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Kauai: Essential Facts

Learn these Kauai factoids and you will know more than most on your dream Hawaii vacation:

1. Kauai, known as the “Garden Isle,” is the northernmost and fourth largest of the major Hawaiian Islands.

2. The island has a circular shape and an area of 550 square miles.

3. There are 113 miles of shoreline and 50 of those miles are sand beaches.

4. Ninety-seven percent of the land is used for agriculture and conservation.

5. Seventy percent of the island is inaccessible by foot.

6. Kauai’s weather is near perfect year-round with daytime temperatures ranging from the mid 70’s to the mid 80’s, slightly warmer in the summer.

7. Rain showers usually fall in the evening and early morning hours, predominantely over the mountain ranges. Contrary to popular belief, it does not rain on Kauai all the time — except on the peak of Mt. Wai’ale’ale (in the very center and top of the island).

8. Mt. Wai’ale’ale (3,000 feet high) is the wettest spot on earth, with over 430 inches of rain per year pouring on its peak and creating wonderful waterfalls on the island below.

9. The temperature of the ocean ranges from 68 to 80 degrees fahrenheit.

10. Kauai is about a half an hour by air from Honolulu.

11. Kauai was “discovered” by Captain James Cook in 1778. Polynesians settled on the island in the fourth or fifth century A.D.

12. Hawaii Standard Time is in effect year-round (Daylight Saving Time is not observered). Hawaii Time is 2 hours behind Pacific Standard Time and 5 hours behind Eastern Standard Time. When Daylight Saving Time is in effect on the US mainland, Hawaii Time is 3 hours behind the West Coast and 6 hours behind the East Coast. For more on Hawaii Time compared to the rest of the world, see Hawaii Time.

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