If I had a chance to avoid visiting this place, I absolutely would have. Unfortunately, this park…read moreis home to the legendary Kalalau Trail, so there's really no way around it. Even if you're only hiking to the waterfall, you're still required to pay $40 per person just to enter the park. And I have a lot of questions about that. 1. We booked the earliest possible shuttle and paid for it, but we ended up leaving 15 minutes late because we were waiting for other people -- which meant we completely missed sunrise. 2. The park itself is dirty. The restrooms are in terrible condition, and there wasn't even toilet paper. You're charging $40 for entry and can't provide the absolute basics? Don't even get me started on the lack of water stations or hand sanitizer near the bathrooms. All of this is standard in California state and national parks, and they don't charge anywhere near this much. 3. On the way in, we were told about drop-off and pick-up locations along the route. In reality, the shuttles basically never stop there. We got off at one of those spots to grab coffee and then couldn't get back on -bus after bus just drove past us. After waiting for an hour, one shuttle finally stopped to drop off a passenger, but there wasn't enough space for the two of us. So yes, when leaving the park, they don't even plan to leave room to pick people up. Be prepared to walk 5 miles. Of course, the views are incredible, and even with this level of service, the park is still worth seeing. That said, I'd strongly recommend getting as close as possible to town or the beach before the park opens and then walking in on your own. Bring water, wet wipes, and refillable bottles. If you're worried about drinking the water, bring purification tablets -despite park staff insisting the water is absolutely not safe to drink. We drank it and were totally fine. Just go prepared and manage your expectations.

We came here to hike the Na Pali Coast through the Kalalau Trail and were booked with the shuttle…read moreat 6:20am. At first, I wasn't thrilled about the early morning start, but as the hike progressed and the sun started coming out, I was grateful. The park is beautiful and I especially loved the walk to the trail and beach. Many people were headed for the hike as well, while others were set for a beach day. The hike was moderately difficult but so worth it. I'm not always the biggest fan of hiking but the views and being able to stand on the Na Pali Coast was a one-of-a-kind experience!

Great secluded beach near Haena state park. The wet caves are amazing structures created by natureread more

Need a $5 ticket to get in to Ha'ena State Park. NO CELL SERVICE at location so get tickets…read morebeforehand.

Usually I have an itinerary when I go on vacation. But I didn't for a week long stay in Kauai…read morethinking we'll just hang loose. We'd been to Kauai before but it was many years ago. I was reading up on the Napali Coast. Want to see it without going by air or by sea. Take a hike. We didn't know what we were getting ourselves into. But got a clue on the park and ride shuttle when our driver gave a hint. He said if you only want to get a shot of Napali Coast it'll only take you 20 minutes. We started following the signs in Haena State Park where the Trail begins. Folks left sticks that you can use as walking poles. We each took one. Immediately I'm not liking it. The Trail begins as a steep climb on jagged rocks. And it's wet & muddy as it rains intermittently. We were the first group out at 6:30am. More hikers as the day went on. It's 0.5 miles to the lookout. It took us an hour there and an hour back. 2 hours. We got our photo.

We did this Kalalau trail in 2022 when visiting Hawaii and it was absolutely amazing! Please know…read morethis trail is HARD, and tough if you are not a major hiker, just know your limits! I think we ended up hiking around 8+ miles or so as we hiked down to the beach and checked and climbed a lot of boulders and did some rock climbing as well that was pretty tough but worth the adventure. Bring a lot of water and you have to make reservations in advance to take a shuttle to the base as you can't take your car there. We brought sandwiches and had a picnic at the beach, seriously bring a lot of water and snacks and food and be careful of the beach waves as they have signs all over that there are riptides and not to get in the water, basically follow all safety rules!! It was a difficult but an incredible hike; we got so much bursts of rain which felt magical and I am excited we crossed it off the bucket list

The lush mountains, gentle waves and bay breeze will just take your breath away. We loved coming…read morehere and felt a sense of peace and appreciation for the beauty of Hanalei Bay. It helps that the drive into the area already has you impressed and in aw struck wonder. It is absolutely gorgeous on the north side of the island! As far as the beach itself, it is super kid friendly. Shallow waters for yards and yards! If you're on the right side of the beach it is shallow even past the pier. With gentle yet large enough waves for you to boogie board or surf. The pier is a beautiful way to take in the scenery and if you're brave enough, jump off of. My kids loved it! There are bathrooms and outdoor shower. A taco truck on site. A great beach day!! The only downside. The time of year we came, there were a ton of gnats. It might have been because of the rain. Other than that this beach was perfect.

