Kauai has been on my mind lately. As some of you know, next year we are supposed to spend four nights in Oahu on our way to Japan I thought I made my peace with not visiting Kauai on that particular trip. It really didn’t make sense to split four nights between two Hawaiian islands.
But then Southwest announced a new route from Oahu to Kauai. With a rate of 2,700 Rapid Rewards points per roundtrip flight, we could do a day trip. After all, we’ve done it before while vacationing in Maui in 2002.
The schedule for my dates isn’t loaded yet, but this is the price for beginning of March:
Of course, we didn’t have kids in 2002, and we didn’t fly to Japan afterwards. Still, this is Kauai we are talking about. I couldn’t get the island out of my mind, so when I got enough miles, it was a no-brainer as to where we would end up going. The year was 2006, the week of Thanksgiving.
We had a layover in LAX and to my surprise, Pierce Brosnan (former James Bond) and his entourage boarded our plane bound for Kauai. My VRBO hosts later told me that he has a vacation house there. There was a woman in her early thirties as well as a young girl traveling with him, and they ended up sitting in the row ahead of us. James Bond himself flew in first class. I’m not sure if they joined him at the last minute and had no option other than sit in coach. I didn’t ask.
I remember him coming over midway through the flight and affectionately asking “How are my girls?” I didn’t try to listen in on the conversation but like I said, they were right in front of us. I assumed it was his daughter and possibly granddaughter. It was neat to see him not as a celebrity, but as a regular guy, just another doting father/grandfather.
After landing, we went our separate ways. Me and my husband to our $65/per night rental, them to 6.5 million dollar estate. We all seemed equally excited to be in Kauai. This would be the end of the story, just an amusing anecdote to share with friends. Except in 2013 I’ve read a headline that Pierce Brosnan’s daughter died from ovarian cancer at the age of 41. I don’t really follow the lives of celebrities, but in our celebrity-obsessed culture you would have to live under a rock not to know certain things.
Anyway, a normal person would think it was sad and move on. But I’m not a normal person. I had to go down the rabbit hole and find out if it was her on the plane. The photo looked familiar. I remembered that the little girl was around seven in 2006. Was there a daughter who was fourteen at the time of death? There was. It had to be them.
I was very sad to learn that my hunch was correct. It’s weird because our lives intersected for a brief moment. The fact that she was related to a celebrity didn’t make it any more or less tragic. Nor was it unique. I’m sure that most people on that plane have experienced some sort of tragedy in the following seven years. It’s just that I wouldn’t have any way of knowing about it.
Looking at our photos of Kauai made me think about the whole thing again. Maybe it’s because I have a young daughter or maybe it’s because I’m not that far off from turning 41 myself. I will always have a tinge of sadness thinking about Kauai and that little girl who would only have seven years left with her mom.
Just yesterday Nancy published a post Should families prioritize financial perfection over vacations? It generated quite a bit of discussion in the comment section as well as our Facebook page Many felt that life is too unpredictable to put off travel until everything is just right financially.
I can attest to the fact that health is not guaranteed when you retire, that is if you even make it that far. My 77-year-old father-in-law will need two major surgeries in the next six months. We have already booked his ticket to Japan, but everything is obviously up in the air. Did we wait too long to take that trip with him? I think so. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, and life often gets in the way of travel plans.
I don’t know if we’ll end up going to Kauai for a day trip. I want to, and my husband said he is OK with it. Sure, Kauai deserves more than eight hours. But if that’s all I got, maybe I should just go for it? Who knows if the opportunity will present itself again.
Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
@Brad Thanks a lot! That does sound like fun. I’m not yet sure what we will end up doing, but I’ll keep it in mind. Kauai is an amazing place, I wish I could move there.
check out yesterday’s adventure with friends from New Zealand. I’m Brad Weigle on FB. they arrived at my place, 15 minutes west from the airport, at 9. we had a leisurely brunch, drove up the canyon, checked the lookouts, 4 wheeled to the redwood grove in Kokee, hiked 2 trails , stopped at more canyon lookouts, had dinner at the Kauai Brewery in Port Allen, and they were headed back to Princeville by 9pm. if our scedules coincide, I’ll pick you up and deliver you back to the airport – all at no cost. i worked all my life to return here and simply love to see the joy Kauai brings to others. LMK!
@Brad Wow. That is very kind of you! I’m not sure I will be able to take you up on your offer (especially the “free” part), but it’s very nice of you to reach out. I’m not yet sure how our plans will work out.
I hope someday we can move to Kauai. I know the price of real estate and rent is outrageous, so it’s probably not feasible. But who knows?
I would save up the $ then for when you do go back to still do a family airplane ride. Unlike the other islands, most of Kauai’s internal treasures cannot even be seen unless by air.
