What is there to do in Kauai?

[ame]

We might be going in late Sept/early Oct and I want to know what there is to do? We are not really the typical outdoorsy people. DH wants to swim in the ocean, and I like to shop. lol We don't golf. It's one island we have not been to there though, so we're curious what there is to do!

 

[sonnyjane]

We might be going in late Sept/early Oct and I want to know what there is to do? We are not really the typical outdoorsy people. DH wants to swim in the ocean, and I like to shop. lol We don't golf. It's one island we have not been to there though, so we're curious what there is to do!

Where will you be staying? Some of the hotels don't allow swimming off their beaches because of the breaks and the rocks. We stayed at Grand Hyatt (grownup Disneyland!) and loved it, but they have extensive pools and man-made lagoons because you can't swim off their beaches.

To be frank, most of the activities are based around the outdoors (hiking, kayaking, snorkeling, etc.). They don't have extensive shopping like some other islands. There are decent restaurants though. I'd highly recommend doing a boat trip along the napali coast. So, so beautiful!

 

[telephone89]

I too stayed at the Grand Hyatt, which is gorgeous, and the pools are amazing.

I rec'd this to someone else who was going, but the napali coast is SO gorgeous, this was easily the best thing we did on our trip
https://kauaiairtour.com/air-boat-combo-tour/

Other than that, they have some cool beaches like the glass beach (http://www.roycesworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/P1060985.jpg) and the north shore.

Check out trip advisor forums before you go, lots of locals/full time vacationers there that can give you excellent recs

Because I love going through my pictures, here are some fun shots for you!

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/226290_10151032201903123_25217891_n.jpg?oh=84e11e0b1c884d2207dbf261fb246e11&oe=5636FA36 Kauai has 'wild' chickens!

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/427163_10151032202238123_173274149_n.jpg?oh=653fa48a5bc74d0e7f6e0e76805fdb0f&oe=5678357D Northshore, near princeville. Taro fields.

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/530236_10151032202993123_167264034_n.jpg?oh=975d7890c8d1f668fe1bd3cd1a46858d&oe=564CAA3E Popular touristy spot

Grand hyatt https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/431108_10151032203618123_33827854_n.jpg?oh=95ef712ac6b78ca012f145f08fba61ea&oe=563B7C99
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/v/t1.0-9/558495_10151049742913123_601541369_n.jpg?oh=9a5b6379bf0232acff3cb811e7c4669e&oe=5643BE87

View from the hotel towards the beach
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/549628_10151032216563123_131896376_n.jpg?oh=c58edad6332e7482d519e94eb7c0bee7&oe=568415AE

On the air tour - green top is the hyatt
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/v/t1.0-9/556580_10151034168533123_1895468274_n.jpg?oh=7be8912d5169538d6d8432764c77f0da&oe=564BB5D7

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/539261_10151034169193123_1500000271_n.jpg?oh=864f753a58a18ba49fae17e0c012309f&oe=5642D151

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/486403_10151034169283123_1095470072_n.jpg?oh=47f3dd0976c429b48512f4f1866c9b4c&oe=567CA1B5

Dolphins on the cruise part of the tour
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/v/t1.0-9/539223_10151034186008123_1565100370_n.jpg?oh=8f69c9c94550a64f09be6c6aa6c4ad86&oe=56488BE1

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/387978_10151034186548123_1711608984_n.jpg?oh=c92bd339b2f5173f497f112f828696f8&oe=564B64F4

 

[distracts]

I don't recall much shopping but there are a lot of good restaurants and the beaches are AMAZING. We did a helicopter tour thingy and that was super fun - I hear the boat tours are also really fun. We did go out on a boat one day and saw a bunch of dolphins. There are some waterfalls that make awesome rainbows. The island is small enough so that you can take one day to drive all over and make note of what you want to see more in-depth on other days. We stayed at the Kauai Beach Resort, and there was enough stuff going on at the resort that we didn't leave as much as we thought we would (lol). They had really good food, music every night, awesome beach, great views, great pool, etc.

eta: Fly through Honolulu then into Kauai. When we went, we had to stay three days in the Kauai airport, only getting put up in a hotel at midnight every night and expected back at the airport at 8 am, because our plane had an issue and they had to wait for a plane to be sent from California. The people I know who go to Kauai regularly all say this has happened to them at least once as well. At least if you fly into Honolulu, if something happens to your plane going back to the mainland, there are way more flights you could possibly switch on to.

 

[ame]

We would be staying in a private condo. I don't know how the flights will work, as my parents haven't clarified what the plan is for that yet. I personally would prefer to do the Honolulu stopover though, because I am not a fan of the smaller airport setups. And if we have the chance to stay a night in Waikiki I am going to take it.

The lack of a lot of shopping is a downer for me, as that's something I love to do. And obviously I like to eat. I know we'll spend a bit of time on the beach, and I don't know what else we'll do. We might go explore some things.

