Kauai

[kemaji]

We're going to Kauai for our honeymoon in a couple of weeks and I wanted to hear from anyone who has been there, what is something that you would absolutely make sure to do again? Are there any restaurants that are a must? We're staying in Princeville (not at the resort there) and we're planning on doing lots of snorkling, etc.

TIA!

[justHB]

Hey there,

We went to Kauai for our 3 year anniversary this past February. The weather was less than ideal and put a damper on much of the trip.

Things we did that I definitely recommend:
* helicopter tour over the island
* zephyr boat ride with Captain Andy's

You'll see a lot of advertisements for the zip line adventure at the Princeville Ranch. It was fun - for the first 2 hours - and then it got kind of old and boring. Definitely not worth the $$$.

We had a great meal at Coconuts in Lihue, but that might be too far for you. We also had really good shaved ice in Hanalei.

[Akemi]

Kind of far from where you are, but if you're venturing out, I love to eat at: Tidepools in the Hyatt (Poipu), JoJo's Shave Ice (Waimea), and Kintaro's Sushi (Kapaa). (Well, I don't actually love sushi, but everyone else I know does, and they all say that Kintaro's is the best they've ever had)

[babylove]

X-posted from the "Ask the Travel Agent" thread

kemaji ~ I honeymooned in Kauai 2 yrs ago and I definitely recommend horseback riding. It was a blast!! We also did this fantastic Zodiac boat trip, which is not for the faint of heart....in fact, had we known how, um, adventurous it was, we might not have gone. But I am so glad we did b/c the views were AMAZING. It's a half-day excursion. I can't remember the name of the company, but I am sure the concierge at your hotel can recommend a good one. HAVE A GREAT TIME!!!

ETA: As for restaurants....most of the ones I went to are on the south side of the island, and I know you are on the north side. But if you do a day trip or something....The Beach House is FANTASTIC and has unbelieveable sunsets (and food); Brick Oven Pizza (for a low key but delish pizza dinner); David Paul's in Lahaina (best meal we had in Kauai)....

[kemaji]

justHB ~ Thanks for the tips! We're planning on spending a day in Lihue, so I'm sure we'll make it down that way. I'm glad you mentioned the zip line adventure because that sounds like something that FH would like but I'll be sure to discourage it.

Akemi ~ We both love sushi, so we will be going there. Thanks for the suggestions!

babylove ~ Wow, the zodiac trip sounds fabulous! Both of us are adrenaline junkies (especially FH, I'm more of a reluctant adrenaline junkie) and we love boats, so that might be something we'll have to look for. I've heard good things about The Beach House. Will we need reservations for it?

[babylove]

Well, if you're an adrenaline junkie, then this excursion is DEFINITELY for you. The zodiac boat is not the slow, smooth, relaxing ride that we expected...rather, it's more of a hang-on-for-dear-life-get-rope-burns-on-your-hands experience. The boat is actually airbourne periodically! The trip we took brought us up the west cost of the island (Napali Coast)....the company is called the Napali Explorer (I just remembered). It's about an 1.5 hr ride up the coast during which you learn about the history of that part of the island, see sea turtles, dolphins, go in and out of hidden coves along the coast. Finally, you dock at an archealogical site where you get a brief tour and then have lunch (they provide it). Then you have about an hour to snorkle, sunbathe, swim etc before you head back. It was an amazing experience. Definitely do it and bring an underwater camera!

The Beach House definitely requires a reservation (seriously, call NOW) and make sure you get a table by close to the doors (it's all glass facing the water) so you can have an unobstructed view of the sunset. Oh, and definitely make sure your reservation is AFTER the sunset....get there early and enjoy the view, have your picture taken and then eat dinner and watch the sky turn orange and pink as the sun goes down....it was AMAZING.

[Stephanie]

OMG! Babylove, I went on the same tour! My husband and I went on a cruise in Feb. from LA to five of the islands.

We were also on the Zodiak, but I saw that they have a couple of other boats too. We had Tara as our captain and she was wonderful. It was one of the best excursions that we took on the cruise and we ended up buying a cd of pictures that were taken while on the trip. I loved that option. I am horrible at taking pictures and it was great that Tara took tons with a digital camera. When we got back, we had the option to buy the cd with all of the pictures and a slide show of the trip.

