We did a helicopter tour of the island back in the ‘80s. The dramatic views through Waimea Canyon were mouth dropping. The boat trip to the Na Pali coast is a can’t miss.
North Shore Kauai is lush, gorgeous and offers a glimpse of how Hawaii used to be.
Once over the Hanalei Bridge, just past Princeville there are no buildings over two stories, no chain restaurants, no chain stores. There are hiking trails and beaches galore–starting just before Princeville you can go to a different beautiful beach daily for a week or more. The snorkling at Tunnels Beach is famous and justified. If you do the first leg of the Na Pali hike, do not swim at Hanakāpīʻai Beach, those signs are deadly serious.
There is a great selection of wine at the Princeville Shopping Center wine shop, a fresh fish market behind the Blue Dolphin as you enter Hanalei, Baracuda is an excellent restaurant as is Post Cards for vegetarian faire. Havaiki is a unique store full of Hawaiian and South Pacific art, sorta like a museum, but with price tags. There are plenty of small shops in Hanalei as well. There is music to be found at the Princeville Hotel(do have a drink on the lanai off the lobby overlooking Hanalei Bay) and at the Hanalei Bay Resort also in Princeville
There are vacation rental homes and portions thereof in Hanalei a few steps for the 1+ mile long Hanalei Beach. I have stayed at hanaleivacationrental.com many times, its my sister’s place. I have been going to Kauai for 30+ years, it is special.
Or if there long enough, split your time between the north and south.
And, yeah, second (or twenty-second) the Kauai idea.
Literally returned today from 10 days in Hawaii. 6th time to Hawaii, 4th time to Kauai (we had gone some, then our oldest daughter and son-in-law moved to Oahu for the Navy, so we have made trips the past 3 years to visit) Kauai is the way to go, and definitely stay on the North Shore. As everyone says, the north shore of Kauai is really special, and hard to beat.
STay away from the old St. Regis, now Princeville resort, at least for now. New group bought it over a year and a half ago promising a massive renovation, and they’ve done nothing. In fact, the property is in terrible shape at the moment.
Eat at Bar Acuda.
They have opened a new wine store/gourmet food store/slam restaurant at the old Prince golf clubhouse called PV. Decent food and by far the best wine selection up north.
Can give you other suggestions if you are interested.
Thanks. I didn’t know this.
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I think a found a nice little beachfront place on the far west north shore. I think I may land there and maybe move and see the other parts on the last day or so.
Thanks for advice everyone. Kauai looks pretty awesome. I’ll have to stop by PV to pick up some juice.
2 don’t miss items:
Tunnels beach on the far west north shore. Great beach right beside Bali Hai, with great snorkeling
Be sure to eat at Bar Acuda in Hanalei. Never had a bad meal there. Owner was a highly-regarded chef in San Fran who sold it all and moved to Kauai.
Kauai for us. Tried the rest. Kauai’s the best.
That is what we did on our first trip in the seventies.
PV wasn’t open yet when we left in mid Feb. but at least prior to then, Princeville Wine Market had the best selection of good wines. This is the wine shop Richard was referring to, above.
For inexpensive wines, beer, and liquor Costco in Lihue cant be beat. Aloha!
Love Tunnels also but it is going to be tough to access it by car going forward. We only got there by boat earlier this year and were afraid to get in the water because the surfers had taken over. No snorkeling was going on at that time.
The beach in front of the Princeville Resort(f/k/a the St. Regis) is public (like all the other beaches in the state) and provides the most iconic beach view of Bali Hai in my opinion.
BTW, the beaches on Hanalei Bay have been repaired and are in good condition again.
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Accessed Tunnels by car less than 2 weeks ago. No issues (though be aware there is still some ongoing construction in places on the road)
Agree that the Princeville Resort beach is night
Agree that Princeville Wine Market is good — was just there. PV has a larger selection
Just wanted to chime in with my thanks to everyone!
Second all the above recommendations- if you like ramen, try Hamura’s Saimin in Lihue - hole in the wall but amazing
Always our first stop after landing at the airport
Article on parking limitations at Haena and K’ee beaches:
I just got back from the Big Island this week. Kauai is my favorite island, but the Big Island has a lot to offer and is a respectable second. I’m guessing that I’m over the 30 count on Hawaii trips by now.
Sounds like Kauai is the choice???
I can chime in with more detail if so.
I still like the Princeville Resort, even though it has phases of decline and the price needs to be at a discount well below rack. The location/ view /layout is just fantastic. We actually usually stay in a condo at one of the bluff oceanfront complexes up adjacent to the resort. One just needs to look online a little and figure which units are best and oceanfront. I’ve stayed at the new Westin resort. It’s nice, but more generic in layout and location. We got a deal so it was ok, but otherwise I wouldn’t stay there a again.
John, do you have any updates into visiting tunnels, ke’e, lumaha’i? I heard they are open but parking is impossible (vs just difficult at Ke’e and tunnels) before the flood
Kauai is the choice.
Love the Princeville Resort
Fave time of year to visit?