Finally, I took the plunge last night and bought tickets for our 2 week August trip to Kauai. After much thought and searching: $1005 per person from Newark to Lihue. I have been watching out for sales and checking prices every day since early March and the prices didn't budge. With my luck they will probably go down to $500 tomorrow ;-)
Anyway, here is our plan: 1 week in Poipu at Poipu Kai condos and 1 week in Princeville at Puu Poa condos. We're planning mostly to do hiking and spend time on the beach and snorkeling.
I have the Ultimate Guide to Kauai and have read it all a couple of times but personal recommendations for places to see and activities are welcome.
While we are not crazy about touristy stuff, we would like to take either the helicopter tour or the NaPali coast boat tour. Which is better? Any suggestion for other things to do?
Now I have to get us a car...
Sarah, thanks for all your support... Hope to see you on the North Shore.

Do not miss Pali Hali (sp?) state beach park. It's been a few yrs. since I've been but remember it as one of the best beaches in all Hawaii!

My wife and I went to Kauai for our honeymoon and we absolutely loved it! It's very beautiful, to say the least. We stayed at the Marriott, which was an amazing place. But we did stop by and look around Princeville. It's quite a place... different character than the Marriott. The North Shore is different than the East Shore and the South shore has its own flavor too--that's what's great about Kauai. As for places to see, we hit most of the "touristy" places, but one place that was different was a guava plantation. It was a huge guava orchard, where they let you pick your own guava and eat it right there. Delicious! Just take some napkins and moist toilettes with you if possible! This place was somewhere near the lighthouse on the northeast side of the island. As for the NaPali coast, both have advantages, but I think you can see & touch the dolphins and/or whales if you take a boat. But definitely hike there from the beach on the northwest corner of the island (just west of Princeville). There are some awesome caves to see there too! Great for hiking!--you chose the best place. Have fun!

1. Definitely do the helicopter ride. I don't think you can see the things you see otherwise.
2. Go to Wamea Canyon (Pacific Grand Canyon)
3. Rent a Jeep!
Have Fun!!!!

We did the boat tour of Na Pali coast, AND the helicopter ride. Expensive, but worth it. From the boat you can really see that amazing coast, and from the helicopter you can see the waterfalls and gorges. With all the money we were spending on the trip, I felt the incremental difference to do both activities was worth it. I didn't want to get home and wish I had done one of them!

Congratulations and good luck. We stayed at the Princeville Hotel and never saw a drop of rain. It was spectacular.

Is it possible to take pictures during helicopter tour? How many people are in this one small helicopter?
Can someone direct me to a website where I can find more information about it?
Are there different companies offering such tours? If yes, which one would you recommend?
What time of the day those tours are offered?
Where is a helicopter pad located?
Thanks

YEAH lza!!! What do your connections look like? Feels real now yes? I think he makes a hiking guide book reccomendation in the Ultimate Guide. Also go to kokee National Park directory (online) and search hikes, there are some gorgeous ones up there. You can even find photos on the internet of others hikes so it gives you something of look of what you will see. I did this for Alakai Swamp last year.

I have read a lot about using
priceline for your rental. Only down side seems to be that you pay for your rental before trip so if anything happens to alter your plans you are stuck.

Sarah, it certainly feels real now. My husband, our daughter and I were dancing around the house chanting: "We're going to Hawaii!" after I bought the tickets. I gave the news to our niece who is also coming with us this morning. We are all so excited!
Our connections are pretty good. Leaving EWR at 11:55 am on Sat. direct to LAX then 2 hour 15 minute layover and then a direct flight to LIH. On the way back, leaving LIH around 8pm, 2 hours in HNL then to San Jose where we have 1 hour before a direct flight to EWR. Continental/American combo: 1 connection going there and 2 connection coming back.
I think I will try Priceline for our car, we want to get a full size because there will be 4 of us. The best price I am seeing at the moment is Budget at $235 per week (before taxes). So if I can get it for $25-27 per day, it would be great.

Hi, Definitely do the helicopter ride. Well worth the investment. You can take as many pictures as you want. When we went three years ago it was just the two of us and, of course, the pilot. We used Will Squyres Helicopters (808-245-8881). They did a wonderful job. We also bought the personalized video of our trip. They take pictures of you getting on the chopper, then I imagine it is a stock video of the trip, then the video of your helicopter landing and you getting off. Brings back many nice memories. We stayed at the beautiful Marriott but breakfast was a little expensive there. We asked the valets where the locals eat and they recommended Dani's restaurant in Lihue (not sure of the address) Only open for breakfast when we were there. We loved it and ate there every morning. At the end of the week, on our last day, the family that runs it, presented my husband and myself with leis of very small flowers that must have taken a considerable time. If you are interested, their phone number is 245-499l. Aloha! Happy Traveling.

You definitely should take the Kalalau Trail hike along the Na Pali coast from Kee Beach to Hanakapiai Beach (or further). My wife and I went to the Big Island and Maui as well on our two week honeymoon last October but the best pictures we got were from this hike. Stunning views seem to be around every curve in the trail.

lza sounds like a pretty picture dancing around the house. I think we sang "and were going to the hoki lau hoki hoki hoki hoki lau? They actually called me up at work and sang it into my ears.

