When you image Hawaii what involves thoughts? For me, it was busy seashores and towering resorts.
Then I visited Kauai, the oldest main island within the Hawaiian chain.
That age is the important thing. It means Kauai has had the longest period of time to develop into essentially the most stunning of the already beautiful Hawaiian Islands.
It’s referred to as the ‘Garden Isle‘ for a cause! But that is an understatement. It’s not simply stunning; it is uncooked.
Instead of loopy vacationer buzz, there is a profound quiet. Instead of a skyline, there are 4,000-foot cliffs. And sure, I’m a little bit biased now… however after sooner or later there, I knew I had discovered it: what felt just like the actual Hawaii.
Paradise Found: Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach Resort
I had the pleasure, no, the privilege, of staying at Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach Resort proper alongside the Coconut Coast in Kapa’a.
As quickly as I received there, I knew I would by no means need to go away.
As you stroll previous the foyer, you’re greeted with a fantastic pool that offers tropical oasis vibes and a shocking view of the seaside and ocean which can be instantly in entrance of you. If you didn’t assume being proper on the seaside was sufficient, then don’t have any worry.
The spectacular formation of the Sleeping Giant, or Nounou Mountain, is true behind you whilst you stand on the seaside. Nounou Mountain is known as Sleeping Giant as a result of it truly seems like an individual sleeping on their facet, however you recognize, in big kind.
Once you get to paradise, what do you do? Let me let you know just a few of the issues that I did and why I liked each second of my time in Kauai.
Getting Settled In
First of all, I can’t let you know what a aid it was having solely quarter-hour from the airport to Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach Resort. I LOVE a brief commute from the airport after an extended day of touring.
And regardless that Hawaii seems like a very totally different nation with its personal stunning tradition, it’s nonetheless a part of the U.S., which suggests you don’t want a passport and also you don’t must undergo a loopy lengthy customs line whenever you land!
After I arrived on the resort and made my technique to my room, I was afraid I wouldn’t need to go away my room for the remainder of the day.
Sure I was drained from my lengthy journey day, and the loopy comfy mattress was calling my identify, however the room décor made it really feel like I was IN the ocean already. Not to say the unbelievable view of the ocean proper from my non-public balcony.
@traveloffpath Welcome to our room on the Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach Resort! 🌴 Come on in! We’re providing you with the total tour of our residence base on the Garden Isle. From the views (excellent for that morning espresso ☕) to the post-beach-day vibes, see precisely what it is like to remain at this spot. Would you make this your private home base in Kauai? Let us know! 👇 #SheratonKauai #Kauai #Hawaii #RoomTour #HotelTour ♬ Hawái – Maluma
However, I wasn’t going to let jet lag and an unbelievable room cease me from exploring this stunning property. I was additionally ravenous after my lengthy journey and desperately needed some superb seafood, and I was not dissatisfied!
Crooked Surf is the resort’s poolside and oceanfront restaurant, they usually had precisely what I wanted: Fresh fish tacos that had been so good that I needed to organize them once more when I went again for dinner later that evening.
A Perfect Poolside Afternoon
Fueling up with fish tacos made me able to reap the benefits of the proper climate. So I grabbed my guide and headed over to lie by the pool.
Little did I know, I was there on the excellent time for poolside BINGO. I completely joined in on the enjoyable and performed BINGO whereas I soaked up the Hawaiian solar.
After an ideal poolside afternoon, I met up with my group for dinner at Crooked Surf. Even although I was tempted to get the fish tacos once more, I determined to broaden my horizons and take a look at one of many different delicious-looking dishes: the Dynamite Bowl with tofu drizzled in Pineapple Teriyaki — YUM!
The meals was superb once more, however I can be remiss if I didn’t let you know to get the Coconut Beach Mai Tai. This is definitely the very best Mai Tai on the market and the very best I’ve ever had. You’ll be glad you took my phrase for it whenever you order this drink!
Exploring Kapa’a Town
Since my inside clock was nonetheless anticipating East Coast time, I was prepared to begin the subsequent day vivid and early with a dawn run on the seaside, adopted by hitting the health club (gotta keep able to eat all of the native meals, am I proper?).
Honestly, what a implausible technique to begin the day! I’ve been recognized to secretly decide a resort or lodge by their health club, and I’m comfortable to report that Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach Resort didn’t let me down.
They have an excellent number of health club tools, and I was in a position to get a full exercise in earlier than our group biked to downtown Kapa’a for breakfast at Java Kai.
