Hello again, I am putting my Kauai itinerary together (Less than a month to go and as always, am looking for suggestions from Fodorites who have been a huge help. We leave on Thurs June 28th, take an inter-island flight to Kauai getting in at 5.30. I was hoping to stop at Walmart or someplace else to pick up snorkeling gear. Is that a good idea or is it better to rent?
Friday - Relax at Poipu Beach where we are staying. Dinner at Keoki's maybe?
Sat - Head for the North Shore. Brunch along the way. Kountry Kitchen or Pono's market fried chicken sound good. I wanted to rent kayaks & kayak the Kalihiwai river(if we can find it!)Any suggestions for canoe rental places in the area? Dinner on the way back, maybe Polynesia Cafe.
Sun - Have booked the 11.30 helicopter tour with Inter-Island. We are a little nervous aboout the wind hindering vision rather than helping with the doors off. Opinions? Thinking we could drive to Waimea Canyon after.Any short recommended treks?
Mon - Botanical Gardens. Are Allerton the best? If we do the 1 pm tour, how much time should we allow? I have booked the Smiths show only at 7.15 since we did not enjoy the food at the last luau we attended. Maybe have dinner before that at Hamura Saimin.
Tues - North Shore again if we feel like. Afternoon boat tour of NaPali coast maybe. Dinner in Princeville.
Wed- Beach, any recommendations? Anini maybe?
Thurs - leave for Oahu - 2 days, will get to that later! The above are just guidelines, plans will change depending on our mood but please let me know if this itinerary works as far as time , distance & proximity to places. Thanks in advance.

Have you checked out OSB's Kauai trip report???

I just did thanks, it was very helpful but I'd still love answers to some of my questions. Also, what is a good place to see July 4th fireworks in Kauai?

Holy crap, I missed that part.

Well you can see the really big fireworks down by the airport if the schedule is the same, or you could head to Hanalei which is about a 50 bonfire ground firework display beach party. Very cool!!! I did a report under a former self (long boring story) Will try to top it for you!

Hi excited,
If/ when you go to the canyon and you are hungry and/or thirsty, try this place - good food and GREAT beer. We loved the place!
http://www.waimeabrewing.com/
(They have cool Tshirts too - using the label artwork from the beer)

I googled to find -
- July 4, 2007
18th Annual Concert in the Sky
Residents & visitors of all ages celebrate 4th of July at Vidinha Stadium from 3pm to 9:30pm with family fun, great food, live entertainment and a spectacular aerial fireworks show set to music.
http://media.kauaidiscovery.com/Kauai_Festivals/

I enjoyed my helicopter tour but was happy to have the doors. Maybe I was just chicken

We travel with our own snorkel gear. If you snorkel a lot, consider at least buying your own mask and snorkel. I just can't stand the thought of using a rental snorkel

Have fun! Kauai is lovely!

If you go to Keoki's, eat in the bar. The food is great, the atmosphere is fun and the prices are lower than in the restaurant.

Tidepools at the Hyatt also has some pretty good appetizers. I didn't think the main courses were as good as the apps though.

Stop at Hamura's Saimin in Lihue on your way up or back to the north shore. Funky and fantastic noodle house.

Highly recommend Allerton. It is a guided tour that takes about 2 1/2 hours.

I also think that Limahuli Gardens in Haena is worth a stop. It is all native plantings and is set among the mountains and cliffs of the north shore. It is a very unique and interesting place.

Hope this helps.

That sure does. Thanks so much for your replies. Any comments on the itinerary? Do all the restaurants choices seem good? I feel like we have too little time for all the things I want to see & do but I guess I will have to leave something for next time!

One suggestion, e&c -
Make a spreadsheet of what you would like to do and the open/close times and other pertinent info. But, then...

pick and choose once you get there.

It's Hawaii! Relax and enjoy it. One of my favorite parts of reading trip reports are when folks just toss out the "plan for the day" and relax and enjoy being in Hawaii.

Schedule a couple of "must dos", but then follow your nose a bit once you get there.

My two cents anyway

On Sunday, you said you might drive to Waimea Canyon. You'll usually have better views if you go pretty early in the morning. There's a good hike at the end of the road (there is a gate that's usually closed; you walk through that about a mile or so). The views are incredible, but I'm not sure how much you will see if you wait until the afternoon.

Also, you said you might do boat tour of Napali Coast in the afternoon. It usually gets much windier with much higher waves in the afternoons. We went on a morning tour, and on the way out the ocean was calm, and on the way back we had HUGE waves! It was very exciting and fun to have such large waves, but it was scary to some of the passengers.