If you come to Kauai, you have to head up to North Shore and visit Hanalei beach. A beautiful beach…read morefull of white sand, clear waters, and an amazing backdrop scenery of lush, tropical jungles. The protected bay offers nice, calm waters for swimming and other water activities. And there are lifeguards stationed at designated areas throughout the beach. You can also walk down the pier where you'll find people diving into the deeper parts of the water, fishing, or just taking pictures of the beautiful scenery. There are the occasional bits of wood washed up onto shore. So be careful where you step when walking barefoot. A public lot is available for free parking, however it does fill up fast. You can also park along the curb in the residential areas.

A must see place for anyone interested in nature and biodiversity. There is a huge emphasis on…read morerespect for the land, plants, and ancient burial grounds here. You get a guidebook that takes you through the 50 or so marked locations, and the entire self-guided tour takes about 90 minutes. This was one of my favorite stops during our trip. Takeaways: make a reservation to guarantee a parking spot, wear comfortable footwear, and do NOT sit on the rocks!! There are plenty of benches to sit on.

So happy that this was recommended to us by one of the sushi chefs at Red Salt…read more It is a beautiful place and is as educational as you would like to make it. Plenty of signage by the plants and the brochure they give you has so much information in it regarding the plants and the area. Definitely bring a rain jacket even if you think you will not need it! For the most part, you are walking on a trail, but at the very end you will be on a grassy area. We went ahead and paid a little extra to park on site and were happy with that decision.

A group of coworkers and I hiked to Kalalau in September 2011 during the labor day weekend. The…read moreNapali coast is amazingly beautiful, but what an intense hike! I'm not a super avid hiker--I hike maybe once every 2 or 3 months. My coworkers are pretty experienced hikers, so I found myself out of my league on this advanced hike! You can do portions of the trail or the whole 11 miles all the way to Kalalau. The most common thing to do it hike to 2 miles into the beach, where the trail head for Hanakapiai waterfall is. These first 2 miles have pretty intense elevation changes, so pack lightly. The falls is an additional 2 miles in off of the main trail. If you keep going, you need to get permits from this site: https://camping.ehawaii.gov/camping/all,c-search.html At around the half-way point between the trailhead and Kalalau, you'll cross Hanakoa stream, which is the start of the trail to Hanakoa Falls. The trail was marked with pink flags when we went, but I don't expect those to last forever. There's also a camping grounds and composing toilet at this point, for those who want to hang around here. I'd recommend bringing some bug spay or at least a mosquito net if you're planning to set up camp. If you're hiking to Kalalau, grab at least a couple of liters of water at Hanakoa, because there's no guarantee of water sources beyond this. We crossed a few small streams, but they were pretty sparse and might not be flowing if there's no rain. Next is where the trail got INTENSE and my mettle was really tested. Up until this point, the trail was difficult but at least I would consider it totally safe. Beyond Hanakoa falls, you better be comfortable with heights, have some good hiking boots, and have a well-balanced pack. There are points where you're walking along a narrow ledge with nothing to hold on to with the wind whipping in your face. My coworkers were fine with this portion, but I found myself thinking, "if I die here, I'm gonna be PISSED!" My coworker appropriately named this portion "Mordor" because of the volcanic rock and impending sense of doom. After you cross Mordor, you're home free in terms of safety, but you still have a couple more miles to go. Once you get to Kalalau, you can set up camp in the trees, in the caves, or on the beach. There's a waterfall where you can shower (use only biodegradable soaps!) and a composting toilet. It was such a relief to finally get there! I set up tent and immediately crawled in for an hour nap before I arose to the smell of camp food and whiskey. I highly recommend this hike for those who are avid hikers, but definitely caution those who are just beginners like me. Do your research!

What a beautiful, secluded beach! My girlfriend and I paddled out with Kayak Kauai and spent the…read morenight sleeping under the stars. There are toilets and plenty of places to set up tents. Also, there is a small waterfall which is good for taking a quick shower in. You can also hike to this beach along the Kalalau trail, but we'd definitely recommend the kayak as you can bring more equipment and it's much easier on your body. The people arriving by foot looked completely exhausted. Make sure you get a recreational map and hike up to the pool in the valley. There are a few twists and turns in the trail, but just try to follow the stream...

