Driving in Kauai

We're renting a car in Kauai (in April) and driving around the island. We've booked a rental car at Lihue Airport. I've researched places we want to visit: Opaeka'a Waterfall, Hanalei Lookout, Hanalei town. I've used mapquest to check miles and minutes each stop should take.

I would appreciate from those that have done the Kauai drive, is what the highways and routes are like? We will be there on a Sunday... will we encounter any traffic that could delay us? We're in Kauai 8am to 5pm. I've scheduled to pick-up the rental car at 8:30am. Will we have enough time to make the stops I've listed above and get back by 3pm?

Thank for any help you can give me? Sandy

We're renting a car in Kauai (in April) and driving around the island. We've booked a rental car at Lihue Airport. I've researched places we want to visit: Opaeka'a Waterfall, Hanalei Lookout, Hanalei town. I've used mapquest to check miles and minutes each stop should take.

 

I would appreciate from those that have done the Kauai drive, is what the highways and routes are like? We will be there on a Sunday... will we encounter any traffic that could delay us? We're in Kauai 8am to 5pm. I've scheduled to pick-up the rental car at 8:30am. Will we have enough time to make the stops I've listed above and get back by 3pm?

 

Thank for any help you can give me? Sandy

I've been to Kauai three times and we have done the drive to Hanalei twice. Depending on who you rented your car with, you could have to take a shuttle to pick it up so check in advance and factor that in to your time.

Be mindful of the speed limits...the police in Kauai take great pride in monitoring the traffic. The highway is one lane each way most of the way from Lihue to Hanalei. You can't predict accidents, but I wouldn't anticipate any road construction on a Sunday. Speaking of Sunday, in Hawaii you may find that many shops are closed or close very early on Sunday so be mindful of that if you expect to shop in Hanalei. The restaurants in Hanalei are pretty good, we have been to Calypso twice and enjoyed it each time. Service can be slow, but the food is always good.

I think you could easily make the round trip and be back by 3pm. Enjoy your visit!

I hope you have a wonderful time in Kauai!

There is only really one main route around Kauai. I've done the end to end multiple times having stayed at one end once, and the other end the other time. The drive itself is simple, hard to get lost, but can be slow going. I'd not recommend anyone plan to do more then 1/2 the island on an given day.