Kauai: Is two nights enough?
 

In February we will attend a wedding in Honolulu and it will be possible for us to get away to Kauai for two nights. If we rent a car, will two nights and one full day be enough time to explore the part of the island with roads? Or, should we forget it?

HTtY

PS I will be traveling with a relative who doesn’t fly in helicopters or small planes, who doesn’t hang out on beaches, and who is no longer able to hike.

Kauai is my favorite island although I haven't been there since 1974!! It's a long flight and I don't think I would spend the time and money to go there if you aren't going to hike, swim, etc.

Maybe you can find other things to do on Oahu that your relative can/will do? Have both of you already seen the typical tourist list of sights?

Kauai is my favorite Island also but two nights and a day would not be enough time for me to be worth the hassle of the interisland flights. There is lots to see and do on Oahu even with the limitations stated.

One full day is enough time if you're planning to spend most of it in the car. And you might want/have to to stay dry because the most scenic parts of the island - north shore and Waimea Canyon Dr. - get a lot of rain in February. I think your time would be better spent on Oahu.

I'd stick to Oahu - especially w/ your relative's limitations. There is plenty to see/do on Oahu.

I'd go, but you decide. Is one day on Kauai better than no day on Kauai? What would you do instead, and would you enjoy that as much or more?

I'd go just for the chance to see Waimea Canyon. Depending on time remaining and where you're staying, you could drive to Hanalei and go to Limahuli Garden. Or, if you're staying in the Poipu area, you could go to the Allerton and McBryde Gardens.

BTW, if you took an early flight, it would be 1.5 days. The flight takes less than an hour.

Thanks for the input.

<i>BTW, if you took an early flight, it would be 1.5 days.</i>

Yes, we are planning to arrive before noon the first day and to depart at about the same time two days later.

HTtY

Kauai is also my favorite island, if you go, devote one day to visiting the North Shore (but check the weather first in case it is raining) stopping at Kileaua Lighthouse on route, it is usually fairly calm at Anini Beach (reef) and Hanalei Bay, and have lunch and shop in Hanalei. If the weather is rough, it might be kicking it at Ke'e and Tunnels, but fun to watch if the surf is good. Your relative can suck it for a few hours.
On the second day, visit Waimea Canyon. Tip, drive first to Koke'e State Park for the views from the Kalalau lookout, clouds over often later in the morning, then stop at the Canyon on your way down. Maybe have lunch in Waimea, I like Wrangler's, many others like Shrimp Station.

I agree with Jean. Go for it.

Thanks for these specific and helpful suggestions.

HTtY

How long will you be in Hawaii? What's the itinerary without Kauai? At what point in your stay would you visit Kauai?

Remember that your first day in Hawaii will be Time Adjustment Day for your body. Also, every transit between islands can consume half a day, door to door. You have to get to the airport 90 minutes before departure to go through security. (Don't take luggage that you'd have to check and claim -- and re-check/claim on the return.) The air time is short, but on landing you have to get your rental car and find your new lodging, check in, etc.

Winter means overcast and rain over Kauai's most gorgeous north. Waimea Canyon may well have a wall of fog; you'd see nothing. Poipu should have sun. Is there availability at a hotel there? (High Season)

Northern Oahu will also probably have rain and high surf, but you could drive there and back to Honolulu and feel as though you'd been on another island!

Geez Sue, you make it sound like it rains all day every day in winter on the North Shore and that is just not the case unless there is a front or depression, and that could affect the whole island. I've been up there in November and December and had great weather, and drove up once in September, clear when we left Lihue, and pouring buckets when we got to Hanalei so there is just no way to predict.
Sheraton might be a nice choice for a hotel, good beach and they just remodeled all the rooms about two years ago. In Poipu.

How bad can it be if February is considered "high season"?

happytrailstoyou lives on the West Coast, so no big time adjustment.

Winter is High Season in Hawaii because people like my DH and I are escaping *awful* weather on the mainland then. We've stayed a month at Poipu on Kauai in February about five times -- always toured north, but never found a sunny day there. We tried Waimea Canyon three times before being stopped from seeing anything by a wall of white fog.

For the last dozen years we've stayed South Maui in winter. We've had days of rain there and listened to similar weather reports from all over Kauai. It's *winter*.

IMO Big Island's Kohala Coast is the only sure bet for sunny weather in February -- and this poster only has two days. Yes, they could hit good weather on Kauai, but I wouldn't promise it.

Don't get me wrong, I think Kauai is gorgeous.

I have been to Kauai 12 times and 3 or 4 of them were in February and have never been rained on. Guess I am blessed as I read the other comments. It rains a bit each day and at night but I have never been stopped from doing anything. I agree that 1.5 days is not a lot of time considering you have to rent a car, get to hotel, get settled and then drive the island which takes some time. I would spend it all on Oahu and check out the North Shore of Oahu but in February it might be rainy as well. Kauai deserves its own time and lots of it to see this Garden Isle....

Thanks. You have given me a lot to consider.

HTtY

I think it just depends how badly you want to get a glimpse of Kauai. And how much of Oahu you (and the relative) have already seen.

For me with only two days, I'd probably just explore somewhere on Oahu that I hadn't been before.