Kauai: The Ultimate Visitor Guide - Everything You Need To Know For An Unforgettable Visit!

[Music] hey there folks the Scottsdale travel chicks sidekick here to present our ultimate travel guide to the island of Kauai in this video we'll tell you everything you need to know about taking a vacation to Kauai from where to stay to the best times to visit to the logistics of getting around and of course all the top sites to see from north to south [Music] and when I say all I mean dozens and dozens of sites beaches hikes and more and I'll throw in a few fun facts and pro tips along the way okay let's go [Music] first up just a bit of background on Kawaii Kauai is the northernmost island in the Hawaiian Islands chain it's the oldest island in the chain and it's the least to visit it s nickname is the garden aisle that's the most green and Lush of the islands but I'll let you in on a well-known secret here already I think a better nickname for this island might be the Isle of chickens and I'll explain this a bit later in the video Kauai is not a big island it's only about 33 miles wide by 25 miles long and the population is small too it only has about 70 000 full-time residents compared to Oahu Maui or the Big Island Kawaii is smaller less populated more Rural and more laid back so if you're planning to come to Kauai for shopping or nightlife you will be disappointed Hawaii is really more about awesome beaches awesome hiking snorkeling scuba whale and seal watching and the history [Music] what about the best time to come to Hawaii well you've probably heard any time is a good time to visit Hawaii and that's true but there are better times than others if you want to avoid the more rainy season or you want the cheapest possible prices with the least amount of crowds let's start with the crowds and cost peak times for visitors and high pricing are spring break time in the summer months of June through August if you have a family with kids this timing might be unavoidable but otherwise if you want to avoid the highest pricing and most crowds try to skip these months [Music] the winter months of November through February tend to be a little wetter and overcast but these are good months for getting some great deals finally if you want the trifecta of the best weather minimal crowds and relatively low pricing come in September after most of the kids have gone back to school but the winter winds and rain have not yet arrived now let's talk about getting around the island and the lay of the land the island is roughly circular with large impassable mountains around the center the primary road is a coastal Road running from the North Coast to the South Coast but there is no road which fully circles the islands you can't drive a loop around it there's just one airport on Kauai and it's located near the East Coast Town of Lihue the north and east sides of the island are known as the windward side and they get the most winter rain during the winter season South and West sides of the island are known as the leeward side and generally offer a bit more sun and less wind but really any part of Kauai is beautiful in great weather most of the year if you're staying only a couple of days then it's perhaps possible to get by without a rental car by simply taking some guided day trips but if you are on Kauai for anything more than a couple of days we'd highly recommend renting a car although Kauai is a small island the traffic is slow and getting from the very North to the very south of the island or vice versa can often take two hours or more finally let's get back to that aisle of chickens comment I mentioned earlier when you come to Kauai you will very quickly realize there are tons of chickens everywhere it's kind of funny and it's Unique to Kauai in fact there are far more chickens on the island than there are people and they just run around freely there's a whole interesting backstory on why this is but I won't ruin it here for you let's just say you will certainly have your share of random chicken encounters now let's talk about where to stay there are really just three areas to consider for most visitors the Princeville and Hanalei area to the north the coconut Coast on the east and Poipu and Waimea area on the south Prince Phil and Hanalei area on the north side of the island is the least developed but it has some of the nicest beaches in the best hiking most of the lodging options here are small boutique style options other than Princeville principle itself is a very nice very large master plan Community with some big Resorts and many condo and VRBO options the East Coast often called the coconut Coast is another nice option to consider this area is closest to the airport and close to the big commercial area if you want to stock up at a Costco or Walmart there are a couple of nicer Resorts here like the Marriott and the Sheraton but otherwise again the rest of the options are mainly smaller lodging and condos the key benefit to staying on the coconut Coast is that it's the most Central from getting around the island between the North and the South sides finally toipu and Waimea on the South have the largest concentration of resorts and it's probably the most popular and populated with tourists it may be because this area is also the sunniest part of the island here you have the Grand Hyatt another Marriott or two another Sheraton and more there are some