We are planning a Thanksgiving trip to Kuaui this November. There will be 5 adults and 5 teenagers. We are staying at a condo in Princeville. We were wondering about a lu'au for Thanksgiving dinner. Would there be any open on Thanksgiving? Can anyone recommend one?

You won't find a lu`au on our island on Thanksgiving Day -- and I would urge you to make your dining reservations (wherever that may be) as soon as possible. We always have more diners, than dining tables, on the big holidays. Since you'll be staying in Princeville, I would suggest the Thanksgiving buffet at Cafe Hanalei at the Princeville Hotel. Or if you want to make a drive to Po`ipu, the Hyatt also has a great "spread" for Thanksgiving.

I'm going to second auntiemaria here....reserve the Princeville Cafe Hanalei Thanksgiving dinner buffet. It's excellent. Last time we went was in 2002 and it was outstanding.

...and making early reservations is especially important, since yours will be a party of 10. What fun!!

I have had Thanksgiving dinner at the Lihue Marriott (it was baaaaaaad), the Hyatt, and the most recently at Cafe Hamalei at the Princeville Hotel. The view at the P-Ville is always astounding, you will also be astounded when you get your bill! (Ours was $210 including tax and tip for three people!)

Thanks for the info. What do you think about the whole Lu'au thing? I think I'm the only one that has ever been to Hawaii. Any other suggestions for dinner? The buffet sound great. I suppose we could do the traditional turkey dinner at the condo as well.

Cafe Hanelei is a great place to eat - good service, terrific food, and an outstanding view! We were on Kauai last Oct. and found lots of good food and fun things to do. We went to the Smith's Luau, the Cafe Portofino at the Marriott in Poipu, JoJo's for a shave ice in Waimea, Buba Burger's somewhere around Wailua, and try the Bull Shed, just north of Wailua, for diner some night. It's on the water and has delicious food. Try a paper plate of coconut shrimp and french fries at the Shrimp Station in Waimea and try Oki's in Lihue for breakfast some morning. It's worth the drive. Kauai isn't that big, so you can easily drive around it in a day. We were on the East coast and made it a practice to watch the sun rise over the ocean every morning, while having our first cup of coffee for the day. It's a memorable experience. Have a great time!

mcfarms:

For T'giving dinner, your dining-out choices will be limited -- most of the small restaurants are closed, because all of the hotels offer a holiday buffet.

But if you choose to have T'giving dinner at your condo, you might want to take advantage of the "holiday meal to-go" packages which Safeway and Foodland offer each year. For about $40, you get choice of entree (turkey/ham/prime rib), plus multiple side dishes, dinner rolls, and salad -- enough for 6-8 people, you just heat 'n serve.