Got flights booked for November 16-25. Looking to rent an Airbnb in Princeville, but no other plans beyond that. My wife and I are more mountain than beach people so we plan to do lots of hiking and inland activities. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

mneisch said:

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Got flights booked for November 16-25. Looking to rent an Airbnb in Princeville, but no other plans beyond that. My wife and I are more mountain than beach people so we plan to do lots of hiking and inland activities. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

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Go buy this book. It has an associated app that you can download and basically navigate and plan your trip on that as well.

https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Kauai-Guidebook-Revealed/dp/1949678024/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=kauai+revealed&linkCode=ll2&linkId=1f6db2173aaf5427ae880e5967714461&qid=1623678170&sr=8-1

Not a lot in that area for dinner, but Thati Nui Is an Excellent way to spend an evening.

That is a good area to base camp for outdoor activities. Prep for wet/soggy trail conditions and possible showers.

I was there same dates in 17.

I don't like golf, but one of the courses there used to offer a guided sunset course tour. The grounds and scenery were pretty awesome, you get your own cart. It was a nice change of pace. It's worth checking out if still offered.

On the complete opposite end of the island from Princeville are some awesome hikes on the ridges of the Napali Coast. It'll be an all day excursion but it's worth it. There are also some waterfall hikes in the canyon that you can squeeze in on the same day.

Of course, taking the trail from Ke'e a few miles in is a must.

barnacle bob said:

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Not a lot in that area for dinner, but Thati Nui Is an Excellent way to spend an evening.

That is a good area to base camp for outdoor activities. Prep for wet/soggy trail conditions and possible showers.

I was there same dates in 17.

I don't like golf, but one of the courses there used to offer a guided sunset course tour. The grounds and scenery were pretty awesome, you get your own cart. It was a nice change of pace. It's worth checking out if still offered.

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We did that and enjoyed it.

There are actually several good places to eat in the Princeville/Hanalei area, subject to surviving Covid. The restaurant at the old St Regis is good. So is Postcards. There's a Thai spot in the Princeville shopping area that wasn't bad. My favorite restaurant out there is Bar Acuda.

That said, we also get a lot of groceries for our condo and cook in the kitchen a lot. But groceries ain't cheap up that way.

Will second Bar Acuda in Hanalei. One of the nicer restaurants on the North side that we found.

I'm actually open to staying on any side of the island, just noticed that most of the condo options were in Princeville.

Princeville / Hanalei will be very wet and rainy that time of year as it is the rainy part of the rainy season as you get storms coming in from the north Pacific. It's still a great place, but it can get torrential rains with rough surf for days at a time. Personally I would go to the south side of the island as you will get much more sun and calm surf.

We do both sides of the island when we go. A week in Princeville and a week in Poipu. That way we aren't driving too much.

mneisch said:

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I'm actually open to staying on any side of the island, just noticed that most of the condo options were in Princeville.

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North will have more condos. South has more resorts. Might recommend BSD's idea of staying part time in both. It's two different areas, effectively.

I was actually considering that last night. Outside of having to pack up half way through the trip no downside to trying both areas.

Not a golfer and unwilling to pay whatever they're asking for a helicopter tour. Any other specific activities? I plan to do a day of spearfishing with a local company but that's about it so far.

mneisch said:

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I was actually considering that last night. Outside of having to pack up half way through the trip no downside to trying both areas.

Not a golfer and unwilling to pay whatever they're asking for a helicopter tour. Any other specific activities? I plan to do a day of spearfishing with a local company but that's about it so far.

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We didn't do it (regret it) but the sailing day trip along the Napoli Coast is a must do by everyone that has done it.

We prefer the beaches on the North side but I haven't been there in November and it sounds like weather may not cooperate with you on that.

Napali coast cruises from Hanalei is a must. We've done it from down south but we like the northern shore departures best.

We are golf and beach people, but the open air helicopter tour was our favorite thing we did!

We stayed on the east side, was cheap and let us get anywhere quickly, but definitely not as scenic. I said if I went back I'd stay in the Princeville area, but rain MAY be an issue.

Napali coast is an absolute must. I agree with others that the open door helicopter ride was a thrill, but you should know a few things about it. It's very loud. You won't be having any conversations while you are on the trip. Also, by the end, my eyes were watering because of the wind, despite wearing eye covering. And finally... we opted to see the Napali coast that way, and it was absolutely breathtaking, but man, it was over before it began. If I had it to do again, and it was one or the other, I'd do that by boat. In November, that choice may be made for you, as some boats don't go out on that coast side due to high surf typical that time of year. That was true when I was there in January, November might be ok.

The "Grand Canyon" of Hawaii is a must see. It is also where the hiking over the top of the Napali coast is that was mentioned above.

The south side beaches will give you the clearest and calmest water, but a little less scenic. There is a great blowhole there that has easy parking.

The Princeville Resort (used to be the St. Regis) is a spectacular place to watch a sunset. You can have dinner there without staying there, but it's currently under construction, not sure when it is reopening.

Kauai is full of things to see and do, the guidebook mentioned above (Kauai Revealed) will help you find everyone, whether you want to see waterfalls, hike, find a perfect beach, float a river, boat, helicopter, or surf.

Couple of things that haven't been mentioned:

1. Kauai Coffee Company on the south side of the island. If you're into Coffee, it's a cool place to visit. My wife and I took a tour of the grounds and did some tastings and enjoyed it.
2. There's an old sugarcane farm they turned into a rum distillery that's pretty cool. We did a tasting there, and then on another night they had a luau, and both were very enjoyable.
3. You can get surfing lessons all over but Hanalai Bay was particularly cool on that front. We did a morning lesson and had a blast.
4. From either end of the island, you can do scuba trips, either as part of a boat tour or alone. Highly recommend that. Saw an unreal amount of fish/sea turtles/dolphins/coral.
5. Grand Canyon is super cool. Trail we did that'll give you great views of the Canyon and take you to the bottom is Waimea Canyon Trail. And if you're out that way, drive a little further north and hike the Nepali Coast. The trail we took to the coast from the trail head was Nu'alolo, about 4-5 miles downhill and then back uphill. Incredible views. Both worth it if you're in decent shape and like hiking.
6. If it's open (it wasn't when we were there) the classic hike in Kauai is the Kalaulau Trail. Do some research on that if you're into hiking. We were going to through hike it about 18 miles one way I think? but it was closed.