longtail

Hi everyone. I've posted a trip report on our anniversary trip to the Big Island and will now report our 6 days in Kauai. Thanks again to everyone who offered comments and advice on where to stay, eat, visit, etc. You helped us plan this wonderful trip.

Highlights of Kauai:

Favorite part of the island: North Shore

Favorite town: Hanalei

Favorite beaches: Secret Beach, Ke'e and Tunnels

Favorite romantic meal: Cafe Hanalei at the Princeville

Best sunset view on Bali Hai: Cafe Hanalei

Favorite tour: It's a tie between the helicopter tour with Air Kauai and the Allerton Botanical Gardens

Favorite shave ice on the North Shore: Wishing Well Shave Ice in Hanalei. Try the rainbow shave ice with macadamia nut or Kona Coffee ice cream. We are addicted!Can we make this at home???

Favorite local food: Anything with Taro (except for Poi). Loved the taro chips and taro fritters.

Biggest surprise: The lushness of the North Shore. Loved the drive from Hanalei to Haena.

Second biggest surprise: We loved hiking all the great trails to the beaches. Wondering where to go hiking next.

Overview:
We fell in love with Kauai! I didn't think it would be as nice as the pictures, but it was better. The North Shore reminds me of what I imagined the South Pacific would be.

Pu'u Po'a Condos:
We had originally rented a beach house on Anini Beach but decided to save a little money and go with a condo rental in Princeville instead. Glad we did. The condo was closer to restaurants (some within walking distance) while Anini Beach was more remote.

We had a 2-bedroom condo on the 2nd floor that overlooked the ocean. We were really impressed. The condo was completely redone in the past year and offered a beautiful patio, living room with tropical furniture, island artwork and many unique touches. Also had a full gourmet kitchen, a beautiful bedroom with a view overlooking the ocean, large bath with soaking tub, and a second bedroom with 2 twin beds.

Pu'u Po'a does seems to retain the heat in the afternoon,therefore there are not strong ocean breezes, but the ceiling fans helped. We would stay there again in a heartbeat.

Sabellas:
First night for dinner was at Sabellas. Mixed reviews on this place. Beautiful location and the food was great, but the service was pretty terrible that night. Took us 3 hours for dinner. Seems like they were just having a bad night and were understaffed, so I'd be willing to try again on a different night. Food really was good.

Ke'e Beach:
Well, we must've been excited to be in
Kauai because we woke up every morning at 6 a.m for sunset - ready to start the day. This doesn't happen at home. Went to Ke'e Beach on our first day. Got there by 9:30 and the parking lot was almost full. Really loved this beach. Couldn't believe the views. The beach was pretty busy but we really enjoyed ourselves.

Hideaways Beach:
Took the rather treacherous trail from the Pu'u Po'a condos to Hideaways Beach. People kept telling us that the trail was tough, but I thought it couldn't be that bad. Think narrow dirt stairs on a steep incline with railings to hold on to - then no railing, rocky dirt path at 45 degree angle and only a rope to hang onto. I had a real tough time getting down to the beach. Beautiful small beach, but the trail is not for the unfit. I think there's a better trail next to the Pali ke kua condos.

Bali Hai Restuarant:
Had an early reservation at the Bali Hai with a great sunset view! Pretty good food, great service and an amazing location made it worth it.

Air Kauai Helicopter Trip:
Worth every penny! I planned this as a surprise for my husband. He didn't know until we were on our way there. I was really nervous because I tend to get motion sickness, but had heard that his company is one of the safest. The trip was amazing! Trip took us into the Waimea Canyon, along the NaPali coast, by a couple of waterfalls, into the crater and past the Fantasy Island waterfalls. The pictures can't describe what an incredible experience it was. I did get a little queezy toward the end, but it was manageable and worth it.

Allerton Garden Tour:
From Air Kauai, we went to the Allerton Botanical Gardens for a guided tour (trying to fit in all the South Shore stuff in one day). I believe Bill had recommended this tour and it was really great. I love gardening and hubby loved the tour too. We really enjoyed hearing about the history of the gardens, all the trees, tropical plants. It was 2 1/2 hours and one of the highlights of our trip.

