A Hawaiian Honeymoon
August 19th, 2008 @ 6:04 pm by Mrs. Pinot Noir
I wish I could personally thank the person who thought up honeymoons. Seriously, what a fabulous idea!?!? Spend all of your time and energy planning the wedding day and then all of a sudden you are on vacation! I personally think it is especially great because I tend to get overly excited about vacations. I fantasize about them for weeks and I envision how wonderful they are going to be. As a result, sometimes I am actually let down because I build up such high expectations. But, with a honeymoon, I won’t even have time to think about it until we actually arrive! This means no expectations, no stress - just pure romantic relaxing bliss!
Mr. PN and I will be spending one fabulous week in Hawaii! Picking the honeymoon location was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. Neither of us have ever been to Hawaii and since the wedding is in California, we will be half way there anyway! The next step was to pick an island to visit. I thought we could hop around the islands and spend a day or two at each - after some research I quickly realized that “hopping around” wasn’t as practical (or affordable) as I first imagined.
[Source]
After reading an overview of the islands we decided to go with Kauai. Kauai is one of the quieter islands (not much nightlife here) with lots of hiking and outdoor activities. Mama PN was telling her coworkers about our trip and someone said “Kauai is so quiet and there really isn’t much nightlife. What will they do?” Mama PN replied with raised eyebrows “Well they live in NYC so I think they have quite a bit of nightlife to choose from. And it is their honeymoon! I’m sure they will think of something…”
We won’t be doing an ecotourism honeymoon or a volunteer-vacation, but we are considering the environment during our stay. The biggest way is in our lodging. We are bypassing the major hotel chains and staying at a quaint country inn. We will be spending five days at the Kauai Country Inn.
The Kauai Country Inn is located on 2 acres of beautiful farm land in an area called Wailua, just 4 miles inland from Kapaa town on Kauai’s East Shore. A working farm with a small all organic fruit orchard of mangoes, bananas, starfruit, oranges, grapefruit, lychee, wild guava & passion fruit, and avocado; we also grow orchids and other flowers used for lei making.
Even more exciting, guests to the Inn are welcome to pick as much organic fruit in season as they can eat!
The Kauai Country Inn is also a GREEN facility. They use energy efficient light bulbs throughout the property, as well as energy efficient appliances. They recycle plastic bottles and soda or beer aluminum cans, and use all green cleaning agents, mostly made from baking soda, vinegar, borax, and sea salt.
The Inn also offers an outdoor hot tub and free laundry services to guests (great news since we are doing carry on luggage only)!
We have booked the Orchid Suite for five nights. Amenities at a glance:
- 1 Bedroom / 1 Bath suite (about 500 sq.ft.)
- Private patio (another 500 sq.ft.) with gas barbecue & single gas burner
- Kitchenette equipped with: microwave, toaster, coffee maker, refrigerator, electric skillet, rice cooker and all dishes
- Beach towels, bath towels, hair dryer, iron and ironing board
- Cable TV, DVD player
- En-suite computer with FREE DSL internet connection - Wi-Fi throughout (Good for a quick WeddingBee fix)
- Ceiling fans in all rooms & Air-conditioner in the bedroom
Where will you be staying during your honeymoon?
Related Posts
13 Responses to “A Hawaiian Honeymoon”
Just got back from 10 days on Kauai and the Big Island for our honeymoon! We really liked the lushness of Kauai, and we stayed at a resort between Kapaa and Wailua. A good central area to stay in. Loved it! We took some hikes; the Kalalau trail was not a favorite of mine–we only did four miles (two in to a beach and back), but it was muddy, rocky, slippery, and I gashed my leg up pretty bad. The views of the ocean and coast were incredible, though! They tell you not to bring your “good” hiking shoes, etc. because of the red dirt staining everything permanently. While that is true, if you plan to do Kalalua, I would bring your best hikers–you’ll need them! Or hike later in the day or when it has not been raining . . . (though it rains a lot in that rainforesty area!). We used the Ultimate Kauai Guidebook that Lilikoi mentions, and it is fantastic to have. Enjoyed the Nounou Mtn. (Sleeping Giant) hike a great deal, and snorkeling at Tunnels Beach. Try Scotty’s BBQ if you can; we didn’t get there but heard it was very, very good . . . have a great trip!!
my brother was conceived in hawaii! and for that reason my korean parents are bugging me about going someplace romantic so i can bring home a baby. i was just like ermmm.. mom… can i please just think about getting married first? please? i’ve never been to hawaii but i would love to go one day.