We haven't rented kayaks, so I can't help with that.

We also bring our own snorkeling gear. I didn't see where you're from; when we fly to Hawaii from Atlanta (and especially if we have a connecting inter-island flight), we're exhausted when we get there; all we want to do is check into the hotel, find some dinner and then hit the bed. So I'm not sure if that would be the best time to look for snorkel gear.

Points noted. starrsville, I just plan an itinerary so I know what we should cover, the dates, times are all subject to change & availability of course! Your idea of a spreadsheet is great, will work on that.
Samsaf, unfortunately we are not morning people, my kids think of it as torture & not vacation if they have to wake up early! I feel bad coz especially in Hawaii, most things seem to be better in the morning.Maybe we should do Waimea Canyon another day in the morning?
& then relax on the beach in the afternoon. We are flying in from Boston, it will be a long flight but I just thought 5.30 pm is early to crash, & this way we will have the snorkeling gear for the next day at Poipu. I guess we will have to see how much energy we have. Is walmart fairly close to the airport? Is that an OK place to pick up snorkeling gear? And am I leaving out any 'must see' spots?

Well, if you're flying from Boston, you will be amazed at how early even your kids get up!

If you get into Kauai at 5:30 and then pick up your rental car, you might be able to go to Wal-Mart on the way to Poipu. It's on the way to Poipu from the airport (on the left on the main highway from the airport). It's probably a good place to pick up snorkel gear, but you might want to get it before you leave for Hawaii.

I know what you mean about the kids not liking to get up early! I was just asking my kids if they wanted to get up with me to see the sun rise at the Grand Canyon in a few weeks. Their response: "Hmm...not sure. Maybe I'll pass."

I liked Tunnels Beach on the north shore for snorkling. Ask at any dive shop and they can tell you how to find it (it is a popular locals beach and kinda hidden away). Be careful of rip currents at most beaches (summer is not as bad as the winter months).

Can I get in on this too? My husband, daughter and I are going in a few weeks and also staying in Poipu (Grand Hyatt). Our first time to Kauai and our daughter's first time to the islands. She wants to do a zipline tour. Read that Kipu Falls Zipline Trek (Outfitters Kauai) has a good one(?). Any ideas?

Samsaf, that's what I was told when we went to Maui a couple of years ago -I did wake up early but after the first day my kids still had to be dragged out of bed at 10 am! Had planned to watch sunrise on Halakalea (sp?) on the 2nd day that we got there but nobody else was willing to wake up! Is there no pint in going to Waimea if we do not do it in the morning? How early should it be? I'm glad the Walmart is on the way from the airport, I doubt I would find snorkel gear here.
momofrenee, my niece did the Kipu Falls zipline in Dec, she thoroughly enjoyed it but it takes up a good chunk of time.
I can ask her any specific questions you might have.

momofrenee, how old is your daughter? Mine wants to take surfing lessons, I believe they have them on Poipu Beach.

I am in Kauai right now for ten days. We have been coming here for many years. We ended up eating at the Olympic Cafe this time instead of the Kountry Kitchen. We liked the Olympic Cafe's open air atmosphere. The breakfast portions are huge (the delicious oatmeal could feed three)

To tell you the truth we preferred Hamura's a lot better than the Polynesia Cafe. The Samin, chicken sticks and lullikoi pie are to die for.

We rented kayaks in Hanalei for 24 hours. The first day we did the Kalihiwai River (it is easy to find) We tried to hike to the water fall but after a half hour my reward was 50 mosquito bites. The river is beautiful. The next day we still had the kayaks so the Hanalei river then out to the ocean for a mai tai at the Princeville Resort.

Allerton gardens are quite beautiful and a tram drops you off to walk the garden if you wish. Oh Waimea Canyon was fantastic as always.

For the first time ever we found the snorkeling a little bit better at poipu instead of North Shore which I usually swear by.

My daughter is 13 and is VERY excited about the zipline. She weighs 90 lbs. Is it pretty safe? Just asked her if she wants to learn to surf. Not interested.

I'm so glad you're doing the helicopter tour. It was the absolute highlight of our trip; we loved it. Our helicopter had doors, and if you end up going that route and want to take pictures, be sure to wear dark clothing. Lighter colored clothing will be reflected in the windows and show up in your pictures. We also did Hamuras, and I think we were the only tourists in the place.

For snorkelling, we did Tunnels and Ke'e - both great, and we always bring our own gear. We just bought ours at Target, so it's nothing fancy, but we like the idea of having our own.

Be sure to get some shave ice with ice cream on the bottom while you are there.

jrcem,
Which river did you like betst for kayaking?