Kauai

The fourth-largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, Kauai is at once invitingly lush and majestically stark. The island also has a reputation as an outlier: It was the only one of the Hawaiian islands that resisted the efforts of Kamehameha I to conquer by military force (in the end, the king had to resort to diplomacy and royal kidnapping). Kauai also fended off the encroachments of major tourism development for longer than its neighbors, and the island still has a tight cap on building heights. Add to this the fact that no roads completely encircle the island, and the result is a more relaxed and secluded atmosphere than prevails on the other large islands. 

At the Na Pali Coast State Park, a 6,000-plus acre tract of verdant, windswept land on the island’s northwest edge, narrow valleys culminate in rugged cliffs — and cascading waterfalls — that plunge dramatically to the sea. The park is accessible by foot or boat; helicopter tours are well worth the stunning views. On the South Shore, the popular Poipu Beach attracts visitors to its spectacular snorkeling; humpback whales and Hawaiian green sea turtles often frolic nearby.