Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Kauai trip report

Kauai Trip Report Sun 4/17/05 through Mon 4/25/05

Who: me, DH and 8 yr old son

photo link: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-95z0cj

Condo: Kiahuna Plantation #234, bldg 36; rented via VRBO. Nice but plain – no personal effects or extra stuff, not even food items like salt and pepper. May be a result of management (Castle) since we saw them removing boogie board from a rental room on cleanout. We gave our boogie board away to someone on the beach on our last morning. Had a slight view of ocean because of trimmed bamboo. Next time would look for a building more apart from others – got a bit noisy at times (but not bad). Grounds as well-maintained as ever – large lawns, lots of orchids by restaurant, Moir Cactus gardens (not what I want to look at while in Hawaii but at least there was lots of aloe if you get sunburned!) Got a free local paper some days (in afternoon). Local calls .99

Can’t beat the Kiahuna Beach – although a bit more rough and rocky than we remembered (due to south swell and maybe Iniki?) Lots of surfers and surf lessons most days. Walked down to front of derelict Poipu Beach Hotel where it was calmer. Good snorkeling there too – very shallow. Wear foot protection and watch hands (lots of urchins). Pool area pretty nice, good place for kids (slide was fun) and adults will like the on site restaurant and bar with happy hour 3-6! Had Jacuzzi too; kids under 16 supposedly not allowed but no one stopped them. Tennis included but DH didn’t sign up for a game early enough to get anything going.

Rental Car: new Toyota Camry $134/9 days from Hertz using rentalcodes.com

Air: Hawaiian, SFO to LIH via HON. Got extra 10% off by joining FF program. $5 for headsets (ear buds which are not comfortable for me or son). Food included a decent turkey sandwich both directions. Got on standby list for earlier flight to Kauai (our luggage was going then anyway). Had to ask for it at LIH since it was for a different flight number.

Met up with old friends at SFO (unplanned) – he used to work with DH and I was in a new mom’s group with her. Turned out they were also staying in Poipu for 5 nights (then going to North Shore), and flying back on same plane. Ran into them a lot, even at North Shore – small island! They came over to swim at Kiahuna pool one afternoon and the boys discussed Game Boys and Yu-Gi-Oh.

Eats:
- Keoki’s was good, not great. Nice setting (although no view). Hula Pie is a must (free coupon from condo booklet; didn’t see any in the other brochures). Pina Colada was too sweet. Didn’t need reservation at 5pm but got crowded later.

- Lapperts – Ult Kauai is right that it doesn’t seem as rich as it used to be. Didn’t stop us from eating it though… One afternoon we got ½ price baked goods for dessert and the next morning’s breakfast. The Pineapple/Coconut muffin was great. Also Mac shortbread cookies dipped in choc were excellent especially for the price.

- Jo Jo’s Shave ice was very good and reasonably priced even with ice cream. Tons of flavors (3 included in price). Service not fast but ok. Junky building but they have shady benches outside for eating – where you get to watch traffic. Went twice (#2 combo was my fave – guava, lilikoi and mango). Great stop on the hot west side.

- Brick Oven Pizza – excellent! Busy but not crowded. Not as overpriced as Ult Kauai says. A small sausage pie was $10.50 and easily fed me and my son. DH had a sausage sandwich that was good too. Kalaheo only 15 mins from Poipu and not resorty feeling for a change

- TC’s Island Grill in Coconut Marketplace – not recommended – overpriced for what you get.

- Joe’s on the Green for breakfast: nice setting (sit out on the lanai) but breakfast was pretty average for a high price.

- Dukes Canoe Club (Kauai Marriott): better than Keokis (owned by same company). Nice view from upstairs although downstairs bar/café looked pretty to with inside waterfalls and koi ponds). Ribs were a bit fatty but very tasty. Went about 5:30 or so and didn’t need a reservation.

