What to do in Kauai

Going on Pride Of America in September. Since we are in Kauai for 2 days I am trying to get some ideas of must things to do while we are there. Any suggestions welcome.

Thanks!

Blue Hawaiian helicopter tour is wonderful but a bit pricey.

Get out and see the beauty of the island. If you like adventure, I recommend ziplining and/or taking a helicopter tour (we did both :D). You could also drive up (or take a tour to) Waimea Canyon. Whatever you do - this is NOT the island to stay on the ship.

Go for a scenic flight or rent a car and see Waimea Canyon etc

Smith Family's luau

Kauai museum

We are doing a scenic flight on our first Kauai day and plan on going to the Smith Family's luau. We'd like to check out the Kauai museum, time permitting.

My group of 10 has 2 vans booked for the 2 days. We're heading to the Waimea Canyon on day 1. Depending on time might try and find a nice spot to go for a swim in the afternoon. On the 2nd day we're going different ways. Some are kayaking, I'm booked on a Blue Hawaiian helicopter flight and others are going to go driving and more sightseeing. It looks like a beautiful island.

Eat some won ton saimin and barbecue sticks at Hamura Saimin. Finish off with a slice of lilikoi pie.

I would drive West the first day to Spouting Horn Blow hole, Waimea Canyon, and Polihale Beach. Then I would drive East the 2nd day all the way to the end of the road at Ke'e beach. Get up early and stick in a helicopter or airplane ride to see the famous Napali Coast. Count on the traffic being slow through Lihue and Kapaa, but all that is doable in two days.

Burt

We recently done the most fantastic tour in Kauai with Jay from Tread Lightly. The website is http://treadlightlykauai.com/ . It is a tour personalized to your interests. Via email beforehand, we told Jay the things we were interested in seeing, and he planned the day to suit us. I can recommend him 100%. It was one of the best port days of our cruise!

Smith Family Luau was really terrific. Beautiful grounds, great food and nice performance!

We were on a POA last month. We rented a car in Kauai and drove to Waimea Canyon and then on up the mountain 4 1/2 miles to Kalalau Lookout. I got some beautiful pictures! We drove back through the town of Waimea. There were several little places to stop and eat and shop. Then we drove to Poipu Beach which was nice. Actually got to see a sea turtle on the beach and some seals as well. The next day we just opted for a ship's excursion...the river cruise down the Waimea river. Don't do it. At least we had a great bus driver who took us to a couple of extra places, but it was not worth the money.

Definitely rent a car. It's a small island and you should be able to see most of it in 2 days. It's got it all - canyon, cliffs, beaches, waterfalls, great lighthouse, beautiful jogging/walking/biking trail right along the ocean!

Kauai is the best island for a helicopter ride in my opinion, it was amazing. We have also done a catamaran sail up the Na Pali coast......also amazing!!

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+1

Make sure to take the hike at both ends, well worth it!

I would drive West the first day to Spouting Horn Blow hole, Waimea Canyon, and Polihale Beach. Then I would drive East the 2nd day all the way to the end of the road at Ke'e beach. Get up early and stick in a helicopter or airplane ride to see the famous Napali Coast. Count on the traffic being slow through Lihue and Kapaa, but all that is doable in two days.

 

Burt

Wait!, don't forget the north end of the island as well. There is the Kilauea National Wildlife Refuge, Princeville and beautiful Hanalei Bay.

If you go to the Kilauea Lighthouse (which is an amazing photo op :)), you will find all these birds including ones that build nests in holes in the ground. The Hanalei Dophin is good eats.

Kapaa on the east side is great to stop at on the way back to the ship. There will most likely be some kind of street fair going on with local wares for sale. The House of Noodles in Kapaa is a great place to eat. "rustic" would describe the appearance but a wide variety of delicious noodle dishes.

You could spend one day south and go to Waimea Canyon (don't forget the Shrimp Station in Waimea for lunch) then head up the east coast to the north side of the island on the other day or vice versa. :D

My Radiance blog from last September (in my signature :)) shows some of the sights if you head to Waimea Canyon.

Bill

A few pictures near Kilauea Lighthouse and the bird refuge.

The Hanalei Dophin (I didn't really leave her there. :p)

I think these were fields of taro.

