Where We Like to Eat
Tahiti Nui-Located in Hanalei on the North Shore. Great pizza, cocktails, and live music in the evenings.
Hanalei Bread Company-Also located in Hanalei. This is a great place for a quick breakfast and some local coffee. EJ and I highly recommend the breakfast burrito.
Sandwich Isle-Located in Princeville. It’s a small sandwich stand if you are looking to pack a picnic for the beach. The sandwiches are big enough for the two of us to share while we were there. The Surfer was my favorite.
Puka Dog-Located across the street from Poipu Beach. The line can sometimes be around the corner, I recommend an umbrella for either the sun or the occasional rain showers.
The Plantation House by Gaylord’s-Located in Lihue. This is one of my favorite places, as it is where my grandparent’s celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. This location offers more than just its restaurant. They are also home to the Koloa Rum Company and have a tasting room, which is a fun experience. I would wait to buy the rum at the local Walmart though as the prices are cheaper. If rum isn’t your thing or you have little ones with you they also have a train ride that can take you around the plantation.
Whalers General Store-Located on Kuhio Hwy, in Anahola. This will sound crazy but this is my favorite place to get Poke on the island.
If you are staying in Princeville or in Hanalei, The Foodland Supermarket is a large grocery store that carries everything you may need as well as a prepared food counter for deli sandwiches and local fare. The island also has several Safeways, a Costco, and a HUGE Walmart (which has the best prices on macadamia nut chocolates as well as all the beach paraphernalia you might need).
Breweries
Kaua’i Beer Company– Located not far from the Lihue airport. Great location to unwind after a long flight. I recommend trying the Lilikoi Honey Sour if you’re looking for a passion fruit twist on a sour. They also have wine and cocktails if beer isn’t your thing.
Kaua’i Island Brewing & Grill-Located in downtown Port Allen on the West side of Kauai. They are known for their award-winning Ele’ele Brown and Cane Fire Red. This in my opinion the better of the two, so it is worth the drive.
Our Favorite Beaches
The majority of the beaches we selected are all excellent for snorkeling.
Anini Beach– Offers plenty of shade and a great place to set up a hammock and relax. The waves break pretty far from the shore so it offers a nice calm beach for swimming. If you have little ones with you I recommend this beach as it is fairly shallow for about a mile out.
Shipwreck– This is a great beach to do some cliff diving if you are up for it, if not it’s still a fun beach to visit.
Poipu– Great beach for a picnic and easy swimming, they often have some pretty large sea slugs to swim by if that’s your thing.
Ke’e Beach– This is my personal favorite of all the beaches. They no longer offer parking near the beach, you have to get passes to this beach and take a shuttle to get there, but it is worth it. It is also where the trailhead is to the secret beach which is an amazing trail.
Hanalei Pavilion Beach Park– If diving off a cliff isn’t for you, then maybe the Pier at Hanalei Pavilion Beach Park offers you something a little tamer.
Salt Pond-This is a great beach if you have little ones as it has a natural rock ridge that makes the beach very much like a lagoon for safe swimming pretty much all year.
Lydgate Park– Is also great for kids and has a playground. This is one of the most popular beaches on the east shore. Its shores are protected by a man-made rock barrier.
Tunnels Beach- This beach is excellent for almost everything. You can do snorkeling in some amazing underwater caverns, hence how this beach got its name. This beach is also an excellent place for both kite surfing and windsurfing.
Things To Do
Kauai is a great place and has so much more to do than just the beaches.
Kayaking
One of my favorite things to do is Kayaking, and I first fell in love with it on the Wailua River. You can kayak on down the Wailua River and hike to the “secret falls”, which is not so much a secret. You can do this guided and unguided, but you will need a kayak to get to the hike that takes you to the falls. This adventure welcomes all ages.
If you are looking for something more challenging you could always do the Na Pali Coast kayaking adventure. This one is not for beginners as it is an 18-mile endeavor. The waters can be rough and if the guide feels as though you aren’t capable of the adventure will drop you at Ke’e beach about 35 minutes into the trip. If you manage to make it past their assessment of you then get ready for a 12-hour adventure. This is also known as the Everest of the ocean kayaking.
Catamaran & Boat Tours
You might want an ocean experience with not the hassle of kayaking. There are a variety of boat tours all over the island and often times a boat can get you to parts of the island you might otherwise miss. The boat tours could be a few hours or an all-day experience with snorkeling or scuba diving as an option.
Hiking
If you love hiking and beautiful views, then Kauai is the island for you, this is after all nicknamed the Garden Island. We couldn’t possibly name all of the hikes on here, but we will mention just some of the best ones. Keep in mind some trails will require permits.
Hanakapiai Falls Trail is a beautiful trail on the North Shore, this trail is generally a 4-5 hours hike, 11 miles total. It’s a moderate hike that can be quite muddy. Once you reach the halfway point you will arrive at a beautiful beach, for some, this is their final destination and then they hike back to Ke’e beach. If the beach is not your final destination, then you will continue onto Hanakapiai Falls. This part of the hike will be much more challenging than the first half. You will need to get a permit for the continuation, even if you do not plan to camp. The permit can be reached on the link below.
Kalalau Trail is one of the most popular trails on the island. You will definitely need a permit for this 22-mile 2-day hike. If this is something you might be interested in please keep in mind these permits generally book up 4 to 6 months in advance.
