<p>I am thinking about using some air miles for a trip to Hawaii. We have been to Maui. H wants to see Kauai.
We are lucky that we can take off pretty much whenever we want so no date restrictions aside from mileage ticket availability.
Is 7 nights a good amount of time?
Where to stay? Should we move to another part of island mid stay? Don’t need super luxury but do want it nice.</p>
<p>The Marriott has time shares. They usually have a lot of openings where people with time shares don’t want to come out during their time. I am unsure what they cost. Also, check sites like Orbitz and google the coupon codes. I am always getting coupons in my email from them for a percent off and such.</p>
<p>It depends on what time of year you go and what you like to do. </p>
<p>We like snorkeling every day. We stayed south (Poipu area) but the best snorkeling spots in summer, which is when we went, are in the north (Princeville area) so every day we drove north to snorkel and that included driving through the town part both ways. This wasn’t a big deal but something to consider. Given that, if I were to do it over again, I might make the same decision and just put up with the drive. </p>
<p>I’ve read that the snorkeling conditions reverse in the winter where it’s calmer in the south than the north but I haven’t been there in the winter (was just there the one time in the summer).</p>
<p>I can’t see splitting where you stay for the 7 days. The island really isn’t big enough where you’d stay someplace drastically different and you can reach everywhere on the island driveable in a reasonable timeframe from wherever you base yourself. If anything, you might consider staying there somewhat less time or adding a couple of days and splitting the time between 2 islands. It really all depends on what you like to do and your style (laying on the beach/by the pool vs golfing all the time vs snorkeling vs other activities/inactivities). You can judge this by roughly mapping out how you’d spend each day to see if the number of days fits with that.</p>
<p>btw - I liked Kauai. It’s worth a visit.</p>
<p>No golfing.
H likes to keep active. We would hike, snorkel and H would want to surf if he is able. H had neck surgery recently and is just getting back into physical activity. We live a few minutes from the beach in Ca so we aren’t looking for an escape from the cold. Kauai appeals due to the nature.</p>
<p>I love Kauai! I personally like the Poipu area because it is often sunnier. The North side has a lot of charm but it rains a lot more. We stayed at Kiahuna Plantation because it was right on a great swimming beach. There are a lot of oceanfront options but fewer swimming beach options and that was important to us. Right next store is a Marriot timeshare (Marriott Waiohai Beach Club) which looked very nice. Our favorite place to snorkel is in the Lawai/Prince Kuhio area next to the Beach House restaurant. On one side there are all sorts of turtles and the other side looks like an aquarium. There are great condos there too (Kuhio Shores) but the beach itself is not as nice as at Kiahuna. The Grand Hyatt resort in Poipu is very, very nice, but the beach there can be quite rough.</p>
<p>Is there a good area for stand up paddling?
I am thinking May, early June or late Sept early October.</p>
<p>I’m sure there are LOTS of good places for stand up paddling. There is a series of books about Hawaii. They are blue, and have names Like Maui Revealed, Kauai Revealed, etc. I highly recommend them. We stayed in princeville be we did a 15 mile kayaking trip that started VERY early in the morning and didn’t want to have to drive far to get there. If you are into hiking, Wamea (sp?) canyon is far from princeville. There’s a place called Kaapa, or something close to that, that seemed kind of central. It is a small island, so you can easily get around and do day trips.</p>
<p>“No golfing.
H likes to keep active. We would hike, snorkel and H would want to surf if he is able. H had neck surgery recently and is just getting back into physical activity.”</p>
<p>Ouch, hope he is recovering fast. There is plenty hiking in Kauai. I was going to recommend the Kalalau trail. Maybe you can still hike part of the trail without overnight camping. A permit might be needed to wander past a certain point:</p>
<p><a href=“Hawaii Camping Reservation”>Hawaii Camping Reservation;
<p>If you like the ginormous trees in Jurassic Park, be sure to see Princeville, where much of the movie was filmed It’s awe-inspiring! Also, try to go to Hanalei Bay, where South Pacific was filmed and there is some rumbling about developing the area. Be sure to see Waimea Canyon, which is a great place for hiking. There are RUSTIC cabins there, owned by the state that can be rented inexpensively, if there are any vacancies.</p>
<p>My favorite island, due to being less “touristy”. We enjoyed the lighthouse at Kilauea and “Secret Beach” nearby. Good for hiking along the beach but most times of the year not for swimming or surfing. We like the lonely planet guide books. Fromers has good books and website. The surf/beach conditions will vary greatly depending on when you go.</p>
<p>^^I was also going to suggest Waimea Canyon as a must see! It’s dubbed the Grand Canyon of Hawaii…really gorgeous. Much smaller than the real Grand Canyon, of course, but still quite breathtaking!</p>
<p>Add our love for Kauai! We prefer staying in Poipu due to its central location - fairly easy to get anywhere, but do factor in car traveling time. Hiking is superb on the island and there are beaches all around.</p>
<p>Will second the “blue” books mentioned above for great descriptions of trails, etc.</p>
<p>We stay in condos that we find on VRBO.</p>
<p>I vote for staying on the North shore of Kauai. We have rented 2 different houses in Haena and have also stayed twice in Princeville. I don’t recommend splitting a stay. We did split a stay two years ago, with a 10 day stay on the island. </p>
<p>Haena is breathtakingly beautiful, but not for everyone. It is a lush, remote area away from the shopping, but close to some of the best beaches and hiking. Summer is the best time to be staying in the North!!</p>
<p>What is your budget?</p>
<p>I haven’t looked at what rates are on Kauai. While I need to be aware of the cost budget isn’t an issue. I don’t want to spend 1000 a night on a room but I also don’t feel a need to seek out low budget accommodations. H is casual and doesn’t like huge resorts. I think he would want an ocean view. House or condo might also work. I think an issue with a house is that we are only two people so we don’t need a large house.
