Wailua River State Park — Attraction in Kauai

We visited for the Smith Family Luau and we had a wonderful time. We enjoyed the tram tour of the grounds where local fauna and flora and traditional Hawaiian and other Polynesian structures were indicated and explained. We watched the pig being brought out of the imu oven (another ceremonial Hawaiian experience) that was later part of the all-you-can-eat dinner experience. We feasted on many womderful things during dinner while being serenaded with live Hawaiian music. They offered plenty of drink options (alcohol of many varieties, sodas, juices, coffee, and water). I let them know when I made reservations that my wife is vegetarian and they prepared a special plate just for her, which was super nice. We all received a hula lesson near the end of dinner before moving down to the stage to enjoy a spectacular hula show that showcased traditional dances from a number of Polynesian and Pacific cultures. The Smith family (yes, they are Hawaiian- a few generations back one married an Englishman) was great. Everyone was helpful, pleasant, kind, and...

Have done a kayak tour several times, all with Kayak Kauai. I tend to not do tours but this one is worth it to get you to Wailua and Opeaka'a Falls. Will note you can drive relatively close to both but it isn't the same as kayaking the river. You can rent kayaks and do some paddling on your own too from the same company.

There is a stop with said tours that has you exiting the kayak and embarking on maybe a 15 minute hike to a nice swimming spot under Wailua Falls. A tad crowded however at peak times. Note that this is slow moving water and kayaking is a several hour to whole day excursion. I tend to wear a rashguard and hat as being on water will burn you up. You will get a workout too.

The park is very humid, bugs abound, and can be difficult to navigate during rainy days. It is beautiful and even for the driving folks, it is nice to get relatively close...

The view of the waterfall is nice from the road but not exactly close to it. Still a nice view and you can practically see it from your car. There's a bathroom up where you park to view the waterfall. We also took the boat ride to see the fern grotto. That was pretty cool to see and an enjoyable time on the boat with the history, music and dancing. It's a shame you can't go up in the grotto anymore but you still get nice pictures from where you are able to view it from. The walk to the grotto from the boat is short and peaceful (as peaceful as it can be with 50 or so people right around you) as you are down in the bottom of basically a rain forest set up. It wasn't buggy the day we went but they sell bug spray wipes where you buy the tickets so I'd suggest being prepared just in case. Worth the cost to take the boat ride and...