To rent a car or not in Kauai?

Here is a question for you seasoned travellers...

Do we have enough time to rent a car to see Waimea Canyon and relax and swim on Anini

Beach? The ship arrives in Kauai at 10 am. and we need to be dressed and ready to go to the ship's luau by 4:00 pm. My daughter wants to spend the day on the beach. I would like to see Waimea Canyon and swim! I read this island is beautiful. I am concerned that we need to wait for the shuttle to the airport to rent the car and then when we return the car, we will have to wait again for the shuttle to return us to the ship. The other alternative is to take the local shuttle to Kalapaki Beach and have a leisurely day there. I just don't want to miss seeing the island, plus, not so sure Kalapaki beach is as beautiful as others.I also don't want to rush the whole day and take the fun out of it. HELP! :confused:

No, I don't think you would. I would rent the car, see the canyon, return the car, then if there's time, head over to Kalapaki for a while before the luau.

I think that Waimea Canyon is a site not to be missed. Mother Nature at its best. Even worth missing the luau...

We rented a car, take into account half an hour waiting for the shuttle... We were on our way at 11AM (they were quick at the rental, many counters opened and we r not "preferred" in any company), took a bit of time getting out of the city, lots of traffic in one line, but then we had plenty of time to see the lookout of Waimea Canyon, took the 52 on our way up and the 50 down, as recommended on those boards. Hit heavy traffic back, also with a long line of cars waiting for the green light, but I think you'll still be back by 4PM.

AMAZING views !!!

That is a lot of driving since they are on opposite ends of the island and the ship is in between. You may find yourself doing more driving than sightseeing and swimming.

No, I don't think you would. I would rent the car, see the canyon, return the car, then if there's time, head over to Kalapaki for a while before the luau.

Good idea, :)

Here is a question for you seasoned travellers...

 

Do we have enough time to rent a car to see Waimea Canyon and relax and swim on Anini

Beach?

Not on the same day - they are in opposite directions - for Waimea Canyon you'd head south, whereas Anini Beach is on the north shore. You could do Waimea Canyon and Poipu beach though as they are in the same direction.

I'd reconsider doing the luau - Kauai has such spectacular scenery and I agree that it's not much fun to be rushed. I think you'd really be settling to spend the day at Kalapaki vs. seeing more of the island and enjoying nicer beaches.

Will you have the car both days ... what time does the ship depart on day 2? Maybe you could do a trip to the N. Shore that morning?

I think that Waimea Canyon is a site not to be missed. Mother Nature at its best. Even worth missing the luau...

We rented a car, take into account half an hour waiting for the shuttle... We were on our way at 11AM (they were quick at the rental, many counters opened and we r not "preferred" in any company), took a bit of time getting out of the city, lots of traffic in one line, but then we had plenty of time to see the lookout of Waimea Canyon, took the 52 on our way up and the 50 down, as recommended on those boards. Hit heavy traffic back, also with a long line of cars waiting for the green light, but I think you'll still be back by 4PM.

AMAZING views !!!

So, this sounds pretty hectic to me. We may just have to come back again in the future.:D My daughter has her heart set on the beach and luau. I looked into doing the luau in Honolulu on one of the three nights we will be there for the cruise tour, prior to getting on the cruise. Unfortunately, the excursions end too late for the luau there.:mad: not sure if we can break away from the tour to go to luau. I went to a luau when I was young and it wasn't that great, but her friends tell her it's something she should experience.

Thank you for your thoughts and travel ideas.

Not on the same day - they are in opposite directions - for Waimea Canyon you'd head south, whereas Anini Beach is on the north shore. You could do Waimea Canyon and Poipu beach though as they are in the same direction.

 

I'd reconsider doing the luau - Kauai has such spectacular scenery and I agree that it's not much fun to be rushed. I think you'd really be settling to spend the day at Kalapaki vs. seeing more of the island and enjoying nicer beaches.

 

Will you have the car both days ... what time does the ship depart on day 2? Maybe you could do a trip to the N. Shore that morning?

The ship leaves at 2:00pm on the second day. I don't want to rent a car on that day, as I will be worried about getting back to the ship in time. I really need to rethink this, but it looks like I will be missing out on seeing much of Kauai. I am not keen on doing the luau but my daughter is very excited about it and I don't want to disappoint her. WC seems like a long trip with lots of traffic. I looked into going to Poipu Beach by taxi and it would cost

$50.00 one way!!! If I rent a car, I don't want to rent it just to go to a beach near by. It doesn't make sense to me. I am disappointed that these islands don't have affordable shuttles to nice beaches and the only option is to pay a lot for a ship excursion or go through the hassle of renting a car.

Anyway, thank you for your ideas and help.