I read of people on Kauai for a week riding around the same roads or hiking allowable trails & never really understanding what all the fuss is about!
I love Kauai and I’m one of those people who embrace a quick stop of 8 hrs in a different destination, but I think it may not work well for you given the road situation. Most of the island is 25mph and there’s tons of traffic. I was shocked at how hard it was to get around and we weren’t there at a peak time! Especially having recently been to Maui, which has greatly improved the road system. The Grand Hyatt is a cool resort and pretty near to the airport so that might work. But as for seeing much, just make sure you pad your drive time to account for the slow going! Have fun!
@Sarah Hmm, the road situation is something to consider, for sure. I mostly want to visit Waimea canyon and Kalalau lookout. That’s all we could do really, given the limited amount of time.
The more I think about it, the more I realize it may not be the best idea. But I’m not ruling out Big Island just yet. Fortunately, you can cancel Southwest award tickets without penalty. Maybe I can reserve an inter-island flight and decide on whether to go after we get to Oahu. That’s the thing I love most about Southwest because you can make speculative bookings like that. Thanks for your input!
You will not have enough time to do either. Driving to/from Waimea Canyon is completely out of the question.
One suggestion is take a small airplane on a tour upon arrival. You’ll be at the airport already. Airventures does a 60-min trip, & you will see all you want by air much better anyway. You can book with URs. And cheaper/better seats/longer than by helicopter. Will give you a great overview for next time.
@Pam Funny you said that! That’s exactly what we did on our day trip from Maui back in 2002. I think the company was called “wings over Kauai” or something like that. My husband doesn’t trust helicopters, plus they were more expensive. For four of us, it would be a small fortune, though. I think after reading all the comments, I may just scrap the Kauai day trip idea altogether. We just need to make a separate trip there at some point.
There’s lots to do in a day trip. lmk and I’ll show you the jungle of Kokee via 4WD and send you back to whatever you’re headed next. even 1 day on Kauai can be spectacular!
Please, don’t waste your time on 8 hours, even for Kauai. By the time you get your rental, get to wherever you’re going (north island attractions all require reservations now), deal with traffic, get some food, return your rental, wait for the plane, you’ve lost half the day. Kauai is too beautiful to be treated like the tropical Disneyland you seem to be wanting.
@Ron You are preaching to the choir. I’m the first one to admit that Kauai deserves more than 8 hours. But that’s all I will have, unfortunately. I’ve been there twice and understand what you are talking about. I think we will need to do a separate trip in a few years and maybe split the stay between Maui and Kauai.
Nostalgia is a potent drug, isn’t it? I think the important questions to ask yourself are: 1) what do you want to do on Kauai, 2) what are you giving up doing on Oahu to visit Kauai, 3) would you rather explore Maui, Lanai, Molokai, or the Big Island (though Big Island is too big for a day trip) instead? Admittedly, I’ve been to Kauai only twice. Once on a school trip and once for a day for work. In my opinion, though, there isn’t a ton to do there in 8 hours. Maybe take in a few sites and eat some food, but not a whole lot else. Plus, there’s the issue that the island is still struggling to recover from some nasty storms last year, and residents along the popular north shore have become decidedly anti-visitor. https://www.jeffsetter.com/new-access-rules-for-haena-state/
@Island Miler You hit the nail on the head! This is definitely nostalgia talking. There is a ton to do on Oahu, for sure. I’m also tempted to fly to Big Island (Hilo). If there is lava flowing at the time, I just might go for it. That would be something truly unique and not easy to replicate elsewhere.
I do love Kauai, but maybe this isn’t the best idea.
Yes! Seeing lava would be interesting! Unfortunately, Kilauea is experience its longest period of inactivity in decades. At the moment, there are zero signs it will erupt again, though there are hints that Mauna Loa could erupt again in the future (last eruption was in 1984). Further, the last episode at Kilauea triggered the closure of volcanoes national park due to the unusually safety issues at the summit caldera, and to see actual lava, you needed to hike a few miles through lava wastelands.
This isn’t to say, though, that things can’t change between now and then. However, scientists are now wondering if 1) Kilauea’s next eruption will be more explosive and violent because of ground water intrusion at the summit, 2) if Kilauea will erupt again any time soon, and 3) if we’ll see a shift to the large Mauna Loa. Mauna Loa would be much more difficult to access if it did begin erupting because there are no viewing areas available and the road to the summit is very narrow.
Check out the Hawaii Volcano Observatory for the latest status updates: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/
@Island Miler Thanks so much for all the tips! It would be super cool if we could (safely) see the flowing lava, but I realize that the chances of that happening are slim. Well, that’s where speculative award booking on Southwest comes in.
Haha yes! Southwest FTW! Especially with the amazing introductory fares (if the dates work for you, that is). I’m so glad they’re here giving Hawaiian its first taste of competition in a LONG time.