If you want to check it out, the website is www.napali-explorer.com

[Harley]

I'm seconding The Beach House. My husband and I went to Kauai and Maui last August and saved that restaurant for our last night. I would say the best meal we had during our whole vacation. Wonderful service, lovely view. I made reservations before we left home as well.

[kemaji]

Thanks for that link, it looks awesome. I really want to see the Na Pali coast and that sounds like a fabulous way to do it.

Also, thanks for The Beach House suggestions, I'll see if I can get a reservation close to the end of our trip.

[Rosebud]

You can check out the travel website I run (from a unnamed wedding board ;) ) if you like. There are a ton of Kauai trip reviews and photos here and they have great suggestions.

The Honeymoon Bio (http://www.theknot.com/co_profileview.htm?profilename=TheHoneymoonBio)

We're going to Kauai for the first time in November. Our must sees/ must dos include hiking in Waimea Canyon, boating on the Na Pali Coast and checking out the waterfalls and fern grotto on the eastern coast. We're going to have dinner at The Hyatt on my birthday... either Tidepools or The Beach House. I would recommend picking up a copy of "Kauai Revealed," which is the best guide to the island.

:)

[pixiecat]

Love Kauai - spent time there almost every summer growing up, got engaged there & got married there too!

We just got back from vacation on 6/13... it was a perfect trip, we lucked out and had great weather for the entire time!

We always stay up in the Princeville area (but sadly, not at the resort, too bad!) and drive down for a day or so to visit the south & west sides. It's a fun, not long, drive.

Hanalei is our favorite town, spent most of our time there! Also, I second the "Kauai Revealed" book, I've practically memorized at this point!

Have a wonderful honeymoon! Come back and tell us all about it!!

pc :p

[Akemi]

I actually recommend Tidepools over the Beach House, although the Beach House wins in the "view" department... great views of the sunset, and it's right on the ocean. Tidepools has nice atmosphere, but you don't have that "right on the water" feeling that you get at the Beach House. We liked the Tidepools food, better, though... and we felt that more of the seats had a "romantic" feel to them.

[justHB]

Kind of far from where you are, but if you're venturing out, I love to eat at: Tidepools in the Hyatt (Poipu), JoJo's Shave Ice (Waimea), and Kintaro's Sushi (Kapaa). (Well, I don't actually love sushi, but everyone else I know does, and they all say that Kintaro's is the best they've ever had) Tidepools was excellent! And the Hyatt is just so beautiful (I preferred it hands down to the Princeville Resort). We had shave ice in Waimea at JoJo's. The guy serving it was soooo grumpy, but it was good.

Definitely stop in for a Passion Fruit beer at the Waimea Brewing Company and stroll the grounds of the resort it's located on.

[granada]

I have been enjoying this thread and getting a lot of information. DH and I are thinking about going to Kauai in October.

For those of you who have been or are familiar with the island, where (which part of the island) would you recommend staying?

[dream]

We were in Kauai for our anniversary trip last year and we loved it!! We plan on going back on day for sure.

Thing that we loved there:
-boat trip to the Na Pali coast (take it from the south shore)
-helicopter ride
-the Waimea Canyon
-Queen's Bath (in the Princeville area)
-the Beach House
-Duke's Restaurant ( by the Marriot in Lihue I believe)
-Snorkeling -bring an underwater camera
Just everything! I just really loved the island.
Check out "Ultimate Kauai Guide book". It's an awesome guide.

[kemaji]

Thanks, everyone for your suggestions! We just got back from Kauai a couple days ago and had a blast. We stayed in the Princeville area (not at the resort) and definitely liked the north side of the island. We rented a jeep and went out of our way to look for places to go off roading which was fun. We went hiking in the area that Jurassic Park was filmed as well as the first 2 miles of the Na Pali hike. We saw Queen's Bath and while there we saw a monk seal and a bunch of sea turtles feeding. We went snorkling in several different places: Tunnels Beach (our favorite), Anini Beach and on a boat tour of the Na Pali coast. We took a helicopter ride and did a 6 hour boat ride of the Na Pali coast and DH went scuba diving.

We had a blast with everything that we did!

[nordey]

Our family spent 10 days in Poipu in the Fall of 2001 and was hands down the best vacation of our lives!!!

