Great Escapes: Kauai on the Fly

In search of culinary thrills – and the perfect magic-hour sunset – on Hawaii’s “garden island.”

The winding mountain road sinks into early-evening shadow as we take its deep plunges and hairpin turns at an admittedly higher-than-safe speed. Kauai’s fabled Waimea Canyon appears on our right behind a tree break, but we barely slow down to look at the natural wonder, sometimes described as the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific.”

It’s a race against the clock, after all. Not a moment to spare. 

You might assume we’re racing to make a flight or a wedding or something else humans usually find it important to be punctual for. But, no. 

A sunset. That’s why my companion and I are rocketing up Kokee Road like crazed fugitives – to see one of the last spots on U.S. soil where the sun shines an any given day, before disappearing behind the rippled vastness of the Pacific Ocean. We’ve heard it’s the most spectacular sunset spot in Hawaii and, thus, planet Earth.

Such are the pleasures one finds on Kauai, the least-populated of the Hawaiian archipelago’s four main tourist islands – with 66,000 people, it has about the same population as Queen Creek – and also the most breathtakingly pastoral, ergo its nickname, “the Garden Island.” Ribbed with distinctive canyon formations and covered in banyan forests, it’s sort of the Sedona to Waikiki’s Phoenix – the eye-pleasing place where you go when hiking and nature is the thing.

It makes sense that an epic sunset moment looms so prominently on our to-do list, because just two days prior, I enjoyed the most indelible sunrise of my life. Stricken with a minor case of jet lag, I woke early at the Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach Resort (marriott.com) and wandered out to the beach. Located in the town of Wailua on the east side of the island, the resort has clean, unimpeded beach access and is squared up nicely with the eastern horizon. So, along with a smattering of other early-risers, I watched the sun ignite a dark morning cloudscape in a prismatic display of rose and orange. It was the kind of profound experience that needs a bookend. 

Accessible from Phoenix via nonstop carriage on American Airlines, Kauai is best known for the Napali Coast, with its green, rippled coastal valleys, and adjoining Napali Coast Wilderness Park. Camping at the park, and hiking the legendary, 22-mile Kalalau Trail – which serves as the lone land route to the coast – requires a 90-day-in-advance permitting process (dlnr.hawaii.gov/dsp/parks/kauai/napali-coast-state-wilderness-park).

Alternately, you can see the coast – featured in such TV shows and movies as Jurassic Park and Fantasy Island – by helicopter or boat charter. I opted for the latter though Holo Holo Charters (holoholokauaiboattours.com), one of the adventure companies on Kauai that ferries tourist groups to the coast via a fleet of catamarans, sail boats and Zodiac-style rafts. And that’s how I found myself thrillingly darting in and out of sea caves on Kauai’s north coast, the captain expertly using the Zodiac’s powerful outboard motors to conduct unlikely explorations of dark, churning watery spaces not much bigger than a living room. Dubbed the Napali Adventure and Snorkel tour ($315), the experience ended with a pleasant snorkel in a cove near Kauai’s Hanalei Bay filled with sea turtles and parrotfish.

I can’t believe I’m counseling this, but when it comes to eating on Kauai, sticking to your resort – at least for “nice” sit-down meals – is not a bad strategy. Listen, I love unvarnished culinary engagement as much as the next Anthony Bourdain fan, and Kauai does boast countless kick-ass food trucks, including El Rey Del Mar (elreydelmarkauai.com), a Mexican taco truck near the resort that afforded us the crispiest, most delicious Baja-style tacos I’ve had outside Baja; and Kauai Sushi Station (kauaisushistation.com), a walk-up sushi counter run by an endearing young Japanese couple near the airport in Lihue, featuring a nice selection of nigiri and maki rolls, plus izakaya-type snack fare like scrumptious, octopus-filled takoyaki.

Which isn’t to say there aren’t abundant worthwhile food and drink experiences throughout Kauai, a prolific agrarian area that accounts for the majority of Hawaii’s taro production. We got a huge kick out of the Rum Safari Tour from Kauai Safaris (kauaisafaris.com), which is exactly what it sounds like: You basically drive around a banyan jungle and working farm in an enormous Jeep filled with 20 people and sip rum. If that sounds glib, know that the tour guides are quite knowledgeable about Kauaian agriculture and ecology, and the whole thing is fun and edifying. 

Another universal truism about paradise: Four days goes quick. Which is why I’m stepping on the gas even harder as the sun sags dangerously low over Kauai’s west coast. With a final triumphant push, we make it to our destination – Kalalau Lookout – and make a mad dash from the parking lot to the lookout itself. 

The viewing area is congested with tourists, and a breadfruit tree has decided to defiantly sprout in the middle of our main sunset sightline, but it’s gorgeous, and the commanding 4,000-foot view of the mighty Pacific immediately justifies the chaotic mountain drive. 

I do a 360 scan of the lookout perch and am shocked to find an even more exultant view behind us, where the Napali Coast itself is lit up like a Nivea model by the escaping sun. I honestly didn’t anticipate being able to see it up here. Which brings up another cool thing about Kauai: It’s small enough that you’re always likely to run into a canyon you know.

3 Must-See Sights in Kauai