Is there another luau at a different port you could do? That might solve your problem! They are all more alike than different....really, they are.

No, I don't think you would. I would rent the car, see the canyon, return the car, then if there's time, head over to Kalapaki for a while before the luau.

Thanks for your suggestions. Since daughter is with us, we will not have enough time to do beach and W.C. from what everyone has posted. I doubt I will get to W.C. but I am keeping my fingers crossed!

Is there another luau at a different port you could do? That might solve your problem! They are all more alike than different....really, they are.

The only other place is in Maui and again there is a schedule conflict. I suggested we skip the luau and she was not happy!

That is a lot of driving since they are on opposite ends of the island and the ship is in between. You may find yourself doing more driving than sightseeing and swimming.

Okay, so the beach it is. I would be(and daughter and hubby) very frustrated sitting in

the car and rushing around to keep to a schedule. We usually travel to Europe and have 12 hour days of hectic, but exciting, touring. Daughter made it clear that she wants LOTS of beach time in Hawaii! I am satisfied with alternating between one day touring and one beach day...but I really did want to see Waimea Canyon, esp. since I haven't seen the Grand Canyon! We are doing the 10 cruise-tour with POA and the first three days are on land and full days of excursions without any beach time.

I think that Waimea Canyon is a site not to be missed. Mother Nature at its best. Even worth missing the luau...

We rented a car, take into account half an hour waiting for the shuttle... We were on our way at 11AM (they were quick at the rental, many counters opened and we r not "preferred" in any company), took a bit of time getting out of the city, lots of traffic in one line, but then we had plenty of time to see the lookout of Waimea Canyon, took the 52 on our way up and the 50 down, as recommended on those boards. Hit heavy traffic back, also with a long line of cars waiting for the green light, but I think you'll still be back by 4PM.

AMAZING views !!!

So, this sounds pretty hectic to me. We may just have to come back again in the future.:D My daughter has her heart set on the beach and luau. I looked into doing the luau in Honolulu on one of the three nights we will be there for the cruise tour, prior to getting on the cruise. Unfortunately, the excursions end too late for the luau there.:mad: not sure if we can break away from the tour to go to luau. I went to a luau when I was young and it wasn't that great, but her friends tell her it's something she should experience.

Thank you for your thoughts and travel ideas.

Okay, so the beach it is. I would be(and daughter and hubby) very frustrated sitting in

the car and rushing around to keep to a schedule. We usually travel to Europe and have 12 hour days of hectic, but exciting, touring. Daughter made it clear that she wants LOTS of beach time in Hawaii! I am satisfied with alternating between one day touring and one beach day...but I really did want to see Waimea Canyon, esp. since I haven't seen the Grand Canyon! We are doing the 10 cruise-tour with POA and the first three days are on land and full days of excursions without any beach time.

Sounds to me like daughter needs to learn how to compromise.:). This is Mom's vacation, too.

Waimea Canyon is a must see. But canyon, beach and luau is too much to fit in between 10:00 and 4:00. One thing needs to go, and it should not be the canyon. Mom, put your foot down. Do the canyon and then 'either' beach or luau. If you drop the beach that day, Kalapacki is right next door for the following day, and very close to the ship. Or forget the luau and go to Poipu or the Northshore beaches after the canyon. I'm not huge on luaus. I've done one and I'll probably never do another. I hope you are not disappointed. No chance to squeeze one in on O'ahu, and a little beach time as well?

My advice is to not be one of those people who sees it all, but enjoys nothing.

Very much agree with Brenda & Vance's advice. Perhaps your daughter could compromise ... she can pick one thing on Kauai and you'll pick the other .... WC and luau or WC and beach. I'm assuming that you're paying for the trip?

Mmmm, I agree with you on all counts. I will talk further with my daughter and let you know the final decision. Thank you for your advise.

No daughter is paying her own way, except excursions and car rental.

Very much agree with Brenda & Vance's advice. Perhaps your daughter could compromise ... she can pick one thing on Kauai and you'll pick the other .... WC and luau or WC and beach. I'm assuming that you're paying for the trip?

The problem is WC is not possible on day of luau because car rental takes time and trip to WC takes lots of time, so I won't be back to the ship and ready to go to luau by 4pm, I don't think.

Sounds to me like daughter needs to learn how to compromise.:). This is Mom's vacation, too.

 

Waimea Canyon is a must see. But canyon, beach and luau is too much to fit in between 10:00 and 4:00. One thing needs to go, and it should not be the canyon. Mom, put your foot down. Do the canyon and then 'either' beach or luau. If you drop the beach that day, Kalapacki is right next door for the following day, and very close to the ship. Or forget the luau and go to Poipu or the Northshore beaches after the canyon. I'm not huge on luaus. I've done one and I'll probably never do another. I hope you are not disappointed. No chance to squeeze one in on O'ahu, and a little beach time as well?