Things not to miss:

Take a helecopter ride!!! I was so afraid of doing this but my dad really wanted to and nobody else would go with him so I sucked it up and went. It was absolutely the BEST experience!

I know you're staying on the north end of the island but I would highly suggest spending some beach time on the south end (poipu beach is beautiful). We spent most of our time on the island on the go but on the last couple of days we decided to just sit on the beach and it was so nice to just sit and relax.

Funny beach story - on the last day of our trip we arrived at the beach early in the day and the only other person there was a volunteer from an agency that protects the endangered monk seals. There was a monk seal on the beach, the woman was there to rope off the area so the tourists wouldn't bother the seal so we settled in on the other side of the beach. The woman came over to talk to us and told us all about the seals and talked with my kids about endangered species, etc. Anyway, later in the day as the beach began to fill up the seal awoke and went for a swim then decided to relocate itself on my sister's beach mat!!! The volunteer was long gone by this point but the lifeguards came and helped us relocate ourselves and beach items so as not to disturb the napping seal!

Also, it probably isn't the most authentice luau experience but we went to the Hyatt luau because we weren't sure if my kids (who were 4 and 5 at the time) would eat authentic Hawaiian cuisine and the Hyatt offered a lot of typical american fare. The show was great and the food was delicious!

If you get at all sea sick you may want to reconsider the Na Pali boat trip. We went and our entire family (half of the boat too for that matter) spent the entire trip throwing up overboard! The scenery was beautiful but couldn't be enjoyed! I would recommend seeing the coast from a helecopter instead.


edited because I forgot about the luau...

[Jazz]

Ooh, sorry I missed your post before you went, but it sounds like you had a great time! We loved the Na Pali hike, too. :D

[babylove]

I'm so glad you had a great time! Did you eat at any good restaurants (Beach House?)??

[HeatherFL]

I stayed at the Princeville Resort in January. I took my mom with me. It was my sixth trip to the islands of Hawaii. Kauai ranks up at the top of my favorites. You will have a fabulous time!

I also recommend the helicopter ride. It was beautiful. A trip to Waimea Canyon is a must. Fern Grotto and luau! My mom had never been to Hawaii before and loved the luau.

Here are some pics from our trip. They are labeled as to places so you can see what you like and go from there. :) Safe travels!

http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeANnDlmzZs2rG8A


H.

[HeatherFL]

OOPS! I just saw you already got back. Glad you had a great time. :)

[granada]

HeatherFL ~ I just looked at your pictures, and they are gorgeous! Especially, the ones from the helicopter ride.

[HeatherFL]

Thank you, granada. :)

~H.

[kemaji]

I'm so glad you had a great time! Did you eat at any good restaurants (Beach House?)??

We had pupus and drinks at the Princeville resort one evening, we had fabulous sushi at Sushi Blues in Hanalei and we went to Sunday Brunch at the Princeville resort as well. The brunch was out of this world!!! We literally ate for two hours straight and we had a celebrity sighting while we were there (Craig T. Nelson).

[kemaji]

HeatherFL ~ Wow, your pictures are fabulous! They are a lot more clear than many of ours are, it rained more than normal for the summer while we were there.

[justHB]

Just dropping off a couple of pics of our trip to Kauai in February 2005.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dc06b3127cce9023286691cd00000026108KcuWjdo0w

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dc06b3127cce90232e0791af00000026108KcuWjdo0w

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dc06b3127cce902338f2915100000026108KcuWjdo0w

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dc06b3127cce9023391ed12500000026108KcuWjdo0w

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dc06b3127cce90233513501e00000026108KcuWjdo0w

[granada]

justHB ~ I can't see them. :(

[HeatherFL]

Me neither. :(

H.

[kemaji]

I can't either. :(

[justHB]

I've fixed 'em, and added more below.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dc06b3127cce90234196d19100000026108KcuWjdo0w

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dc06b3127cce9023445b10f600000026108KcuWjdo0w

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dc06b3127cce9023555ad15700000026108KcuWjdo0w

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dc06b3127cce9023554d507000000026108KcuWjdo0w

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dc06b3127cce90236bf7d1e500000026108KcuWjdo0w

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dc06b3127cce9023686b10d000000026108KcuWjdo0w

[granada]

Those pictures are gorgeous! Were the first few ones taken from a helicopter ride?