I have to emphasize what the first two commenters did: GET THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO KAUAI book. I lived on the Big Island for several years and have one for each island. Read it ahead of time. Don’t worry, it’s pretty funny along with being really informative. Also - the muddy hike - she’s not kidding - MUDD and slip and slide city, and its SOOOOO worth it!!! Ah - and should you feel adventurous and consider a zipline excursion there are two. I recommend the not princeville one. The princeville one is fun, but its alot of walking through cow pastures in between ziplines.
omigosh, your Inn sounds absolutely lovely! I LOVE fruit, so I would be happy to pick everything and eat it fresh!
We LOVED the Ultimate Kauai guidebook. Click my name to see our honeymoon recap and you can see all the stuff we did. (We also went to Maui too, so there’s recaps of that, but we actually liked Kauai much better.)
I love Kauai. Definitely my favorite of all the islands. Hanalei is an awesome and laid back little town and Polihale is a secluded and long stretched out beach. You’re going to have such a relaxing time!
We are going to San Francisco for 5 days and then to Hawaii for a week. We are still trying to decide which island to go to.
Enjoy! Mr. J and I went to Kauai and Maui for our honeymoon and it was incredible— the scenery in Kauai is unreal. You guys are going to have a wonderful time!
@lilikoi & @goodvoile & @Starry-eyed Barefoot Bride & @Emily & @Miss Espresso: Thank you so much for your great suggestions! I just bid on a copy of the Ulitmate Kauai Guidebook on eBay!
Miss PN, make sure the copy you bid on is the most recent edition because there are updates. If not, be sure to check out the website for the most up to date info. Kauai is lovely and I have been twice in the past year, but I will warn you to keep you weather expectations low because it rains in Kauai quite a bit, especially in October. It will not prevent you from enjoying yourself but if you are thinking about lounging on the beach everyday, all day–think again. Also, during October you should probably stick to the southern beaches because the north can be very dangerous. The opposite is true in the spring and summer, btw. Your BB looks lovely and I would recommend also checking out local farmer’s markets too!
[...] We will be escaping to Hawaii the day after the wedding to spend a week relaxing and recuperating. When I posted about our trip last month you guys gave me some great suggestions. After your glowing reviews I picked up a copy of the Ultimate Kauai Guidebook from eBay. It is packed with tons of great information and suggestions! I already used it book a special adventure for Mr. PN (my wedding gift to him). Other than that, we haven’t had the time or energy to do anything other than reserve our hotel and Jeep. I’ve been reading the guidebook on the subway, but to be honest I’m pretty overwhelmed. There are so many options!! We aren’t planning to put together a specific itinerary but we do want to have a rough layout so that we get a chance to see all the best spots! We will be spending Sunday through Friday in Kauai and then Friday afternoon and all day Saturday in Honolulu (we are taking the red eye back to NYC on Saturday night). So I’m asking for your help hive! Please share a couple of your favorite activities in Kauai or Honolulu. I would especially love to hear your favorite hike, luau and restaurant! [...]
Mrs. Pinot Noir, New York/Napa Valley
Age and Occupation: 24, Health Educator
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Market Researcher
Engagement Date: November 10, 2007
Wedding Date: October, 2008
Blogging Since: June 25, 2008
Venue: Auberge du Soleil
About Me: I am a Minnesota raised, NYC transplant planning a destination wedding in Napa. I'm balancing my love for the environment and my hubby-to-be's love for tradition to create our "green wedding in disguise." Our wedding will include local food and wine, antique touches and lots of love and laughter. When wedding planning isn't taking up my free time (and money) I love to read, cook, workout, watch baseball and travel! Follow along in my adventure as I attempt to plan an eco-friendly and socially responsible wedding (with eco-oblivious Mr. Pinot Noir).
how perfect! i grew up in hawai’i & my fiancee and i love to go there whenever we can. he actually proposed to me on our trip to kauai! since you’re into hiking, you’ll love it! it’s incredibly beautiful. the kalalau trail on the na pali coast is absolutely stunning. you should definitely pick up the ultmate kauai guidebook by andrew doughty. he’s from kauai and knows all of the best hikes and has amazing directions & other recommendations. i’m sure you’ve already got things planned out, but if you want any tips, feel free to send me a message!