This espresso store is so well-known for being the very best that I had a number of family and friends telling me to go to Java Kai and the way jealous they had been that I was there.
In truth, it was so good that we went again the subsequent morning to attempt their pineapple French toast on Hawaiian bread and get extra Chai Anu (which was mainly like a chai icee and it was SO GOOD).
@traveloffpath Did you recognize Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach Resort has free bikes you possibly can experience to downtown Kapa’a in Kauai, HI? 🌈 #sheratonkauaicoconutbeach #kauai #hawaii #traveloffpath #travel ♬ Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride – Mark Keali’i Ho’omalu & Kamehameha Schools Children’s Chorus
Fueled up with caffeine and good meals, we had been prepared to walk across the tremendous cute city of Kapa’a and get some purchasing in on the market. And oh boy did we!
We shopped and shopped and shopped some extra! There had been so many cute native shops to sift via, together with a store the place you possibly can design your individual hat! I’m a sucker for these sorts of shops and ended up spending portion of the day having fun with Kapa’a.
After all that purchasing, we wanted to gasoline up once more at one of many contemporary fruit stands. We tried a number of distinctive Hawaiian fruits, tiny little bananas that had been so tasty, and naturally contemporary pineapple! So mainly I ate my weight in fruit. What higher technique to wash all of it down than with contemporary coconut water straight from a coconut?!
I thought I couldn’t eat anymore, however then we discovered a chocolate store that does free chocolate tastings the place you possibly can attempt the very best native chocolate. Just when I thought I couldn’t get any fuller, that’s after we discovered the macadamia nut retailer simply down the road. Guess what, additionally they have free tastings! Hawaii is known for its macadamia nuts, so after all I couldn’t say no to that both. They had been so good that I purchased some to convey residence for my household.
The ethical of the story is: be ready to buy until you drop and are available hungry to Kapa’a!
Coastal Rides and Tropical Treats
The bike experience to and from downtown Kapa’a and Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach Resort is not like any bike path I’ve ever seen. Most of the brief experience is true alongside the coast and the view of the ocean seems utterly unreal. The water regarded so contemporary on the way in which again that I jumped off my bike and ran proper in. (The present may be sturdy although, so watch out the place you swim!*)
I spent the remainder of the afternoon consuming tropical drinks and studying by the pool once more. The resort even has free shaved ice by the pool from 1:00 – 3:00 pm. I dare you to call a extra excellent day.
An Authentic Hawaiian Luau
What’s the easiest way to finish an ideal day in Hawaii? An genuine Hawaiian Luau! We attended Luau Ka Hikina proper on the resort’s open-air pavilion and the ocean proper behind us. Before our Hawaiian feast formally began, we had a hula lesson from the well-known Leilani Rivera Low!
The remainder of the night was spent consuming an unbelievable Hawaiian feast with all the normal favorites —I even tried poi! (For those that don’t know what that’s, it’s a paste from the taro plant — very Hawaiian) While we ate, Leilani and her faculty of gifted hula dancers carried out with dwell island music.
This was one in all my favourite experiences to this point since you actually felt the soul and fervour behind this stunning tradition that’s been handed down for a lot of, many generations.
As if everybody there wasn’t already totally amazed by the expertise of those dancers and musicians, they introduced out the insanely spectacular Samoan Fire Knife Chief.
This was completely one of many coolest and most extraordinary issues I’ve ever seen.
The expertise, talent and bravado that goes into hearth knife dancing is unfathomable. Several of us had been fairly presumably fan-girling over the hearth chief and Leilani after the performances.
Mindful Mornings and Mountain Adventures
Even after a fun-filled conventional Hawaiian evening, I needed to reap the benefits of the dawn with the dawn breakfast menu (together with contemporary fruit and an acai bowl). How may you not with the solar rising over the ocean instantly in entrance of your resort?!
Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach Resort gives beachside morning yoga that I clearly needed to reap the benefits of after watching the dawn. I love the thought of seaside yoga, however generally the sand turns into an excessive amount of of a problem for me.
But the yoga truly befell on the garden proper subsequent to the seaside. So you continue to had the ocean proper subsequent to you and all of the beachside vibes with out worrying about getting sand in your eyes throughout downward canine.
An simple, peaceable morning with stretch meant that we had been prepared for our subsequent large journey. One of the best adventures on the market to be actual! Mountain tubing with Kauai Backcountry Adventures the place you float down canals from an previous sugar plantation and tunnels main beneath the mountain.
