Taking our first trip to Kauai in mid December. We’ll be there two weeks. Planning to stay in the Poipu area and looking for suggestions about reasonably priced condos and any suggestions for not-to-be-missed activities, sites and restaurants. We’re hikers, into wildlife watching, and love anything historical. Anything we should skip because it is December?
Re: Lodging: What is the best condo complex? We don’t care about services or amenities. Ideally, we’d be beachfront, but we’re both totally fine with walking a minute or two to the beach if it means having better accommodations. Not interested in any giant luxury hotels. We are avid snorkelers and divers and are really hoping to have excellent snorkeling nearby. One bedroom is fine, but it needs to be a separate bedroom–no studios. Would like a place with a pool (one of the condo complexes in Poipu advertises that there is a pool but it is just access to a pool at a public rec center.)
On a related note: we’re in the process of sampling all the islands (well, not Oahu) and have had a few extended stays so far on Maui and the Big Island. We’re hoping to buy a condo in one of the islands within the next couple of years which we would use 12-15 weeks a year and rent the rest of the time. (Already own some rental property, so have some experience there.) Should we bother checking out Lanai? Anybody own vacation/investment property in Hawaii? I know there are some issues that are unique to Hawaii ownership so would love to hear others’ experiences.
We took the helicopter ride over Kauai (around 45 minutes which is long for a copter ride). It was fabulous. They warned about possible motion sickness, but I didn’t have a problem. If you think you might, just take some Dramamine before you go up. Totally worth it!
Kuhio Shores is a nice condo complex, 30 feet from the water. Snorkeling from small beach just to the right of the building. Great restaurants and shopping close by. No pool though. We stayed there 2 years ago and will be back in february.
There is a very nice hike along the shore right from one of the beaches in Poipu. I can’t remember the name of it, but if you look up historical hike you may find it.
Waimea Canyon is a must see.
I own a condo on the Big Island. I moved into it permanently a couple of months ago. I rented it (and other properties I owned) for almost 10 years before I moved in. Most of my rentals came through vrbo, but over time, my property management company started to provide most of the bookings.
Things to know about renting out vacation property in Hawaii.
- VRBO - When I first started with vrbo in 2007, it was quite reasonable - about $300/year. In 2016, the cost to list my property was close to $2000/year. If I had remained with vrbo using their book it now system, the cost to list my property with them would have been around $2000-$5000/year.
- Taxes - You are responsible for collecting GET and TAT taxes and remitting to the state. Depending on the island, these can range between 13-14%.
- You're required to have an on island contact for your condo. If this person is not a realtor, they can only look after one condo. Otherwise, you'll need a property management company. They take about 40% off the top of your rents.
- You need a TAT license.
- Legality. Probably most important - not all condos are in a resort zoned area. If they aren't and they don't have an exemption, then you can't rent them out.
- When you sell your condo, the state will claw back 5%.
- Utilities. Electricity is tremendously expensive. Expect to pay between $300-$700/month.
- High season. Christmas/New Year's is high season. I could get double rent and always booked it several months in advance. This meant that I couldn't use my own condo at Christmas/New Years because those were the two weeks when I actually made a profit.
If you plan to use the condo 12-15 weeks a year, then owning a condo would probably be a good idea. If you planned to use it less, I would probably try to dissuade you. Even though I had a property management company, it was a LOT of work. If I had to do it again, I would not have done it.
Allerton Botanical Gardens is a must see place, too.
Some counties in HI tax rentals at a much higher property tax rate than primary residences, so make sure to research that. We are also looking for a vaca property to buy in the next year or so. Been to every major island at least 5 times so it is definitely time to buy something. Hate dragging the same “bag o crap” every time we fly there for a long weekend!!!
@bouders Wow! Thank you. We were lucky enough to spend a whole month on the Big Island last year. There is a lot there to love. I am envious.
Some of the info you shared I knew, but there is a lot of helpful info there. I am wondering how common it is to come close to breaking even with the vacation rentals? We will be able to rent during the holidays.
