Help, I am really stumped and have several questions! First, here's the situation:
* Going to Kauai in mid-January 2008.
* Agree with recommendations to stay on the South Side due to weather and surf on North.
* However, from what I have read, the lush tropical part of Kauai is in the North and I want to really experience this.
* I'm worried about it raining every day all day if stay in the North.
* After a week in Kauai, we are staying at the Hyatt on Maui for a week.
* We love snorkeling and just hanging out on the beach, but we can do this in Maui. My main goal for visiting Kauai is seeing the lush tropical paradise and experiencing the wonder of nature. We like to hike, etc.

Questions:
1. Is it feasible to stay on the South Side but rent a car and take several day trips to the North? (When we were in Maui before, I wanted to drive to Hana but it was just too long of a drive and back. Is this the same situation for the North and South of Kauai?)

2. Should I split up my trip and stay in the North for a few days then stay in the South?

3. The East Side may be the most logical so I could hit the North and South but it does not sound like an area I'd really enjoy -- too much commerce, beaches/water not as good as South, too windy, etc.

4. Any suggestions for places to stay? We prefer cozy little cottages, condos (not condos in a huge hi-rise complex). Don't need fancy but not looking for "low-budget" either. Would like a place on a beach - at the very least want ocean-front. Don't like to be in the middle of hustle and bustle.

The Waimea Plantation Cottages sounds like someplace we would love BUT don't want to stay on the West Side.

Hoping to spend about $300 per night but will go higher if need to.

5. How is the Poipu Plantation?

6. How is the Poipu Kai Resort?

I know this is a lot of info to ask for but any help is greatly appreciated.

I've been to Kauii a couple of times,and have always stayed on the North Shore area. Two years ago we were there in January and the North Shore was sunny and clear (we had no rain). I prefer the north because it is so much prettier, tropical and has a more local feel. The south (to me) is too much like southern California where I live, so I like to experience something differnt.
BUT, if you stay on the south side, it is very easy to drive around the island- it takes about 1 1/2 hours. But, there are lots of things to stop and do along the way.

There is nothing like the road to Hana in Kauai. We naively expected a tropical paradise but didn't find one. There is only a very small area that is tropical and that is in the north. I think Kauai is great for those who enjoy hiking. Scuba was surprisingly good however.

I don't know the specific properties mentioned but Poipu is very nice. There were some really nice condos very close to the Beach House restaurant, opposite a beach good for snorkeling.

I'll take a shot at some of these.

1) It is feasible to rent a car (it's actually pretty much a must in Kauai) and take day trips to the north shore. We stayed in Poipu and did this on a couple of occasions. The drive was a bit long but we enjoyed it since we had not been to Kauai and it gave us a chance to see a lot of the island. We also lucked out because Poipu had 7 sunny days while we were there and the north shore got rained out on a few of them.

You should also know that a lot of Kauai's lush interior is more easily accessible from the south (ie. Waimea Canyon) - so you shouldn't be worried about missing the lushness of Kauai by staying in the south.

2) It's not a bad idea to split up your time if you are staying for a week. If we return we will probably do just that.

3) The east side will probably cut down on some of your travel time but, as you suggest, I actually found it a bit more commercial. Staying in Poipu will only add about 25 minutes on your commute to the north and will take off 25 minutes on your commute to Waimea. If it were me, I'd either split the time up (between north/south) or just stay in the south. I'm sure lots of people love the east and will disagree, though.

Last summer we split our trip betwen the north and south and I loved it. It made for a much more relaxing trip. Some people don't agree, so you need to decide for yourself if it would work for you. Yes the north is soooo beautiful, and it was nice taking in the sunrises and sunsets which we couldn't of done if we were just making day trips. My family loves to be in the ocean as much as possible and the Poipu beaches offer quick and easy access to the water so that's why we love the south shore too.

There are lush tropical areas in kokee national park closer to the south than north shore. look up pictures of this and poli hale. Plenty to see all over kauai.

For years I stayed in Kapaa for breaks and then would pick which side I would drive too.

Someone may have already caught this but someone mentioned "Road to Hana". That is Maui.

If you want the rainforest, stay in the North. The road around the island is mostly one lane in each direction - and it can get crowded. Avoid snorkeling there, though, unless you are very strong swimmers. Stick with hiking, river kayaking, etc.