DH and I just booked our trip for October, and I can't wait! :D

[Bloomwood]

I just returned from a week in Kauai. It was such a wonderful time that I wanted to live it all over again by pulling together a trip report. We really settled into the island and met a couple of locals that also gave us some insight. It was our first trip there, but will definitely not be our last.

I am hopeful that my wonderful experience there will help others plan their own trips. I am by no means an expert, so I'd love for others with probably more experience on the island could also add their recommendations.

Where to stay
I can’t really answer this. J did all the research and was torn over what part of the island (North Shore, South Shore) and whether or not we wanted a house right on the ocean or with an ocean view. We ended up on the North Shore in a secluded house with an ocean view and private access to a beach. In the end, I think it was perfect. We didn’t have any traffic or people to contend with and didn’t have to share our beach with the masses. We also really liked the North Shore. It seemed much more undeveloped and the town of Hanalei is a perfect little beach town. We would go through Princeville to get to Hanalei and there was a great foodstore there. We drove through the South Shore and it seemed very nice. It reminded me of the North part of San Diego a bit. We didn’t sink in there at all, though, so maybe someone else can comment.

As for resorts, I really can’t comment. We went through the Princeville. It was your typical nice resort. I didn’t see the Hyatt. The house was perfect for us. Partly because I am pregnant and have crazy eating requirements. We were able to stock up our fridge with water, fruit and other snacks and I could eat when I wanted – what I wanted – without being at the whim of room service or overpriced snack bars. We also found two fish markets as well as went to two Farmer’s Markets. We were able to grill dinner three nights which saved money and was just healthier. I know sometimes houses have minimum stays and can be a little pricier than some of the discounts you can get on a hotel, but if you are able, I highly recommend you rent a house. We loved being able to lounge around on the sofas, on our huge patio, eat dinner in private, make eggs for breakfast, etc.

This was the view from our patio our first morning - the day of our 1 year anniversary:
http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1352/2/59/1/58/37/5/537580159203_0_ALB.jpg

This is the link to where we stayed
http://www.kauaivacationhideaway.com/hideaway/

[Bloomwood]

Activities/Sights
I highly recommend that you invest in a good pair of amphibious shoes for the trip. Kauai is a very wet island. Water from lakes, streams, ocean, rain, waterfalls. It’s everywhere. You don’t want to slog around in tennis shoes. Of course, no one told me this, so I had my Reefs and my running sneakers. I bought a pair of Keens while we were there (at soul mates in the Coconut Palms Mall). I also tried on Chacos, which I understand are very popular with river guides. I’m not a river guide maybe that is why I didn’t like them. Tevas are a good bet too – that is what J has – I chose the Keens because they covered my toesies.
http://www.keenfootwear.com/img/women/trailhead/newportH2/newporth2_510230_nvdr_445.jpg
Waimea Canyon – We were really excited to hike to some waterfalls here even though the sky looked ominous. We drove up to the highest look out point to get a good view of the canyon. All we could see was fog. It cleared just long enough to see that there was a canyon. At another point we were supposed to see the Napali coast beyond the canyon. Again, it cleared just enough for us to imagine what it must look like in clear weather. Then it clouded over again. We drove back down to the trailhead to start the hike, but the rain was more than misting so we threw in our hat. We started down the mountain, and sure enough, torrential downpour. Oh well. I guess it isn’t going anywhere.
http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1352/2/59/1/58/37/9/937580159203_0_ALB.jpghttp://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1352/2/59/1/69/14/1/114690159203_0_ALB.jpg"]http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1352/2/59/1/69/14/1/114690159203_0_ALB.jpg

Polihale Beach – Given the crazy geography of the island, we left rainy Waimea and decided to check out Polihale Beach. The road out there is very bumpy. Our Chevy Impala was not quite the right car for the ruts and bumps and floods, but we managed. Our reward was a hot, partly-sunny beach with sand for as far as you could see.
http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1352/2/59/1/98/71/6/671980159203_0_ALB.jpg

Kalalau Trail – North Shore, basically at the end of the road. 2 mile trail at the base of Kee beach. I didn’t realize that the two mile trail ended at another beach with a waterfall, so I ruined it for us. We went a mile in and then turned back. There were rain showers coming and going and the rocks were making me a little nervous. That said, about ¾ of a mile in, there was an amazing view of the Napali coast. Absolutely breath-taking.
http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1352/2/59/11/23/35/6/635231159203_0_ALB.jpg
Kee Beach – Great place for snorkeling and protected by a reef. Gorgeous tropical fish and warm water.

