Kauai Travel Guide

The Isle of Rainbows

Kauai is booming again. Eight years after Hurricane Iniki gave the island a solid whack, it has come roaring back. Visitor counts are back up to million-plus levels, hotel occupancies are high, and new construction is popping up even on the remote North Shore.

Well, wait a minute, Kauai is booming-by Kauai standards. Yes, the island is growing once again, to the chagrin of some residents who want to keep it as unspoiled as possible. It also has a good selection of condominiums, shops, restaurants and hotels, varied enough to please even the fussiest visitor.

Kauai offers a bit of everything, from luxury hotels to secluded beach camping, with restaurants and shops opening regularly.

Still, Kauai never was a place for fancy boutiques and nightclubs, and urban amenities of that sort are few and far between. It's a lightly populated, mainly rural island, whose population centers have small-town charm, not big city bustle.

When it comes right down to it, Kauai is about nature. Geologically speaking, it is the oldest of the islands, the most weathered, the most lush-and, many agree, the most spectacular. Its views and vistas can take your breath away, and its beaches are long, sandy and generally uncrowded.

Topographically, Kauai is easy to understand. It's round, created by a single volcano with twin peaks. One of those peaks, Mount Waialeale, is the wettest place in the state (444 inches of rainfall a year, more than an inch a day).

It contends with Cherapungi in the foothills of the Himalayas as the wettest spot on earth.

You cannot drive across Kauai because the central mountains are so high, wet and muddy-nor can you drive all the way around it. If you start from the airport in Lihue, both the road north and the road south end up at inaccessible cliffs and valleys.

Most visitors take the road south, to stay at Poipu. Once a sleepy little beach town, Poipu has become the resort center of Kauai. It's frequently sunny, although the beautiful white sand beaches are small by Kauai standards.

Past Poipu, the southern road swings north again, toward Waimea Canyon. The play of sunlight and shadow on the multicolored canyon walls of the 3,400-foot-deep gorge make it a staggering sight, even for an island where astonishing beauty seems to lurk around every corner.

Around the corner from Waimea Canyon is the five-mile beach at Polihale, where Na Pali Coast begins. Lava cliffs weathered by wind, surf and rain knife into the ocean and waterfalls spill from great heights. To see these sights you'll need a boat, helicopter or hiking boots. However, from the upcountry Kokee and Waimea Canyon state parks you can take in spectacular views of the remote valleys.

On your return, you'll have to retrace your steps to Lihue and then head up the other side of the island-past Kauai's little towns and the wide Wailua

River, up to Kilauea, the northernmost point of the principal Hawaiian islands. A one-lane bridge that forbids tour buses and heavy equipment leads to Hanalei Valley, a major taro growing region, and to Hanalei Bay, a semicircular beach of extraordinary beauty, surrounded by green valley walls that are often streaked by waterfalls.

Hanalei and its resort area at Princeville, on the Lihue side of the one-way bridge, are stormier than Poipu. Rainbows are common here-but this area has magical moonbows as well, as moonlight refracts off the mist.

While other islands may be paradise, Kauai seems to be Eden. So Edenic does it seem, that the entire island has a slow, ethereal feeling. It's definitely laid-back and low-key, and the emphasis is on rural. For some people, it has an irresistible lure.

Airport

Kauai's main airport in Lihue is served by Aloha Airlines, 808-245-3691, 800-252-5642, www.alohaair.com; and Hawaiian Airlines, 808-838-1555, 800-882-8811 (interisland), 800-367-5320 (mainland), www.hawaiianair.com. If you are not picking up a rental car, transportation to and from the airport is by taxi or pre-arranged limos and hotel shuttles.

Bus

Kauai has a public bus system serving the entire island along the two main highways and some feeder roads, but it doesn't stop at the airport or allow passengers with luggage and backpacks. The fare is $1; for schedule information, call 808-241-6410.

Cars

Kauai is small and does not have many roads. You may decide to rely on taxis and tour operators to get you where you want to go, but it is expensive. Many taxi companies also offer tours, but your best bets are the bus or a rental car for the freedom they give you in exploring. Agencies: Alamo, 808-246-0646, 800-462-5266, www.alamo.com; Avis, 808-245-3512, 800-331-1212, www.avis.com; Budget, 800-527-0700, www.drivebudget.com; Dollar Rent A Car, 808-245-3651, 800-367-7006, www.dollar.com; Hertz, 808-245-3356, 800-654-2210, www.hertz.com; National Car Rental, 808-245-5636, 800-227-7368, www.nationalcar.com. Serving the Poipu area are Avis, 808-742-1627, 800-331-1212, www.avis.com, and Westside U-Drive, 808-332-8644. We strongly recommend advanced reservations, especially during the summer, holidays and other peak travel times.

Taxis

Kauai's taxi companies charge $2.40 for every mile and charge 40 cents per bag and $4 per surfboard or bicycle. Companies that serve the entire island include Akiko's Taxi, 808-822-7588; Brian's Taxi, 808-245-6533; City Cab, 808-245-3227, 808-639-7932; North Shore Cab, 808-826-4118; and South Shore Cab, 808-742-1525.