Depending on the kind of hiking you are doing and if you will be going to alakai swamp, polihale beach. We found an SUV very helpful. You need to be comfortable driving on the unpaved roads though and actually have some of them on where you want to go. We are tempted to get it again this year but it might be a waste with just us three and driver this year is not comfortable driving on dirt areas. you saw biddingfortravel website yes. Provides winning bid info for vehicles. looks like $37 a day is what you expect to bid for an SUV. Your figures sound right for full size. There is a great link on fodors homepage on rentals and how to avoid increases with insurance add ons.

Sarah: Do you know the web address for Kokee National Park you referenced above? Did a quick search and can't find it. Thanks

Search by Kokee State Park and you should be able to find it.

We're going in less than two weeks now (yee-hah!) for our wedding and honeymoon. We booked a helicopter trip with Kack Harter Helicopters. They have a great safety record, two-way radios, and if you book it online, it's $149 for a one-hour trip, which seemed to be very reasonable. we were also advised to take the helicopter trip first thing so we could see the island and get a feel for where we should go.

Their Web site is http://www.helicopters-kauai.com/

Good luck and have fun!

We went to Kauai and Maui for our honeymoon last June16, and stayed at both Hyatt Resort. Excellent & expensive hotels!

For the helicopter ride, we used Jack Harter 60mins tour. The pilot was great. He plays his own recorded music CD which was really soothing and relaxing. They have a 100% safty record. If money is not an issue, do take the 90mins tour so the pilot can hover around where ever you want, and you can catch more photos. Remember, don't spend all your time taking pics/video (like I did,) so you can enjoy the moment & the breath-taking view + experience!
Their website is http://www.helicopters-kauai.com/
Bring a digital camera if you have one, or load a brand new roll of film. There were another couple with us. I was sitting next to the pilot, and my wife and the other couple in the back seat.
I took over 80 pix on the chopper alone.
Check out my online pix.
http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b303a99e0564

We also joined Captain Andy's "The Spirit of Kauai" Na Pali snorkel tour. It was a great experience as well... plus, you will see flying fish, sea turtles, and join the dolphins swim along your boat. Check out 4 of my pix.
http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b303a9a98463
and here is Captain Andy's site.
http://www.capt-andys.com/kauai.html

On a side note, we took some motion sickness pills before the chopper tour, since we got some sort of motion sickness on the Captain Andy's ride. So be prepared and take the pills an hour before the tours. It doesn't hurt to be prepared!

We also enjoyed Waimea Canyon ( http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=...21b303a96a0590 ) drive as well. Enjoy your trip and the great unforgettable experience!!!!!!

Enjoy!
David
P.S. My wife wants to go back to Kauai sooooooo bad!
P.S.S. We would go back during whale season and mengo season next time we go.

Just a couple of my own thoughts to add to the Kauai experience since I noticed some obvious omissions.

If you are into snokeling (and if you are not before you go to Kauai, you will be by the time you leave) you need to spend most of your time on the north shore, specifically Ke'e beach and tunnels reef (right down the road from Ke'e coming back to Princeville). These are both excellent spots to take a family in the summer, and they both did not seem nearly as crowded as the south shore beaches.

I noticed someone mentioning the Na Pali coastline trail, while yes it is beautiful it is also extremely strenuous and if you have a family with you I don't see the children being into that hike after the first steep incline. Instead I would recommend the Alakali Swamp trail that someone mentioned. Go to the Waimea canyon gift shop/resturant, buy the $1.50 trail map and ask someone about this trail. The best place to start is that the very end of the road and kind of work your way down to intersect the trail half way. The beginning this way gives you absolutely stunning views of Na Pali without the work of the Na Pali trail. After that you will be in the middle of a lush tropical "jungle" and you will encounter the wooden boardwalk which makes this hike not very difficult. After the jungle you come to a bog area that is almost constantly fogged in, but that gives you a walking in the clouds kind of feel that can not be beat. At the end of the trail you come to a look at point which is high about the North shore overlooking Hanalei bay. Spectacular view and well worth the trip. The route we took was about 4 miles round trip and my wife and I did it in under 5 hours, but a great time was had by all.

Skip fern grotto, you are going to miss anything, definitely do the helicopter, and try to get a seat by the window. If you the money for it do the Hawaiian luau at the Coconut Beach Resort in Kapaa on the East shore. The food was excellent, the entertainment first class, and you really feel like you are in Hawaii. Try the poi, and you will wonder how anyone can subsist on that?! That is really all I had. Hope you have a wonderful time, if you have half as good a time as my wife and I did, you will definitely be coming back.

ttt

Poi is an aquired taste but did you know it has more calcium than most any other food.

Could cry that I did not finish Alakai Swamp trail my guest found it too strenuous and I don't feel comfortable doing it alone.SHUCKS any suggestions?

Thanks all for great suggestions. The hiking trail descriptions sound really great. We are looking forward to it all. I think we will try the Na Pali coast trail (at least the first 2 miles). Our daughter is only 8 but very fit and athletic and she likes hiking (you should have seen her hiking the rain forest in Costa Rica last year!).
We haven't decided about the helicopter tour or the boat tour yet. My guess is that we will do one or both - but I wouldn't like to commit now. Is it possible to make reservations once we get there or do they have to be made way in advance?

Hi lza:
I booked all my tours in NY through Activity World 1-800-624-7771, for both islands. You can also book the tours once you get their, but there's no guarantee on anything. For example, we totally missed the "Old Lahaina Luau" in Maui and went to the Hyatt Luau. It was was a joke, wouldn't recommend it.

Give a call to Activities World and ask them. Here is a generic activities link... http://www.kauai-hawaii.com/activities.html

Good luck!
David