First, I would like to thank all of you fodorites with helping me select which islands and where to stay. Our family of 5 (three older teen boys) will be in Kaui at the Pali Ke Kua condos from July 30 - August 3 and then in Oahu from August 3 - August 11 and staying at the Outrigger hotel in Waikiki. We all love the beach so we plan to spend alot of time at beach. We are on a budget so we are thinking that we will not do any guided tours, eat breakfast at condo most days, and pack picnic lunches, and then have dinners out. Please review, and comment on my first attempt at a possible itinerary for the Kauai portion of our trip:

Day 1 (Sunday) Arrive Honolulu at 8:50pm. Sleep at an airport hotel (which one?) as we will be catching one of the first planes out to Kauai next morning.

Day 2: Arrive Kauai at 7:30am. On way to condo pick up groceries, drive to Wailua Falls, Opaeka'a Falls and then do the 1/2 mile hike to Kipu Falls and let the boys swim around, rope swing, etc. Get to condo unpack and walk to Hideaways beach. Dinner and sunset at Princeville resort.

Day 3: Get up very early and hike part of the Kalalau trail (2 mile portion to beach). Eat a picnic lunch at Ke'e Beach and snorkel in the afternoon.
Watch sunset at Hanalei Pier and then drive into town of Hanalei for dinner and walk around the town.

Day 4 - Drive to South Shore and drive up to Waimea Canyon lookouts. Spend day on Poipu beach with friends that live in Poipu. (Hope we see a monk seal!) Get cleaned up at public showers (if they have)and have dinner at Beachhouse restaurant (6:00p reservation good to watch sunset in early August?)

Day 5: Tunnels beach, Hanalei Beach, and hike to Queen's bath.

Then off to Waikiki...

BUT...be very careful at Kipu. In fact, maybe Auntie M can tell us if it is open to public access since there were a few accidents and maybe even a drowning within the past few years??

Given how late you arrive in Honolulu and how early you leave you will have no traffic to worry about. That means all of the Waikiki hotels will only be 20 minutes away. Honolulu Airport doesn't have any really clean hotels around it - I'd recommend looking for a cheap place to sleep in Waikiki for the night.

As Kal sez, yes I would dissuade you from the Kipu Falls rope swing. It's caused more than one fatality (locals _and_ visitors), not to mention the those who have been injured (including paralysis due to neck damages). The other two Falls are "look only" now, due to the most recent deaths of the two tourists who ventured off the path and plunged down the mountain.

Our rivers and waterfall pools -- contrary to all those glorious photos you see in travel articles -- are not meant for entering. Think about what is upstream, and coming over the falls and into those pools. Ick. Animal feces, leakage from cesspools and farm ponds. And there's always the occasional tree limb and rocks. No way you'll see us in there. 8-)

That being said, you'll still have lots and lots of free fun on this island!

Day 2: When you arrive Lihu`e, you're best bet for groceries at that early hour will be Safeway in Kapa`a. Then head north, get settled into your condo, and hit the beach. Slather on the sunscreen though -- folks here are now using SPF50.

Day 5: Use EXTREME caution if you dare to go to Queen's Bath. High tide will crash you into the lava rocks -- and cellphone calls to 911 don't work from down there.

After you experience Hideaways on your first day you might want to leave time in your schedule for a daily visit. We stay at Pali Ke Kua and try to make it to Hideaways(my favorite beach) at least once every day. I've seen several monk seals sunning themselves there and it is also a good place to watch the sunset.