Kauai - Day 1, part 1: Hotel & Helicopter Tour

Here are some pictures of our first day in Kauai.  Well, our first FULL day (we flew in at night the first day).  

We stayed at the Kauai Marriott Resort and Beach Club on the East  Shore of the island. See picture below.  Thankfully, it was right next to the airport, so we didn't have far to drive after we picked up our rental car (we were very tired).  Hawaii is 5 hours BEHIND Texas time, so by the time we finally arrived at our hotel room, it was about 9:30pm local time, but felt like 2:30am to us.

  

This was the nicest hotel we've stayed in.   Not necessarily the nicest room, but the nicest hotel. It was totally beautiful - every detail.  The hotel sat right on the beach, and it had the hugest pool we've ever seen.  There were 5 separate hot tubs too, each set inside its own gazebo.  

This picture was taken from the balcony of our room, 

overlooking the pool and beach/ocean (barely seen in the background).

The first thing we did Monday morning was take a helicopter tour over the island.  It was awesome (thanks, Mom).  The company offered tours in helicopters without doors, so of course, we took that one.  Again, awesome. You can see so much more that way, and there's no glare (from windows) on your pictures! That said, my pictures still aren't the best.  Although we read in our Kauai guidebook that morning tours were the best time to go, it was still a little misty/cloudy. (our tour was at 7:45 AM). Anyway, I'll try not to bore you with too many pictures from the tour (it's so hard to choose!!), but here goes:

During flight, we could lean out the door just like our pilot is in this picture. 

He was native Kauaian, by the way, and flew Black Hawks (in the military) for research expeditions in Antarctica.

Just for some perspective of how huge these mountains were and how high we were

Waterfalls, waterfalls, waterfalls . . .

Hanalei Bay - from near and far.  This area is famous for professional surfing.

Tunnels Reef  - pretty cool to see from above. Popular for snorkeling & diving

Waimea Canyon (below)- looks similar to the Grand Canyon, 

you'll see more pictures of this later.

The rest of these are the of the grand Napali Coastline.  

Also famous, and used in many movies because of it's sheer beauty.

The Na Pali coast is probably Kauai's most famous attraction. It is sixteen rugged miles of coastline along the Northwest side of the island. Na Pali, meaning 'many cliffs', starts on the north shore, and continues until Polihale beach on the west side. Some of the cliffs rise as high as 4000 feet above the ocean floor. The Kalalau trail, the most famous hiking trail in all of Hawaii, runs for eleven miles along the Na Pali coast, dead ending at the Kalalau Valley and Kalalau beach. Although the Na Pali coast is inaccessible by car, it can be viewed by helicopter, hiking, or boat. Any of these provide a highly recommended experience for those considering a visit to Kauai.

Secluded beaches, only accessible by sea or air.