Waipo’o Falls Trail is one of the easiest hikes on the island and can be completed in under two hours. This isn’t a typical hike to a waterfall either as it takes you to the top of the falls. It has some amazing views, but if you are looking for a classic Kauai waterfall hike this might not be the hike for you.
Okolehao Trail and Hihimanu Ridge Hike– The Okolehao trail is 2.5 miles in and then the same 2.5 miles back. Once you reach the end of the Okolehao trail that is where the Hihimanu Ridge Hike begins. It is steeper, very muddy, and slippery, and has several rope segments throughout the trail. One review mentioned bringing a machete as the foliage can be quite dense.
Waipo’o Falls Trail is one of the best ways to see Waimea Canyon and as an added bonus it is a safe hike suitable for all ages. Most people can complete this trail in less than two hours.
One thing I recently learned about Kaua’i is that you are able to borrow a dog for the day! You can take the dogs from the Kauai Humane Society and take them on “Field Trips”. So if you are going on a hike and feel like an extra furry friend would make the experience even better I recommend trying this out. Personally, I couldn’t do this without bringing home a few extra furry friends so EJ will be keeping me away from the Humane Society, I hope at least one person can try this out.
Spas
Now if you are more like EJ then the hiking section sounds great, if you are more like me and got tired at the thought of all those trails and hikes a nice spa day may be more your thing. Kauai has excellent spas and spa treatments all over the island. You can often do it in the privacy of your hotel room if you are at a resort that offers it, or chose to do it on the beach in a private cabana with a nice Mai Tai.
Anara Spa is the largest spa on the island it offers a combination of a traditional spa experience mixed with Hawaiian traditions. They are located in Poipu which offers great shopping as well as many eateries nearby. If you happen to do the 18-mile kayaking adventure or the 22-mile hike I highly suggest “Float Therapy and Garden Massage”.
Luaus
It is hard to do a trip to Kauai without going to a luau at some point. Luaus on Kauai come in all different forms.
Smith Family Garden Luau is one of the most popular on the island and has been around for over 50 years. You can join them for dinner and the Hawaiian experience or just join the show on its own. Their luau’s are held Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings. The ceremony starts at 6:00pm, however, you can enter the gardens at 5:00pm.
Kalamaku Luau Show is a favorite of mine. They have a variety of options you can choose from, I personally enjoy the VIP Island Dinner, which includes a four-course meal at Gaylord’s Restaurant and an open bar. You can start out your luau by jumping on the plantations train that will give you a ride around the entire property if you arrive by 5:00pm, rides are an additional $18.00. The imu ceremony begins at 6:15pm which is followed by dinner at 6:30pm with live music with a traditional hula dancer. Then at 7:30pm is when the luau experience really begins! Their luau is Monday, Tuesday (but I believe you have plans 5/2/2023), and Friday.
Zipline
Maybe everything above hasn’t caught your attention yet, how about soaring through the air to get an entirely different perspective of Kauai.
Koloa Zipline offers the longest one on the island, the longest might not be your thing not to worry they have seven others you can use. You have to be 7+ to get to go on this adventure.
Helicopter Tours
One way to truly see some of Kauai’s most incredible views and scenery all the way from the Na Pali coast down to Waimea Canyon is from the bird’s eye view. Most of the helicopter tours will leave Lihue, however, there are a few tours that will take off from Princeville. World-famous waterfalls, locations from movies such as Jurassic Park and so many others, and “Blue Hole” in Mt. Waiale’ale crater where waterfalls can be seen in every direction. There are lots of things you will see that are otherwise inaccessible. Most of the tours are for 2+.
Sightseeing
Queen’s Bath is a natural pool offering beautiful scenery and at certain times of the year an awesome swimming spot. This tide pool is great to explore and is home to some tropical fish. It is about a 10-minute hike to get to the lava rocks and then a short 5 minutes to reach the bath itself. It is best to always check the surf report the morning you plan to visit. If the waves are over 4ft high save this trip for another day Queen’s Bath is not always safe and the biggest danger is getting pulled into the ocean. This location has calm days which makes it an amazing sight to see, but anything other than a calm day is not worth the risk. May thru September is the best time to go.
Waimea Canyon is one of the most beautiful sights to see on the island. You can drive by and stop at various lookouts, you can have a nice picnic or you can find several hikes to view the gorge from different aspects.
Kilauea Lighthouse is a beautiful look out and you might recognize it from some pictures on our website. Now I personally have never gotten my life together enough to make a reservation to actually go to the lighthouse but it does have a nice bluff that overlooks the lighthouse and that always seemed to work for me. I highly recommend checking it out and if you do end up going to the lighthouse and getting a reservation let us know how it went.
Kauai Coffee if you are looking for a pick-me-up and an outing for the whole family. Walk around the Kauai coffee plantation and learn about how that wonderful drink is made from the start. You must try the chocolate-covered peaberries, in fact, I don’t leave Kauai without at least one stop at this location. While driving to the plantation you will drive through the beautiful tunnel of trees so drive slow to enjoy the experience.
Na Aina Kai Botanical Gardens & Sculpture Park is a beautiful garden and was highly considered to be the venue for the wedding. We both highly recommend checking out these beautiful gardens.
Keep checking back, EJ and I will be adding more things as we think of them.