Hawaii. . . . you are a tropical dream that everyone needs to experience.
Living in Alaska, “everyone” travels to Hawaii. I once heard Hawaii referred to as our sister state, and I can’t forget it. While Alaskans do travel to California, Arizona, and Mexico in the winter months, they flock to Hawaii like no other.
This was my fifth trip to Hawaii but my first time to the island of Kauai. Craig and I went to Maui in 2012 (you can see my dark brown hair in the photos!) and in 2014 by ourselves, and then in 2018 with my sister and brother-in-law, and we also brought Cullen (who was 3 years old at the time). Most recently in 2019, I went to the Big Island (Kona) with my employer, Skinny Raven, and my coworkers.
When Craig and I were talking about going back to Hawaii this past fall, I said I wanted to try Kauai because I like to experience new things, but he said he wanted to go back to Maui because once he finds something he likes, he sticks with it. (We attribute this to how we grew up: every summer, my family went to a new state or different part of Minnesota to camp, while his family went to the same campground every year–and not just the same campground, but the exact same camp site as well.) We hadn’t really settled on where to go (or if we could even pull it off), but then he surprised me with tickets for Christmas, which I was shocked about!
Craig was able to get his parents to watch the boys during our “vacation” (as a “trip” is with kids, and a “vacation” is without kids). We did talk about taking the boys as well, but we also knew it was time to do a couples trip as it had been a few years since our last one. Luckily the boys did great staying with Grandma and Grandpa for the week.
We returned on Monday from our 11-day trip to Kauai, rejuvenated, bronzed, full of vitamin D, and ready to go back again. It was everything we wanted: relaxing, lots of beach time, some hiking, exploring, warmth and sunshine, not having to worry about breaking up fights between the kids, and I didn’t do a single load of dishes or laundry. (While I’m a neat-freak at home, I am terribly messy when traveling and shockingly it doesn’t bug me one bit. Ha!)
Here’s a summary of where we stayed, what restaurants are worth eating at, what beaches we went to, the hikes we did, and how Kauai compares to the other Hawaiian islands.
Accommodations
We ended up staying at a vacation rental condo in the Poipu area, and I am so glad someone on Instagram said to stay in this area. Initially, Craig had wanted to stay in the Princeville area, which is on the north side of the island, but a few people on Instagram said to stay in the south part of the island because it is sunnier, and they were definitely right! (At least during the middle of March when we went.) The weather systems seem to come off the Pacific Ocean and bombard the north side with a lot of rain and cloud cover, which does mean it is a lot greener and more Jurassic Park-like. But then once the weather system hits the mountains in the middle of the island, the weather dissipates, and that leaves the south side of the island more sunny. We definitely still got our cloudy and rainy days, but it was fewer and farther between.
We stayed at this vacation rental to be exact, and it totally met our needs–one bedroom, updated kitchen, quiet area, and within walking distance (about 5 minutes) to get to the beach. It wasn’t anything too fancy and we would probably look for a different place in that area next time. If I had all the money in the world (and especially if we brought the kids along), I would stay at the Hyatt. Holy moly, that place is absolutely gorgeous with endless pools, lush gardens throughout the resort, beautiful views, and beach-front access as well. But rooms starting at $800 per night is not in our budget.
Restaurants
We definitely enjoy going out-to-eat on vacation to try different restaurants and experience the local cuisine when traveling. We went out for one meal most days–usually eating breakfast at our condo and then either lunch or dinner at a local restaurant. Food in Hawaii is expensive–even coming from Alaska, so be prepared to budget for that higher-than-usual expense. Luckily there is a Costco on the island, which helped and there was a Target and Safeway as well.
Really our only “complaint” about this island was the very average food we ate. After eating phenomenal food on Maui, we were pretty let-down with the quality of food on Kauai. We never quite figured out why this was, but almost every restaurant we said, “That was okay.” The one restaurant we did eat at where I had the best fish dinner ever was at Merriman’s. However, the cost of an entree was $45-$50 and even for us Alaskans that’s pretty high. On top of that, the portion was quite small, and I could have easily eaten double the amount of what I was served.