- Pomodoro (Kalaheo): very good Italian food (Lasagne) but desserts were so so. Small but didn’t need a reservation on a weekday. Good service

- Hanamaulu Café and Tea House: ate in main dining area – not at all fancy. Chinese food a bit greasy but good flavor. Jim had a Japanese seafood sampler that was good (and looked pretty). Tea house has separate menu

- Paradise Shave Ice (Hanalei) on mauka side of road. Not as good as Jo Jos, cost a bit more, only 2 flavors included. Better scenery while eating it though!

- Beach House: saved the best for last! Best Pina Colada of trip too! I made reservations on a Tuesday for Sunday and couldn’t get in earlier than 6:15. We had seats on the side lanai which didn’t have a direct view of sunset but it was ok. Limited (and expensive) kid’s menu. Excellent food and desserts.

Shopping:
- Groceries in Koloa are Big Save and Sueokas. Got good fish at Big Save. Better to get things there than at Whalers in Poipu Shopping Center (way high prices on staples eg $5 for 1/2 gal milk!)

- Poipu Shopping Center: usual nice resort type shops and resort type prices. Favorites included Blue Ginger and nice import store at front.

- Poipu fruit/veggie stand just out of town is open most days

- Koloa Sunshine Market – Mon noon to 3; very crowded right at noon, hard to park. Go at 12:30 – didn’t seem like they’d run out of stuff. All food and flowers, no crafts. Got a bunch of hanging heliconia - 5 stems for $3. Brightened up the condo. Yummy sweet corn.

- Koloa Discount Store (behind Lapperts) – decent place to get tourist stuff in town. Most things available at Wal-Mart for a little better prices.

- Wal-Mart/K-Mart: I preferred Wal-Mart for souvenirs and other essentials. Better selection and prices. They even had stuff like Kauai Honey and Anahola Granola

- Spouting Horn stands: got a lot of stuff here. Decent quality.

- Falls overlooks: some trucks there selling jewelry, lauhala etc. Got a couple of beautiful vases made from carved bamboo for $20 each at Opaeka’a falls.

- Coconut Marketplace: lower end than Poipu Center.

- Hilo Hattie (of course!): use the coupons in all the brochures to get free coffee, chocolates or mugs etc.

- West Kauai Craft Fair/Kauai Products Fair: not many local crafts here – mostly imported stuff/junk. Got a couple of things at both but the stands at Spouting Horn were better quality.

- Poipu Artisans Fair: mostly stuff made on Kauai, good quality. Some really beautiful things. Found out about this on Wizard Pubs website; it was not listed on Kauai Festivals site. Also lots of banners about it around the island.

- Red Dirt Shirts (not to be confused with Red Earth Shirts!). My son wanted one and got a hat too. Be careful handling them in the store since the color can rub off. It fades to a nice light color eventually (which means it bleeds in the wash for a while)

- Kauai Kookie factory: samples and other varieties you don’t see often. Other Kauai foodstuffs as well. Nice workers.

- Nukumoi Surf Shop (Poipu Beach): good surf gear/t shirts

- Discount Fabric Warehouse (alongside Two Frogs Hugging): $5 off coupon in one of the brochures. Decent stuff, not super high quality but they had what I wanted (Hawaiian Print with dogs on it to patch a quilt our puppy chewed a hole in!)

- Two Frogs Hugging: if I lived on Kauai and had a lot of money I would get my furniture here. Fun to look through if you like Indonesian/Asian furniture and accessories.

- Earth Beads: not many beads – finished goods and semiprecious shaped stones etc. Maui had much better bead shops!

Activities/Sightseeing:
- Liko Kauai Na Pali cruise: enjoyed it. Not a big boat but well-planned for sightseeing with everyone facing forward. Some shade. Couldn’t really move around with boat moving so probably not good for active kids. Bathroom and fresh water hose on board. Deli lunch. Only 15 or so on our trip. Liko leaves out of Waimea so less plain coastline than those leaving out of Port Allen. Big South and North swells so no snorkeling but they did stop for a quick swim if anyone wanted to. Got pretty rough as got close to North Shore. I was surprised no one got sick (we didn’t take Dramamine and never felt bad). Captain said July/Aug are best bets for calmest seas and they can go in sea caves. Saw spinner dolphins out of port, sea birds, turtles, big fish, flying fish, whales (just a few since this is the end of the season) manta ray (crew said that is fairly rare). Well run trip and I would recommend them.

