Kauai Travel Guide
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About Kauai
Kauaʻi, sometimes written Kauai, is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth largest of the islands and the 21st largest island in the United States. Kauaʻi is 73 mi (117 km) northwest of Oʻahu, across the Kauaʻi Channel. The island's 2020 population was 73,298. Styling itself the "Garden Isle", Kauaʻi is the site of Waimea Canyon State Park and Nā Pali Coast State Park. It forms the bulk of Kauaʻi County, which includes Niʻihau as well as the small nearby islands of Kaʻula and Lehua. == Etymology and language == Hawaiian narrative derives the name's origin from the legend of Hawaiʻiloa, the Polynesian navigator credited with discovering the Hawaiian Islands. The story relates that he named the island after a favorite son; a possible translation of Kauaʻi is "place around the neck", describing how a father would carry his child. Another possible translation is "food season". Kauaʻi was known for its distinct dialect of the Hawaiian language, which still survives on Niʻihau.