Thread: Nawiliwili, Kauai

On my April 2003 cruise on the NCL Star, one of our ports of call was Nawiliwili, Kauai. It might have been on of the best port stops on that cruise for me.

We chose to do the shore excursion to Waimea Valley, better known as the Grand Canyon of Hawaii.

The views were spectacular. It did remind me of the Grand Canyon, just a lot more green and lush.

We had a fabulous day in Kauai. In the afternoon we went shopping at a little market set up next to the cruise ship dock. There was also a small beach there.

There were also free shuttles for passengers and crew that went from the cruise ship dock out to Hilo Hatties and the local Wal-Mart. The Hilo Hatties was great because there were great souveniers but they also gave out a bunch of freebies to cruise ship visitors.

What other things have people who have been to Kauai done?

Alisa we went there in April as well.............I have some great pictures in my Hawaii Trip report that you can access through webshots.........this was probably our favorite island on our April cruise.

This was the first Hawaiian Island I ever set my eyes on. And after 5.5 days at sea, what a sight. We had a rent a car waiting for us, got on the road, headed "left", and went to the Canyon. Then a reverse, looking for waterfalls along the way, and then around to the "right", up north, to the "South Pacific" beaches. Along the way, a dip in the water here and there on the white beaches, just to say we did so!

Glad to hear that I wansn't the only one that enjoyed Kauai! I'm going to have to scan some of hte photos I took. Unfortunately for me, my Hawaii trip was pre-digital camera age!

The one thing I loved about Hawaii was the aloha spirit. Everyone was so incredibly warm and friendly!

Hawaii is the one cruise we have taken to date..............where on itinerary alone............we WILL GO BACK............who knows Alisa, maybe Alaska will fall into that category in 07.

Jim - I hope that Alaska does end up falling into that category for you.

Unfortunately for me, 2 land trips to Hawaii and 1 cruise to Hawaii, I'm not that eager to go back. Its kind of one of those been there done that things. And to boot, I'm not much of a beach person.

Not to say Hawaii isn't gorgeous, it is, but for me, there are other places I've never been and other things that I've never done that a 4th trip to Hawaii, while it'll probably happen sometime in the future, isn't at the top of my list of places to go

Our problem was we didn't get to spend enough time on each island........so much to see and so little time............Hawaii is for a land vacation and not a cruise........IMO.........next time it will be a week on just one or two islands.

I agree on the comment of Hawaii being more a land cruise destination rather than a cruise destination. The cruise just gives you a brief flavor of what each island has to offer, but to truly see each island you need to go on a land tour!

My first time to Kauai was in '90 on my friend's "Marilyn is free from her husband" tour. We went with a tour group so most of the activities and sights were pre-chosen. They had to drop the helicopter tour (rescheduled for the next stop, Maui) due to the weather conditions. So we had more free time, which we spent in the Jacuzzi in the rain.

Next time was in '95 on our honeymoon, staying in a really ritzy hotel, the Hyatt Regency in Poipu. We rented a car for those few days and drove around from the most NW point on the road and back over to the most NW. We went on the beach at Princeville and even checked out the hotel (in the late 80s, the PR firm I worked for handled that project. Someone from our Aussie office came over to our office and I had to deal with getting her settled and getting the immigration/visa paperwork).

We also went to this plantation, shopping area (had dinner there) near Lihue. Also had a lunch at this one eating establishment on Poipu beach that seemed to be popular with the locals.

Forgot to mention that for our next visit (in 60 days, yea!:headbang2 ), we haven't really planned anything. It'll be the little one's first time. All she really knows about Kauai is that it's the setting for "Lilo and Stich." And I just remembered that the first time I was there we went to the Fern Grotto. Very pretty. And when you go on the river, everyone is encouraged to perform a hula dance.