What to do in Kauai BESIDES the beach and or state park?

Most of the things you've seen relate to the water because Kaua'i is an ISLAND. It's one of the smaller islands in the Hawai'ian archipelago and the population is around 70,000. There are not a lot of places to shop (unless you're into the touristy stuff) -- many people who live here go to O'ahu to do major shopping. O'ahu's population is over 1 million, so there are many, many more people, which means more shops and more traffic. If you want a bunch of chain shops and chain restaurants, you're not going to be happy on Kaua'i. Our only chain 'restaurants' are McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, and KFC. The REAL restaurants are almost all small local places like Hamura's Saimin or Shrimp Station. We have quite a few food trucks too: Paco's Tacos, Kikuchi's, Annatta's Thai, Kickshaws, and El Taco Feliz, to name a few.

There are tours: an ATV tour, an innertube ride through some abandoned sugar cane flumes, a movie tour (they show you places where movies have been filmed on Kaua'i -- movies like 6 Days, 7 Nights, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, and Tropic Thunder) ziplines...stuff like that. There are also whale and dolphin watch tours and Zodiac tours of the west side of the island that go into sea caves. There are lots of interesting things to see on Kaua'i, including the lighthouse at Kilauea (the old beacon was a highly polished shell and the lighthouse is the northernmost point in the Hawai'ian islands), Waimea Canyon (Mark Twain called it "the Grand Canyon of the Pacific"), the taro fields in Hanalei, and the coffee plantation on the west side (the largest coffee plantation in the United States).

If you want touristy souvenirs or gifts for friends at home, Wal Mart is your best bet. They have the same shell necklaces and chocolate-covered macadamia nuts you can get in the touristy shops, but they're less expensive. Good locally made ice cream? Lappert's in Hanapepe and Wailua. The best shave ice (something you HAVE to get when you're in Hawai'i): JoJo's in Waimea. Stop on your way back from visiting the canyon. If you want local food, check out a farmer's market -- they're all over the island on different days of the week. Buy apple bananas, rambutan, strawberry papayas, and white pineapple. Sometimes you can find squid ink pasta, locally made juice, or laulau. You can't get those on the mainland. In a restaurant and want to try something local? You can't get more local than a Loco Moco. Or you can grab some food and eat it at the beach, picnic style. Make sure you get a tub of mac salad -- it's included with just about every food order on the island and it's delicious. Much better than anything on the mainland. Some other good places to eat that are mostly local (though some tourists do find them): Duane's Ono Char Burger in Anahola, Da Crack (Mexican hole in the wall in Poipu), and Hamura's Saimin in Lihue.

If you're here on the first Saturday of the month, Kapa'a town has First Saturday. All of the shops are open and there are food trucks and booths at which to buy some ono grinds (delicious food). There are also booths which sell shirts, Chinese Pretzels (yum!), and lots of other fun stuff. Better than Wal Mart. Every Friday is Art Night in Hanapepe and it's similar to First Saturday, except it's every week, not once a month.

Have fun and enjoy your trip!

Sorry? What? Hawaii is a beach. Tours cover Hawaii, what people want to see. Going to Kauai and you don't want to see Waimea Canyon, Kokee SP, Napili Coast, Helicopter drop on a vacant beach, Boat ride on the Napili Coast, hiking, Lumahai Beach, snorkeling, surfing, fishing, a luau? I could go on? Why would you want to go to Hawaii for then? Hawaii is beach and water based, and a lot more! "Kauai Revealed," great book, but it'll just tell you a lot more of what you don't want to go to Kauai for?

It is an island after all but you can also do some zipline tours and ride horses. http://adventureinhawaii.com/kauai/kauai-zipline-t...