- Opaeka’a and Wailua Falls

- Kamalani Playground at south end of Lydgate Park: a piece of art! Huge rambling play structure for kids to get lost in, climb on. A couple of covered slides. A bunch of pretty concrete/tile mosaics. There is a bridge over a driveway onto the beach but kids might also run on the driveway between the two sections so watch out.

- Lihue area roads: nice view of Menehune Fish Pond; Kipu Road and walk to Falls was pretty. Lots of local kids at falls. Walk to falls is through sometimes thick cane. Lots of rocks at top of falls. DH walked all the way across but it seemed too dicey for our son. Couldn’t get to bottom of falls to get good photo but fun for a stop to watch the kids swinging out and down.

- Makawehi Lithified cliffs to east of Hyatt: easy walk for very interesting rock formations and views. Husband and son climbed down into first cove. When you get to the end of Shipwreck Beach take the path through the trees (left) instead of the right which goes up the cliff.

- Tubing with Kauai Backcountry Adventures: highly enjoyable and relaxing, could have been longer for price. Spent almost half the time in the dark tunnels (but it was fun). My son used a life vest. Definitely need good watershoes or Tevas. Long bumpy ride up to the top (the van might have a softer ride than the Unimog, but viewing was better in the open vehicle). Stopped a couple of times for nice scenery. I only took my disposable waterproof camera but should have had the digital which could have been left on the vehicle. Guides talked about the island, irrigation system, flora and fauna. Afterwards went to their picnic area which also has a nice swimming spot (wide stream) including pretty little waterfalls you can swim over to. “Lunch” was pretty sparse but good quality stuff (pita bread, meats, gouda cheese, Hawaiian chips, Hawaiian Sun drinks, Kauai Kookies). They have a changing area there – it was a bit cool coming down at 4 pm so it might have been good to do it. Well-run outfit and would recommend them or their other adventures (zip line and atv). They lease the land from Steve Case who reportedly owns 40% of the island but has no home there, preferring the slides at the Hyatt! Books up early so reserve before you leave home.

- Sleeping Giant hike: DH did this while we went tubing. Sounded ok, nice views of Kapaa

- Waimea Canyon/Kokee Park: of course! Kalalau Valley socked in with fog. DH took Nu’alolo/Awa’Awapuhi trails while my son and I did other, less strenuous activities (below). He said the views were beautiful, only saw 7 other people. Started at 9:30 am and finished about 3:15 (he walks fast). Drank a lot of water.

- Salt Pond Beach: nice spot, fairly sheltered swimming with lifeguard and facilities. Big lava shelf fun for kids to climb on if water not too rough. Drove over to see salt ponds. One big one had a bunch of white salt, other area had individual sections.

- Glass Beach: fine pieces of glass, not a lot of it, mixed in with black/white grains of sand. Worth a quick stop. Parked up on main road and walked down since the dirt road looked pretty bad but others were doing it.

- Hanalei: walked on swinging bridge – pretty views. Also drove up Awa Awa road – tall red cliffs and interesting farmlets (taro, goats among other things)

- North Shore Trek: pretty scenery including stops at: Kilauea lighthouse ($3 pp over 16 but honor system); Anini Beach for picnic lunch and swim/snorkel. Would be a good place for a vacation rental sometime. Ha’ena Beach/Dry Cave; Wet cave.

Other:
- Loved listening to KKCR 91.9, community radio with sweet Hawaiian music. Sometimes they had talk radio so switched to 98.9 for more pop-Hawaiian.

- lots of chickens everywhere. Supposedly they got loose during Iniki hurricane. Kauaians embrace them, putting them on t-shirts and other souvenirs. My son had fun chasing them. They crow even in the middle of the night which might be annoying if you’re close by.

- Plenty of geckos – son very interested in hunting them.

- Monk Seal on Kiahuna beach two days (roped off)

- Gas was $2.65 at Shell including full service (probably because they don’t have self service with credit card payment)