Kauai in 34 days - some advice please!

Only 34 days till we spend 16 days in Kauai.

I have checked TA almost daily since I booked the trip back in May, so I have lots and lots and lots of sticky notes all over my desk at work.

We have no concrete plans - ie:

Day 1 - Do this

Day 2 - Do that

Day 3 - Do the other

Q - Would going to Allerton, McBryde, Limahuli and NaAina Kai Botanical Gardens be ';garden overload';?

Q - Also Na Pali coast boat trip - I can%26#39;t decide between NaPali Sunset and sightsee tour (3.5 hrs) or NaPali Snorkel and Sail (5 hrs).

Thanks everyone for all the great info over the past several months.

Gilbert56

Kauai in 34 days - some advice please!

If you like gardens, do them all. They%26#39;re all different. However, you%26#39;ll probably eat up at least 3 days of your trip. Allerton requires reservations for their tour. Na %26#39;Aina Kai has both a reserved tour and a self-guided one, I believe. McBryde is self-guided. Not sure about Limahuli.

In late February you may not be able to snorkel due to rough water, but I give points to a trip where they actually sail. It might be worth the trip for that.

Kauai in 34 days - some advice please!

We did one of the gardens - McBryde maybe? - last year and it was neat but we got bored after a few hours. It really isn%26#39;t our thing. It all depends on how interested you are, I guess.

We also did a Na Pali/Ni%26#39;ihau Snorkel sail and it was fun and we did get to snorkel off of Ni%26#39;ihau, although the ride to/from was very choppy. A few years ago, we did a Na Pali snorkel trip and never got off the boat because of large waves (in May). Since you are going in the winter, you will likely have the same experience. If getting into the water is important to you, I would contact the tour operator and ask them about it. The sunset would probably be lovely and give you some great photo opportunities.

Have a great time on Kauai! It truly is paradise.

Hi,

You might also consider the Hindu Monastery. They have some quite lovely gardens.

himalayanacademy.com/ssc/鈥isiting.shtml

It was very interesting and relaxing.

We have visited the McBryde and Limahuli gardens, though on separate trips. We were planning to hit Na Aina Kai this next trip, but as we%26#39;ll also be going to the Big Island, we%26#39;ll head to the NTBG there (more than one per trip is definitely garden overload for DH!).

Both of these are self-guided - at McBryde, a van picks you up at the visitor center and drives you into the garden (it%26#39;s about a 5-10 min. drive). The garden is a three mile loop that you can explore at your own pace - the driver returns about every 1/2 hour and will take you on to another part of the garden or return you to the center. I think we spent about three hours there - there are so many exotic and downright bizarre tropical plants! I think I took over 300 photos (thank heaven for digital cameras!) - but I also got at least one mosquito bite for each photo - take Jungle Juice or some other DEET repellent if you are at all tasty to the little buggers (DH got one - only one - bite).

Limahuli is focused more on education and anthropological context - you get a 30 page booklet directing you to and explaining points on the trail (McBryde just gives you a little pamphlet with a rough map). The booklet has drawings of the plants as well as how botanists and anthropologists think the plants came to the island and how people have used them (food, personal care, ceremonial, etc.) as well as some legends about the area. We were there in late September, so many of the blooms were fading, but it was still lovely.

I%26#39;d be happy to share my photos - you can email me at sflamingo96@yahoo.com.

Sorry I don%26#39;t have an opinion on the boat tours - I%26#39;m not a boat person, so we%26#39;ve seen the coast via helicopter and hiking.