Towards the end of our trip, we did find a cute little coffee shop that we think most of the locals frequent called Dark Horse Coffee. It was in a nearby town about 3 miles from Poipu, so away from the tourist and resort areas, but it was really nice on the inside and actually had legit good coffee. (I had tried a couple other local places for iced coffees but was pretty disappointed with how they tasted–and I don’t even think I’m that picky.) The coffee shop also had really good pastries and bagel sandwiches. We loved it so much we ended up there three mornings in a row.
The only other place we ate at that we would recommend to people was the hot dog shop (ha!) called Puka Dog. They had a sweet spin on the hot dog with sweet sauces and mustards they added to the hot dogs. Even the veggie dog was good surprisingly. Obviously you have to like hot dogs, so if you do, that’s our other recommendation.
We had talked about going to Tidepools on the Hyatt resort since we were so close and someone had recommended it on Instagram, but you couldn’t get a reservation until a month out! Probably for the better as it was also a very expensive place to eat at.
Beaches
I read in a book that since Kauai is the oldest island, it has the most beaches per shoreline, which I thought was notable. During our stay we went to five different beaches and this is what we thought of each of them.
Poipu Beach: This was the first beach we went to. It is in a very touristy area, so it was very busy with locals and tourists. There were people snorkeling, boogie boarding, and surfing.
Kiahuna Beach: This beach was by the Sheraton so almost all people were tourists. This was Craig’s favorite beach. We went there three times because Craig loved it so much–I didn’t really care as long as I was on a beach. We snorkeled and did a lot of people watching. We didn’t mind the busy-ness of these more popular beaches. Of course it would have been nice to have more space, but we kind of knew to expect a lot of people, and plus it made for some entertaining people watching.
Hanalei Beach: We drove north to Princeville one day and timed it on a day it was going to be sunny at least most of the day. This beach was huge, so there was plenty of space for everyone. It seemed like one half of the beach was where the locals hung out, and the other half was used by people from the nearby resorts. There was a lot of surfing going on but not as much swimming. It was still beautiful nonetheless.
Coconut Beach: On our last day, we stopped at one more beach in the area. This was a very quiet beach with hardly anyone on it, and the surf was much calmer, but the area we were in, it was very rocky. It seemed like a decent beach but not one of our favorites. It was outside the Sheraton, so I think mostly tourists used it.
Shipwreck Beach: This beach was the closest to our condo, so we walked down to the water front frequently. It was a really pretty beach right in front of the Hyatt, but it wasn’t very swimming-friendly as the waves were so big. We did see a Hawaiian Monk Seal on this beach though.
While we never actually went to Brenneck’s Beach, I did run by it every morning and it was definitely where the boogie boarders went for some bigger waves.
Hikes
Most people know Kauai for its hiking, and I would agree. There were a lot of hikes to do, and while we did four hikes, there were a lot we didn’t do just because we didn’t have the time and often chose the beach over hiking because we can hike in Alaska any day we want. (Technically we can go to the beach every day in Anchorage if we want too, but even in the summer, there’s very little areas of sand on the beach, the temperature might be in the upper 50s, and probably minimal sunshine here in Alaska. Ha!)
The first hike we did was called the Okolehao Trail. We did a 3 mile hike (round-trip) up to a lookout over the Princeville area, which was really pretty. It was a medium-difficult trail with a lot of roots sticking up, but the path was nice and wide and the footing was secure. I would definitely recommend doing this one as it wasn’t super crowded, not too technical, and the time commitment wasn’t that long either.
One of our favorite hikes we did was along the Waimea Canyon back to a waterfall. It was called Canyon Trail to Waipo’o Falls–a really pretty hike with gorgeous views of the canyon. It was heavily trafficked and the waterfall was pretty lackluster since it hadn’t rained much recently though. Otherwise it was still a really cool hike that was about 4 miles round-trip.
There was one other day we tried to do a few hikes, but we kept striking out. The first waterfall (Wailua Falls) was just off the road and you couldn’t hike down to it, so that was kind of disappointing–plus the view of the waterfall wasn’t that great. Then we tried to go to on another hike, but we ended up at a cemetery instead. We thought it was supposed to be a hike along a river, so we concluded you were supposed to rent kayaks and paddle back to a waterfall.
Maybe my favorite hike (because it was impromptu and I had no expectations of seeing too much) was a hike on a ridge just past the Hyatt in Poipu. It was very sandy with meandering trails along the cliff, but we ended up getting past where most of the tourists were and seeing the water splash up on the cliffs and a ton of animals: dolphins, whales, birds, and sting ray.
