Coming to Kauai for 10 days in June - Staying all 10 days in Princeville a mistake?
 

Hello,

We just booked out trip to Kauai and we are pretty excited. Visiting Kauai has been our dream for many years. We will be arriving towards mid-June for 10 nights. We are 2 adults and have no set agenda. We just want to unwind and relax, spend time at beaches (of course), a little bit of snorkeling, and a little bit of hiking. We are travelling on a budget so we will limit eating/drinking outside, paid activities, and shopping. Hence, restaurants/shopping are not much of a consequence for our trip planning. We want to stay in the best area possible to experience the "postcard Kauai".

We ended up booking a place in Princeville for all 10 days. We did this based on recommendation from my colleague who was born and brought up in Kauai and moved to mainland a few years ago for work. However, after watching a bunch of videos and reading blogs, I am starting to regret that decision a little bit. Should I have booked a few nights in Poipu as well? Is Poipu is really a "resort town" or is that an exaggeration?

We were initially planning to do 2 day trips to the south coast - One day to go to Waimea Canyon State Park and second day to see Poipu and surroundings. Do I really need more than 2 days to see the south shore? Other than drive time and gas, is there any advantage to staying for a few days in south? We got a good deal for accommodation in Princeville, so we did not think much before booking. Some of the youtubers are saying that Princeville has gotten over-crowded to an extent where they now prefer staying in Poipu instead. Also, I don't want to end up driving more than 2 days to south shore.

Did I do a mistake by booking my entire stay in Princeville? Should I try to change my booking and spend a few nights in south shore?

Mahalo.

No, I think you will be fine. Moving takes time, packing up, checking in/out. Go and enjoy your stay!

I am no expert on Kauai (only been to Oahu and Maui) but for a 10 day trip I would want to stay in the same place the entire time. You'll have a rental car, right?

I would follow the advice of a long-time resident before I'd follow youtubers -lol!

aloha, suze

We stayed nine days in Hanalei, and it was great. I wouldn't mess with moving around the island.

I've been to Kauai multiple times but before it became so expensive. We used to split stay but that was before traffic got so bad . The island itself is small and it is not far distance to drive from one end to the other if there is no traffic. Go as early as you can on any excursions. Note there are parking reservations and fees for tourists at popular spots.

I haven't checked but I assume they completed repairs for the big slide? They were still working on it a year ago when I looked into a short visit that I cancelled due to issues with rental cars and flights.