Where to Stay and Go | Travel + Leisure
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Where to Stay and Go

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United and American both offer direct six-hour flights to Kauai's Lihue Airport from Los Angeles. There are also 35-minute flights to and from Honolulu. The weather is superb year-round, despite intermittent rain on the North Shore.

WHERE TO STAY
Hanalei Bay Resort & Suites
A hillside property with a spectacular view of the bay and a first-rate open-air restaurant. Hanalei isn't grand—the 188 rooms are fairly spartan—but the setting more than makes up for it. A walk down the hills brings you to a fine beach, Puu Poa, that Hanalei Bay shares with the Princeville Resort. DOUBLES FROM $185. 5380 HONOIKI RD., PRINCEVILLE; 800/827-4427 OR 808/826-6522; www.hanaleibayresort.com

Princeville Resort
A fully tricked-out 252-room resort that revolves around golf: its Robert Trent Jones II course was singled out by Travel + Leisure Golf as one of the top 10 in the country. DOUBLES FROM $450. 5520 KAHAKU RD., PRINCEVILLE; 800/826-4400 OR 808/826-9644; www.princeville.com

Hyatt Regency Kauai Resort & Spa
This Hyatt is sprawling (602 good-sized rooms), but the pools and gardens are so extensive and ingeniously designed that the place never feels crowded. There's plenty to do, including golf and tennis. DOUBLES FROM $455. 1571 POIPU RD., KOLOA; 800/233-1234 OR 808/742-1234; www.kauai.hyatt.com

For more hotel options, as well as house and condo rentals, see www.kauaivacationrentals.com and www.alternative-hawaii.com.

WHAT TO DO
Outings
Many of the local tour companies make weekly presentations at the bigger hotels; it's worth hearing what they have to say before booking. We had a great experience with Outfitters Kauai, a Poipu group that offers zip-line safaris (ask for Spot) as well as ocean- and river-kayaking expeditions. ZIP-LINE SAFARI FOR ADULTS $145; CHILDREN 14 AND UNDER $105. 888/742-9887 OR 808/742-9667; www.outfitterskauai.com

A helicopter tour didn't sound like our cup of tea, but our spin with Air Kauai turned out to be well worth the price ($207 per person for an hour flight), since breathtaking places like the Mount Waialeale Crater can be glimpsed no other way. The Lihue-based outfit flies luxurious A-STAR choppers piloted by confidence-inspiring pros. LIHUE AIRPORT; 800/972-4666; www.airkauai.com

Gardens
Allerton Garden and McBryde Garden, two of the island's three National Tropical Botanical Gardens, are next to each other in Poipu. With kids in tow, you might forgo the reservation-only tours and simply explore the Visitor Center grounds. www.ntbg.org

GETTING EQUIPPED
Hiking on Kauai, especially along the Napali Coast, is dirty business. Rather than ruin your sneakers, pick up cheap reef shoes at the Kmart or Wal-Mart in Lihue. The clay mud stains everything that it touches red, so you might think about buying an entire disposable hiking outfit. Then again, dirt-stained T-shirts are popular Kauai souvenirs. And don't forget a backpack—you'll want a camera and plenty of snacks and water.

Ultimate Kauai Guidebook, by Andrew Doughty and Harriet Friedman (Wizard Publications; www.wizardpub.com), is a terrifically useful handbook, written by natives and published on the island, with information on house and condo rentals.

Copyright © 2008, American Express Publishing. All rights reserved.