Our final, very short hike was a hike down to the Queen’s Bath, which was pretty cool. It was less than a half a mile one way, but the trail was very technical with big rocks and steps to traverse. I did end up going into the Queen’s Bath because I felt like it was so unique and a once in a lifetime opportunity.
The one hike I really wanted to do was the Na Pali Coast Trail, and I feel like I committed a little bit of a crime by not doing it while we were there. But we had a hard time finding a day where it was going to be sunny to do it (We didn’t really care to hike in the rain.), and Craig’s plantar fasciitis has been bugging him, so he didn’t know how much of the hike he could do because even the regular walking around aggravated his foot every day. Many, many people recommended we do this hike, so I am bummed it didn’t work out. But this just gives us a good reason to go back, right?!
Excursions
This was our first trip to Hawaii where we didn’t do any paid excursions. On Maui we have done snorkeling cruises, whale watching tours, zip lining, a sunset dinner cruise, and surfing lessons. But we didn’t end up doing any on this trip. We honestly kept very busy with the things we did do. We had considered doing the mountain float tubing excursion that takes you down old plantation lands, through tunnels, and a history lesson on the area. It sounded pretty touristy but also kind of fun and interesting. About half way through our trip we looked into doing this, but there were no reservations left. If I would have had an endless supply of money, I would have loved to take a helicopter ride, but they were about $300 a person, and that was more than we wanted to spend.
All-in-all, we had an amazing trip. We had plenty of things to do but also plenty of time to chill, relax, and not rush from one thing to the next. Our daily schedule was usually: get up around 6:30/7:00 a.m., I would go for a run, and then when I came back, we would plan what we wanted to do (hike or beach), then go and do said activity, get lunch, head back to our condo for some down time (I did have to do some work during our trip.), watch an episode or two of Fuller House, have dinner, go on our nightly walk, and then be in bed between 9:00 and 10:00p.m.
Now that I’ve been to 3 Hawaiian islands, these are my thoughts on them:
The Big Island (Kona): Some people really like the Big Island because it is more low-key. I did think the areas of tourists were more spread out, which is maybe what they mean, but I still thought it had the same vacationer’s vibe and touristy things the other islands have. I will say that things are much more spread out on the Big Island, and I felt like I spent a lot of time in the car traveling to the different beaches and hikes. I think a lot of people stay at a resort (Mauna Kea and Waikoloa are two I hear about often), and I think people tend to spend a lot of time in that area because there’s beach access, pools, shopping, and restaurants all in the same area. As with Kauai, I wasn’t that impressed with the food on the Big Island either. Everything was okay/good but nothing blew me out of the water. I will say if you are a cyclist, this is the place to go. I think I saw one cyclist on Kauai, but the Big Island, they are everywhere!
Maui: If you twisted my arm, and I had to pick one island that was my favorite, it would have to be Maui. While we really, really enjoyed our stay on Kauai (and would definitely consider going back), Maui really has it all: amazing beaches, hiking, tons of excursions, phenomenal food, and plenty of activities to do. I felt like many of the Maui beaches (especially on the south side where most people stay) have calmer waters, which is nice for kids. The excursions and things to do was plentiful and a lot of them took off from the harbor in Lahaina where we like to stay. Craig said he missed the night life of Front Street in Lahaina, which is where people from Kaanapali and the nearby resorts would come for dinner, drinks, and shopping. While I didn’t mind this scene, I preferred our quiet walks where we could see the stars. As far as hiking on Maui, there is some of that too. We did a hike on the north side of the island, we hiked through the Bamboo Forest, and the Road to Hana has a few hikes back to waterfalls as well. And the one thing that puts Maui in a different league was the food. So many good restaurants to choose from! If you want to read about our favorite restaurants on Maui, check out this blog post.
Kauai: Most people say Kauai as the quietest island where it rains more but also offers more hiking opportunities, and I would mostly agree. There was still plenty of tourists and resort areas, but maybe they are comparing the scene to Oahu. We did have one full day of rain, plus another half day, which I feel like we lucked out on as initially the weather forecast was calling for rain the entire second half of our trip. We would get the occasional tropical shower that would come out of nowhere, then pour, and stop all within 15-20 minutes. It definitely makes planning a little tricky, but like I said earlier, I was glad we stayed on the south side of the island instead of on the north side where it rains even more.