Tidepools:
Had dinner at Tidepools that night. We were kind of disappointed by dinner. We were looking for a quiet romantic dinner and found the restaurant to be crowded, full of mostly families with children with ok food. Not really what we were looking for but very nice for families. Wish we had booked the Beach House instead.

Golf at the Prince Course:
Hubby loves to golf and I went along for the ride and the views. This was the highlight of his trip. Tough but challenging course and the views were amazing. Definitely worth it.

Town of Hanalei:
Loved this town. Great little shops and the best shave ice in town. The views from the lookout were just amazing.Went into town almost every afternoon for the shave ice and great shops. There's a couple of really nice galleries too (Kahn is amazing).

Postcards Cafe:
Heard mixed reviews about this place but we loved it! It was a little expensive for what you get, but the food was really good - and different. I had their homemade taro fritters which were great! Nice atmosphere and great service.

Secret Beach:
I think this was probably my favorite beach because it was the quietest. Awesome challenging trail (10 minute walk) to get to the beach, but worth it. Walk uphill was tougher. Beach was beautiful with huge 5' waves and warm water. We hiked to the secret lava pools while the waves were whipping over the rocks - and soaked in one of the sand bottom pools. Great location. Went back to the beach on the morning of our last day -we loved it so much.

Smith Luau:
Great fun - but the trip through the town of Kapa'a was horrible. Not sure what's up with this town but we always got stuck in a huge traffic jam every time we passed through. Like the North Shore better.

Got to the luau for the Imu ceremony and enjoyed the dinner. Lots of food - good not great food - and the show was nice too. Beef teriyaki was great! Overall had a great time.

Tunnels Beach:
Great snorkeling at this beach. Got there early - around 8:30 and got a good spot. The sand was kind of coarse, but the location was perfect. Warm water and great place to spend the day. We had a great time.

Cafe Hanalei:
We had our best meal at the Princeville Hotel. Hotel was beautiful with great views and we had an outdoor table on the balcony with a great view of Bali Hai. Great food. I had the coffee crusted rack of lamb and hubby has the duck special. Great chocolate dessert too. And the service was wonderful. We didn't want to leave.

Gaylords:
Last day (very sad) was spent at Secret Beach with a late dinner at Gaylords. Again, I've heard mixed reviews but we loved it. Really good food here and a nice romantic location in the courtyard. Poked around in the shops after dinner and picked up a beautiful black coral necklace.

Overall: I've never been so depressed to come home from a vacation. Perhaps it was because this was to be a once in a lifetime vacation. Hawaii is pretty far for us eastcoasters - and was a big splurge. We certainly did love the island and are enjoying our digital slideshow now.

Thanks again for all your help. Aloha and Mahalo.

Maggi

Thanks for the memories longtail

I couldn't believe that trail down to Hideaways either! But once there, it became my favorite, with Ke'e coming in at a close second. In fact our travel companions loved it so much they bought an orginal painting of Hideaways and it now holds a place of honor in their dining room.

Trust me, you will be back!

annahead

Thanks for sharing, your report really took me back. We stayed at Pu'u Poa on the 2nd floor (could you believe that view?!), loved Hanalei, the North shore, Cafe Hanalei, Haena. Will you be posting your pics?

RichinPA

Thanks for the update. We are headed for Princeville next week for 3 weeks. Postcards also one of our favorites. We spend hours on tunnels beach each year and never tire of its beauty. Ok, now you got me counting the hours.

iceeu2

Thanks for sharing your vacation with us longtail. I just love reading what others did. Isn't Kauai just the most wonderful place ever?

Let us know if you post any photos!

i'2

teresazona

I enjoyed reading your trip report. We were in Kauai for the month of April. About Hideaways...I was totally freaked out by the look of the trail. I chickened out twice. The third time I did it, and it was not nearly as bad as I had imagined. We wound up going there about 6 times. It was my favorite beach in Kauai.
We spent every afternoon in Hanalei also, it really appealed to the hippie in me.