Spouting Horn – south Shore. Tourist attraction. See it, move on.
http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos1352/2/59/11/92/59/2/259921159203_0_ALB.jpg

Limahuli botanical garden – On the way to Kalalau Trail. wonderful! Pricey - $10pp. Make sure you use the bug spray as there are definitely mosquitoes. It takes about and hour to see it all and read about the different plants. Beautiful views of the mountains behind you and ocean in front of you. We almost didn’t do this, but a local we met recommended it. We’re so glad we did it.

Queen’s bath – I didn’t go here, not exactly sure what it is, but a friend said it was great. There you go.

Kilauea Lighthouse – a tourist attraction on the North Shore. You can see Nene birds (geese?). Nice views. Eh.
Opaekaa Falls – in Kapaa. There are a lot of waterfalls in Kauai. This is one. Nothing to write home about. It was on the day we were exploring the South Shore and just figured we’d stop by on our way home. Not a huge loss if you miss it.

Poipu Beach – on the South Shore. J went snorkeling, came in, looked up, saw grey. We left. It poured. Just how it is in October in Kauai, I guess.

[Bloomwood]

J and I love food! Here are some of the restaurants we went to. Actually, probably all of the restaurants we went to!

Food

In general, the restaurants (in some cases, it is a stretch to call them that!) were very casual. For an island so concerned with conservation, they seem to love serving food on disposable paper plates with plastic forks. Also, in the cases where there is actually table service, the service is not great – at all. Since I was pg while we were there (still am!), there were times when I need food NOW. At one place, we got our appetizer along with the entrée. I know this is common, but in my state of food requirements, it was even more painful. I am sure the bad service is a combination of a few factors. Most of the people working in the restaurants are either there for a real world break and don’t really care about service levels or they’d rather be somewhere else – surfing, smoking, etc. I also think that tourists have a bad habit of not tipping very well. They like to think “oh I’ll never be here again; I don’t need to tip well.” Anyway, I think that all adds up to not great service. But, the food was all very fresh – what wasn’t fried. This is no place for a diet!


Shrimp station – on the West Shore in Waimea. We split coconut shrimp (fried with French fries) and shrimp tacos for lunch. Both were tasty, but the tacos seemed to be lacking any real shrimp chunks while there was a ton with the coconut shrimp. It is just walk-up window service with a few tables out front. The food is served on paper plates.

La Cascata – Our only “nice” meal. It is in the Princeville Hotel on the North Shore. I had an amazing tomato bisque to start and Jason had a tomato/moz caprese salad. My entrée was the linguini with snapper and shellfish in a lobster brodo. It was fairly bland (although, that is what I wanted as my m/s was acting up). Jason had filet that was outstanding and cooked perfectly. We got there at 7:30 on a Sunday and there were only 7 or 8 other diners. I am guessing because it was after sunset so you could no longer see the ocean outside the huge windows. I owe it to them to say the service was great. Since it was one of our first days there, I don’t think we fully appreciated how good it was.

Hanalei Dolphin – went for lunch. We shared a mug of the seafood chowder to start. Jason had the fish of the day filet sandwich. I had the gardenburger. The fish of the day was a swordfish and the only other fish was Ahi, so with being pg, I was SOL on fish. The gardenburger was actually really good and Jason liked his too. We really liked the atmosphere and thought it’d be fun for dinner as well. There is a fishmarket in the back, too with great fresh fish.

Tropical Taco – Yummy. Lunch our last day. We both had burritos. Again, it was all about the Ahi, so I had the meat burrito (meat, fish or veggie were the only options – no chicken which is surprising since there are so many roosters on the island). They have a very limited menu and the only beverage options are the water bubbler outside or lemonade. There are a few tables inside and a few stools for sitting on the patio outside. In Hanalei.

Neede’s Salsa and Samba – eh. Didn’t love it. We both had Mexican dishes. I had a beef tostada and J had steak ranchero. Salsa is very good and they have a full bar. In Hanalei.