I have never been to Oahu and honesty have no desire to go. People talk about it being a concrete jungle, and that’s just not the vibe I want when I go to Hawaii, so while I can’t speak too much on Oahu, I like to think I’m not missing out.
Budget
I’m not going to lie, traveling and vacationing in Hawaii is not cheap. Even coming from Alaska, Hawaii is a little more expensive. If I had to give a general idea of how much to budget for on a trip like this, here’s how I would break it down.
Airfare: $750/person
Craig and I have paid anywhere from about $500 a ticket to $1000 a ticket to go to Hawaii. Closer to $500 if you have flexibility on when you can go and some of the islands are cheaper than others. But then if we want to travel during spring break, tickets are easily $1000 per person. This time we used miles, so airfare was minimal with the taxes and fees.
Lodging: $300-400/night
The place we stayed in was about $250 per night (minus taxes and fees), which I felt like was a pretty good deal because I know many people who pay a lot more. I will say I booked our lodging only about two months in advanced, which definitely limited my options. But generally, I think people spend about $300-$400 a night on lodging, but that may not be enough for a family.
Food: $1500 – $2000
Craig and I spent about $1000 going out to eat about once a day for the 11 days were were there, and then another $400 in groceries. When we went out to eat, we would occasionally order drinks, but we aren’t big drinkers, so that could easily up the cost of each meal. And then if you did travel with kids, obviously that would increase the price as well.
Car rental: $1000
We paid $850 for our car rental for 11 days. We opted for the smallest car, so of course a Mustang, Jeep, or van would be more.
Total: $7000 – $9,000 (for two people for a week long stay)
Of course, this is a very general estimate because this doesn’t include paid excursions and the cost of your house and food can really vary, but this would be a general guideline of a budget.
Of course Craig and I were planning our next trip the entire time we were in Hawaii. We’ll see if we make it back next winter (maybe we’ll bring the boys this time). However, part of me wants to try an all-inclusive resort in Mexico especially if we bring the boys. It sounds nice not to have to worry about paying for all that food and drinks on top of your stay, especially when you have more people to feed. So if you have been to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico, tell me the pros and cons–and if you can compare and contrast it to Hawaii, even better!
Otherwise, leave your comments as to which Hawaiian island is your favorite and why–if you’ve been!
Finally, watch my Instagram highlight with all of my pictures from Hawaii!
We have stayed at Excellence Riviera Cancun and Cozumel Palace Resort. Also, visited Cozumel on a cruise once. While Cozumel was beautiful, the Cancun/Riviera Maya/Playa del Carmen area was more desireable. The food at Excellence was fantastic and there was so many different types of food. They also offer walk out pool rooms, which I 100% highly recommend!
Thank you so much for this! That’s helpful. 🙂
Thanks for all of the info hubby and I are heading here in a few weeks. I haven’t been to Kauai in many years. After reading your comments I remember feeling the same way about the cuisine in Kauai. We lived in downtown Oahu for 2 years and lived it. It’s very busy and there is lots of concrete as some describe it but it has so much beauty and there are a lot of things to do. I would go back in an heartbeat.
So cool/fun/jealous you got to live in Hawaii!! I seriously wonder why more people don’t live there. (I realize the island fever is a thing.) Good to know Oahu is just as fun to travel too. 🙂
We honeymooned in Puerto Vallarta and loved it. We stayed at the Hyatt Ziva which is kid friendly. Nice beach and excellent food!
Thank you!
Great blog post. As one who has been to Kauai and Maui both equal times (7), I have to counter point and add a couple of locations. My wife and I just got back from 9 days in Kauai as well.
As I agree the Maui food scene is great, Kauai’s is great too. Looks like you missed some of the best restaurants there, aside from Merrimans, and Puka dog. The Hukil au Lanai, in Kapaa, Street Burger (closed for renovations while we were there) The Dolphin, Duke’s and Keoki’s Paradise (also on other islands) to name a few. There are many local places that are amazing in Lihue and Kapaa that I won’t mention here as they are busy enough already. 😀
As I said Maui has great places to eat, so does Kauai.
