Kauai: Best Beach to chill at? Place?
Mar 1st, 2007, 01:44 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Kauai: Best Beach to chill at? Place?
I am looking to venture to Kauai this June and am wondering what is the best beach to chill at? My wife and I usually take vacations that we need vacations from - packing in Paris, Madrid, Morroco, and Brussels in 2.5 weeks etc. This time I actually want to relax on my vacation. I had a great time in Oahu several years back. But we changed venues so much that it was not relaxing. I really want to find a beach and float in the water for at least the first several days ...Any advice?
Also, we are not into the tourist thing at all, so I have been thinking of Waimea Plantation Cottages...but there beach doesn't seem that great...and it is far from everything. What do you all think?
Mosh
Also, we are not into the tourist thing at all, so I have been thinking of Waimea Plantation Cottages...but there beach doesn't seem that great...and it is far from everything. What do you all think?
Mosh
Mar 1st, 2007, 08:57 AM
#5
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 8,798
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Check out vrbo.com for listings in Hanalei. It can get a little confusing as some of the listings in Hanalei in vrbo.com aren't actually in Hanalei.
There are several reputable rental agents on the island with many listings too. Some are: Kaua'i Vacation Rentals, NaPali Properties (I've used them), Anini Aloha, Bali Hai Realty. Searching for the perfect place is half the fun.
There are several reputable rental agents on the island with many listings too. Some are: Kaua'i Vacation Rentals, NaPali Properties (I've used them), Anini Aloha, Bali Hai Realty. Searching for the perfect place is half the fun.
Mar 17th, 2007, 03:09 PM
#8
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 62
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hanalei for sure. Look for a place that's on the makai (ocean) side of Weke Road with a street address of 5000 or lower. The farther down Weke Road you go, the better the view of the mountains.
The Moon Cottage and the other Kobayashi properties in Hanalei are over-rated, over-priced, and over-recommended. You'll want to be at or near the other end of the beach.
There are no places to stay right on Secret Beach, and the walk down (and up!) is far from a "chill."
Anini is good, too, though the view and overall ambience don't come close to Hanalei's. Anini can get pretty crowded in the summer, and on Kauai there's no point in staying somewhere that's crowded when there are so many wonderful places that aren't crowded.
If you want something that is truly out of the way, consider a place west of Waimea along Kekaha Beach. You can get a large, very nice house just off the beach for a very reasonable price.
Poipu Beach Park can get crowded but the water there is still and inviting, with some good no-effort snorkeling almost always available. Look for a cottage near Brenneke's.
Down the road from Poipu and heading toward Allerton and the Beach House Restaurant are some expensive but elegant houses, including a few that are right on what's called Baby Beach.
Another great northern beach is Makua (Tunnels) in the far north, but it's hard to find makai-side cottages up there. The Wainiha/Haena area, including Kepuhi Beach, might be a good alternative, though the ocean can be rather intense there.
For the ultimate in wild seclusion--nature at its most unimaginably sublime--Google Gillin's Beach House, which is in the south in the Mahaulepu area. The road to the house is lousy and the winds can be intense, but oh! the beauty! Is there a more awe-inspiring expanse of beach on Kauai than the interconnected pockets of Mahaulepu?
An excellent centrally located beach is Kalapaki in Lihue--more well known as the Marriott Beach. The bay there makes the water gentle and serene, and while there's always a resort crowd, the beach is large enough to give you some isolation, and there's grass to lounge on. The beach is also five minutes from Hamura Saimin, one of the best eateries in the world. I would not recommend the Marriott itself, but within an easy walk of the beach are cottages on a cliff that you can find through a google search. My wife and I stayed in one of these cottages several years ago and liked it a lot.
Bottom line: if my wife and I had but one last day to enjoy a beach anywhere (and for us, enjoying a beach means lying on a mat for as long as possible, trying not to breathe for as long as possible), it would be Hanalei.
The Moon Cottage and the other Kobayashi properties in Hanalei are over-rated, over-priced, and over-recommended. You'll want to be at or near the other end of the beach.
There are no places to stay right on Secret Beach, and the walk down (and up!) is far from a "chill."
