Hanalei is on the north shore of Kaua’i and is a beautiful area of the island that is popular with tourists. It’s not tough to see why, even though each part of Kaua’i has its own beauty.
My first trip to this beautiful island was in 2019. I rented a jeep to explore the island before my retreat. Along with my new friends Beth and Grace, we drove to the North Shore from Kapa’a.
Kaua’i North Shore
Kilauea Lighthouse, Hanalei, and Manini-holo Dry Cave
North Shore Re-opening
Last month, heavy rainfall caused a massive landslide on Kuhio Highway. It cut off access to Hanalei and the rest of the north shore. Single-lane traffic was soon opened up as roadworks began.
As far as tourism impact was concerned, it was not a big deal as the island was already closed to general tourism. Kaua’i is not part of the Hawaii Safe Travels program and there were two ways for people to visit the island. The first was staying at a Kaua’i resort bubble and the list included about ten resorts such as Hilton Garden Inn and Cliffs at Princeville. It was a mandatory three to four nights, depending on testing availability. The second way to visit Kaua’i was to first stay at another island, test after 72 hours, and enter with a negative test result.
So compared to the other Hawai’ian islands, the number of visitors to Kaua’i had dramatically dropped. And honestly, it was great for the locals who have shared how wonderful it was to not deal with crowds everywhere.
This month, with changes to entry requirements, visitors have begun to return to Kaua’i. It’s been a very interesting time and experience to witness the difference.
Connection to Kaua’i
For years and years, since Wade was young, his family has been coming regularly to Kaua’i. His dad is a surfer and was invited by some friends from here to hop over from O’ahu to surf. At that time, Kaua’i was less known for surfing than Duke’s O’ahu. That was in the 60s.
This month, his parents came for a visit, to see how we’re settling in. I mean, we love Kaua’i.
On their list for this visit was to show us their old house in Princeville. This we did with Wade’s sister and niece who flew in from the Big Island. On another day, we also drove into Hanalei with his parents.
This is a compilation of iphone videos and photos I took on this outing.
Hanalei is beautiful to be at and if you want a place to see the sunset, Hanalei Bay beaches are great to check out. By then most of the crowds will have cleared out. Near the pier you get a more face-on view of the famous Puff the Dragon. As the sun sets, it creates a fabulous silhouette along with the palm trees. Golden light bathes the ocean water. A lot of times, we also get a dramatic cloud display that adds to the view and your photographs.
Iconic Hanalei.