In honor of my Kauai trip being almost 3 years ago I thought I would share my Itinerary. This post will be the things that I did on the island.
I got to go on a trip to Kauai Hawaii with my boyfriend after I graduated high school. We got pretty much all around the island without a rental car! We were not old enough to get a rental car at the time, so we had to plan out trip very carefully.
Knowing I wouldn't be able to rent a car on the island I knew I would have to plant the trip out very carefully. I started my research by attempting to see if there was uber on the island., there is... but everything I saw said uber wasn't very timely or reliable and I also read that it typically takes 30 min+ for one to arrive depending on your location. So, I made sure I would only have to use a taxi to get to the hotel, to one of the excursions that was very early in the morning and the ride back to the airport.
Day 1: Travel Day
Flight
We woke up early in the morning to got to the San Diego International Airport and be there at 6am for out 8am flight.
We had a short flight to LAX with a plane change. It was nice to have lots of food options for an early lunch there.
Then we got on our flight to Kauai it was around 5 hours so not too bad.
when we arrived at the airport it was almost sunset, and we walked out of the airport and our taxi was waiting for us outside because we scheduled it in advance.
Hotel
We stayed at Kauai Coast Resort at the Beach Boy.
It was very nice with a resort style pool, hot tub, gorgeous view of the ocean, a 24-hour gym, restaurant and it was walking distance to the coconut marketplace and some other food options.
Activities
When we got off the plane and into the cab, we asked the driver to take us to the hotel so we could check in and get settled.
After we checked in and went to check out our room, we walked across the street to the coconut marketplace and got some food and snacks to keep in our room for the next few days.
Day 2: Explored resort, ATV, Waterfall, Indiana jones rope swing, and hot tubing.
Breakfast
When we finally decided to get out of bed after a long day of travel, we walked down the street to a Starbucks got a bagel and a coffee
Explored Resort
We walked back to the resort to check everything out. here are some beautiful pictured of the property.
we sat in the grass by the water to take in the view before we had to get ready to leave for our excursion.
ATV Ride
Our Taxi had to pick us up from the hotel and take us to Loihu where we had a guided side by side tour through the jungle. We got to pick out our side by side and we got to drive them ourselves!
The tour was very fun and beautiful! We saw the mountains where the shoot juristic park, the opening scene of Indiana jones and the rope swing, some waterfalls and miles and miles of beautiful trails.
They provided lunch and we ate it next to a waterfall!
Relaxing Evening
When we got back, we were extremely tired after our 4 hours of driving though the trails, so we took a short nap, ate at the hotel's restaurant and spent some of the night in the hot tub listening to the waves crash.
Day 3: Kauai County Fair, Kalapaki Beach, Dukes barefoot bar and Mariachi's in Harbor mall.
Morning
Woke up had a bagel in the room for breakfast and ordered an uber to go it Loihu for the day.
Kauai County Fair
We got dropped off at the Kauai County Fair, got a shaved ice, rode some rides and looked at the little shops.
Lunch
It was a 15 min walk down to the harbor mall and we shopped around till we got hungry and ate at Mariachis Mexican restaurant and we sat on the balcony and had a pretty view of the water.
Kalapaki Beach
After that we made our way down to the Kalapaki Beach set up a towel and went for a little swim. We hung out for a few hours, tanned and looked at the gift shop.
Dukes Barefoot Bar
We had dinner reservations at dukes, so we walked 50ft from where we set up to the beachfront restaurant. The servers were so nice, and the inside of the restaurant was decorated very nice. after that we ordered another uber to get back to the hotel for the night.
Day 4: Snorkeling, Poipu Beach, Brennecks beach broiler and Coconut Marketplace
Morning
Woke up early and got ready to go for the day. Got an uber to Little Fish Coffee for breakfast by Poipu Beach. Very yummy coffee and I got an Aloha Maid from there and I am so sad they don't carry that product on the mainland US.
Poipu Beach
When we were done with breakfast we walked to the beach and set up a spot, rented snorkeling gear and went snorkeling.
The Fish were so colorful, and the water was very clear.
We returned our snorkel gear and spent a few hours on the beach until lunch time.
Lunch
We walked to and had lunch at Brennecks Beach broiler cute place also had good food.
Afternoon
We got an uber back to the hotel and went and walked around the coconut marketplace went in all the shops and had dinner at Bobby V's Italian restaurant and Pizzaria. Very good food, nice atmosphere and sweet servers.
Day 5: Na Pali Coast Boat Tour
Morning
We woke up at 4:30, ate breakfast, packed a lunch and our taxi picked us up and drove to the Kikialoa Small Boat Harbor, it was about an hour drive to get there.
Captain Andys Zodiac Adventure
We boarded the boat and took it all the way to the Na Pali Coast to see the most popular Hawaii post card location, the beautiful Na Pali Coast. It was stunning. we saw a pod of dolphins with some babies and some sea turtle along the way. when we got there, we were able to look at the breathtaking coastline and see some of the waterfalls.
We went into an open-air sea cave and the guide told us stories about the Hawaiian people and the traditions they had related to the cave.
We saw a shipwreck and a forbidden beach, and we stopped in front of it to go snorkeling and eat lunch. Shayne found a turtle and got to swim with it for a few minutes.
The boat ride was really fun the water wasn't too rough, and it was a pretty fun ride.
Overall, I think the tour was about 6 hours so after it was over, we were sunburnt and tired the taxi picked us up and we went back to the hotel and took a nap before dinner at the hotel.
Day 6: Queens Bath, Shaved ice and back to the Coconut Marketplace
Morning
Slept in and walked to Starbucks for another breakfast and ordered an uber.
Queens Bath
This may actually be one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. We had the uber driver drop us off at the entrance to the hike and we hiked down to the water. The hike is gorgeous itself you follow along a stream and there are little waterfalls and volcano rocks everywhere. It's not that long either.
Getting there my jaw dropped it was absolutely stunning, not just visually, the sound of the waves was so loud and calming and the smell of the clean salty air was almost indescribable.
I was trying to think ahead and order an uber ahead of time and there was NO service... we hiked back up and we still had no service, so we started walking until we got service and there is not that many uber drivers on this side of the island.
Ching Young Village
We ended up getting a ride to the Ching Young Village, we ate and did some shopping before heading back to the hotel.
Coconut Marketplace
We ended up here a lot because it was right by the hotel, but we got food at the Italian place again because it was so good.
Day 7: Last day
Morning
Got breakfast at the coconut marketplace and packed up, checked out of the hotel and sat by the beach till the taxi picked us up to take us to the airport.
Is being without a car in Kauai do able?
Yes, it does limit you a little, and you have to walk more but you get more steps in that way. Overall, I had a blast and I do not think it was bad at all, for the most part we were able to call an uber and there were there within 30 min every time so just call it ahead of time. I would recommend having a taxi for things like going to the airport or any early morning or time sensitive activities.
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