My other addition/counterpoint is the beaches. No mention of Kalapaki Beach or Polihali Beach. We spend most of our time at Kalapaki Beach as we bought a time share there a few years ago. Literally a beautiful and relaxing beach and is totally my happy place.
Polihali is one of the most amazing beaches on the planet. It’s 9 miles of sand with mountains to the north. Unbelievably beautiful. Of course the journey there is a big challenge as its miles of a dirt road with major potholes- but the destination is worth it.
Honestly, I would love to go back and explore more: hike more, go to other beaches, and try to find better food. You are very fortunate to be able to travel there so many times, and I’m sure if I went back multiple times, I could find better places as well.
We spend at least a month in Kauai every year if not longer and have done so for years. Used to own a condo but sold it for a timeshare. Think you made many mistakes on your trip! The Princeville area is the very best for living Hawaii style. Poipu is for tourists and we rarely go there. The beauty and activities in this area are plentiful but the best part is secluded beaches and scenery that is unbelievable. Also food costs seem much more reasonable than other islands. There are numerous great restaurants and also great restaurants that you missed in the South Shore. Gaylords is exceptional and sorry you missed that. Also most hotels have amazing restaurants and Hanalei has the most unique and wonderful assortment of venues. Kauai is not known for its party atmosphere and the young like Mauai for this reason. Kauai doesn’t want to be like that …. They want it to be kept more Hawaiian. Did you know no building can be built in Kauai taller than a palm tree?! So for the original Hawaii feel, go to Kauai. For a more mainland based experience (sort of Las Vegas style with no gambling) go to Mauai. There is an expression in Kauai ….. if you love Kauai, tell your friends to go to Mauai. That about sums it up! But of course based on personal opinion and everyone is different.
How cool you get to get to spend so much time on Kauai! I’m very jealous! I did get the sense Poipu was very touristy. I’m bummed we missed out on some good restaurants, I will keep Gaylord’s in mind if we ever travel to Kauai again, which we would definitely consider. We did spend a little bit of time in Hanalei and eat at a couple of places after going to the beach there. Interesting you feel like Maui is the party island. We didn’t get that impression, but we also don’t seek that type of atmosphere out. (I’m the girl whose in bed by 9p.m.) I did not know a building couldn’t be built taller than a palm tree on Kauai–I love that. It makes me think about the laws in Alaska that don’t allow billboards. (Which may also be laws in Hawaii because I’ve never seen one.) If we ever go back, I will definitely take your recommendations into consideration!
We live in Anchorage as well and Maui has always been our favorite! We started taking the boys every year when they were little. My 23 year-old now lives in Maui and we are heading to see him this Saturday, while my 21 year-old will stay home and tend to the animals. 🙂
Oh my gosh, I’m so jealous! What does he do?
As a Hawaiian we ask you all realize Hawaii is Hawaii not the united states. Visiting is ok but buying here. Please don’t Hawaiian Lands for Hawaiian hands that’s just the truth of it.
Hi. I just got back from my first time trip in Hawaii that being on Princeville, Kauai.
My friend owns a condo which she rents out then saves 2 months out of the year and hosts a continuum of freinds/ family coming and going.
Three other women plus myself were fortunate to enjoy her ‘tour guiding’ for 8 days.
To say the trip was phenomenal is an understatement.
She references a book called Kauai Revealed to tap into off beaten path hikes to beaches that felt like personal havens.
Food trucks and little bistro type places for meals
were never a dissapointment. Couldn’t have a bad meal if we tried. Everything was freshly prepared and simply delicious.
If you go back, please consider the Princeville area. It will completely change your mind about Kauai.
P.S. she rented a Jeep Wrangler for 6 weeks for $1500. In my opinion, the kind of exploring we did, any other type of car simply wouldn’t do.
That sounds like an awesome time and so nice to have a local show you around and help you find the best places to go and eat! I did use the book Maui Revealed, and I saw there is a Kauai version too. I think I’ll have to get it next time! How much did it rain when you were there? We are definitely not opposed to going back to Kauai and would do things a little differently next time.
In my opinion kauai is the most beautiful island in the world, and by far my favorite Hawaiian island. Each Hawaiian island is breathtaking though. Na pali coast is just a view that can’t be beat