I've stayed in the north and south of kauai and would recommend the north - princeville or hanalei bay specifically. absolutely stunning and tons to do from snorkeling to hiking and just driving around and finding special beach spots.

Anonymous wrote:Hanalei Bay! It's so fun with teens, because they can hang out in the town on their own at night and everywhere is walkable to the beach. IMHO, it's much better than Princeville because it has that true island vibe, vs. manicured streets and golf courses. It's also great for getting to other places.

Princeville is just up the hill from Hanalei beach. If you have a car and are touring around, it doesn't matter much where you stay.

We love Kauai! Our favorite excursion in Kauai is to kayak the Wailua river, followed by a hike to a waterfall. The last time we were there my kids met another family and got friends to hang out with for the rest of our vacation, which was awesome.

Your teens will be able to kayak by themselves, and they can race each other which is always fun. DH and I always end up racing each other on the way back and it’s so fun.

I liked Kaui but loved the Big Island. We stayed in an amazing treehouse near the Volcano side and then a resort with beach access on the other side. Plenty to do!

Hanalei has nice lunch and dinner options and has a surfer vibe. I really liked it but it's more remote than the other parts of the island. I would have preferred spending 2 nights on the north side and 2 on the south side.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:North in summer. South in winter. But Big Island is better.

But Big Island has very few beaches, right?

Depends on where you are. Big island has amazing swimming and snorkeling though.

What does one mean by "amazing swimming?"

I swam in a bay with wild spinner dolphins near Captain Cook.

Anonymous wrote:So you have to be a member to shop at that Kauai Costco?

Yes. I really do love the Costco though! I’ve been to dozens of costcos across US and Mexico and this is definitely my favorite. In addition to stuff like beach toys/chairs/towels/swim suiits, and the aforementioned sushi bar, you can get:

Delicious local made Hawaiin sweet bread
Kaui grown coffee
The nicer quality “aloha shirts” (aka Hawaiin shirts)
At least two different Hawaiin brands of chocolate covered macadamia nuts
Local Hawaiin authored books including kids books
The Hawaiin shortbread cookies
Maui onion potato chips
The Portuguese sausage that they serve at breakfast often at Hawaiin restaurants

I stock up on stuff to bring home.

Also, if you like sweets, in addition to lappert’s ice cream (so good!), stop by the Kauia chocolate company near port Allen boat harbor.

And for your Napali boat trip, I recommend Makana tours which is the only local family owned operator. We’ve used them at least twice and they are great. But definitely book ahead as those napali trips book up.

If you’re brave. Kaui is also probably one of the best places in the world to take a helicopter tour. I did it a million years ago and it was amazing. As I get older I’m not sure I’d do it again, but they do run a lot and I guess they never crash?

Each time I go I mean to try to kayaking tours in the river by the waterfalls and we never seem to make it. But those look like a lot of fun.

Beware that if you hike in the canyon, your shoes may get pretty trashed — it’s often muddy and the dirt is bright red. So bring a spare set of hiking boots or sneakers or good closed toed tevas that you can just rinse out. There’s a bunch of different hikes — we did a nice one that was maybe 4 miles round trip but had some elevation gains and losses. There was a swimming hole with waterfall and then some gorgeous views over the canyon. That was plenty for us and then we got fish tacos and shave ice then headed for the beach! That’s sort of the vibe on Kaui — people are out doing stuff getting sweaty, get sl tasty casual grub, and everything seems to shut down by 9 or 10 so everyone can get up and do it again.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:North in summer. South in winter. But Big Island is better.

But Big Island has very few beaches, right?

Depends on where you are. Big island has amazing swimming and snorkeling though.

What does one mean by "amazing swimming?"

I’m not that poster but the best beach swimming I ever did was hapuna beach. Right depth and temperature, mostly protected from big waves. Really lovely. And snorkeling by Cook Monument was the most turtles I ever saw. But all of Hawaii has pretty great swimming and snorkeling.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:North in summer. South in winter. But Big Island is better.

But Big Island has very few beaches, right?

Depends on where you are. Big island has amazing swimming and snorkeling though.

What does one mean by "amazing swimming?"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:North in summer. South in winter. But Big Island is better.

But Big Island has very few beaches, right?

Depends on where you are. Big island has amazing swimming and snorkeling though.

So you have to be a member to shop at that Kauai Costco?

Anonymous wrote:We stayed at the Grand Hyatt on the south shore and it was THE nicest hotel I’ve ever been to in my life. But it’s pretty quiet down there - I got the impression the north shore had more going on.

As for the Napali Coast boat. It is not for the faint of heart (stomach.) Take them seriously on the Dramamine - they aren’t playing. We dosed 4 hours ahead and again when we boarded and were still slightly queasy. Others on the boat vomited for 4 hours straight. And this was in the summer when the water is “calmer.”

Just got back from our second stay at this hotel and I agree that it's a great hotel, particularly if you want some down time without having to drive around. That being said, the food at the Grand Hyatt is pretty mediocre apart from the Seaview Terrace, which has good fresh fish and an unbeatable view if you sit on the patio. Staying in Poipu is great for adventurous types as Waimea Canyon has great hiking and easy access to the Napali Coast charters (we never had any issues with sea sickness, but the waters are choppy so know your own limits). If you want to hike the state park up North you need to be on it for reservations and be prepared to take the shuttle bus in since parking reservations are difficult to come by post-pandemic. The state park is also over an hour drive away from Poipu so that would be the one negative of staying on the South side. Oh and watch out for the chickens if you have food in hand. They were especially vicious this most recent trip.

We always start on the south side near poipu. The north side is the rainy side so you typically get at least a short downpour in the afternoons. I think the south shore is more convenient to places like hiking the canyon. We always take the catamaran from the southwest corner that goes around the south side up around the Nepali coast. It’s gorgeous and they stop along the way for caves and snorkeling — there are always dolphins and turtles.
Kauai definitely has a sleepy surfer vibe. There’s two shopping mall type places in poipu that have good ice cream and sushi and shave ice places. There’s a fish market in Koloa that has great poke. There’s a taco place in Waimea before you get to the canyon that is great. If you want fancier, beach house is great or there’s a couple other fancy places. In Lihue there’s a great donut place across from the Costco. The Costco itself is great with a lot of local products and a sushi bar that is quite nice as well as the cheapest gas on island. Kaui in general is just one of my favorite places. I could spent weeks just eating poke, fish tacos and Lappert’s ice cream.

I also like the Big Island thought and there are some great beaches there. Hapuna is really a great beach. There’s an awesome green sand beach on the big island but that one’s hard to reach and the green sand isn’t particularly soft.

If you have active kids you can’t beat Kauai. We liked staying in the south as it’s an easy drive to everything- N to Hanalei, west to Waimea. We loved spending a day on a boat, hiking, hitting various beaches, going horseback riding and kayaking. Plus we thought the food was good!

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Open to changing islands. DH and I have been to Oahu and Maui but both seemed like places the kids would like. I know Lahaina has not been fully rebuilt so DH was actually leaning against Maui. We can do two or three. Will be there 8-10 days in August.

All my sympathy to residents of Lahaina, but it's a tiny mapdot on Maui. It would not affect your trip there in the least. They are most welcoming to tourists if you decide to go that route. We were there last summer and had a lovely time, even stayed in Kanapali which literally abuts Lahaina.