Hawai'i and Kauai islands, earthly paradise
2024
Highlights of the trip
During your stay you can enjoy the following highlights: Faune and flora, Adventure / Sports & Leisure, Free time, Relaxation / Well-being.
Best times to go
The best time(s) to go is/are : Printemps, Eté, Automne, Hiver.
Petit Futé
Where to stay - Kailua-Kona ?
The map of your stay "Hawai'i and Kauai islands, earthly paradise"
Detail of the stay : Hawai'i and Kauai islands, earthly paradise
How to get there - Kailua-Kona
Kailua-Kona
Steps: Kailua-Kona
Take a flight that lands at Kona Airport and book a hotel in Kailua-Kona for two nights. One-hour stop in Kaloko-Honokohau National Park to see lava and turtles. Visit of the city centre and lunch at one of the seaside restaurants. In the afternoon, take a sea trip from Kailua Pier (kayaking, scuba diving, snorkelling or swimming with dolphins). In the evening, dine in one of the city's restaurants or attend the "Luau Breeze Island" (traditional Hawaiian dinner-show).
Places of interest : KALOKO-HONOKOHAU NATIONAL PARK
Kohala Coast
Steps: Waikoloa Village
Take the road with sandwiches early in the morning to get back to Kohala Coast. On the way, visit the different beaches of Kekaha Kai National Park. Take a picnic break on Four Seasons beach and wait 1 pm to see children feeding the manta rays. Continue the road north by stopping at the beaches of Aneahoomalu (and see Hilton dolphins), Kiholo Bay and Mauna Kea Beach.
Places of interest : MAUNA KEA BEACH ANAEHOOMALU BEACH
The south coast of Kailua-Kona
Steps: Captain Cook
Book a hotel for two nights at Captain Cook. In the morning, snorkel at Kealakekua Bay. In the afternoon, visit the Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park and the Kona Coffee Historical Farm (a living museum on the history of coffee pioneers). In the evening, dinner at "Teshima" (Japanese restaurant) in Honalo.
Places of interest : KONA COFFEE LIVING HISTORY FARM PU'UHONUA O HONAUNAU NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK
Volcanoes National Park of Hawaii
Steps: Kilauea
Leave your hotel on the south coast of Kailua-Kona at 6 am because the journey to the entrance to the National Park of Volcanoes lasts 2 hours and you need a whole day to visit it. The main stops to make by order: Kilauea Visitor's Center (information centre), Kilauea Caldera (view on the volcano caldera), Thomas A. Jaggar Museum (museum on Hawaiian island volcanoes'i), Puu Loa petroglyphs and lava flow at the end of the Chain of Craters Road. Plan a picnic and prepare your meal the day before (there's a mini-supermarket in the corner!). At the beginning of the evening, go to Hilo, where you have booked for overnight accommodation.
Places of interest : PUU LOA PETROGLYPHS
Hilo
Steps: Mauna Kea
The city is ideally located just at 45 minutes from the National Volcanoes Park and 1 hour and 30 from Mauna Kea. Spend this day to the visit of the authentic and quiet Hilo. In the morning, Imiloa Astronomy Center (a museum to visit before going to Mauna Kea), Pacific Tsunami Museum (on tsunamis history in Hilo, Hawaii and the world). In the afternoon, Banyan Drive (superb road bordered by banians), and snorkelling on the different beaches.
Places of interest : IMILOA ASTRONOMY CENTER PACIFIC TSUNAMI MUSEUM
Mauna Kea
Steps: Mauna Kea
Mauna Kea is one of the highest mountains in the world (4 205 m) and its atmosphere is so pure that the largest astronomy observatory on the planet has been installed at its summit (13 telescopes). The two major tourist attractions on site are: the sunset show whose beauty is unique in the world and the observation session of the stars (exceptional precision and clarity). In the morning, stop at Rainbow Falls (waterfalls) and visit the Kaumana cellars located on the road to Mauna Kea. In the afternoon, take the Saddle Road road (the only one leading to Mauna Kea) in the early afternoon, to take the time to make different stops to acclimatise to the height. Beware, a 4×4 vehicle is mandatory because the road is stony and the ascent is steep. Between 5 pm and 6 pm,, contemplate the sublime sunset in Mauna Kea. Profit from the show to have a meal and drink. From 6 pm to 9 pm, observe the stars with an agency or Onizuka Visitor's Center. Around 10 pm, return to Hilo.
Places of interest : RAINBOW FALLS VISITOR INFO STATION
Waimea
Steps: Waimea
Leave Hilo early in the morning to have as much time as possible in Waimea. This city deserves a detour because it contrasts with the rest of the island: it is, above all, a land of breeding and a land where cowboy culture has long been implanted. In the morning, visit the Parker Ranch Historic Homes. In the afternoon, make a ride on horseback. Night in Waimea.
Passage on Kauai Island, Lihue
Steps: Lihue
Arrival at Lihue Airport in the very morning. You'd better take a hotel in Lihue to spend a day on the surrounding beaches. In the morning, visit the Kauai Museum and the Grove Farm Homestead Museum. At noon, go to the port of Lihue, the Nawiliwili Harbor, and bathe in Kalapaki Beach. Choose one of the port's restaurants for lunch and enjoy a magnificent sea view. In the afternoon, visit the Kilohana Plantation (former house sugar plantation owner) and then visit the Wailua Falls. In the evening, dine and enjoy a drink at the port of Lihue because nightlife is lively there.
Places of interest : GROVE FARM HOMESTEAD MUSEUM KAUAI MUSEUM KILOHANA MANSION
Waimea Canyon
Steps: Waimea Canyon State Park
Leave early in the morning to travel to Waimea Canyon is a must in Kauai! With its rocky mountains with its stunning landforms, it was nicknamed the Grand canyon of the Pacific... You travel the park by car. Stop at the two most beautiful views on the canyon: Waimea Lookout and Puu Hina Hina Lookout. Complete this approach with a hike in the canyon (from to in its form). Plan a picnic.
Napali Coast
Steps: Na Pali Coast
The green and sharp mountains of the sublime Napali Coast are not accessible by road. The three ways to get there are: by foot, by sea or by air. If you choose to hike, you have to spend the whole day (don't go there if it rained the day before or if it rains at the risk a fatal fall due to slippery terrain). This is the same case if you go to go there on a kayak or a boat. Only the helicopter flight takes one hour, but it would be a pity to be satisfied with it.
Poipu and Wailua State Park
Steps: Poipu
Spend the day on the fine sandy beaches of the luxurious seaside resort to relax. Walk through Maha'ulepu Trail and have a picnic on its wild beach. Take the car towards Kapaa and stop at Opaekaa Falls and Lydgate Beach.
The north coast, from Hanalei to Haena
Steps: Haena
In the morning, swimming on the different beaches of Hanalei, with an initiation to surfing or windsurfing, why not. In the afternoon, take Highway 56 towards the west to reach Haena where the road ends. Swimming and sunbathing on the beautiful beaches around Haena. In the early evening, return to Hanalei.
Kokee Forest
Steps: Kokee State Park
Hiking in the Kokee Forest. Discovery of endemic fauna and flora on one of the many trails. Make preferably a guided hike because the forest is thick and a guide will explain you all the specificities of this forest at best.