Anini is good, too, though the view and overall ambience don't come close to Hanalei's. Anini can get pretty crowded in the summer, and on Kauai there's no point in staying somewhere that's crowded when there are so many wonderful places that aren't crowded.
If you want something that is truly out of the way, consider a place west of Waimea along Kekaha Beach. You can get a large, very nice house just off the beach for a very reasonable price.
Poipu Beach Park can get crowded but the water there is still and inviting, with some good no-effort snorkeling almost always available. Look for a cottage near Brenneke's.
Down the road from Poipu and heading toward Allerton and the Beach House Restaurant are some expensive but elegant houses, including a few that are right on what's called Baby Beach.
Another great northern beach is Makua (Tunnels) in the far north, but it's hard to find makai-side cottages up there. The Wainiha/Haena area, including Kepuhi Beach, might be a good alternative, though the ocean can be rather intense there.
For the ultimate in wild seclusion--nature at its most unimaginably sublime--Google Gillin's Beach House, which is in the south in the Mahaulepu area. The road to the house is lousy and the winds can be intense, but oh! the beauty! Is there a more awe-inspiring expanse of beach on Kauai than the interconnected pockets of Mahaulepu?
An excellent centrally located beach is Kalapaki in Lihue--more well known as the Marriott Beach. The bay there makes the water gentle and serene, and while there's always a resort crowd, the beach is large enough to give you some isolation, and there's grass to lounge on. The beach is also five minutes from Hamura Saimin, one of the best eateries in the world. I would not recommend the Marriott itself, but within an easy walk of the beach are cottages on a cliff that you can find through a google search. My wife and I stayed in one of these cottages several years ago and liked it a lot.
Bottom line: if my wife and I had but one last day to enjoy a beach anywhere (and for us, enjoying a beach means lying on a mat for as long as possible, trying not to breathe for as long as possible), it would be Hanalei.
Mar 17th, 2007, 04:26 PM
#10
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 8,798
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Mar 17th, 2007, 04:51 PM
#11
Guest
Posts: n/a
guess I should have gone for the obvious!!! but really iamq - google gillan beach house? doesnt look very great anyway, just like the dump we stayed at in Hanalei and that Makena place on maui - overpriced, over the top, dumps - hahahaha
moshdaddy I am putting this on my list if I ever venture from the NS again....unlikely, but.......
moshdaddy I am putting this on my list if I ever venture from the NS again....unlikely, but.......
Mar 18th, 2007, 11:00 AM
#13
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 62
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My bad!! And my apologies:
I read my earlier post on this thread and realized that I slammed the Kobayashi properties for no good reason. I accidently pasted in a part of another private email to a friend about an entirely different property. I have no opinion on the K cottages because I have never been there and don't even know where they are on the beach. The only knowledge I have of these properties is what I've read on this and other forums--and the word has always been very positive.
I'm embarrassed by this and wish to apologize to the K family and to other forum readers.
Of course IAMQ is right: there is no good place to stay on the hellhole known as Kauai. Shoot, wherever you go you will be assaulted by ceaseless sun, dramatic ocean, beautiful sand, wonderful people, lovely breezes, rainbows galore, small kids surfing with their moms and dads, incredible ocean life, and a certain spirit of the place that would make even the most jaundiced jerk take pause and breath deep.
Yep, Kauai is . . . well, to put it nicely, it's Heaven. And what a hell heaven can be!
I read my earlier post on this thread and realized that I slammed the Kobayashi properties for no good reason. I accidently pasted in a part of another private email to a friend about an entirely different property. I have no opinion on the K cottages because I have never been there and don't even know where they are on the beach. The only knowledge I have of these properties is what I've read on this and other forums--and the word has always been very positive.
I'm embarrassed by this and wish to apologize to the K family and to other forum readers.
Of course IAMQ is right: there is no good place to stay on the hellhole known as Kauai. Shoot, wherever you go you will be assaulted by ceaseless sun, dramatic ocean, beautiful sand, wonderful people, lovely breezes, rainbows galore, small kids surfing with their moms and dads, incredible ocean life, and a certain spirit of the place that would make even the most jaundiced jerk take pause and breath deep.
Yep, Kauai is . . . well, to put it nicely, it's Heaven. And what a hell heaven can be!
