Kauai Island Travel Guide
For details of what to do and see in Kauai Island check out our Kauai Island guide to car hire in Kauai Island.
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Kaua'i (usually spelt as Kauai outside the Hawaiian Islands) is geologically the oldest and also the fourth largest of the main Islands of the Hawaiian Archipelago. Widely known as the "Garden Isle", Kauai lies 105 miles (170 kilometres) across the Kauai Channel, to the northwest of Oahu, the main tourism centre, where the resorts of Honolulu, Waikiki and the naval base, and monuments of Pearl Harbour can be found. Like the rest of the island chain, Kauai has grown up from an undersea volcano, although there is no longer any activity. The highest point on the whole island is the summit of Mount Wai'ale'ale, towering over the centre of the island, the peak reaches up to 1570 metres above sea level, and on the eastern flank of the mountain, you can visit the wettest, (and possibly the greenest) spot on Earth, where an annual average rainfall of a quite frankly staggering 460 inches has eroded deep valleys in the central mountain, and carved out spectacular canyons with many scenic waterfalls.
The origins of Kauai's name is shrouded in mystery, although local tradition claims that it is named for the son of the legendary Polynesian navigator Hawai'iloa - the sailor who originally guided the population to the islands.
The principal city on the island, and the centre of the tourist industry is Lihue, on the island's southeast coast, where most of the main hotels are located. Lihue is the seat of Kauai County and the largest city on the island. Places of interest on Kauai can mostly be found to the south west of the island, particularly around Waimea. Once the capital of Kauai, Waimea was the first place visited by the famous British explorer Captain James Cook when he arrived in the islands in the year 1778. Waimea town is located at the mouth of the Waimea River, whose flow formed one of the most scenic canyons in the world: 3000-ft (914-m) deep, Waimea Canyon, a chain of gorges that are often called the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific", on account of the spooky resemblance to the Real thing on the Mainland.
The impossibly picturesque and beautiful island of Kauai has become the centre of a film industry, and has provided the location for films such as "South Pacific", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", and of course "Jurassic Park", as well as appearing in animated form in the Disney film "Lilo and Stitch".
