Kauai

Aloha E Komo Mai! Welcome to Kaua`i!

The Hawaiian island of Kaua`i, the northernmost and fourth largest of the eight main Hawaiian islands is known as the Garden Island for its wealth of verdant plant life. Immediately capturing the hearts of all lucky enough to step onto its shores, Kaua`i is popular with malihini (visitors or newcomers) and neighboring Hawaiian island kama`aina (native born).

With an incredible contrast in climates and landscapes, combined with some of Hawaii’s finest beaches and over two dozen small, friendly communities with a warm, unhurried atmosphere, it is no wonder so many name Kaua`i as their favorite island. It is in this environment that Kauai’s thriving business community has succeeded in making the County of Kauai’s economy one of the state’s most vibrant.

A glance at the map reveals Kaua`i floating smack in the middle of the Pacific, roughly midway between Los Angeles, Tokyo, Sydney and Santiago. But what looks like an isolated speck of land surrounded by a vast ocean is, in fact, very well connected to the outside and without a doubt one of the most exciting and cosmopolitan rural communities in the world.

Past & Present

Geologists believe that Kaua`i rose from the sea floor as a volcano approximately 5.1 million years ago. As part of one of the most remote island chains in the world, Kauai’s native flora and fauna grew in total isolation for hundreds of thousands of years, unvisited until the first Polynesian voyagers began arriving from the Marquesas Islands about 1,500 years ago.

From the first Polynesian discoverers and centuries of development of the Hawaiian culture to the overthrow of Hawaii’s last monarch, Queen Lili`uokalani in 1893 to becoming a U.S. territory in 1900 to statehood on August 21, 1959, Hawai`i has undergone incredible changes. Throughout it all, however, Kaua`i has maintained a unique independent spirit, of which the people of Kaua`i remain proud today.

Over the centuries the early Hawaiian’s developed a unique society based on aquaculture and agriculture, living in self-sufficient pie-shaped divisions of land called ahupua`a that fanned out from the mountain tops to the sea, allowing for a high degree of self-sufficiency. It wasn’t until 1848, seventy years after Captain James Cook reached Kaua`i, that private land ownership was introduced in Hawai`i.

In the years that followed, the massive influx of foreigners changed the islands forever. It was the birth of Hawaii’s sugar industry in the district of Koloa, Kaua`i in 1835 that fueled successive waves of immigration from China, Japan, the Philippines, Korea, Okinawa, Portugal, Puerto Rico as well as Spain, Germany and other nations which have shaped Hawaii’s unique cultural mosaic.

During the 20th century the sugar industry maintained its place of prominence, reaching maximum output in the mid-1960’s, then going into decline through the 1990’s, and as it did the rise of tourism – the Visitor Industry – was born. From a modest 668 visitors in 1927 to 1,011,886 in 2004, Kaua`i has become a premiere destination for vacationers looking for an idyllic tropical paradise. >From honeymooners and active retirees to adventure and eco-tourists to artists, musicians and people looking to make a living here, Kaua`i in the 21st century enjoys a spot in the limelight as one of the most desirable places in the world to live, work and play.

Kaua`i By Sea & Air

Although Kaua`i is a small island in the middle of the ocean, living here isn’t quite like a survival game. All the conveniences and technology that support a thriving economy in the rest of the country are available here, just on a smaller scale.

Kaua`i has business centers, video teleconferencing facilities, and internet cafes. You will find nation-wide chain stores, high-speed connections and overnight delivery services, but remember – Kaua`i is roughly 2,600 miles from the U.S. West Coast, so everything travels a long way by sea or air to get here.

Lihu`e Airport (LIH), just east of town, is the gateway to the island. Centrally located and easy to use, Lihu`e Airport has approximately 1,300,000 passenger enplanements each year.

Currently more than 30 flights a day connect Kaua`i to O`ahu and the neighbor islands. The 25-minute flight to Honolulu is served by Aloha, Hawaiian, Island Air, and go! for day and weekend trips to O`ahu and the neighbor islands very common.

United, American Airlines and America West offer daily direct flights to the U.S. mainland with all international flights departing from Honolulu International Airport (HNL). Charter operators Sky Service/Ryan Airlines also offers service to Kaua`i. Package carriers such as FedEx and UPS also operate from Lihu`e Airport as well as seven major car rental agencies. For more information about Lihu`e Airport, visit www.state.hi.us/dot/airports/kauai/lih.

In addition to Lihu`e Airport, small general aviation Port Allen Airport (PAK), used primarily for helicopters, is one mile southwest of Hanapepe. For more information visit www.state.hi.us/dot/airports/kauai/pak.

Kauai’s largest passenger and cargo port is Nawiliwili Harbor, four miles south of the Lihu`e Airport. Currently Norwegian Cruise Lines has increased its call at Nawiliwili Harbor to six times a week. Port Allen, on Kauai’s south shore, as well as six small boat harbors around the island, are used primarily for smaller commercial and recreational vessels.  For more information about Kaua`i District Commercial Harbors or to view a Daily Ship Schedule, visit www.state.hi.us/dot/harbors.