View of the Resting Goddess mountain formation from Anahola Beach with my tour companions Linda (taking the photo) and Chris (receiving advice from our tour guide Matt) in the foreground.
First time in Kauai?
It was mine and I spent two days getting oriented. If I had it to do again, this is where I would start.
Total transparency. This day tour was given to me complimentary because I write this site. But that has no bearing on my review. I wholeheartedly recommend Kauai Photo Tours as an excellent beginning for your first time in Kauai. Not that there aren't other choices when it comes to tours of Kauai. There are many. But I like this tour because you:
- Get an overview of the east and north sides of the island.
- Go to vantage points to get great photos of the island’s iconic vistas. You're almost guaranteed to go home with great photos.
- Discover photography highlights you might not find on your own.
- Go with a guide who
- can give you photography tips.
- does not follow a script as larger tour companies require.
- has his opinions and expresses them.
- shares insider travel advice on any topic you want.
- Support a family-owned tour company so that you know you’re contributing directly to the local economy.
Hawaii, especially the garden island of Kauai, is rich with spectacular mountains and beaches. This is Pila'a Beach on the east side of the island.
A Photo Tour is a Great Start for Your First Time in Kauai
When you go to a major city you can take a hop-on-hop-off bus tour. When you go to a small town all the highlights are usually found within a few blocks. Going to an island and trying to find the highlights for tourists and the highlights for locals is not an easy task. Despite driving south and west on day one and east and north on day two, I still didn’t feel that I had found my way in. When I read about the photography tour I thought, that’s the answer.
I wasn’t disappointed. My tour guide Matt is an amateur anthropologist and historian. He shared his views on the island, culture, language, the best restaurants and where to find music… in addition to, of course, helping us get great photos. I was on the tour with two couples, Randy and Linda and Chris and Ian – all a delight.
Here are a few of my photos from the tour. I’m happy with them but I can assure you that others on the tour did better than me.
Price: $119 for 5 & 1/2 hours. They also have cameras to rent and items like polarizing lenses to sell. I bought one of these and it makes a huge difference shooting in bright light.
Bonus: When you return from your tour, go across the way to Nani Moon for a mead tasting. You’ve never tasted mead like this before. You can taste a flight of six for $8 or choose any three of their meads for $5.
Moloaa Beach is beautiful. I returned to it for a day of relaxing and reading.
Another view of Moloaa Beach. The polarizing lens allows me to show the reflection of the clouds in the water or eliminate them.
Kīlauea Lighthouse was built in 1912.
Lunch break in Hanalei.
My photographer companions on a lava rock formation to get a great view at Kahalahala.
The waters can be dangerous at Kahalahala. The warning signs are not subtle.
Anini Beach has a reef farther out making the water at the beach quite calm and great for snorkeling.
Overlooking Hanalei bay, Kauai, Hawaii.
This is a Tropic Bird. I know it's hard to see but I wanted to include it as Matt also shared a lot of information on Kauai's flora and fauna.
Don't miss the mead tasting at Nani Moon across the way from Kauai Photo Tours office.