I'd have to see what DH was interested in doing. I know he's not thrilled that the Condo is not right on the water. But it isn't our condo.

 

[sonnyjane]

We would be staying in a private condo. I don't know how the flights will work, as my parents haven't clarified what the plan is for that yet. I personally would prefer to do the Honolulu stopover though, because I am not a fan of the smaller airport setups. And if we have the chance to stay a night in Waikiki I am going to take it.

The lack of a lot of shopping is a downer for me, as that's something I love to do. And obviously I like to eat. I know we'll spend a bit of time on the beach, and I don't know what else we'll do. We might go explore some things.

I'd have to see what DH was interested in doing. I know he's not thrilled that the Condo is not right on the water. But it isn't our condo.

It's an absolutely beautiful island (definitely rent a car), but of all the major Hawaiian islands, it's billed as the least developed and most appropriate for outdoorsy people. I felt guilty that I didn't do more because I basically drank at the resort pools for most of the time I loved it so much! If you go to relax and have a nice getaway you won't be disappointed, but it's a fairly sleepy island.

 

[canuk-gal]

We would be staying in a private condo. I don't know how the flights will work, as my parents haven't clarified what the plan is for that yet. I personally would prefer to do the Honolulu stopover though, because I am not a fan of the smaller airport setups. And if we have the chance to stay a night in Waikiki I am going to take it.

The lack of a lot of shopping is a downer for me, as that's something I love to do. And obviously I like to eat. I know we'll spend a bit of time on the beach, and I don't know what else we'll do. We might go explore some things.


Then stay 2 nights in Oahu! Kalakaua Ave is a holiday in itself!

http://www.waikikivisitor.com/shopping-directory/

However lovely Kauai, it is sleepy.

cheers--Sharon

 

[JDDN]

I love Kauai, but it is totally outdoorsy. There's virtually no shopping on the whole island, unless you count Costco, lol. There's a tiny mall that's pretty unremarkable in Poipu and there are some touristy shops in Hanalei and that's about it. It's just not very developed so even restaurants are hard to come by.

Aside from hiking, scuba diving, lounging at a resort, surfing, or hanging out at the beach there isn't a whole lot to do. One thing we did was take a helicopter ride and that was absolutely gorgeous. I highly recommend that if you're okay with heights .

Oahu has some amazing shopping and lots of restaurants. They are like two totally different worlds!

 

[ame]

Thanks everyone!

We've been to Oahu (honeymoon), Maui (honeymoon), and the Big Island (honeymoon and a return trip two years ago with DH's family). Kaui is the only "developed" island we haven't been to. Our favorites are Oahu and Maui. Obviously I like to shop lol. I like the views, the beaches, the food and the shopping. Waikiki was my favorite place in all the islands for obvious reasons!

DH is hesitant to go in general, not even because of the lack of "stuff" but because it is a little shorter notice than we'd like and we just did the windows, and we need to get him a new car sooner than expected. So that's money we need to lay out that he wasn't planning to lay out til next year. We'd only have to pay for flights and food and a rental, but still, more than we'd otehrwise pay.

 

[luv2sparkle]

Ame, get the book called "Ultimate Kauai Guidebook:Kauai Revealed (2014 edition), by Andrew Doughty. It is considered to be the best guidebook around and the guy does meticulous research. He updates continually on his website if things have changed. We are leaving for Kauai on Sunday-so I haven't tested his recommendations yet, but my DH is very excited about it.

My friend booked a 'tubing adventure' for our kids a day before my DD's wedding. We didn't book it, it was $100 per person. The guide said it is basically and irrigation ditch and moves super slow and not worth the money. I am happy we didn't go for it. He recommends a lot of things that do sound fun and we are looking forward to trying them. The book is $15.40 and I think well worth the investment.

We bought the book on Amazon.

 

[ame]

Good rec! Thank you!

My folks are going to proceed with their friends and we actually bailed out. After we discussed this as a group (DH and I previously on our own), we decided that DH and I should go on our own next year. This year we've spend a LOT of money, really this month alone, on Windows, Blinds, and now will be spending money on a car that we were not expecting to spend money on til next year. We collectively agreed that was enough "investment" for one year. We will just celebrate our 10th next year and go where we want. I have more vacation as of this year anyway, since I hit 5 years at this job this year. But this will give us more time. My friends and I are discussing going to Vancouver for our girls trip this year, so that our Canadian friend isn't doing international every time (she actually likes coming here, but I feel like a jackass making her do all the traveling while we do a quick local flight!) I quite love the idea of toronto or vancouver.

My wallet, girls trips and necklace as well as our holiday travel were budgeted already so those are not considered issues in spending. Those were earmarked. The car was really not expected til next year. And at the rate he's moving on finding an acceptable replacement, it might actually still end up next year.

 

[lorrissey]

My in-laws have a condo on the south side in Poipu. We were there just last November. They opened a new little shopping area that was pretty nice. It was not there the last time we were there 8 years ago.