After an amazing (but strenuous) four days on the Kalalau trail, I spent the second half of my vacation at the wonderful Grand Hyatt resort in Poipu. I’m a points junkie and saved up to spend four nights in this luxurious beachfront hotel. We were lucky enough to score an upgraded room with a partial beach view and Club access, so this made for a really special stay.
The view from the beach. Photo credit: Lisette
Something I have enjoyed a few times on the island is doing a tasting menu at the Hukilau Lanai. They have a wonderful gluten free option (with bread!) and serve a five-course menu from 5:00-5:45 p.m. each night for only $50. For gluten free foodies like me, this is always a real treat, and even though service was a little slower this time around (and we had to specifically ask for GF bread to be made), the meal was, as usual, delicious.
A sample of our courses at Hukilau Lanai. Photo credit: Lisette
One of the activities we booked on this side of the island was tubing with Kauai Backcountry Adventures. We had a fantastic guide for this little excursion and enjoyed ourselves tremendously! The tour takes place through old irrigation canals and tunnels used back in the sugarcane plantation days. You get to go through private lands to see beautiful scenery and ride your inner tube through a series of fields and tunnels. The guides are hilarious and wildly entertaining, and you get a nice little lunch at the end of the ride.
Tubing! Photo credit: Kindly tourist
Since horseback riding is always a favorite of mine, we also decided to do a beach ride with CJM Stables, just down the road from the Grand Hyatt. We were able to ride through some gorgeous scenery both on and off the beach and had a fantastic guide. The horses were generally well behaved and well-trained, even with a few novices on our ride.
Horse riding! Photo credit: tour guide
Our last venture on this trip was to hike in Waimea Canyon. We picked a short hike (since a storm was rolling in) and checked out Waipoo Falls. At the top of the falls there is a little mini-waterfall and a pool where you can cool off, this popular spot usually has quite a few visitors on any given day taking pictures and enjoying a break from the heat.
