DISTANCE: 6.5 miles (10km)
TIME: A half day
START: Kilohana
END: Grove Farm Homestead
POINTS TO NOTE: The tour is best done by car, as the town of Lihue is rather spread out. Children may get bored – the museums and estates have little to engage the young and active.
Lihue estate
From Lihue town, head for Kilohana 1 [map], on Route 50 towards Poipu, one of several grand old Wilcox estates. Several of the rooms of this 1930s Tudor-style mansion have been restored, providing a sense of luxury as it was once lived on Kauai. Others now house galleries and boutiques, great for souvenirs for family back home. On the grounds you’ll find Gaylord’s, see 1, one of the island’s finest restaurants. To truly experience the old way of life, you can take a horse-drawn carriage ride around the estate, too.
Kauai Museum
Hawaii Tourism Authority/Tor Johnson
History and historical sites
Like nearly every other town on Kauai, Lihue started with sugar. It’s now Kauai’s largest community and its governmental seat. It’s not a tourist locus, but there are a couple of things to see, including the sugar mill that started it all and is still sometimes run to generate power. Take the highway back north to Lihue and turn right onto Rice Street. The Kauai Museum 2 [map] (www.kauaimuseum.org; Mon–Sat 10am–5pm) will be on your left. The museum packs lots of natural and cultural history into an hour visit, and offers day courses in activities like lauhala weaving and lei-making. A gallery upstairs displays the work of local artists, and excellent books and maps may be found in its gift shop. Kauai is a laid back, slow paced island, so expect things to not always open on time. When in doubt, call ahead.
Nawiliwili and the waterfront
Continue down Rice Street towards Nawiliwili, Kauai’s picturesque commercial harbor. At the pier where the inter-island cruise ships dock, bear right past a huge, monolithic gray warehouse, which once stored sugar cane for shipment to the mainland, to Hulemalu Road. The road climbs to a lookout on the left. Below you is the Alakoko Fishpond, fed by the Hule’ia Stream descending from the Hoary Head Mountains beyond. Sometimes called the Menehune Fishpond 3 [map], legend says the Menehune – little people gifted with amazing building skills and here long before the Polynesians arrived – built the pond. Ancient example of aquafarming, this pond is part of the Hule’ia National Wildlife Refuge, home to endangered waterfowl species. See it best, along with waterfalls and locations from Hollywood movies on a downstream river tour with Kauai Vacation Tours (www.kauaivacationtours.com).
Kauai grinds
Return to Nawiliwili and head for the Kauai Lagoons Resort 4 [map], home of the Kauai Marriott, the only place worth staying in Lihue. This was formerly the Westin Kauai but took a major hit from Hurricane Iniki in 1992 and was remodeled and reopened with Hawai‘ian-style gardens replacing the previous European-style water fountains and horse-drawn coaches with frilly trim. Duke’s Canoe Club, see 2, one of Kauai’s favorite hangouts, offers seafood, with surfing memorabilia with a great view of the surfers and sunset. The local favorite, though, is back in town at Hamura Saimin, see 3, on Kress Street, serving Hawai‘ian-style noodle soup known statewide. It’s comfort food, local-style.
View from the Kauai Marriott
Shutterstock
Plantation Home
For a different take on Kauai life of old, the Grove Farm Homestead 5 [map] (www.grovefarm.org; tours twice daily Mon, Wed and Thu) is the former home of George N. Wilcox, who was hands-on founder of the Grove Farm sugar plantation. Located on Nawiliwili Road and older than Kilohana (the earliest portions of the house date to the mid-1800s), it’s a working homestead more than the estate of the landed gentry. With original furnishings throughout, the escorted tour offers a unique glimpse of plantation lifestyle. The 2-hour-long tours are limited to 12 participants and reservations are a must.
Food and Drink
1 Gaylord’s
3-2087 Kaumualii Highway; tel: 808-245 9593; daily 11am–2.30pm and 5.30–8.30pm, Sun (brunch only) 9am–1.30pm; $$$$
Gaylord’s has top notch food – some would claim the best fine dining on Kauai. The atmosphere is fancier than other Kauai laid-back dining, but they won’t turn you away for attire. Dinner reservations recommended.
2 Duke’s Canoe Club
Kauai Marriott Resort; tel: 808-256 9599; www.dukeskauai.com; daily from 11am; $$$
Duke’s Canoe Club is exactly what you picture for a Hawai‘i date night. There are too many kinds of fresh fish to pick from – but you won’t go wrong no matter what you go with. The salad bar is extensive and the cocktails well done. Reservations recommended.
3 Hamura Saimin
2956 Kress Street; tel: 808-245 3271; daily 10am–10.30pm; $
This isn’t just the best saimin on Kauai, it’s the best in the state. Don’t miss this Japanese-style comfort food – a noodle soup unlike anything you’ve had before.