Kauai – probably the closest thing to heaven on this side of eternity!
If I’m dreaming, please don’t wake me…
Our fifth day in Hawaii was spent at the beautiful Grand Hyatt Kauai, which is probably the closest thing to heaven on this side of eternity!
Daddy Starbucks and I took a lovely sunrise walk while the kids slept in. There was a beach directly adjacent to the resort, called “Shipwrecks Beach”, where we enjoyed watching the surfers. Also, we loved watching people jump or dive off of the cliffs 20-30 ft. into the ocean below. I was tempted – Daddy Starbucks said “NO!”
We hiked along the Koloa Heritage Trail, which provided some of the most beautiful pictures and video footage of our trip. We ate at the Grand Hyatt Club Lounge the entire four days that we were on Kauai. Soup at every meal and oh so much pineapple!! Simone, the fabulous hostess there in the lounge, took excellent care of us and we continued to be amazed at God’s blessings.
High octane adrenaline!
On day six, we went on a 7-hour excursion along the Na’Pali Coast, from Southeast Kauai, to the western North Shore, with Captain Andy’s Raft Expeditions. While flying at 45 mph over 6-8 ft waves, my baby girl screamed back at me, “This is the BEST thing we’ve done so far!!” It was an absolutely EPIC adventure and one we will never forget. The biggest shout out to Captain Chase and First Mate Micah for making it the most memorable day. We were thrilled to encounter sea turtles, spinner dolphins, and lots of tropical fish.
I have only a few photos from the day, as everything was on my GoPro (my early Mother’s Day gift). I have a way to go to get footage like my son, Braden, who is a professional videographer, but the beautiful Na’Pali Coast is so extraordinary that I thought I should share just a short clip from the day.
The amazing thing about this tour is that there are only two options – either by boat, or by helicopter. We chose the full adrenaline option! And the views did not disappoint!
The history was INCREDIBLE!
The swells were far too high for us to enter the sea caves, but Captain Chase brought us as close as possible. The expedition also included a guided tour of the Nu’alolo Kai, which is an archeological effort to preserve the natural and cultural resources located there. A group known as the Na Pali Coast ‘Ohana is responsible for maintaining the site and encouraging an understanding of traditional Hawaiian Culture.
All in all, an incredibly beautiful day for the Benz ‘Ohana. Oh, and lunch was delicious too. In fact, we enjoyed the very best homemade macadamia nut cookies EVER!
How we actually got to Hawaii…
We were able to spend two full weeks in Hawaii because of credit card points. You see, everything that we spend in our household gets charged on one of several credit cards. Then we immediately pay that credit card bill in full (sometimes several times per week). We NEVER carry a balance and we are very mindful to never charge more than we can pay off. If you are interested in our step-by-step plan for accumulating points, you can check that out HERE.
Let’s Get to the Point!!
Again, if you would like to learn more about how we travel the world for little to no money, using points, feel free to reach out to me HERE, or sign up for my newsletter on the right side of my blog. As well, please follow along on my social media channels, on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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Looks like Hawaii must be put on the short list for visiting. Great post and your pictures are amazing.
Thank you for your kind words, Cindy. Definitely put Hawaii on your short list – you won’t regret it!! Blessings!
I love learning about the history of places we travel and working with groups that preserve the area always helps to understand the history and how to keep preserving it for future generations.
Leeanne, I completely agree! This was an added bonus too, as we didn’t know that this was part of that amazing tour!
Kauai is the only Hawaiian island we have not visited yet. I have been dying to go for many years. It looks incredibly beautiful!
Casandra, you MUST go, especially if you like hiking and waterfalls! It’s my favorite of all! Move this one to the top of you bucket list!!
This place is my dream! I’m really hoping I can make it there in the next year or so. I’ve never been to Hawaii but I’ve been dying to go since I was like 7.
Eva, thanks for sharing. Take a peek at how we got there – it’s completely doable (and we are family of six)! Blessings!
Kaui is so beautiful! I hope to go someday. I love your pictures of the mountains and flowers!
Stacey, thank you for your kind words. We can’t wait to go back! Trying to plan a trip to the big island now – that’s one we’ve never been to.
Wow! I love those mountains! What an awesome trip. Your photos are stunning!
Tricia, thank you. I live in a house full of photographers and videographers! It’s a blessings!
I can’t even believe these photos are real! We totally don’t deserve somewhere as beautiful as Hawaii! Thank you for sharing and making me forget my reality for a few minutes!
Brianna! This comment made me laugh! Thank you for your kind words!! And I agree – Hawaii is the MOST incredible place!
You’re right – it’s absolutely stunning. We have plans to go to Hawaii as part of our “50 States Before Graduation” Challenge and I can’t wait to go and see all of the gorgeous views.
Sara, what a blessing for your entire family! We’d love to visit all the states! Thank you for your kind words!
Your photos are incredible! What a fun trip!
Chantelle, thank you. I have a house full of photographers and videographers!! And we had a fabulous time!
So incredibly beautiful there! Your photos are amazing. I look forward to visiting Hawaii someday.
Thank you Cindy! We love taking photos of all of our adventures! Definitely make Hawaii a priority!
I agree – Hawaii is just paradise. I want to go back and explore Kauai.
Lisa, Kauai was our favorite island so far. We’ve only been to three (Oahu, Maui, and Kauai). We’re planning our return now and want to include the Big Island!
We love Kauai! It definitely is paradise! Can’t wait to return.
I couldn’t agree more!!
I love my points and use them often to upgrade to the long international first class flights ( easier on our aging backs). We love Hawaii and would totally do the fast rafting. We’ve done several helicopter tours in Hawaii and the views are WoW!