I will look into Haena.</p>
<p>As for hiking, Kauai is roughly circular, like a clock, with the area between 9 and 12 being inaccessible by roads. You have to hike if you go there. There’s a wonderful and somewhat busy hike from the northern edge that you can do in a day and return - any longer and you need a permit. From the southern edge, not too far from Waimea canyon, there is a hike that takes you to the center of Kauai - the rainiest spot on earth. I wish we had done that when we were there.</p>
<p>We did split our time in Kauai. We stayed in rustic cabins (almost like camping) in Kokee state park for a couple of days and in Poipu the rest of the time. Was fabulous to get up early in the morning and go hiking to see the sunrise and the gorgeous cliff views. We also hiked the Kalalau trail along the Napali coast line, the light house, the Waimea Canyon (great hike down to a waterfall here). Do try and take a sunset cruise along the Napali coast - we absolutely loved that!</p>
<p>We have been to Maui and the Big Island many times over the past thirty plus years but just made our first trip to Kauai in October. We debated and received conflicting advice but finally decided to stay at the St. Regis in Princeville. It was very nice and didn’t feel too huge, perhaps because it was sort of low season and not crowded. The beach isn’t great but the pool area is nice and it’s near lots of good beaches and hikes. We did an afternoon drive down to Poipu and had dinner there which confirmed for us that we were very glad to be staying north. The north is just so lush and gorgeous. We will be returning.</p>
<p>We stayed at a house by Hanalei Bay a couple years ago. The beach is calm and very swimmable. Did the hike Arisamp mentioned along Napali coast. It is fairly crowded, very popular even though remote, so if you want to hike there when it’s quiet, you might try early in the morning or ask locals what is the best time. There is an interesting inland hike near Hanalei along a trail maintained by Sierra Club, I think, that climbs high up in the hills and you can look down into the town and to the beaches.</p>
<p>I hesitate to bring this up, but all the north coast beaches we snorkeled were dead. There were lots of turtles and a few fish, but every beach we tried had totally dead reef. Not sure what’s going on. Some locals claimed it’s development around Princeville washing mud into the ocean smothering the reefs. It was very sad, and we gave up after a few tries. Don’t know about rest of island.</p>
<p>I saw similar on St. John a few years back, but it wasn’t so widespread. One beach would be ruined and a few miles away it would be healthy and teeming.</p>
<p>Has anyone else experienced this?</p>
<p>“From the southern edge, not too far from Waimea canyon, there is a hike that takes you to the center of Kauai - the rainiest spot on earth. I wish we had done that when we were there.”</p>
<p>We did that hike. I asked my husband, “Why are we hiking in the rainiest spot on earth, during the rainy season, on a rainy day?” Pretty quick into the hike we were drenched from head to toe and covered in mud. Lucky it was relatively warm out, but I’m still not sure of the appeal of swamp hiking. The other people we saw either turned around pretty quickly after falling on their butts a few too many times, or looked pretty unhappy and tried to hike out as fast as they could. Unless you have a particular yearn for the feeling of being covered head to toe with mud, I don’t think you missed much. It would be more pleasant to find a warm mud bath somewhere.</p>
<p>Thanks Busdriver! </p>
<p>We snorkeled at Poipu on the south shore and it was teeming with fish. You didn’t even need a mask and snorkel, just goggles would be fine. This was about 6 years ago, I hope it’s still alive there, that is very sad news about the north shore.</p>