Super beautiful dry cave located along the side of the road across the beach parking lot. Had a…read morelocal uncle sitting outside, making sure locals and tourists were being safe. He was super nice, and shared stories with us about his time as a Luna in Maui. The cave itself is a sacred place, so please to everyone, BE RESPECTFUL when visiting here. We made sure to ask permission to enter before we went in. Once inside, I was rushed with an overwhelming sense of emotions and teared up. You could definitely feel the mana and the spirits here. It was such a beautiful feeling. After we exited, we made sure to thank the spirits for allowing us to embrace the experience. Definitely worth the visit as long as you are grateful and respectful of this place.

I wasn't sure this was going to be worth the stop but it ended up being cooler than I thought. We…read moreconveniently got a parking spot as we were turning around to leave so it worked out but I would say you could potentially plan to go here and not be able to stop due to lack of parking. I'd suggest going later in the day for parking purposes.

We enjoyed checking out this side of the island this time. It was kind of tricky to find parking…read morebut just be patient and you'll find some. We ended up finding a spot on the street and walked down an alley to the beach. Didn't need an umbrella here as there are plenty of shade trees right on the beach. So beautiful and relaxing. It is very popular and busy, but you only really notice that in the water because of everyone wanting to snorkel. The snorkeling was really cool here! Some of the best I've seen! I spent a lot of time in the water, but tried not to go too far out as the tide can be a little tricky here in some parts as well. A must-see when on Kauai!

One of the secret, beautiful beaches in Kauai. This is the…read moreplace that is depicted in the musical " South Pacific" or the famous fictional place "Bali Hai". Use Makua Beach /hAena state beach park to park is the access you can use to get to tunnels beach! Once you get there it's super gorgeous! Definitely worth the 1 hour drive from lihue for a sunrise/sunset in Kauai!

Managed to snag a parking reservation just a few days before (there was a cancellation), and got…read morethere just before noon for the 12:30PM ticket - was let in early (there were plenty of parking spots left). Did the hike first before coming to this beach to snorkel. Water was warm, smooth sand and very few rocks on the ocean floor, saw some fish closer to the rocks on the side. Nice spot, appreciated the showers! Definitely well worth it, would recommend! Reserve early otherwise you might not get a spot!

This is a great beach to go to. I just don't like the fact that you have to pay for park entrance…read more I remember the first time I came here in 2013, we could drive right up to the parking lot. Though, parking was not ideal back then, it was still free. But now you have to either reserve a parking spot or if you can't, reserve a shuttle seat. We were here on a Wednesday and it was nice and quiet. There weren't a bunch of people here and it was great. Was not crowded whatsoever and we pretty much had the run of the place. The beach is beautiful and there's a reef that protects you from any big waves. The water is, for the most part, calm. The water is clear and the sand is fine. There's no rocks or stones I have to watch out for when walking around. Unlike Anini Beach, where there are stones and rocks all over the place, this is a very nice calm beach to go to. If you can wake up early enough to reserve a parking spot, then do it. If not, make shuttle reservations.

This was an absolutely beautiful and incredible hike, one of the most amazing trails! Let's be…read morehonest though, this was a hard hike. The sun will beat down on you and you're gonna climb some inclines. To get to the trail and hike you need a permit, we went through a tourist service that provided a Shuttle at Hāʻena State Park. The shuttle is frequent so you're able to plan your day and get a ride back to the lot. When they say bring 2 liters of water per person, they mean it. We also brought 2 snack bars per person too. Listen to the guides at the beginning!! This hike took us about ~6.5-7 hours with some breaks and we swam in the waterfall. I highly recommend picking up dinner and storing it in your fridge because restaurants might be closed by the time you finish the hike. Ke'e beach is right on the trailhead, this is a safe beach to enjoy! The beach at 4 miles (halfway towards the waterfall) is not safe and it is mentioned over and over- the rip tides will sweep you away. On the trail, there were lots of guava which smelled amazing! You cross the flowing stream from the waterfall multiple times. The trail can get muddy too. It rained briefly on the way back and it was really nice break from the sun. The falls were worth the hike for sure. So beautiful and cool to swim. I would hike this again, so incredible! I will say, I was extremely exhausted and sore after, but loved the experience!

This hike absolutely kicked my butt, but the views made it all worth it. It is 8 miles round trip…read moreto the falls, and they are a LONG 8 miles. Terrain is extreme, and you have to cross through water on multiple occasions. Swimming under the waterfall was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. The views of the Na Pali coast were amazing. I would recommend this hike but be sure to be conditioned for it and prepared with the right gear and enough water.