Hera, we haven’t taken a helicopter ride, but I can’t wait for such a great adventure! Captain Andy’s rigid hull boat ride was epic for sure! My husband wants to do the catamaran dinner cruise – that would be pretty luxurious too!
This place is so beautiful with amazing things to do! Can’t wait to visit! Thanks for sharing.
Kareena, thanks for stopping by. And you won’t be disappointed in Kauai!!
I couldn’t agree with you more! We went to Kauai on our honeymoon and I was just blown away by it’s beauty. It’s no wonder they call it the garden island. We can’t wait to go back with out children.
Trisha, your kids would love it just as much! Mine are much older (the youngest is 14), so they were able to appreciate (and remember) all of the fun activities!
This place looks amazing! What beautiful photos. We have always wanted to go to Hawaii. Now seems like the perfect time to plan ahead and make that happen!
Michele, I couldn’t agree more! Now IS the perfect time to be saving those points and planning an epic vacation!
This is definitely getting bookmarked! We go for our honeymoon in November and I cannot wait to see all of these amazing things on Kauai!
Kassia, CONGRATULATIONS! And thank you. If you have any questions about accruing tons of points for your honeymoon, feel free to reach out to me. I’m happy to point you in the right direction. Blessings to you and your fiancé!
I thoroughly hope to include Kauai in our next trip to the Islands!
Lee Anne, you won’t be disappointed!!
This is beautiful! I would love to travel here one day!
Leeandra, thank you for your kind words. And I believe that ANYONE would love Kauai!!
You have some great photos. I love this location! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you Tricia! And me too!
We were booked to go to Hawaii in November with the last four days spent in Kauai. I’m guessing we will have to postpone til next year. It doesn’t stop me from dreaming about the day my toes touch the sand!!!
Marianne, I’m hopeful that you’ll be able to go. I’m still planning on going back this fall too. You will LOVE it!!
Yes! Helicopter (fav memories) and boat!! Or ship, in our case, as we cruised to another island. Not quite the adrenaline rush on a cruise ship, but beautiful view. Looks like y’all had a blast!
Debbie, we’ll take the views of Kauai by ship, by air, by ANY means possible, right? We ‘d love to take the Norwegian Cruise all around the Hawaiian Islands!! What a beautiful adventure!!
We would love to visit Hawaii! Excellent pictures, thank you so much for sharing.
Thank you Lisa!!
We’re going for two weeks in October and we can’t wait!
Candy, my only advise is to soak up even single moment, eat lots of great food, and take way too many pictures!!
What a beautiful place! Hawaii is definitely on our list! I’m going to check out your post on credit card points, maybe that will help us get there?
Thanks
Thank you Cathy! If you have any questions, feel fret reach out – I’m always happy to help! Blessings!
Sounds like you had a great time. Can’t wait to book our turn!
Thank you Sandi! We certainly did!!
Incredible photos! I hope Hawaii is in my future. On a side note…we also have started paying our monthly bills by credit card to earn points. We haven’t paid for an airline flight in over a year so far – and we travel often to our place in Florida. Perhaps I can earn enough points to get to Hawaii!
Well done, Judean!! It’s so fun, right? If you are near a Southwest hub, I would strongly recommend looking into the Southwest Companion Pass. You’ll want to apply for this one really late in the year though (November/December) and wait to meet your required your spend until January. Then you’ll earn b1g1 tickets for the remainder of that year, and the entire next year. It’s THE BEST deal in travel! If you have questions, feel free to reach out to me – I’m happy to help any way I can. Blessings!
I think I felt the wind in my hair watching your video! These pictures are gorgeous and make me want to go ASAP.
Also, the strategy about using cards for points and paying them off makes a lot of sense. Thanks for sharing!
Charlene, thank you for those precious words! My son is a videographer and I certainly don’t have his skills, but it sure was fun using my new toy (Go Pro Hero 7)! And if you ever have any questions about points, feel free to reach out! Blessings!
I absolutely love Hawaii. 😍 We hope to return someday.
Santana…..SAME!! And I hope it’s sooner rather than later!
Wow this is incredible, would love to go here some day!
Thank you for your kind words Alexis! Definitely add Kauai to your bucket list!
This looks and sounds absolutely perfect! So beautiful! I’m a big NO on the cliff diving too. Haha
Kendra, Haha! The surf was actually rough, making it pretty dangerous – it was fun (and a bit scary) watching them all jump though.
You just keep adding things to my list of things I need to see on my trip next spring!
The greatest compliment EVER Charlene!! Thank you. You will certainly LOVE Kauai!
Wow that looked like fun!!!
Alice, it was super fun! Thanks for stopping by!
The more I look at your trips to Hawaii the more I think I will need to plan more than one visit! Or an extremely long one!
Tiffany – such precious words! Thank you. And the longer, the better! We are already planning our return visit!
I actually got chills reading your blog post. We just visited Kauai over Thanksgiving in 2019 and it really is the closest thing to heaven on Earth. It’s magical! As I read the part about Shipwreck Beach, it totally brought me back. We spent the better part of an entire day on that beach surfing and playing in the sand. It was probably our favorite beach on the whole island! Magical – thanks for bringing me back!
Tara, this makes my day!! And thank you for your kind words. Hawaii is the best, and Kauai is a taste of heaven!!
Kauai really is a BEAUTIFUL island! It’s been a long time since I’ve been there! Maybe I should take my kids there when the rules subside a little more.
I’d highly recommend it Ruth!! And with Southwest Airlines, it should be an inexpensive and quick flight from Oahu!