jenny19

No, I'm not "lost", just busy.

But I am overdue in saying a HUGE thanks to all of you who gave me such great advice. Thanks to your advice, I've reconsidered my original plan of staying away from the beach to save $$ and now realize that we can find a property closer to the beach with which we will be happy, and within our budget. Thanks much!

jtrandolph

Just to say that we also stayed at Kiahuna Plantation and were very happy there. There is a shopping center within walking distance and the beach is private with large lawns and palm trees fronting it.

Cidbob

How long are you planning to be in Kauai and what time of year? If you have enough time, you might want to split your stay between the north and the south. If you don't have the time, go north! You can find affordable and quite nice houses on or just off the beach at Anini and Moloaa (very nice spirit of place at Moloaa, a little more crowded at Anini). Neither is too far a drive to good services and excellent restaurants. The P'ville condos mentioned earlier are good,and I'd add Pali Ke Kua, but be forewarned: getting to them involves a surprisingly long drive through P'ville itself, which is massed with condos and houses and thus doesn't have the most lovely ambience. The cliff cottages at the Marriott in Lihue are elegant, not too pricey, and kind of cool to stay at.

Hanalei has it all; it is quintessential Kauai. You can find nice houses on the mauka side of Weke Road for quite decent prices, and the walk to the beach will be less than five minutes; some of the houses have slight ocean views and nice ocean sounds. Consider the Reed House, for instance. It's hard to find direct views in Hanalei for less than 350-400/night, but it's worth it!

North of Hanalei are Wainiha, Kepuhi (surprisingly affordable), and the Haena area--sublime spirit of place up there, and not too major a drive into Hanelei.

There are smaller cottages and studios in the "million dollar" neighborhood of Poipu if you don't need to be right on the ocean.

Greginlh

In Maui we stay in a condo right on the beach (15 ft) at Maui Sands. We rent thru Maui Dave and have been there 5 times in the last 4 years. Its not luxury but its right on the water for appx. $175 a nite. 2 bedroom 1 bath.
Have a great time

MauiKim

Hi there,

I am going to Maui in October and rented a condo at the Whaler on Ka'anapali beach and its well below $350.

Here is the link to the rental company:
http://www.alohacondos.com/whaler/