Kauai

A perfect place for those who like a slower pace and an abundance of scenery and history. Fourth largest and the oldest of Hawaii's islands, Kauai is less than 100 miles around by car and is formed from one massive volcano of which Mt Waialeale forms the eastern rim.

Captain Cook came ashore on Kauai in January 1778 and was received as a god. Visitors to this beautiful island are received in much the same friendly way.

Smith's Tropical Paradise is a 30-acre park with tram rides through arbours of Pacific palms, shrubs and flowers.

On the island's north shore the scenery runs riot. Grey mists hang over the sheer Na Pali cliffs, crystal waterfalls tumble into deep valleys and tranquil, aquamarine waters provide calm anchorage for sailboats. Makahoa Point is recognised by movie buffs as Bali Hai in the movie 'South Pacific'.

Po'ipu has been called Kauai's playground for it is twelve miles (a leisurely thirty minutes by car) from Lihu'e, the capital of Kauai and offers visitors all the ingredients for a perfect holiday. There you will find gourmet cuisine, a host of watersports and comfortable accommodation.

Lihue (Town & Airport)

Flights to Kauai arrive at the capital, Lihue, which stands slightly inland of lovely little Nawiliwili Harbor. It's roughly at the midpoint of the round-island highway (prevented from completing a loop by the Na Pali cliffs), but as a base it's pretty undistinguished. The population is just five thousand, and downtown consists of a few tired plantation-town streets, well back from the sea and surrounded by anonymous malls.

The small Kauai Museum at 4428 Rice St (Mon-Fri 9am-4pm, Sat 10am-4pm; $5) traces the island's history from the mythical menehune through Captain Cook's 1778 landfall and on to its sugar-growing heyday. Kauai was the one island not conquered by Kamehameha the Great; he spent six years amassing a fleet which never sailed, and settled in the end for accepting economic tribute.

Poipu

Poipu, Kauai's principal beach resort, was hard hit by Iniki, but is now finally back to normal, offering great surfing and snorkeling. Its finest hotel is the sumptuous Hyatt Regency, while there are many other resorts that quotes much lower prices for condos in the area.

Hanalei & Princeville

For the moment, major development stops beyond Princeville, mainly because the road then crosses seven successive one-lane bridges. The first is over the Hanalei River, where the valley stretching away inland is a National Wildlife Refuge. Here endangered Hawaiian ducks, coots and stilts are protected by the preservation of their major habitats - natural wetlands and taro ponds. As a result, this is a rare chance to see a Hawaiian landscape relatively unchanged since ancient times.