Family activities and outings are seemingly numberless, from swimming and canoe riding to hikes along the shoreline, kayak or riverboat rides, or exploring a botanical garden.
Zip, dip and be hip!
Hikes and bikes
The road ends at the Kalalau Valley Lookout, towering over the spectacular valley of the ancients. Look up, too – rare red honeycreepers flit among the ‘ohi‘a trees and feed on lehua nectar with their delicately curved beaks. For a unique wheeled adventure, you can cycle to the coast from Waimea Canyon rim, more than 3,000 feet high, in Kaua‘i’s version of the Tour de France. Children 12 and older are eligible for the downhill Waimea Canyon bicycle cruise, led by expert guides over panoramic views of Ni‘ihau and the island’s west coast.
Eats and treats
Shave ice, saimin, plate lunches, taro burgers, teriyaki beef sticks, pineapple and mango smoothies, lilikoi sorbet, coconut ice cream—there are taste treats throughout the Garden Isle. Shave ice, a magnet for kids, is an island institution, a mound of finely shaved ice topped with tropical syrups and sometimes paired with ice cream and sweetened azuki beans.
Saimin is the noodle soup that reaches its pinnacle in the small kitchens of this island. Plate lunches—rice, macaroni salad, and beef, chicken or fish in local-style preparations—are the dine-and-dash specialty for Islanders, a Hawai‘i signature available at diners and take-out counters around the island. Enjoy the island’s roadside fruit stands, where fresh chilled coconut can be cracked and served for its cool, refreshing coconut water and freshly picked fruit is blended on the spot for smoothies.
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