Kauai in September - Need Advice
 

Hi there,

My family (me & my husband, 2 babies - ages 1 & 2) along with my mom and two sisters are traveling to Kauai for the 1st time in September. I have just started to do some research on accommodations - preferably a vacation rental to accommodate all of us and give us some amenities like a kitchen, washer, etc. We'll be there for 9 nights. BUT - I am looking for insight into locations...

The north coast seems to be what interests me most at first, but how risky is the weather everyone seems to talk about especially in Sept?

How touristy/commercial is Poipu area?

Ideally, we'd love a home with a pool, but those appear to be generally out of our price range and few & far between, so what is the likelihood of using the pools at nearby resorts? Or, how "resort-y" would it be to have a rental in the Regency complex - do you still feel like you are experiencing a new place or is it pretty much like another resort on another beach? We like to experience local culture.

As far as activities, we'll want plenty of beach time, pool time, we have 1 scuba diver and 1 mountain biker in the group...and I'm sure we'll take some hikes and just enjoy relaxing for the duration.

Thoughts?

One more thing I should mention....
it is 5 adults and 2 children

we'd like a place that we can easily walk to the beach and ideally also to shops/restaurants since we'll have the little ones with us...

Not sure where you're getting your September weather info. It is usually the best weather of the year, regardless of which part of the island you're on.

Poipu is a world-class resort destination. But in comparison to other such places, I'd say it isn't particularly over-developed. All things are relative of course.

Don't count on using a resort pool. It is frowned upon and probably won't work.

As for experiencing local culture, it is a good question, and something that isn't easy to do. The part of the island you're on won't matter in that regard. In reality, the lives of visitors and locals here are in many ways totally different spheres. My thoughts go towards attending cultural events for example as a way to mingle more.

Aloha, beatofhawaii.com

Search vrbo.com

I suggest you do a search requesting 7 people w/ one of the agencies. Here's one link

http://www.kauaivacationrentals.com/book/query.html

Not sure of your budget, but some of the Princeville homes have pools (but you have to drive to the beach). Hanalei w/b a good location to walk to the beach, but I have no idea about pools.

Best of luck on your search

Consider spliting your accomodations between the north and the south. We did that the last two trips and loved it. We stayed in a house up north for the first half and then stayed at a hotel on Poipu for the second half. Best of both worlds and we missed most of the Kapa'a traffic.

We had great weather on the North Shore mid September, we loved it .

We always rent a house on Tunnels Beach on North Shore...Pu'u One and we rent through kauaivacationrentals.com
It is a piece of heaven. Very basic...sleeps 6-8. Located right on the beach...huge lanai...best snorkeling spot on the whole island. It's pricey but we save so much by being able to cook most of our meals right there...it's so awesome...you don't even think about missing a concrete swimming pool!!!! We've been in September and the weather was perfect and the crowds are down. Easy drive into Hanalei to shop and eat.