Tuesday Feb 3, 2026
Hi All! This is our second day in Kauai and if you ever get the chance you have to come here. I personally think it’s the prettiest of all the islands. I visited here 14 years ago and hope I can come back again sooner than that!
They’ve filmed hundreds of movies here, many of which you’d know. Such as Jurassic Park, Pirates of the Caribbean, Raiders of the Lost Ark and more. They said given their varied landscape they can simulate Vietnam, Africa and many other countries. Given that, we decided to do the tour that goes to various movie sites.
The tour was called “Hollywood in Hawaii” and took us along the east coast of Kauai all the way up to the northern tip. Our first stop was to the Old Lighthouse from the movie Donovan’s Reef starring John Wayne. It surely didn’t look like a lighthouse but it was a beautiful setting.
We then stopped at the point where they filmed Jurassic Park. It was the place where all the dinosaurs gathered in an open field. After that we drove to the northernmost tip of Kauai, which is also the northern most tip of all of the Hawaiin Islands called Kilauae point.
At that northern point is a beautiful lighthouse sitting high up above the pounding surf. It is also a bird sanctuary and no boating or flying is allowed up to 2 miles off the coast. Two famous people live right near the point, Adam Sandler and Better Midler.
Our driver shared a fun story about Adam Sandler. One day each year he invites the entire island to a party on his property and gives each child a goodie bag when leaving the party. He also includes a tablet in each goodie bag to help educate the kids. How cool is that?
We then drove to the town of Hanalei. Sound familiar? That’s where Peter, Paul and Mary wrote the song Puff the Magic Dragon! The mountains near the beach are shaped like a dragon and that’s what inspired them.
It is a cute little town with a beautiful beach and lots of fun little shops. The best one is one I visited 14 years ago! JoJo’s Shave Ice has the best shave ice in Hawaii. So of course I had to get one. I ordered the Lilo and Stitch flavor! Raspberry, Blueberry and Vanilla Cream… sooo yummy! If you ever get a chance, try a shave ice. So much creamier and softer than a Snow Cone. It just melts in your mouth!
We even got back to the ship in time to play one of the games (Shuffle Golf) and won a Regent point! YAY!! I’ll do another update tonight. Hope everyone’s having a great Tuesday!
The Wandering Italian 