Kauai, Hawaii: Hanalei Bay

If ya’ll had asked me what my absolute favorite thing to do on this Kauai vacation was, I would say swimming at Hanalei Bay.

The mountains behind the water is an absolutely gorgeous back drop. A few locals, who were there that day, said it’s rare to have a clear day and see the whole mountain. Usually there are low hanging clouds covering the tops of the mountains.

So run, do not walk, into the bay! Ok, ok. It was actually slow motion running. Any opportunity to be a weirdo on vacation is worth it.

We spent about an hour in the water. It was clear and the waves were calm. I was certain I was going to get sun burned on one side of my face because I could not turn my eyes away from the mountains.

What was really neat, was out by the opening of the bay were some larger waves. It was the perfect location to safely teach swimmers how to surf, seeing as a surf lesson was happening while we were there.

Some tips for your visit: the best place to park is the Hanalei Pier. The view is beautiful and there are bathrooms. However, if the parking lot is full, there is another parking lot a mile down the road. Also, pack a lunch. There is a shopping street nearby. But the day we were there, hardly any restaurants were open. Between having a couple week days off and covid out breaks, we were having a hard time finding food and stores open.

Regardless, swimming at Hanalei Bay on a clear, sunny day was the most peaceful couple of hours we had on this vacation. I highly recommend it. Mahalo!