Stretching one mile wide and 3, 600ft deep, the Waimea is full of hiking trails with panoramic views.

BBC: Kauai��s hidden adventures

Waimea Canyon State Park has lookout points over Kaua'i's stunning Na Pali cliffs, as well as numerous hiking trails through and around the canyon, a wilderness lover's delight.

BBC: Hawaii for beach haters

Jump in your car and head about five miles up the highway to the Waimea Valley (59-864 Kamehameha Highway, waimeavalley.net ), a site sacred to native Hawaiians.

WSJ: Take Monday Off: Honolulu

With another week or more on Kauai, spend a couple of nights camping and hiking at Koke'e State Park and Waimea Canyon State Park, then boogie up to the North Shore, mixing some camping at Anini Beach or Haena Beach with lodgings in Hanalei.

BBC: How to choose a Hawaiian island

Eye-opening drasma and locations almost too beautiful to be real unfold at all points of its coast and core: from the South Shore's retro-swinging Waikiki Beach to the East Shore's pristine beaches and dense jungles to the North Shore's Waimea Beach, feared and loved for its tsunami-like surf.

WSJ: Oahu, Hawaii, Travel Guide: The New Wave | Journal Concierge