really nice smaller options here too particularly in the Waimea area finally another fun fact to leave you with here there are no tall buildings on Kauai since there's a strict building code which limits all buildings to the height of the tallest coconut tree so no matter where you stay and will be limited to either three or four stories high now with all the logistics and lodging details out of the way let's get to all those top things to see and do on Kauai I'm going to give you so many choices here that you won't know where to start so to make it a bit easier I'll cover them in general areas traveling from north to south for this ultimate Visitor Guide to Kauai I'll cover all of them but only briefly just a few seconds for each but don't worry if you want to know more details on everything like hours admission costs how to do them Etc and we've got two more Kawaii videos for you to check out Kauai the North Shore guide and Kauai the South Shore guide [Music] okay here we go starting from the north at the very end of the road is hyena State Park it's the most popular park on the North Shore and it's famous for the kalalau trail just outside this park heading east is limahuli Gardens which has some nice hiking trails into the rainforest worth checking out and then manini Holo dry cave is next this place is really worth a stop and great for family exploring and your first nice Beach is right across the street after that you will shortly come to your second of more than a dozen beautiful beaches on the North Shore tunnels Beach it's over a mile long and great for snorkeling and scuba due to the underwater lava tubes in this area [Music] right down here connects to what they call tunnels Beach which is it doesn't have much parking so you can really walk from here a bit further east is Luma High Beach another Beauty accessed by a short hike through a tropical path Pro tip there's actually a cliff jump here into the ocean if you look for it next up is your first town and really the only town on the North Shore it's the famous Hanalei a quaint little beach Village along with a famous Hanalei Bay on one side and beautiful North Shore mountains on the other there are a number of interesting sites to see around the town like Hanalei pier and wyeoli huia church which I'll cover more in our dedicated North Shore guide leaving the town you'll pass a couple of beautiful overlooks to check out the Hanalei Valley and then you'll pass the master plan community of Princeville with its big Resorts and golf courses thank you after that there's another awesome beach a Nini Beach this one is super big and super calm even in the winter so it's perhaps the best option on the island for snorkeling after a Nini there's another Beach but this one's secret well actually it's called secret Beach and to get there requires a 15-minute steep hike down to the ocean where you'll have a two-sided Beach to explore along with a short hike down this was one of our favorite beaches [Music] finally rounding out the north side of the island is Kilauea Point Lighthouse and Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge we recommend stopping here but it does have limited hours and it requires an advanced online booking so check out more details on our North Shore Island guide if you're interested [Music] after this you start to bend down the Northeast Coast and come to another Beach called molo AAA Beach it's another gorgeous Beach and another one of our favorites it's smaller and feels very tropical maybe this is why the beach was used as the backdrop for the popular 1960s show of Gilligan's Island for this reason this beach is also sometimes called Gilligan's Island Beach Gilligan's Island one of my favorite shows growing up after Gilligan's Island beach you'll have a chance to take a break from the beaches and stop at the Garden Isle chocolate Farm it's a pretty cool place if you've never done a chocolate or cacao tour and more details of this place in our extended North Island guide after the garden aisle chocolate Farm you're now headed down the east coast and coming up on one more desolate but beautiful beach paliku beach or also known as donkey Beach it's hard to pick just one beach as a favorite since I really like this one too and this one has a bonus treat a cool tree tunnel to check out [Music] finally directly on the East Coast you'll come to the second town on the north side of the island Kapaa town here you can explore the old plantation era of buildings still in use as well as some food trucks and restaurants in the area in addition to the town itself there are a number of things you can do in and around the area perhaps the biggest attraction in one of our favorites on the entire Island was the kapa'a oceanfront bike path it's a 10 mile one-way paved beachfront bike path perfect for walking and biking in an absolutely gorgeous views as you bike North out of Kapaa town you can rent bikes around the Midway point in the town of Kapaa just outside the town are two great hikes heropi Falls which is a two and a half mile round-trip hike through a rainforest to Ho-Oh bee Falls you'll hike through the area used in Jurassic Park movies the second hike is a bit more challenging hiking up sleeping giant otherwise known as now now Mountain this one is 3.4 miles round trip and it's typically muddy and somewhat steep so be aware of that but there are great views both to the