Frommer's Kauai - Jeanette Foster [55]
For hikers, a great alternative to hiring a private guide is taking one of the guided hikes offered by the Kauai chapter of the Sierra Club, P.O. Box 3412, Lihue, HI 96766 ( 80 8/246-8748;www.hi.sierraclub.org/kauai/outings/index.html). The club offers guided hikes on preserves and at special places during the year, as well as 1- to 7-day work trips to restore habitats and trails and root out invasive plants like banana poka, New Zealand flax, nonnative gorse, and wild ginger. This might not sound like a dream vacation to everyone, but it’s a chance to see the “real” Kauai—including wilderness areas that are usually off-limits.
The Sierra Club offers four to seven hikes a month on Kauai. Hikes are led by certified Sierra Club volunteers and are classified as easy, moderate, or strenuous. These half-day or all-day affairs cost $1 for Sierra Club members, $5 for nonmembers. (Bring exact change.) For a copy of the newsletter, which lists all outings and trail repair work, send $2 to the address above.
Fun for Less: Don’t Leave Home Without a Gold Card
Almost any activity you can think of, from submarine rides to Polynesian luau, can be purchased at a discount by using the Activities and Attractions Association of Hawaii Gold Card, 355 Hukilike St., no. 202, Kahului, HI 96732 ( 80 0/398-9698 or 80 8/871-7947; fax 80 8/877-3104; www.hawaiifun.org). The Gold Card, accepted by members on every island, including Kauai, offers a discount of 10% to 25% off activities and meals for up to four people; it’s good for a year from the purchase date and costs $30.
You can save big bucks with the Gold Card. For example, if you have your heart set on taking a helicopter ride with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, that goes for $226, you’ll pay only $188 with your Gold Card, saving you nearly $38 per person—$152 in savings for a family of four. With just one activity alone, you’ve gotten the cost of the card back in savings. And there are hundreds of activities to choose from: air tours, attractions, bicycling tours, dinner cruises, fishing, guided tours, helicopter tours, horseback riding, kayaking, luau, snorkeling, rafting, sailing, scuba diving, submarine rides, and more. It even gets you discounts on rental cars, restaurants, and golf!
Here’s how it works: You contact the Activities and Attractions Association via mail, e-mail, fax, phone, or Internet (see above). They issue you the card, good for discounts for 1 year after the date you purchase it. You contact the activity (restaurant, rental car, and so on) directly, give them your Gold Card number, and get discounts ranging from 10% to 25%.
USING ACTIVITIES DESKS TO BOOK YOUR ISLAND FUN
If you’re interested in an activity that requires an outfitter or a guide, such as horseback riding, whale-watching, or sportfishing, consider booking through a discount activities center or activities desk. These agents—who act as a clearinghouse for activities, just as a consolidator functions as a discount clearinghouse for airline tickets—can often get you a better price than you’d get by booking an activity directly with the outfitter yourself.
Discount activities centers will, in effect, split their commission with you, giving themselves a smaller commission to get your business—and passing on, on average, a 10% discount to you. In addition to saving you money, good activities centers should be able to help you find, say, the snorkel cruise that’s right for you, or the luau that’s most suitable for both you and the kids.
But it’s in the activity agent’s best interest to sign you up with outfitters from which they earn the most commission, and some agents have no qualms about booking you into any old activity if it means an extra buck for them. If an agent tries to push a particular outfitter or activity too hard, be skeptical. Conversely, they’ll try to steer you away from outfitters that don’t offer big