The House of Noodles in Kapaa, as I said rustic but tasty. :)

We recently done the most fantastic tour in Kauai with Jay from Tread Lightly. The website is http://treadlightlykauai.com/ . It is a tour personalized to your interests. Via email beforehand, we told Jay the things we were interested in seeing, and he planned the day to suit us. I can recommend him 100%. It was one of the best port days of our cruise!

May I be so bold as to ask about how much this cost you .. just a general idea. We are considering hiring him for one of the days we are there on our POA sailing. I realize it varies on 'what' you are doing and how many things you do.. but there is no estimate at all on the site. Is it $200? $500:eek:? LOL thanks:cool:

bump :D

Eat some won ton saimin and barbecue sticks at Hamura Saimin. Finish off with a slice of lilikoi pie.

Sounds yummy!

Can someone who has rented a car in Kauai please give some more information about the rental car company and the nearest location of the agency from where Holland America docks.

Thanks,

Ron

We recently done the most fantastic tour in Kauai with Jay from Tread Lightly. The website is http://treadlightlykauai.com/ . It is a tour personalized to your interests. Via email beforehand, we told Jay the things we were interested in seeing, and he planned the day to suit us. I can recommend him 100%. It was one of the best port days of our cruise!

I was just on POA last week and also toured with Jay. I agree with everything you said. Jay was a great tour guide and a fun guy to spend the day with. We felt like we saw Kauai up close and personal and from the perspective of a local who really knows his island. Highly recommended!

Can someone who has rented a car in Kauai please give some more information about the rental car company and the nearest location of the agency from where Holland America docks.

 

Thanks,

Ron

Assuming HAL docks the same place where the Princess ships dock, I will say that it will be at the airport that you will rent your car. There are shuttles from all the major car rental agencies making continuous round trips right at the pier for all pre-arranged rentals.

I've used a car rental broker - DiscountHawaiiCarRental.com a few times with great results and very low rates. You chose the agency you wish to rent after they provide you the varying rates. There is no charge for their service and no payment is made for your rental to the car rental agency until you arrive. There have been several other CC members rating them highly, as well.

You can also just go to the website of your favorite car rental company and they can book your rental. I don't have a favorite so I like being able to compare the prices.

The shuttle buses will have their own agency name on them and they will take you directly to their office at the airport. It's about a 10-15 minute drive. Renting cars in Hawaii is very reasonable and probably the best way to have total freedom to explore on your own.

Hope you have a great trip.

Assuming HAL docks the same place where the Princess ships dock, I will say that it will be at the airport that you will rent your car. There are shuttles from all the major car rental agencies making continuous round trips right at the pier for all pre-arranged rentals.

 

I've used a car rental broker - DiscountHawaiiCarRental.com a few times with great results and very low rates. You chose the agency you wish to rent after they provide you the varying rates. There is no charge for their service and no payment is made for your rental to the car rental agency until you arrive. There have been several other CC members rating them highly, as well.

 

You can also just go to the website of your favorite car rental company and they can book your rental. I don't have a favorite so I like being able to compare the prices.

 

The shuttle buses will have their own agency name on them and they will take you directly to their office at the airport. It's about a 10-15 minute drive. Renting cars in Hawaii is very reasonable and probably the best way to have total freedom to explore on your own.

 

Hope you have a great trip.

Thanks for the information. I got a great rate ($36 + $13 taxes and fees) from Dollar Car Rental and they do have shuttle service to the airport to pick-up the car. We looking forward to a wonderful day on Kauai.

Thanks again!

Ron

I was just on POA last week and also toured with Jay. I agree with everything you said. Jay was a great tour guide and a fun guy to spend the day with. We felt like we saw Kauai up close and personal and from the perspective of a local who really knows his island. Highly recommended!

I noticed that Jay does not go to Waimea Canyon, although most postings say to head over there. Should I be worried?

You should contact Jay through email or by calling him. He is very open to doing what YOU want to do. We chose to see the East side of Kauai and Waimea is on the West. You can't really see everything in one day. We were supposed to fly with Wings Over Kauai on our last day and would have seen Waimea from the air but it rained and our flight was cancelled. That was very disappointing, but we still felt we saw a great deal of the beauty of Kauai with our tour with Jay. Good luck!