East and the West as you climb the mountains all right babe what are we doing I think we're going to go to that very top says it's a somewhat easy hike but it's muddy it's called a now now East or the sleeping giant trailhead there are also two smaller beaches near Kapaa that are particularly great for small children with protected areas for young kids to explore they are Fuji beach in Lydgate Park [Music] both have very shallow and protected water to wait around in in lid Gate Park even has some worthwhile snorkeling [Music] finally two more sites to consider in the Hills just west of Kapaa town one is another chocolate Farm to consider in case you missed the one up north or coming from the south side of the island it's called Lydgate Farms chocolate tour [Music] the second site is a cool Hindu Monastery who would think there would be a monastery in Kauai but it's quite a popular site and there's a cool story about how it came to be [Music] wow you're probably thinking this is already way too much stuff to do in only one or two days and you'd be right but I'm not even done with the north side of the island yet we still have the famous wailua river area here you can take boat tours along the river and visit the famous Fern Grotto or rent your own kayaks and check out secret Falls if you don't want to do an activity directly on the water you can simply get in your car and check out two waterfalls opika Falls and wailua Falls wailua being a double waterfall and probably the most famous on the island [Music] okay we're finally done with all the North Island sites and the South Island sites are next but just a quick break here to say if you're enjoying this video please give us a thumbs up forward it to a few of your friends and please consider following our channel for more fun informative videos just like this one okay onward to the south side my definition of the south side of the island is everything below Lihue town along with the Waimea Canyon sites which can only be accessed from Waimea town on the south side of the island Lihue town is first but I won't touch on it much as it's primarily the Island's commercial hub and the airport is here but it's not that appealing from a tourist perspective other than stocking up on supplies at Costco or Walmart first real tourist site you'll come to will be the Kauai Plantation Railway here you can take a guided train ride as well as nature walks animal feeding and try out a pick yourself fruit Orchard next up is the famous tree tunnel on your way to Poipu which is a mile long stretch of road with a hundred-year-old eucalyptus trees it's pretty cool but just a drive-through also on your way to Poipu will be Old koloa Town it's only about two blocks long but the buildings here are Charming reminders from the plantation days and there are a few shops and restaurants worth considering finally you'll come into the Poipu area and you'll have a number of sites to consider Poipu itself is basically a tourist village with a collection of tourist shops and restaurants along with a concentration of bigger Resorts all in one area there are a number of smaller beaches here but the two most popular and famous are Poipu Beach which is often ranked as one of the world's top beaches by travel surveys see it for yourself it's certainly a busy Beach but personally I don't think it compares to many of the beaches on the North Shore [Music] foreign the other popular beach in this area is called shipwrecks Beach I think it's the nicer of the two beaches but it's not swimmable much of the time but a bonus here are the cool cliffs in a great Coastal hike which I'll talk about in just a bit [Music] beyond the beaches you have two or three other sites to check out here as well to the west of Poipu along the Beach Road are a combination Botanical Gardens of Allerton and McBride and right across the street from that is spouting horn Park which is a popular ocean blowhole if the tide is right you can see it blow water into the air and make some noise but it's fenced off so you really can't get close to it finally the other site here is a hiking trail but it's not just any hiking trail but a beautiful hike along an untouched Coast if you do only one hike in Kauai we think it should be this one it's called The mahalepu Heritage Trail and it's a total of about six miles one way but most people just hike the first two miles to makawahi cave the trail has incredible views petroglyphs a tortoise sanctuary and the last little bit of southern coast which has never been developed plus that cave check out our Kauai South Shore guide for more information on how to do this hike about two mile hike from shipwreck after Poipu you'll head further west along the southern coast and next come to Kauai coffee plantation here you can do some coffee samples for free buy some larger coffees and visit their small Museum here about 20 minutes what do you say Scottsdale travel check okay let's go all right [Music] after you've had your time at the coffee plantation continue West to the small towns of Hana Pepe and Waimea there are some shops and restaurants in Hana Pepe to explore along with a popular Swinging Bridge to check out if you have the time then Waimea town is next it's similar to Hana Pepe and that it's a real locals town and it's probably most famous as the starting point for the famous drive up into Waimea Canyon and we'll cover this in