From Desert Sand Dunes to the Sandy Island Beaches of Kauai

Life is truly a beach along the glorious Kauai coastline. 

From Tunnels Beach to Poipu Beach there is something for everyone. The beaches are perfect for kite surfers, surfing, snorkeling, scuba diving and just relaxing on the beach. 

We didn’t do much “relaxing” on the beach and dove (pardon the pun) right into snorkeling off Tunnels Beach and Anini Beach. We looked like Snorkel Bob’s walking billboards, but we were warm and ready for action. Along Anini Beach we befriended a very large and hungry sea turtle. We snorkeled with him for about 45 minutes before bidding our new friend farewell. He didn’t seem to care that we were there taking endless photos and video of him, he was more concerned about eating (we all can relate to that feeling sometimes)!

Hubby and little one saw a gigantic eel and I found a tiny fish that looked like he was impersonating baby Shamu or a killer whale.

The beaches were full of crabs, giant sea cucumbers, shells, rocks, moss, crashing waves, protected monk seals and so many other treasures.

Although Poipu Beach was named “America’s best Beach” by the Travel Channel, it was always quite crowded and we found it was quite popular with the humans and monk seals alike. 

We enjoyed walking along Ke’e Beach in a rainstorm, snorkeling at Anini Beach, visiting Haena Beach and exploring the tide pools off the Kukuiula small boat harbor.

The Totally Trailer gang can never go too far without sand and water and as luck would have it, the beautiful island of Kauai had plenty of both!

There's nothing quite like the feeling of sand between your toes and waves lapping at your feet

"Dar she blows" Admiring the Spouting Horn blow hole on the south shore of Kauai

washed up tree, coconut and coral make for a great photo opportunity

Sebastian, is that you? Our crab friend hanging on the volcanic jetty along the south shore near the small boat harbor of Kukuiula Bay 

Magnificent sunset after a day of snorkeling at Anini Beach, Kauai

A walking advertisement for Snorkel Bob's we enjoyed our snorkel adventure and sea turtle sighting

Little one taking in the Maui sunset at Poipu Beach, Kauai

Sun sets over the famous Na'Pali Coastline at Ke'e Beach

Hubby and little one gazing at the Spouting Horn blow holes

Our perfect snorkel spot destination on Anini Beach, Kauai

We left our heart in the rainforests of Kauai

The totally trailer gang ditched our trailer and left the continental United States for some island time!

We exchanged our desert hiking gear for swimsuits and rainforest hiking gear as we ventured deep into jungles looking for secret waterfalls.

From the Na Pali Coast to Waimea Canyon, we explored just about every inch of the island and took in the normal tourist attractions too.

Hiking to the Ho’opi’ Falls was one of our highlights along with tubing down the irrigation ditch. Being surrounded by so much green was intoxicating. We loved the huge elephant ear leaves, the invasive vines that grew hundreds of feet in the air, the endless rainbows and never-ending WARMTH!!

Our home base was near Kapa’a and it was a great location to access everything we wanted to see and explore. We spent the first day just exploring the “rainy side” of the island and venturing down to Ke’e Beach for an awesome sunset down the Na Pali coastline. What made the journey were the little stops along the way to see rustic churches, jagged coastlines, sea caves, ancient sites, numerous rainbows and fun shops. 

The second day we toured the “sunny side” of the island by cruising through Lihue, Poipu and up to Waimea Canyon overlook. From tree-lined roads to protected Hawaiian monk seals, spouting blow holes, Grand Canyon-esque views and more rainbows….we were in heaven!

After the normal “touristy” things, we jumped right into some exploration on our own determined to find the Ho’opi’i Falls, the Secret Falls, rustic swinging bridges and old Hawaiian villages.

We kayaked the Wailua River from the Kamokila Hawaiian Village (which was an absolutely perfect day) of seeing the sacred falls, Fern Grotto and the Hawaiian village. We also thoroughly enjoyed our “white water” tubing down an old irrigation ditch with Kauai Back Country Adventures. Our guide “Pooh” was humorous, informative and a lot of fun. We had so much fun, we wanted to do it again immediately after the tour was complete! The road to the arboretum made us feel like we were lost in some jungle and the rain forest put on a magical display for us.

Between spending quality time with family and enjoying all that this lush island had to offer, it was difficult to get me on a plane to leave.

We still managed to get muddy, get wet, get a little lost, find caves and have a ton of fun doing it. Which just proves that you can take the family out of the trailer, but you can’t take the trailer out of the family! 

http://kauaibackcountry.com/tubing/

http://villagekauai.com/

Beautiful old church in Kilauea 

Little one and Wailua Falls in the background

Wailua Falls close up with the Totally Trailer gang

Kauai Tree Tunnel on Maluhia Road which dates back almost 150 years          

The impressive Waimea Canyon overlook complete with rainbows!

The road to the arboretum

Giant taro leaves are almost bigger than we are!

Safe from a rainy day under a taro leaf umbrella

Tropical jungle complete with swinging vines and everything!

Over the river and through the jungle.....

                  

Lost in the jungle looking for Ho'opi'i Falls

SUCCESS!!! The magical Ho'opi'i Falls, Kauai

Hiking our way out of the rain forest 

Crazy walkway thought the rainforest

Kayaking on the Wailua River

All smiles from this jungle adventurer

Wailua River Secret Falls

After swimming behind and underneath we posed for a digital memory (p.s. it was cold)!

Kauai dry cave near Haena Beach 

The Swinging Bridge in Hanapepe Kauai. I loved it, little one...not so much