 

My advice is to not be one of those people who sees it all, but enjoys nothing.

The luau is later in the day. I need to be back on the ship no later than 3pm to wash up and get ready to meet excursion(luau) by 4pm. So from what I have been reading, WC is pretty far away from the port? If not, I think I would do WC one day, return to ship by three(fingers crossed about traffic and drop off time and return car shuttle), go to luau. Next day, get out very early for Kalapaki beach as it is a quick day. Is WC possible in the time frame I mentioned taking into consideration the car rental time?

Check out Germaine's Luau in Oahu. They pick you up in a bus at your hotel and bring you back when the Luau is over.

Pretty good Luau. Good luck and hope you and your daughter have a great time whatever you decide.

Aloha :D

Horseymike

Check out Germaine's Luau in Oahu. They pick you up in a bus at your hotel and bring you back when the Luau is over.

Pretty good Luau. Good luck and hope you and your daughter have a great time whatever you decide.

Aloha :D

Horseymike

Thank you. My concern is the excursion that the ship planned in Oahu gets back to the hotel too late to catch the luau bus. But I will check it out!

From what I have read there is a pretty good show one night on the POA with dancing that rivals the Polynesian Cultural Centers luau dancers. Can anyone chime in. Maybe that would suffice.

Then do some research and find out where to get some good Kalua pork while you are in Honolulu. It really is the best pork bbq we have ever had.

I really hope you can make it back to Kauai someday to experience what that island has to offer! :)

I think that you can do WC easily if u drop the beach.

On our way from the WC (mind u, we went up up, after the WC lookout to Kalalau/Pu'u O Kila lookout) our Garmin showed 50 min back to the rental office.

Taking into consideration:

1. On your way at 11AM. 1 h and a half to WC (stretching it).

2. One hour at the lookout (stretching it).

3. 1 h and a half back to rental (stretching it).

4. Worst come to worst, u can take a taxi to pier instead of the shuttle, but they came and went very quickly.

I'd hate it to see u missing such a breathtaking view.

While there, I looked around me - everyone - all ages and colors - was smiling, with a WOW on their face. People were talking with practical strangers, saying "would you believe such a beauty?"

https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Lihue+Airport,+3901+Mokulele+Loop,+Lihue,+HI+96766,+United+States/Waimea+Canyon+Lookout,+Waimea,+HI,+United+States/@21.9885479,-159.5810009,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x7c071ef73e6eeffb:0x42589a16936480fb!2m2!1d-159.3437585!2d21.9788489!1m5!1m1!1s0x7c06fffc49c4488b:0xc9d7684e1fb15b94!2m2!1d-159.6616083!2d22.0718055!3e0

Our original plan was to see the WC on the first day, keep the car overnight and "squeeze" the Spouting Horn in the morning of the 2nd day.

After finding out that we can return the car until 8PM, we "checked out" the SH on our way back to pier, and returned the rental the same day. Worth the detour. Also on our way back went through the "Tunnel of trees" which was amazing.

On the 2nd day we took it easy - shuttle to Hilo's Hattie (disappointing) and on our way back the shuttle driver graciously dropped us at Anchor Cove (also disappointing).

Pls. take into account that this is a very port intensive cruise, and if you don't see another chance to get to those places, u make the effort.

We saw the luau at Lahaina the first day in Maui, worth seeing it once, enjoyed it very much, but after the first 4-5 dances, we got the gist and went back early to the ship. Absolutely no regrets that we saw it, but it does get repetitive.

"Google" says just slightly over 1 hour drive time from port area to WC. So 2 hours total travel time, 1 hour to get car, and hopefully that will be far less. 2 hours to explore at the canyon. You may not need all of that. So that timeframe gets you back at 3:00 pm. Those who keep cars overnight so that they can get a very early start on the second day, even do the canyon on day 2. That might even be more relaxing, and provide more time, than heading out late on day 1 and trying to get back at 3:00. 4 hours day 1, versus 6 hours day 2 with a 6am start.

We have found that if we are in the first several people to get to the shuttle loading area when debark starts that it is a quick process. In our car and gone in about 30 minutes. The time we dawdled getting off, there was a line up, we had just missed the first shuttle, had to wait 20 for the next one and then it filled before we could get on so had to wait for another. Sign up for the membership your company offers to get in the fast lane at the office, and all of you at the front of the line to get off at 10:00 am.

I know you don't want to, but you could keep the car overnight and drive yourselves to the luau if it comes down to it. The tour probably leaves very early in advance of the actual start time. It takes awhile to load and shuttle hundreds of people. I believe there is probably an hour or hour and a half of walk around time at the grounds before it actually starts.

Hope you can work it out.