If ever an island was made for adventure, it's the Hawaiian Island of Kauai. The natural environment provides great opportunities for a wide range of activities.

The busy harbor at Port Allen is the launch site for a fleet of pleasure boats that take to the seas for whale watching, dinner sails, dolphin encounters, charter fishing, snorkel and picnic trips and cruising beneath the stunning green palisades of the Na Pali Coast. There are also sea kayak, powerboat and catamaran rentals.

Fishing charter captains know all the best "grounds" around Kauai for mahi mahi, opakapaka, tuna and the fighting marlin. Seasonally, freshwater anglers can fish for bass and trout.

Uniquely Hawaiian
Kauai is a great place to learn a new sport, hobby or activity unique to Hawaii. There are schools for surfing, scuba diving, tennis and golf. Learn to weave a lei, dance the hula, play the ukulele, often without leaving your hotel. There are professional photographers who guide photo-safari tours and are willing to provide hands-on instruction. And, they know all the best places to shoot.

Golfers can tee off at one of nine golf courses, many of them championship links, set amid spectacular scenery, plus there are approximately 15 tennis courts.

The only navigable rivers in Hawaii flow through Kauai. Paddlers can explore placid river reaches by kayak or glide silently through sanctuaries in hopes of a glimpse of one of the rarest birds on earth.

Beauty Beyond Compare
Hiking trails head into Waimea, the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, or along the Na Pali Coast to breathtaking valleys unreachable by road. There are coastal hikes across high sand dunes and rainforest treks among the oldest flora in Hawaii. Ferns reach up to eye level and tropical hibiscus and ginger blossoms measure the size of your fist. Find waterfalls and cool plunge pools, hidden shoreline coves and glorious mountain vistas. Trails vary from easy nature walks to backpacker treks requiring skill and endurance.

Much of Kauai's incredible scenery may look familiar because it has appeared in more than 75 Hollywood features. Kauai Movie Tours takes visitors in air-conditioned vans (equipped with video screens displaying clips from films such as "Jurassic Park") to the same green valley where T-Rex prowled. Or see it all from the air in a narrated helicopter ride.

Explorers can also choose mountain bike tours, while bicyclers can cruise downhill from the top of Koke'e to the ocean - over a dozen magnificent miles along Waimea Canyon. Horseback riding takes visitors into forests, canyons and mountains for picnics, waterfall swims and incredible ocean vistas. Other popular options are waterskiing and windsurfing.

Kauai is known as the Garden Isle because it's so green and the flora is so intense. Wander through botanical gardens and encounter birds and plants found nowhere else but here. Ninety percent of Hawaii's native plants are unique to the islands and half are endangered. Remember to bring your camera.

Located on the north shore in Haena is Limahuli Gardens and Preserve, one of four in Hawaii sanctioned as a National Tropical Botanical Garden. Self-guided tours can take up to one and one-half hours or allow up to two and one-half hours for guided tours (reservations required). There's a fee for both tours. At Na 'Aina Kai Botanical Gardens, more than 70 bronze statues and a maze full of surprises are woven into a landscape of ponds, gardens, waterfalls, lagoons and streams.

After a busy day of adventure, visitors may want to relax at a Hawaiian luau. This traditional feast with native food, hula and fun is the perfect way to top off a Kauai day.

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Kauai Visitors Bureau 4334 Rice Street, Suite 101 Lihue, HI 96766 (800) 262-1400 (808) 245-3971 National Tropical Botanical Garden 3530 Papalina Road Kalaheo, HI 96741 USA (808) 332-7324

Na ‘Aina Kai Botanical Gardens 4101 Wailapa Road Kilauea, HI 96754 (808) 828-0525