Ono Family Restaurant – In Kapaa. J liked it better than I did. I had banana pancakes and a fried egg. J had tropical pancakes (coconut, bananas and mac nuts with coconut syrup). I thought it just seemed a little too dingy inside.

Hanalei Wake Up Café – It was okay. Also seemed kinda pricey compared to most of the places we’d been. I had the egg quesadilla and J had an omelet. The hashbrowns were terrible. I think each dish was $9.50. More like what you’d expect to pay in San Francisco for breakfast or on the island for lunch.

Kintaro’s – in Kapaa. Again, being pg limited my options. But, J said the sushi was great. They also have teppanyaki (like a Beni Hana’s) and a number of Japanese dishes like sukiyaki. We went locals that are regulars so we had exceptional service and lots of freebies.

Caffé Coco – in Kapaa. We randomly chose this for our last dinner on the way to the airport. I’m so glad we did. It was amazingly good. You order inside and then find a seat outside under a tented canopy with a very tiki feel. The night we were there they had live music. Haha. A folk band straight from A Mighty Wind. They sang about having to hold so many jobs on the island, bush and the war and mangoes on the windowsill. They were really entertaining, though I don’t think the way they meant to be. :D Anyway, we shared a cup of the soup of the day – Thai Curry Pumpkin. It was vegan and oh so good. I want the recipe. Again, the only fish option was ahi, so J had ahi charmoula (an Indian dish with a cucumber yogurt sauce) and I had roasted pork with rice and beans. Pork is the only “meat” options, but there is a lot of pasta and other good stuff to choose from. Both dishes were a ton of food and very tasty.

Scotty’s Barbeque – In Kapaa; we went for lunch. Sits right across from the beach and has tiered seating so every table looks out. We both had bbq pulled pork sandwiches. We loved it. There were lots of other options and everything looked great. If we’d found it sooner in our stay we would’ve gone more than once. Actual table service, btw.

Bubba’s Burgers – for some reason this place just did the trick for me. I am still craving it. It is just a walk up place – there may be a few tables inside – and then in Hanalei, there are picnic tables you can sit on. We went to the one in Hanalei, but I also saw one in Kapaa (maybe there are others?). I had the original – just a cheeseburger with ketchup and mustard. J had the double teriyaki burger. We also shared frings (fries and rings).

Java Kai – this is where J got his lattes and coffee while we were there. He is a coffee snob and liked it. One in Hanalei and Kapaa. Again, maybe there are others.

Zelo’s Beach House – in Kapaa. We went for dinner here our first night. I had fish tacos which were very tasty, but so much food. J had ….I don’t remember.

Shave Ice
This is a big place for shave ice. Shave Ice is not a snow cone. It doesn’t have that sickly sweet syrup, rather it is fruity flavored syrup – sweet, but not sickly sweet. It can also be served over ice cream. We went to three places, but there were other well-known ones we didn’t make it to.

JoJo’s Shave Ice in Waimea – The best. Hands down. The ice is very finely shaved. J got his over mac nut ice cream (his favorite) and I had mine with the vanilla cream topping. I don’t recommend the topping. It was basically vanilla flavored evaporated milk. Blech. The rest of it was super good though!

Paradise Shave Ice in Hanalei – The second best. J had rainbow flavor over mac nut ice cream.

Wishing Well Shave Ice in Hanalei – We had high expectations from this one from what we’d read, but it was disappointing. It is basically an old trailer converted to a shave ice stand. I think it doesn’t get enough air conditioning because the ice was melty. J had coconut shave ice over mac nut ice cream.

[Bloomwood]

Here are just some random thoughts. I'll probably think of more, but I'm sure others that have been will have ideas too!

