Fodor's Expert Review Kilohana Plantation

This estate, once a much larger plantation and now a farm and visitor attraction, dates back to 1850, shortly after the "Great Mahele"—the division of land by the Hawaiian people. Plantation manager Albert Spencer Wilcox developed it as a working cattle ranch; it was also a sugar plantation. His nephew, Gaylord Parke Wilcox, took over in 1936, building Kauai's first mansion. Today the 16,000-square-foot, Tudor-style home houses specialty shops, art galleries, the Koloa Rum Company, Luau Kalamaku, and Gaylord's, a pretty restaurant with courtyard seating. Nearly half the original furnishings remain, and the gardens and orchards were replanted according to the original plans. You can tour the grounds for free or take a 40-minute train ride that includes a chance to feed farm animals while learning the agricultural story of Kauai and viewing a working farm. A more expensive train tour includes lunch and fruit-picking in the orchard.