After a well rested night, we woke up ready to explore. The only thing planned this day was the Star Na Pali Dinner Sunset Sail cruise from Capt Andy’s Sailing Adventures. If any of you are wondering if you should book this, we would highly recommend. The cost is approximately $185 per person, but it’s worth every penny!
Our 55’ Catamaran from Capt Andy’s didn’t set sail till afternoon, so we had ample time to explore our surrounding area. We explored the southern tip of Kauai in the town of Poipu which was located near our rental home at the Sunset Kahili Condominium.
We booked this location through Vrbo and our tenant’s name was Maureen. She literally had everything there for us! Beach towels, chairs, umbrella, TV, wifi, washer dryer, you name it, she accommodated. HERE is a link to the exact location we stayed for reference. We would highly recommend!
Not only was the accommodations great, the location was prime because it was a middle point on the island. There are no roads that make a full circle around the island. So kudos to you Maureen. We loved it!
We ate breakfast at Anuenue Cafe and then visited the near by Poipu Beach Park and were lucky enough to see a Hawaiian Monk Seal taking a little break in the sand!
As we left the beach, we connected Gypsy Guide to the car and were off on our first self guided tours. I will tell you, we would not have encountered as much as we did if it weren’t for this app.
This app is so AMAZING! It gives you stories and history about the land and how the island came to be, tips about the local hot spots, and just entertaining facts that made the experience of driving in an unknown place just purely enjoyable. Amazing! If you’re on Kauai, download the maps HERE!
I digress….after the beach, Gypsy Guide led us to the Hanapepe Swinging Bridge located in a little town of Hanapepe. If you're looking for a quick fun place to get out of the car and stretch your legs, check out this little town and walk on the bridge. It won’t take long to walk across the bridge and then you can cross it off your list of things to view!
After visiting this town we headed along the coast to our next stop Salt Pond Salt Ponds. We learned that the local Hawaiians harvest and make salt from this location. This would be an excellent beach to go to if you have small children as the waves are pretty calm here. It’s a nice little cove and just like all the beaches, it’s a wonderful place to stop.
After all of this exploring it was time to head to Port Allen and check in for departure of the sunset cruise.
There was about 24 other guests on board, a couple crew members, Five Star Chef and a Captain who road the waves as if she had her eyes closed. I’m not sure if we’ve recently watched a little too much of Below Deck, but we felt right at home. The cruise lasted for about four hours. As we set sailed up the Nā Pali Coast, the views were stunning It was like another world.
The Crew and Captain did an excellent job of tending to the guests and telling stories along the way that gave us a little history and background of this Island. The captain even spotted dolphins, took a detour in the boat so we could get a closer look! Talk about customer service! I personally have never seen dolphins in their natural habitat that close.
After a couple hours we reached our destination. It was time to turn around, sit down for our feast of shrimp and steak and watch the sun fall behind the waves. We were amazed at how quickly the sun fell below the horizon. Within a matter of minutes it fell past the water no longer in sight.
If you’re ever here, make sure you seize the moment and take some pictures, because the sun won’t last long.