What to pack
I didn’t really know what to expect, so I had a mix of casual ts and dressy out to dinner clothes. For daytime all I needed were shorts and tshirts. You should take a long sleeve t as well because it gets chilly in the forests, but a fleece is usually too much.
A couple of swim suits. I found myself wearing it all day since we never knew when it’d become a beach day.
Take an umbrella and keep it with you.
You’ll want a light sweater for restaurants with AC (there aren’t that many of them!)
You might want one dressy outfit for a nice dinner at one of the resort restaurants, but it is just so casual. I think my jean skirt, tshirt and reefs were my usual outfit.
Sun screen
A hat
If you have an iPod, get the adapter for it to play in the car. The island is seriously lacking radio stations. And, the ones it has go in an out depending on what side of the mountains you are on! We have the Monster cable. Works great.
Amphibious shoes (per above)
A book or two. I read I am Charlotte Simmons (700+ pages) over the course of the week then had to start on my next one. Not a bad thing.
Snorkel gear if you have it. It was $20 for the week to rent it. Seems reasonable.

Car rental – we rented a Chevy Impala. We should’ve gotten a 4-wheel drive.

Roosters – unique to the island. Apparently when hurricane Iniki struck in ’93, the roosters that were on farms were freed from the wind destruction. They are everywhere. Like pigeons in a downtown area. The only bad part is that they don’t just crow with the sunrise. Could be 2 or 3 in the morning. We got used to it after a couple of days, but our house came with earplugs just in case.

[cherry]

thanks for the report... i have a feeling i'll be revisiting this a few times between now and our group trip!

[Sand]

Hey Bloom! Can I add to your reviews?

I have to second Kintaro in Kapaa. Our friends father has a condo right at the end of the street its on and we ate there twice in the week we visited. They have a waiter there they love and he gave us fabulous service (and said freebies too since we were friends of his "usuals")

The other places that we liked were:
Hukilau Lanai (at the Kauai Coast Resort in Kapaa) we went there for Thanksgiving dinner last year - great meal. I'm not a fish fan, but ate some of my DH's and it was delish!

Beach House in Poipu. We made reservations as soon as we got off the plane for this place. Dressed up, and called it our romantic night. Excellent food.

Brennecke's Beach Broiler - across from Poipu Beach Park. We ate lunch upstairs and watched the rain roll in. ;) (Right after lunch we slathered up with sunblock, laid down, and *poof*, downpour!)

Eggbert's - yum. We ate breakfast there close to every morning, the condo is just down the road from Coconuts so we'd walk for our morning meal, then shop!

One place that turned us off was Pacfic cafe. After eating such great fish at Hukilau/Beach House this place was way under par.

[HeatherFL]

I was there in January and loved it. I am off to Lanai this coming January. I love Hawaii! :) Thanks for the recap/review of your trip!

~H.

[wendalah]

We are going to Kauai over the Thanksgiving holiday. I've been to Hawaii numerous times but never at this time of year--anyone have any experience with late Nov. weather? (We are staying on the North Shore.)

[Sand]

We went on Thanksgiving day last year. It was hit or miss with rain (came and went in spurts), but still warm all the time. We rented a car and drove to whatever shore wasn't raining! There was always a spot to find with gorgeous sunshine.

Have fun!

[laura]

Our friends honeymooned there in mid-Nov 2002 (they got married on the 9th, and went the following week). They said the weather was mostly great, but a couple of days it showered either in the afternoon or morning, but then cleared up.

Have a good time. :)

[JLRenheos]

I just flew in from Honolulu yesterday. I don't know what it's like in Kauai, but raining season has started, so they say. It was 80 degrees there. It would rain periodically. Have fun anyway, even if it does rain!-you could probably get a rain poncho. It was also windy.

[wendalah]

We are actually staying on the south shore now--so I think we'll probably be OK. Thanks everyone for your help!

[Rosebud]

Wendy, we're going to be on Kauai over Thanksgiving, too!! :D Staying in Kapaa, on the east coast of the island. Maybe we'll bump into you on some beach! :)

[wendalah]

No way! :D We are down in Poipu. Kauai is a small island...we may very well run into each other! And you know what I look like, LOL, so I can't hide! ;)

[littlebear]

We went to Kauai a few years ago at the end of October and stayed in the Poipu area. The weather was great...a few rain showers, but they always cleared up quickly.

[sportyj]

We went to Kauai in late October, had one day of torrential rains but it was a much needed rest from all the hiking, snorkeling, touring, etc. I would go back at that time in a heartbeat. And YES the south shore was always sunny!

You will have a blast!

[Elsie]

We were there in late November last year. Still hot and humid, with occasional showers in the morning clearing up beautifully in the afternoon. It's Hawaii. By law it HAS to be beautiful.