Kauai, HI suggestions

2,733 Views | 14 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by dcAg
aggie4231
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AG
Going to Hawaii at the beginning of Dec. Will do 3 nights (2 full days and 2 partial days) in Kauai before going to the Big Island. Going by myself before meeting family on Big Island.

Never been to Kauai. Looking for place to stay, not to expensive.

Looking for suggestions on things to see/do. Will have my own mask/fins for snorkeling.
TAMUG'04 Marine Fisheries.
BSD
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AG
I've posted on several Kauai threads about my favorites. A quick search should bring some of those up.
Smokedraw01
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I'll be there next week for our fourth time.

1. The Napali Coast is my favorite place on the island. It's a great hike and I recommend continuing up to the waterfalls.

2. Hanalei is nice for dinner and such if you are staying on the north side of the island. Our favorite restaurant is The Dolphin. Go out to Hanalei Pier or the St. Regis for sunset.

3. I prefer the Makai golf course if you want to play golf.

4. We'll be hitting up Weimea Canyon this time around. Looks awesome.
Aggie87
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AG
Take the catamaran or raft tour of the Napali Coast. It's amazing to see from the water looking back at the island. I prefer the raft tours, but they can be rough when the water's choppy.

Waimea Canyon is a must see as well, up to Kalalau Lookout.
agracer
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AG
North side was ravaged by floods last April and again this summer. I'd suggest south side for better access to Napali tours and hiking (hiking up north is mostly closedown bc of floods/access)

Stay at a VRBO near Piopu beach. Had a great location when wife and I went in September for a reasonable cost. Just don't get the condo we had with the noisy, and I mean move your big toe and it was wake up the neighbor loud, bed.

Costco and Safeway near the airport for food. Dining is about 2x what you'd expect for the same meal in the US.

3 nights is not long enough in Kauai FYI.

If you haven't booked flights use google flights to track flights to/from home. I watched for about 3 weeks and round trip with one stop went from $750 to $850 and I finally got tickets for $650 each. Intra island flights are about on the hour so book those anytime ($89-$119).

If you can avoid checking bags do so. All bags are inspected for fruit and plants before you leave the islands (as in go home, not between islands) and the checked bag line was like a mile long when we left. Carry ones are inspected at the gate and it took maybe 2 minutes.

Check all trails.com for hiking. Trails are pretty wet and can be slippery in spots so bring decent hiking shoes. Also, do helicopter tours with Jack Harder. They do open door tours and mine was awesome.
7yrplan
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AG
Stay on the south side, near Poipu beach. Airbnb or vrbo it. As mentioned, the north side is mostly not accessible due to storms. You can't hike the Napali coast right now. It's worth seeing so that means either do it via helicopter or boat. Both are absolutely worth it and your only options right now. I'd put queens bath on your list of things to do as well.
strohag
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AG
Hit up Makai Sushi (It's inside a small grocery store) and Da Crack (Hawaiian version of Freebirds). Both right next door to each other on the south side of the island and won't break the bank.
YouBet
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AG
Bummer on the north side because there are some incredible, not too crowded beaches on that side.
Keeper of The Spirits
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AG
Skip the big island and stay in Kauai

We just spent a week on the northside, but if you plan on doing Waimea for 1 of 3 days stay south. Non locals cannot go past Hanalei right now on. The north side. Secret Beach and Hanalei Beach are great on the north side. Makai is awesome for golf, call the pro shop directly for the best deals. Dominate some shaved ice and poke while you are there

The shocking thing for me about Kauai is how crowded it is. We thought it would be the remote island but it is NYC compared to some of the Carribean islands.
Smokedraw01
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Right now the south side is very busy while the north is a little more sparse than in the summer. We've had sunshine just about the entire time on the north side that we've been here. Naapali is closed right now but there is plenty to do.

Apparently the busiest time of the year is coming up after Thanksgiving.
TitanAGGIE09
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AG
agracer said:

North side was ravaged by floods last April and again this summer. I'd suggest south side for better access to Napali tours and hiking (hiking up north is mostly closedown bc of floods/access)

Stay at a VRBO near Piopu beach. Had a great location when wife and I went in September for a reasonable cost. Just don't get the condo we had with the noisy, and I mean move your big toe and it was wake up the neighbor loud, bed.

Costco and Safeway near the airport for food. Dining is about 2x what you'd expect for the same meal in the US.

3 nights is not long enough in Kauai FYI.

If you haven't booked flights use google flights to track flights to/from home. I watched for about 3 weeks and round trip with one stop went from $750 to $850 and I finally got tickets for $650 each. Intra island flights are about on the hour so book those anytime ($89-$119).

If you can avoid checking bags do so. All bags are inspected for fruit and plants before you leave the islands (as in go home, not between islands) and the checked bag line was like a mile long when we left. Carry ones are inspected at the gate and it took maybe 2 minutes.

Check all trails.com for hiking. Trails are pretty wet and can be slippery in spots so bring decent hiking shoes. Also, do helicopter tours with Jack Harder. They do open door tours and mine was awesome.


I did not find eating on the island to be that expensive. Sure if you eat at resorts it's quite a bit more, but eating at local restaurants throughout the island I found almost every meal to be in the $20-50 range total. We did a few big meals in there but that was no different high end restaurants here. We do not really eat much fast food here so that's pretty comparable to any meal I get around Houston daily for 2 people. You can obviously do it big, but I like to experience the local restaurants almost everywhere I go so I find a lot of the statements about eating out in Hawaii to be overblown. You can eat for $10-20 a person all over the island and experience some awesome food!

Also, like said before. 3 nights is not nearly enough time here. We island hopped and did 6 nights here and still could of found things to do on day 8 if we had stayed longer. It's an awesome place
jaypunkrawk
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AG
Hang out with the locals and enjoy some saimin. We ate with a guy that said he'd been coming for a bowl every day for years. The shop itself had no atmosphere, but the food was great, and the people gave it all the atmosphere/ambiance you'd ever want.

Take a to-go box from Shrimp Station and head into Waimea Canyon with a jeep. Take the top off, and drive all the way to the Kalalau Valley overlook. Don't rush Waimea Canyon.

Check out all the easily accessible waterfalls around the island (Kipu, Waimea, Opaeka'a).

We had a good experience with the Blue Hawaiian helicopter tours. Many people would suggest doing this first thing upon arrival to get an overview and feel of the island.

Other eats we enjoyed: Kalaheo Cafe, Koloa Deli, Pomodoro, Bubba Burger.

Fair warning: you may decide you don't want to leave.
Johnny2Fan
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Drop by Hanapepe for a red dirt shirt.
Boats and Hose
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AG
We're heading there at the end of May and wanted to see if anyone knew about the condition of the north side of the island? We're booked at Princeville (formerly St. Regis) but we can switch to something on the south. We're hoping for a mix of relaxation and then hiking/tours/etc. Ideally we'd like to have the option to relax on the beach or by the pool but still be able to check out Waimea Canyon, Hanalei Beach, and the Napali Coast.
BSD
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AG
It is my understanding that the road to Kee (past Hanalei) is currently closed. I've heard the repairs should be substantially complete by May 31 but got mixed responses in my queries. You can sign up for updates from HDOT.
dcAg
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Buy the book Kauai Revealed. You wont regret it.
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