@scubasue Whether or not you break even would depend on your purchase price and the island. Maui and Oahu have the highest occupancy rates and probably the highest nightly rates and sales prices too. Kauai and the Big Island have the lowest occupancy rates, sales prices and nightly rates. If I were to purchase my condo at today’s prices and use it to rent out, I could probably get about a 6-7% gross rental income from it. After property management fees, utilities, maintenance fees etc etc, I’d probably net 1-2% of the purchase price to put towards the mortgage. And that’s renting it 11 months of the year.
Renters look for certain things - probably most important are view and proximity to a nice beach. Central air and proximity to restaurants and shopping are important too. Price trumps all. So, one might be tempted to go with the cheapest condo - however, I found that renters who paid more treated my property better and complained less.
Last night I talked to a couple who owned 10+ condos for a number of years. I don’t think they ever made money on the rentals. They looked at it as more of a capital investment.
Anyone else been to Kauai in December?
I’ve been to Kauai in early January - that’s during the rainy season which runs from November to March. I wouldn’t highly recommend it, unless you enjoy rain.
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Kauai’s mountains are the rainiest. Mount Waialeale is the rainiest spot on Earth, averaging 440.22 inches per year.
We were there once in February. The weather was perfect. There is a state park just up from Waimea canyon that has many hikes including one that goes to the center of the island, one of the rainiest spots on earth. There is also a spectacular and popular hike up from Ke’e beach on the north shore which you shouldn’t miss. If you want to hike into the interior from there (the Napali coast) you need a permit.
Imagine Kauai is round and like a clock. The area from 9 - 12 roughly is uninhabitable and rocky and that’s where you need the permit to hike. Ke’e beach is on the north edge of that. On the western edge is Polihale beach. Much more remote and with the wildest surf we saw. You can camp there but that’s about it. If you walk south from there you will hit the barking sands beach. We never got that far but apparently the sand makes a barking noise when you step on it.
You can hike down into Waimea canyon but we didn’t because we heard it was hot and buggy. Still, the drive up there, and the sight at the top of the canyon were just stunning. Looking away from the canyon you can see far out to sea and you can see the island Nihihue.
Poipu has good snorkeling and so does Ke’e beach. There is a deep water harbor just next to Poipu where Captain Cook landed and you can snorkel there and see different fish. Despite being a deep water, it is tiny and there are no boats around. Enjoy your time there!
“Anyone else been to Kauai in December?”
Yes, the second week of December. Stayed near Poipu. It rained a bit, but the rain was on and off. Unlike in Seattle, you can still wear a swimsuit - we would cover up with our rain ponchos until the rain was over.
The next time we were there in December, we hiked the Kalalau Trail. It did not rain, but the trails were quite muddy. OMG, can’t wait to get back, it was spectacular.
In our experience, the Big Island is the driest island in December.
@BunsenBurner we stayed in the Hilo area for a month last year. Definitely NOT dry, but much different and more tolerable than our Seattle area rain.
@greenwitch: Thank you for the hiking and snorkeling tips. We’ve added them to our notes.
@Madison85 DH and I have very limited choices for vacation breaks that overlap. December is the best time for us to escape the relentlessly gray December days in northwest Washington. We discussed staying home this year and realized that we’d rather be in the 75 degree rain in Hawaii than the 42 degree rain in Seattle area. One of my favorite things about Hawaii is the microclimates. If it is raining where we’re at, we can easily find a dry area. more
Would welcome more advice!
I wasn’t there in Dec, but I second the rec for Kuhio Shores—we found a rental on Flipkey with a balcony and ocean views. Saw turtles from our windows and had great snorkeling steps away. There is also a nice restaurant right next door where people gather to watch the sunset.
We did the plane ride as we were a larger group of 5 and we all had a view. The company was Wings Over Kauai.
http://www.wingsoverkauai.com/
We also did a great guided hike to the bottom of Wailua Falls, where we swam in the pool. Lots of fun! The guide’s name is Eric and his company is Hike Kauai with Me. He will take you wherever you want to go, all experience levels welcome.
http://www.hikekauaiwithme.com/
For snorkeling we also went to Poipu Beach and Tunnels up north.
Don’t know if you like massages, but I will also recommend Aunty Angeline’s Lomi Lomi in Anahola.
http://www.angelineslomikauai.com/