just a bit but there's one popular site coming into Waimea town that might be worth your stop a Russian fort there's a whole story to this and I won't give it away here but consider making a quick stop here to check out the remains next up is Waimea Canyon Drive in the napali coast this is perhaps the biggest single attraction on Kauai Island and this drive and its Associated sites will take you a good full day particularly if you do any decent hike Waimea Canyon is sometimes referred to as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific and some of its views are quite incredible taken as a whole the Waimea Canyon and Nepali Coast experience is simply a 38 mile round trip drive up into a canyon area on the southwest side of the island there are a number of really breathtaking viewpoints along the drive as well as many many hiking options and at the end there are great views out over the rugged Napoli Coast however Pro tip be aware that there's only one place to stop for food or drink along the entire drive and that's at the kokehey lodge almost at the end of the road so probably best to bring some extra water and snacks with you here are just a few of the things to see and do along this drive as I already mentioned there are numerous incredible Lookout points along the drive but it does cost money to visit some of them so be aware of that we cover more details in our dedicated South Island guide there's a red dirt waterfall okay this seems to be a pretty popular stop and it's pretty cool but it's also to us a little underwhelming once you actually see it anyway probably worth a stop and getting a few pictures [Music] there's also an Elio nature Loop this is a short half mile walk along a ridge of the canyon with some interpretive signs about local plants and animals this is the shortest hike you can do along this drive and it's probably something everyone should stop and do but in addition to this very short hike there are more than a dozen very popular hikes to consider along this drive I touch on a few more during our detailed South Island guide but overall I just suggest checking out a few websites to find the best one of many here for you [Music] finally towards the end of the drive you'll come to kokehey State Park here there's a small Museum some kid-friendly trails and again the only place along this trip for a bite to eat at the kokehey lodge foreign then at the very end of the road there are a couple of awesome Lookouts to the west and a Trailhead into the rugged Napoli Coast [Music] after you've seen what you wanted at the end of the road it's time to turn around and head back down stopping at whatever sites you missed on the way up overall let's just say that if you're into nature and outdoorsy things this trip up into Waimea Canyon Nepali Coast is going to be a great day for you [Music] that's a lot of stuff to consider already right and you might think I'm done since I've covered both the North and South sides of the island but you'd be wrong let me just finish things off with a few of the most popular guided and group excursions you might want to consider in Kauai keep in mind there are plenty more than this but these are probably the most popular options when you visit the island first up of course are whale watching and snorkeling tours Kauai is a prime destination for whale watchers especially humpbacks in the winter season with December through April being the peak [Music] also extremely popular but also very expensive are Nepali Coast tours either by boat or by helicopter again many companies offer these tours so shop around and maybe look for a coupon to keep the price down as best you can if you want something a little bit cheaper than horseback rides bike rides River kayaking and stand-up paddle boards on local rivers are also very popular in some of the least expensive group tours finally one can't visit Hawaii without attending at least one luau right there are three primary options around Kauai for you to consider Tahiti Nui in Hanalei in the North Smith family luau near Kapaa town on the east coast in the Grand Hyatt luau in Poipu on the south if you want to know more about some of these options be sure to check out our extended Kawaii North Island and South Island guides for more details well there you have it folks our ultimate Visitor Guide to exploring the island of Kauai we hope we gave you a good taste of all the sites and activities you have to consider on your visit to Kauai did we do a good job did we miss any of your favorites or maybe you have a secret tip you'd like to share with others well please let us know in the comments section below and please keep following us for more fun informative travel videos just like this one [Music] until next time see you later [Music]

Channel: Scottsdale Travel Chick

Views: 137,285

Keywords: kauai hawaii, hawaii travel, things to do in kauai, travel kauai, kauai beaches, waimea canyon, kauai travel, kauai vacation, kauai activities, kauai travel guide, napali coast, kauai things to do, kauai island, best things to do in kauai, what to do in kauai, which hawaii island to visit, kauai hawaii snorkeling, things to do in hawaii, kauai hawaii things to do, kauai hawaii hikes, things to do hawaii, princeville, poipu beach kauai, napali coast tour, kauai resorts

Id: XaUz6E3ai7U

Length: 27min 18sec (1638 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 01 2023