Hot? Cool down under a monkey pod tree
The Koloa district covers the area from Old Koloa Town to Kauai’s stunning South Shore in Poipu. The first sugar mill opened there in 1835 and set the wheels in motion for commercial sugar production right across the state. Thousands of immigrant workers followed, the reason Hawaii is such a multicultural melting pot today. Old Koloa Town has hung onto much of its charm and many of the magnificent plantation buildings along Koloa Road are now shops.
Love classic Italian cuisine? Discover Dondero's Restaurant for the finest Italian food in town.
In Koloa a collection of shops are stacked with unique gifts and interesting tourist items, and the brilliant Koloa History Center tellls the story of the town's historic sugar heritage.
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Try delicious local ice creams in traditional flavours like Heavenly Hana and Kauai Pie
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Discover the fascinating Koloa Heritage Trail
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Visit in July for the Koloa Plantation Days Celebration
Love dramatic contrasts? Head south from Koloa for high-rise contemporary resorts overlooking the glorious sands at Poipu.
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Golden Cities and Hawaii
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Allerton Garden is designated as one of the '50 Places of a Lifetime in America', highly recommended by National Geographic. It's a stunning botanical garden with extraordinary landscape architecture, tropical plants, water features and sculptures.
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Go to the South Shore to see the spectacular Spouting Horn blowhole doing its thing
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The Poipu coast, between December and May, is one of the best places to do a spot of whale watching
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Visit the lovely Prince Kuhio Park
Take a stroll around the beautiful Pau A Laka gardens, also called – less romantically - Moir Gardens, a splendid botanical garden dating to the 1930s. Or visit Kihahouna Heiau, the pretty site of an ancient temple.
Keoneloa Bay is where you'll find clear signs of the island's oldest occupied sites, dating back to 200-600 AD. And there's Hapa Road, where islanders have lived since the 1200s.
The Koloa Jodo Mission dosn't sound particularly Buddhist but it is, a lovely place built in 1910. The Sugar Monument commemorates the place where Hawaii’s first ever sugar mill was built. Visit the quaint Koloa Missionary Church, the first Congregational church in the area. Take yourself to the South Shore for excellent golf or visit Poipu Beach, best known for its rare Hawaiian monk seals. There are only 1,200 or so of the enormous animals left and many swim in the balmy waters around Kauai. Visit the Yamamoto shop and Koloa Hotel which were both originally plantation buildings, dating back to the 1920s. Now they're shops, but you get the picture.
Fancy snorkelling off Poipu beach? You're in for a treat, with a multitude of vibrantly colourful fish including the eccentrically-named humuhumunukunukuapuaa, Hawaii's official State Fish. This is one of the island's safest beaches with plenty of shops and places to eat, picnic tables and life guards. You can also go surfing on the island and there are several opportunities to enjoy ziplining in the jungle too, zooming along as fast as 35 miles an hour and 50-80 feet up through the stunning rainforests and waterfalls. Perfect for seeing rare wildlife and extraordinary views.