Located about an hour from the Lihue airport, the North Shore of Kauai is a tightly knit community of area residents who work at resorts, in agriculture and enjoy the quiet lifestyle unique to the area. Extending along the Kuhio Highway from Kilauea to the east and the Haena State Park to the west, the north shore is a collection of small towns, farms and neighborhoods with names like Anini, Wainiha Haena and Hanalei.

Hanalei Bay
Toward the interior of the island or mauka are mountain peaks named Puu Ka Manu, Puu Konanae and Puu Nopili. These mountains, green with thick tropical foliage collect moisture and display ribbons of beautiful waterfalls after periods of heavy rains especially during the wetter winter months. Streams and rivers are not uncommon in this wetter part of Kauai. The Hanalei River empties into Hanalei Bay and provides fresh water to the many loi or taro patches in Hanalei Valley which in turn produces some of the sweetest and most flavorful poi in the islands.

Hanalei is also a delightful collection of shops, restaurants, bars and lunch trucks and fruit stands. The weekend farmers market always draws out the locals who arrive early for the best the area farmers have to offer. There are weekly slack-key concerts at the community center bring the tiny town to life on weekend nights.

Just outside the entrance to the resort is the small Princeville Shopping Center. It’s a perfect place to escape the high-end resorts for a more inexpensive and genuine local experience. Eateries run the range from surf and turf to snacks like flavorful island shave ice.

One of the more beautiful spots on Kauai is Limahuli Gardens. Set near the entrance to the Haena State Park, the gardens offers paved paths that wander past waterfalls, taro patches, native and endangered plants. The collection of fragrant flowers is impressive.

The ever-flowing Wainiha River has been known for generations for the tender and tasty fresh-water shrimp or O’opu Nopili. Fisherman can be seen extending a small net across the river for careful quantity and size restricted catches. Although, the stream has been diverted over the years for electricity and farmers, the O’opu are still said to be plentiful.

Toward the ocean or makai, the coastline is a series of stunning beaches, coves, rocky bluffs. Lumahai is one of Hawaii’s most beautiful. A thick carpet of white sand contrasts against the indigo blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. Ke’e Beach and nearby Tunnels offers great snorkeling and diving. An expansive reef offers beginners an enjoyable and easily accessible spot to enjoy schools of yellow tang, vibrant colored uhu or parrotfish. Divers find the outer ledge of the reef a glorious world of many types of Hawaiian fish, octopus and eels.

Hanalei’s north shore is a sacred place that is filled with Hawaiian legend, cultural practices and mysticism. At the very end of Kuhio Highway at the trailhead to the Kalalau Trail, there are ruins of an ancient temple or heiau. Constructed on several terraces, the heiau is one of the more significant in the Hawaiian culture. Called the Kahualaka Heiau, it was a temple dedicated to hula. It was a place where chanters and dancers were brought to give respect and offerings to the god Laka and to test their expertise in Hawaiian hula and mele.

Princeville Luxury Resorts
In contrast to these small communities and plantation towns is the modern and upscale resort development of Princeville. Named to honor a visit by then two-year-old Prince Albert Edward Kauikeaouli Lei O Papa a Kamehameha. The only son of King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma was accompanied by his parents to the cattle ranch to visit Robert Crichton Wyllie who had acquired the land in 1853.

One of the first resort developments in the islands, the project plans called for developing luxury condominiums, golf courses and residences to occupy a rocky lava bluff high above Hanalei Bay called Puu Poa. The resort opened in the early 1970’s and remains immaculately designed and landscaped with resorts and vacation units weaved in and around the fairways of the two championship golf courses. Princeville offers vacation rentals in all price ranges and sizes including the Cliffs, Alii Kai, Pali Ke Kua, Pu'u Poa. In addition there are two cliff side luxury resorts. The Westin Princeville and the St Regis Princeville both offer an upscale vacation experience with the Westin catering to families and the St Regis specializing in a full service resort experience.

Primarily a windward district, the north shore of Kauai is known to be rainy in winter months and sunny in the summer. It is not uncommon for the rivers to swell with storm run-off that results in road and bridge closures and other weather related difficulties. Ocean conditions are typically calmer in the summer with large waves and rougher conditions during the winter.