Kauai's North Shore Is Hawaii's Hidden Gem
- Photo by Adrian Gaut
There’s no better way to describe what one does here than the well-worn phrase commune with nature. “It’s a heavy place,” says author and former pro volleyball player Gabby Reece, who spends half the year on Kauai with her husband, big-wave surfer Laird Hamilton, and hosts free morning workouts when she’s in town. “There’s not a lot of white noise or distraction, so you kind of have to deal with yourself.”
- Photo by Adrian Gaut
Many trails end at waterfalls or pristine beaches, like Hanakapi‘ai, the hidden slip of sand two miles into the Na Pali Coast’s famous Kalalau Trail. The North Shore is the last word in beaches, really—a mic drop of sand-meets-sea around every bend in the road—and has been immortalized in films from South Pacific (1958) to The Descendants (2011), making the island an open secret in Hollywood. Pictured: Wailua Falls tumbles 80 feet near the island’s eastern shore.
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- Photo by Adrian Gaut
To understand how the North Shore has retained its end-of-the-earth vibe, never succumbing to a Tulum-like fate, you have to know its past. Its geographic remoteness has cultivated a sense of separateness, with ancient inhabitants speaking a distinct dialect of Hawaiian. This history informs locals’ identity. “Kauai is kind of the last bastion of fighters,” says Sheila Donnelly Theroux, a luxury publicist on Oahu (and wife of writer Paul Theroux) whose family has lived in Hawaii for four generations and who calls Kauai her favorite island. “The people who live in Hanalei are the reason it’s so retro. I can’t think of another place in Hawaii that’s so preserved in time.”
- ShoppingA New Season of The White Lotus Just Dropped, Along With a Ton of CollaborationsParis Wilson
- Photo by Adrian Gaut
Kauai Vitals
Touching Down
You can fly nonstop to Kauai’s Lihue Airport from nine U.S. cities, including Denver, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.Getting Around
The best way to navigate is by car. Both Dollar Rent a Car and Avis at Lihue Airport have a solid selection of all-terrain vehicles.Home Base
Rentals are the way to go on the North Shore, and villa specialist Anne Pawsat-Dressler at Hawaii Hideaways has options ranging from two- to ten-bedroom (mostly beachfront) estates. For a shorter stay, consider the St. Regis on Hanalei Bay.