Kauai - no car - no plans - anything close?

[geospyder]

We will be spending an extra seven days in Kauai after the cruise so we decided to skip renting a car or booking any excursions for the time we are in port with the ship. We understand that the port isn't the kind you can walk off and walk into a town. Are there any local shuttles from the ship to local places of interest?

[Sally Forth]

While we were waiting for the rental car shuttle we saw shuttles for two or three different places. One was Hilo Hattie's. The other might have been for a mall.

 

Viv

[CC Help Michell]

We will be spending an extra seven days in Kauai after the cruise so we decided to skip renting a car or booking any excursions for the time we are in port with the ship. We understand that the port isn't the kind you can walk off and walk into a town. Are there any local shuttles from the ship to local places of interest?

 

In addition to the mall and Hilo Hattie's shuttles, there is a very nice beach (Kalapaki) in walking distance of where the ship docks at Nawiliwili. It fronts the Marriott resort, but like all Hawaiian beaches it is public. There is also a Duke's restaurant fronting that beach.

 

My computer's having conniptions at the moment. If rebooting will let me clear it I can post a couple of photos you might like.

[CC Help Michell]

Okay, it seems cleared now (I hope) -- let's see what I can add to illustrate Kalapaki Beach. The first shows the walkway from the cruise ship area to the beach, and the second shows the beach. The Kauai Beach Boys -- http://www.kauaifun.com/beachboys.html -- offer surfing lessons there, too (you can see the heads bobbing in the water). That might be an option for the day your ship's at Nawiliwili.

[whale-watcher]

I think spending some time at the Marriot beach is a great idea. Another option...you will be close to the airport, so if you were planning a flightseeing excursion, this might be an ideal time schedule it (especially if you are spending your 7 days farther away from Lihue and don't plan to do a lot of driving around)....

 

Or spend time on board ship and take advantage of the amenities most people don't have time to enjoy (when the ship is relatively empty!)

[geospyder]

Thanks for the various suggestions. We plan to do a lot of hiking during our seven day stay on Kauai. We're just a couple of senior citizen Geocachers and there are 78 hidden on Kauai. Three are missing and four are fairly remote. With seven days we hope to find the remaining 71. After we find those we might tackle one or two of the remote ones. Here are descriptions of two of the remote caches:

 

"The really hard part in locating this site is getting to Kalalau Valley and Beach. It is at the end of an arduous, extremely dangerous 11 mile trek through one of the most spectacular places on Earth. Of course, you can kayak to the beach, but landing is no cake walk. The jungle is thick in Kalalau valley, so you'll need to search with care. Begin by taking the main trail into Kalalau Valley (the one going up to "Big Pool"). Keep an eye out for the less traveled paths. After you cross a small stream with water take a side trail to the left. The main trail goes up the ridge with many stone walled terraces. You reach a great valley viewpoint if you go up the ridge. Avoid the little ones, and look for the great boiling pot, just up from there is a large rock with a path into the woods leading to a hole in the wall... You know about boiling pots, right??? The cache is hidden about 4 feet above ground."

 

"All day adventure thru Kauai's interior (literally) to a little known island gem. Get ready for an all day adventure that includes some tricky logistics, spectacular terrain, and a hike thru a mile long tunnel... that's right, a tunnel. We originally discovered this hike while reading the adventures section "The Ultimate Kaua'i Guidebook" and could not pass it up. If you are planning a trip to Kaua'i or already live there, I cannot recommend this book enough: it is an incredible resource, full of great maps, directions, great reviews of the local businesses, and should be considered required for this cache.

 

The details: the hike itself is about an 8 mile round trip thru jungles, swamps and tunnels, but even getting to the trailhead can be tricky and may require 4WD. The description of the hike in the guidebook is great, so instead of repeating it, go get the book. Parking is along the way to the 'Welcome to Jurassic Park Cache', so read that description for driving directions. Headlamp/flashlights, extra batteries are a must, you will be in the tunnels for over an hour. Bring plenty of food and water, and appropriate clothing and equipment for a trudge thru the jungle (plan on getting rained on.) There is absolutely no civilization back here, and probably the only people you will see will be in tour helicopters flying overhead. Also, an early start is recommened, wet conditions can make the trail very slow going."

[Nancyquilts]

Jim - that sounds like a lot of fun. Please post again and tell us how many of the caches you're able to find. Nancy

[Terre]

There are free shuttles that come to the pier and will take you just about anywhere. We had rented a car for the days we were there, but when we got there and realized that we could go anywhere for free, we called Air Ventures to see if they would still pick us up for our flight with them and then cancelled our rental. The second day there we took the shuttle to K-Mart and from K-mart you can walk over to the mall.