penel523

My husband and I are narrowing down our decisions on where to go on our first trip to Hawaii. We will spend two nights in Honolulu--I know, urban and touristy, but we really want to visit Pearl Harbor and other WWII sites--and then fly to Kauai for a week. This will be in March.

We are thinking of splurging for a hotel for several nights in the Princeville area, realizing that it will be the rainy time of year. For the rest of the time, we are considering the Poipu area. Several questions:

*Am I correct that in Princeville, most of the condos (such as Sea Lodge) are on cliffs, but the resort hotels (such as the Sheraton) have direct beach access without clambering down difficult paths?
*Would it be more sensible to stay in just one location on Kauai? I hesitate to move too much--but I'm concerned about rain in March and would like to be on the sunny side. And yet our son stayed in Princeville in August and loved it, and we'd like to experience the same place he did.
*In the Poipu area, we have limited our searching to Kiahuna Plantation, as it seems to be highly recommended: for instance, this condo via HomeAway: specifically Kiahuna Plantation, such as this condo via HomeAway: https://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p311496vb. Should we broadening our scope of looking? Particularly if we splurge on a hotel in Princeville, we will need to keep our per-night costs in Poipu under $300.

Many thanks!

sf7307

I don’t know anything about a Sheraton in Princeville, but the other hotels are on the cliffs - that includes the St. Regis.

penel523

Oops I meant the Westin.

jamie99

I'd look at Hanalei Bay Resort in Princeville and rent directly from an owner or management company.

sf7307

Pretty sure the Westin is up on a cliff too

Kathie

All of the hotels at Princeville are atop a cliff. While the north shore is lovely, I am not a fan of Princeville. There are a few rentals in Hanalei, but really, no hotels.

The place you are looking at on Poipu is just fine, but there are other equally fine condos in the area.

KonaJoe

Your weather in March is highly variable...could be rainy, could be nice. I have had weeks of rain, though not in a while. Likely you will get some rain that drops fast and light then goes away. Ive live in HI for 50+ years and spent lots of time on all islands especially Kauai. Weather is funny here because there are lots of micro-climates, mountains and ocean and that all means variability. Where I live in the mts it can be raining on one side of the street and dry on the other, literally. It blows through very quickly. As to area, Princeville is pretty remote and the resort is it. Golfcourses, condos, hotels, small shopping area, beaches down below, helicopter tours around the corner. Then you need to drive whether in one direction to Hanalei town which is fun or the other towards Kapaa. If I had to stay in a hotel I would look to Poipu as its probably drier, more choice of hotels and condos (lots of places...Kiahuna, Sheraton....more), some good beaches though he same can be said for Princeville side. I think there is more to do in Poipu and closer places to go see stuff on that side, e.g. Lihue, Kapaa, Kilauea and on.
You shoudl probably plan to rent a car as there is no real public trans to speak of. Unless you are going to stay at your hotel you will need wheels. Lots to do and see there. If you respond with your preferred types of activities I can give you ideas.

If you like guidebooks, the DK Eyewitness series on Hawaii is pretty good. Same for the Hawaii Revealed series. You shoudl be able to get them cheap off Ebay.

Kal

I'd check out some of the hotels/condos in Kapaa/Wailua Area if you are looking under $300/nite after splurging in P'ville.

Maybe start from Wailua Bay View Condos, Lai Nani, Kapaa Sands and the others on Papaloa Rd.

Also Aston's Islander on the Beach, Kauai Coast Resort Beachboy, and Courtyard Marriott.
All are right on the ocean and are within walking distance to several very good and mostly inexpensive restaurants.
Aqua Kauai Beach Resort also in the neighborhood but you'd have to drive to any restaurants

Kapaa is a central location. 5-10 mins to airport and about 30-45 mins to NoShore, SoShore and maybe an hour to Polihale and Waimea Canyon/Kokee/Kalalau and Puu kila overlooks.

Mahalo!

Kathie

I love the Poipu area, and would recommend that you consider spending your full week there. You an (and should) drive to the north shore for a day. There are plenty of loading options in the Poipu area.

Karensadventure

I visited Kauai this past March and stayed in Princeville and I too was worried about the rain. Well their "rainy season" is just short bursts of rain here and there. If anything, we got more rain while visiting Kappa town during the day. I have a friend that visits Kauai every Feb/March and stays In Princeville. They maybe get 1-rainy day for the week they're there.

As for beach access in Princeville, we stayed at an AirBnb Condo (we didn't want to spend over $100 per night) and were told by many people to just "use the hotel beach path" that leads down to the beach. It's not a private beach, but the 'nicer" path is maintained by one of the hotels. (FYI: we rarely used the beaches in Princeville, but rather drove the short distance to Hanalei to enjoy their larger beaches).

Although we spent most of our time visiting other places in Kauai, I absolutely loved starting and ending my day in Princeville...it's a beautiful place to walk around, enjoy your surroundings, and the sunsets are gorgeous.