With inexperienced tropical crops surrounding you and Mt. Wai’ale’ale looming over you it feels such as you’re floating via Jurassic Park. It actually felt like a dinosaur may run out from the bushes at any time on the market.
The superb journey would have been value it by itself, nevertheless it was made that a lot better by the very best tour information on the market. Noah was superb and you must completely request him as your tour information whenever you guide your journey!
Unforgettable Experiences
After all the pieces I’ve already talked about, would you consider that I haven’t even informed you my favourite factor of the complete journey? You could also be shocked when I let you know it was our Ukulele lesson with the resort’s Kumu, Maka Herrod.
One of the issues which can be an absolute should when I come again to Kauai is having one other lesson with Maka. We had a lot enjoyable studying learn how to play the Ukulele, and we even sounded fairly respectable in the long run! Maka is among the kindest and sweetest individuals I’ve ever met and I can’t think about there’s a greater Ukulele instructor on the market.
A day filled with journey and studying meant we had been very excited for our goodbye dinner on the resort’s upscale restaurant, Moa Moa. The strawberry moon over the ocean was the backdrop for our dinner, making it the proper setting.
Once once more, I ate means an excessive amount of as a result of all the pieces was so scrumptious! The Hawaiian caprese salad was tasty and refreshing and I liked the tropical twist to the normal caprese salad. For my primary course, I had the macadamia-crusted Mahi-Mahi, and it was phenomenal!
To high all of it off, we tried a number of of their scrumptious desserts and severely regretted not saving extra room for dessert. They had been so good that I needed to eat each final chew – particularly the molten lava cake!
A Breathtaking Farewell Hike
I hate to confess it, however I form of lied to you earlier. My favourite factor from the complete journey was undoubtedly the Ukulele lesson with Maka, UNTIL an impromptu hike to the highest of the Sleeping Giant the morning of my flight.
The Nounou East Trail Head was solely a few 5-minute drive from Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach Resort and I couldn’t resist seeing the views from the highest that I’d heard a lot about.
So I woke as much as watch the dawn on the seaside one final time after which headed to the trailhead to begin my trek to the highest. I wasn’t even 5 minutes into my hike, and it was already value it. With the lava rocks, crops, and bushes, this was undoubtedly essentially the most stunning I’d ever taken.
@traveloffpath The most stunning hike I’ve ever accomplished. Sleeping Giant: Nounou East Trailhead in Kauai, HI 🌈 only a brief drive from Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach Resort! #sheratonkauaicoconutbeach #hawaii #kauai #travel #hike ♬ SOLANA – Alex LeMirage
And that doesn’t even embody the views but. About ¼ of the way in which up the mountain, I got here throughout a patch of daylight from a break within the bushes. That’s when I rotated and actually gasped out loud. I was undoubtedly not anticipating a full view of the city beneath me and the wide-open ocean past it.
There was no means the view from the highest was crucial if this view was already right here, not even midway up the mountain, proper? Wrong! When I lastly made it to the highest, the path become a singular rocky terrain. I climbed the rocks and once more had my breath taken away. This was completely essentially the most stunning and satisfying hike I’ve ever accomplished.
At the highest of the Sleeping Giant, you get a panoramic view of the island and an unobstructed view of the ocean that was getting increasingly blue because the morning solar rose larger into the sky. This is unquestionably one of the vital stunning sights on the market. I can’t start to let you know how comfortable I was that I determined last-minute to make this hike occur. It was greater than value it!
If you want having a path virtually utterly to your self, then you must begin mountain climbing proper after dawn. That’s what I did, and I felt like I had the complete mountain to myself. I didn’t see a single particular person till later as I hiked down the mountain and other people began mountain climbing up. Plus, it wasn’t as scorching earlier within the morning.
The Perfect Sendoff
The unofficial theme of this journey was journey, then eat. That’s precisely what I did after my hike. I needed to match one final native favourite meals spot in earlier than my flight out – Holey Grail Donuts.
To be utterly trustworthy, donuts are by no means one in all my favourite issues, however these “Hawaiian grown” donuts are unbelievable! They use distinctive Hawaiian flavors from native farms and these donuts are so a lot better than anything on the market. These donuts had been the proper send-off deal with.
I really miss Kauai a lot already. This was one place that I’ve been actually unhappy to depart behind. I can’t wait to come back again to discover extra of this beautiful island and expertise extra of the gorgeous Hawaiian tradition.
**Travel Off Path was a visitor of Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach Resort, who helped with the creation of this itinerary by internet hosting a few of our lodging and sights. Our opinions, suggestions, and ideas stay our personal.**
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