Sept Trip Part 1 Kauai, BI Comments Please
 

Please critique my itinerary and give me suggestions for our last few nights accommodations:

Kauai ? Convertible Car

Princeville Hotel ? 1st night only ? Pre-wedding night

Secret Beach Hideaways ? One week

Activities (some of these can be done in the same day)
Wedding on bluff - then Private sunset beach dinner at Princeville Resort
Helicopter Ride - Interisland
Napali Boat Ride ? with snorkeliing
Waimea Canyon Drive/Blow Hole/Beach House
Kileaua Light House
Allerton Gardens
Hike Napali (Kalalau)Trail to waterfall
Hike Nualol Cliff Trail
Seafood Buffet at Princeville Hotel
Shaved Ice somewhere
Brick Oven Pizza
Sunsets, sunsets, sunsets
Beach walks, relaxation, morning coffee on our private Lanai

Big Island ? Type Car?

Kona Village ? 3 nights ? (I know this is often not a favourite but we want to do the private huts thing)
Activities:
Deep Sea Fishing
Surf lessons?
Sunset/Relax

Lodge at Kilauea ? 2 nights
Activities
Volcano Park
Night walk to Lava
Macademia Nut Factory

Don't miss going to Poipu Beach (Kauai) when you visit the south shore (perhaps the day you go to Allerton). It's considered by some to be the best beach in the US.

I do not recommend a convertible. We rented one on the big island and ended up turning it in. It was too hot and very uncomfortable and small.

I agree with the convertable poster...you will want a top and AC. Interisland does nice helicopter rides although it is Out of Port Allen Airport which is a bit farther. Our favorite shave ice is in a metal trailer on the side of the road near Hanalei.....mmmmm Kauai cream...almost worth getting married for hust for that!

I am in full agreement with the negative on the convertible. They are nice, but can be a pain with the frquent showers on Kauai, plus my personal preference is AC also.

I also concur with the Hanalei shave ice out of the trailer. The lady who runs it is the nicest person, try her special shave ice concoctions. She has one named after her I think and it is listed on the side of the trailer. it is lime, lilikoi, some other stuff and a sprinkle of paprika on top. No lie, it is great.

I will be there in 3 days, can't wait

I will offer the lone assenting vote on the convertible. My wife & I were in Kauai for 6 days in Feb.....had no rain and truly loved the convertible. Allows you to see the absolutely gorgeous scenery that much better. Wouldn't go any other way.

The helicopter ride is a must and we loved the Friday night seafood buffet at the Princeville. Looks like a lot to do on what appears to be your honeymoon. We didn't do half of what I had scheduled. After getting in the Hawaii mode, you just want to enjoy the balmy air and chill out. I do concur on renting a convertible with one caveat; only if it is a Sebring. Other convertibles are too small and uncomfortable with too little trunk space.

((R))Aloha Nancy - we just returned from Kauai (our 10th trip there, 1st time in the summer), and as for your list, I say ((y)) to all of it, including the convertible. We always rent a convertible when we're there, and yes, there are times when you have to pull over to put up the top during a passing shower, but otherwise, it is worth it to take in as much of Kauai's splendor as possible. Go for it!!! Your other activities sound great - I would also recommend going to Hanalei Bay, going with Kauai Sea Tours for your NaPali boat ride, checking out secluded Mahaulepu Beach on the south shore. Best wishes to you on your wedding!

Hi!
My husband and I spent our honeymoon in Kauai last October (02). We loved our convertible. We had the top down a lot, and when it got hot we put the top up and turned on the AC. It was great! I highly recommend it.

We stayed in one of the three Secret Beach Hideaways. It was perfect. Do not pass up the opportunity to stay in one of them! I just tried the website that we used and it didn't work...I wonder if it is under new management?

We took the interisland helicopter ride--the one with the waterfall.

We loved (It is hard not to use that word too much when talking about Kauai) shaved ice and bought it from the truck as well as at JoJo's on the way to/from Waimea canyon. A tip: we had to check out of our cottage early in the day and didn't leave the island until 7:00, so we put our bags in our trunk and did the Waimea canyon drive on our last day because we knew we would be in our car the whole time. It worked perfectly (we called the rental car co. and they let us bring back the car late with no penalty)

We had one dinner at La Cascata and it was very good...but we just felt that the Princeville was too stuffy for Hawaii and we didn't enjoy the fancy restaurant as much as we would have at home. If we had it to do over again we would have skipped it. One night at the Princeville would be nice, though! It would be handy to have the resort amenities available to you before yor wedding...The private sunset beach dinner sounds great!

We took a Na Pali Catamaran because it was highly recommended and it is the only one that leaves from the North Shore (Hanalei). I would recomend it also.

Brick Oven pizza was great too. You have a great itinerary!!! Oh, and you are so right on with the "private hut" idea! It is so perfect to have privacy and the novelty of it is fun too, I think.

P.S. Our convertible was a Sebring (just read that post!)

Another vote for keeping the convertible, going to Jo Jo's for shaved ice and really try to get to Polihale (don't know about spelling, but pronounced polly holly) Beach on the west coast (north of Barking Sands) for a late afternoon swim and the sunset.

Another vote for the convertible. We rented one in Kauai a couple of years ago, in October. You can keep the top up , obviously, if it rains or is too hot, but when you can put the top down (which we did most of the time) it was wonderful.

You can drive with convertible top down and a/c on, wife does it all the time :)

Aloohaaaa,
We were BIG convertible fans on Kauai until last year when we got a Ford Escape.
We loved sitting up high and seeing some things we had never seen from the car before.

This year will be a major decision!
If it is the convert, agree w/ all in trying to get the Chrys Sebring. More room.
We changed hotels one trip and had the little Mustang. We looked like the Clampetts of Beverly Hills on our trip to Poipu!
Kal
ps...Brick Oven Pizza w/ extra Italian sausage! :-d