researched all of our car rental options and deemed renting a Tacoma through Turo to be our best option for both cost and useability. This ended up being perfect since the road to Polihale is unpaved and can be pretty rough and sandy in sections. It also was a locals car and a make that no rental company offers on the Island. This afforded us another level of friendliness with locals and the ability to fly under the radar at traditionally “locals only” spots.

4. Snack

Tara and I are inherently bad eaters. Not in terms of reaching for processed foods–we notoriously forget to eat all day until we’re both in dire need of nourishment. We are notorious for this in our daily lives and especially when we get caught up in the adventure. When travelling it can certainly add up when

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5. Check out the Southwest Island

Although Princeville and Poipu are beautiful, they certainly come with a bigger price tag. From eating out to accomodations, we found this area to be fairly pricey. Hanging out in Waimea was our preferred spot as it was less touristy and gave us the chance to connect with locals and develop a routine while we were there.