We stayed in Lihue because we had Marriott points, but it was no problem driving up to the North Shore to go to the beaches there. Poipu area was nice too; we had great snorkeling there right off the beach. Highly recommend doing a helicopter tour while on Kauai also.

Last yr. we went to Maui for 2 wks, then to Kauai for 4 days and stayed in the North with two other couples. It was beautiful but wouldn't want to drive back and forth from the South to the North. This year we're spending a week in Lawaii Beach Condos right across from the Beach House in Poipu as we will have small children with us. Hopefully we'll have more sun. If I were you, I'd do 3 days in one area and 4 in the other otherwise it would be too much driving. There's parts of Kauai that get extremely busy and congested and that bothered us.

We stayed in the Poipu area for 5 days this summer. We intended to go up to the Napali Coast one morning to take the "standard" 2-mile hike. Uh-uh. Too much traffic. We turned around and went up to Kokee and Waimea instead.

Thanks for all the useful info. Still researching.

We've been to Kauai I think nine times, and always in late December-early January. We've always stayed on the north shore, the first time in a Princeville condo, then a few times in Hanalei houses, and the rest of the time in different houses on Anini beach. Hands down, the north shore is the most beautiful part of the island for its lushness, and the gorgeous mountains.

In Hanalei you get the view of both, and it is breathtaking. In Anini you get an only slightly less spectacular view-- it's merely gorgeous-- and a beach protected by a double reef, which makes it probably the safest place to swim and snorkel in the winter months.

You can drive just about anywhere in 1-1/2 hours, so you can take day trips to Poipu & the south side. Personally, I get really irritated by the traffic (who wants to deal with that on vacation in Hawaii, for pete's sake?) and love the north so much that I rarely venture too far from it.

Re rain: it does rain. Often at night and early morning. It can rain during the day as a passing shower or sometimes all day. Only once did we ever get rained out. That year it rained on us for 10 days straight, hard, day and night. Aside from that year, we never had the sense that we were prevented by bad weather from enjoying the beach, or having a fun outdoor vacation.

If your main goal for visiting Kauai is "seeing the lush tropical paradise and experiencing the wonder of nature," hiking, and so on, I think you want the north shore.

However, if you're really nervous about possibly getting rained out, maybe hedge your bet & split your stays between north & south. I am not especially a fan of the east side, though many Fodorites on this board are. For me there's way too much traffic, commerce and other people.

Whatever you decide, I am confident you'll love Kauai!

Ckwald,
How did you find the houses you stayed in? We always enjoy a 1 bedroom cottage or low-rise condo.

We visited Kauai in Feb. and loved it. We stayed in Poipu,hoping to avoid most of the rain, but watched the weather report and headed north when the forecast was favorable. We didn't find the drive to be a problem. With only a week on Kauai, I would prefer to drive north rather than move to another condo.

You won't find a lot of properties on the beach. Our condo was on a cliff, overlooking the water and we thoroughly enjoyed watching the many whales and dolphin from our lanai. We rented through Gloria's Vacation Rentals. She has many condos and cottages and since she lives on the island and owns the very nice B&B, she knows all the properties.

Poipu is closer to Kokee and Waimea Canyon where our favorite all time hike is--the Awa'awapuhi/Cliffs/Nu'alolo. If you enjoy a day hike, this one is spectacular.

We also enjoyed the solitude of the far beach at Mahualepa(sp)out past the Hyatt and Gillen's Beach. Great walks out there on the limestone cliffs along the water.

Take your binoculars--I have a mini pair that works great. Seeing the whales was one of my greatest thrills. I never imagined that I would see 10 or more whales every morning before we ate breakfast. I could hardly get ready in the morning--they were very distracting. I just loved watching them.

Linda,
What was the name of the condos where you stayed? It's always good to hear about one from someone who has actually stayed there.

LvSun we stayed at Punana Aloha cottage on Anini Beach and liked it quite a lot. http://www.nakearentals.com/pun/pun.htm

My husband and I have stayed at the Moon Beach Cottage in the past. The photos are accurate--across the lawn is Hanalei Bay. http://www.beachkauai.com/Hanaleimoon.html

We stayed at Kuhio Shores (vrbo). It's in the Poipu area with a beach next door and the Beach House restaurant. We took 2 days trips to the north side. Traffic was a bit bad, but not terrible.

Minnie- I'm looking at Kuhio Shores for a March 2008 trip. Is the beach next to it sandy/swimmable? Any recommendations on desirable units or sides of the complex?