• Introduction
• Oahu
• Kauai
• Maui
• Big Island
• Off the Path: Lanai and Molokai
• Hawaii's Restaurant Revolution
• A Glossary of Hawaiian Cheap Eats
• Itineraries
• When to Go
• Getting There & Around

Kauai

Despite its growing popularity – and increasingly upscale accommodations – Kauai still has some of the most pristine landscapes and an unhurried charm.

Kauai is known as the Garden Isle, and the moniker is justified: Full of fragrant blossoms and green mountains carved into anthropomorphic shapes, Kauai is hypnotically beautiful. With a population of only 63,000, the island is the least crowded and most relaxed of the four islands.

The two major resort areas are Princeville on the North Shore and Poipu on the south. The drive between the two takes about 1.5 hours on a bucolic highway that mostly hugs the eastern coast. Kauai’s most famous calling cards are the redwalled Waimea Canyon, often called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, and Na Pali, a savage coast of towering jade cliffs along the northwest. Waimea Canyon is 10 miles long, a mile across, and 3,587 feet deep. One can hike parts of the canyon (and even camp overnight at Koke’e State Park) or drive beside it on the panoramic Waimea Canyon Road. Na Pali can be hiked as well: Kauai Nature Tours (www.kauainaturetours.com) offers geologist-led trips. But to take in quintessential Na Pali – the otherworldly expanse familiar from Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jurassic Park – board a sailboat (www.captandys.com), kayak (www.outfitterskauai.com), or helicopter. Blue Hawaiian (www.bluehawaiian.com) flies quiet, modern EcoStars with expansive windows.

In 2009, two significant new resorts are launching on opposite sides of Kauai. On the North Shore, the St. Regis Princeville (www.stregis princeville.com) debuts in October. It will boast a Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant, butler service, and quite possibly the most spectacular setting in Hawaii. Rooms will grant views of Hanalei Bay and verdant mountains that spout waterfalls after rains.

On the South Shore, the other big-deal launch is Ko’a Kea Hotel & Resort (www.koakea.com), an adaptation of the old Poipu Beach Hotel that opened last April as the island’s first boutique hotel. The individually designed rooms all come with lanais (porches) and both the restaurant and the full spa are outstanding.

As an alternative, Pure Kauai (www.purekauai.com) rents plush homes of all sizes and can provide guests with private chefs and personalized itineraries that include everything from surfing lessons to horseback riding on the beach. A great value on the Princeville side is the Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas (www.starwood.com), whose roomy villas all come with flat-screen TVs, kitchens, and washers and dryers. Guests have access to concierge services and three swimming pools.

On the waterfront in Poipu, The Beach House (808-742-1424) serves chef Todd Barrett’s take on local line-caught fish and island produce including Kamuela tomatoes and Omao baby greens – plus a sublime chocolate soufflé. Further west, past Waimea, drivers should ask for directions to the dirt road leading to Polihale State Beach, one of the world’s great hidden gems, with miles of wide, sugary sand – nearly deserted on weekdays.

And on the North Shore, just west of Princeville in the sleepy town of Hanalei, trendy Bar Acuda (808-826-7081) offers vintages from a short but excellent wine list to accompany tapas such as bacalao-stuffed squid or Humboldt Fog goat cheese with North Shore honeycomb.

See Hawaii Travel Guide