Kauai Hotel Guide

Kauai was born a volcano that emerged from the ocean over six million years ago and was the first Hawaiian Island to be populated. Numerous stories tell of many different peoples as early inhabitants, but archaeologists believe Kauai’s first settlers came from the Marquesas, Tahiti, Samoa and other South Pacific Islands around 500 A.D.

The Island of Kauai is nicknamed the Garden Isle because of its lush, verdant beauty and is also known as Hawaii’s Island of Discovery. Fourth largest of the main Hawaiian Islands, Kauai encompasses over 500 square miles with only three percent of the land area developed for commercial and residential use and the remaining 97 percent divided between agriculture and conservation. The majority of the island’s 55,000 residents live and work in the coastal areas leaving the island’s interior breathtakingly pristine and scenic.

Kauai is known for its laid-back lifestyle and laid-back rural, “country” feeling. A trip around Kauai is a sensory feast of green tropical forests, cascading waterfalls and golden sand beaches.

Just a 25-minute jet flight from Honolulu, Aloha and Hawaiian Airlines provide more than 45 regularly scheduled inter-island daily flights between Lihu`e Airport, Honolulu and the other islands. Non-stop flights to Lihu`e are available through Canada 3000, Royal Airlines out of Vancouver and United Airlines and the charter airline SunTrips, from Los Angeles and San Francisco.

There are plenty of ground transportation options, including hotel shuttles, taxi cabs, limousines and 10 car rental companies.

Because the Garden Island of Kauai is the furthest north of Hawaii's main islands, it is slightly cooler than the others. Typical year-round daytime temperatures range from the mid-70s F to the mid-80s F, with slightly warmer temperatures in the summer. The northeast tradewinds of Kauai have mountain and highland regions where the weather can be very different from the coastal areas, and visitors will find a 3.5 degree drop in temperature for every thousand foot rise above sea level. If your island travel plans include a drive up to Kokee, a jacket and sweatpants is highly recommended because the temperature will be 10-12 degrees cooler than at sea level locations. Weather conditions on Kauai can change frequently and vary dramatically from one part of the island to another on the same day. Often it may be sunny in one part of the island while raining elsewhere.

One terrific thing about Kauai is that the weather is very localized, so if it's inclement where you are in one moment, a dry sunny beach can usually be found by just driving a few miles to another part of the island.

Kauai offers helicopter rides, zodiac and sailing tours, hiking, horseback riding, kayaking, camping, helicopter tours, biking, luau shows, as well as various cultural festivals and events. Whale watching - extremely popular on this island - has a season from December through April.

Three of Hawaii’s top ranked golf courses are located on Kauai. These include Poipu Bay Resort, Kauai Lagoons and Princeville, the No. 1 rated golf course in Hawaii according to Golf Digest magazine.

If you have a rainy day or a sunburn, some options include spending a day at the Kauai Museum, shopping at the various shopping malls (Poipu Shopping Village, Kukui Grove Shopping Center, Coconut Plantation Marketplace, Kilohana), or taking in a movie at either the Coconut Plantation Marketplace or the Kukui Grove Cinemas. Some hotel properties have hands-on craft activities such as lei making. Check with the concierge upon check in.

Kauai offers 3,500 hotel rooms, almost 3,000 condominium units, 125 bed and breakfast inns, 12 cabins and numerous other accommodation options.

Kauai’s widely varied landscape - including coastal sand dunes, desert-like plateaus, lush river valleys, foothills and mist-shrouded mountain tops - is equaled only by the diversity of its resort retreats.

Poipu Beach is on the sunny, dry south coast of the island and become the fastest growing destination on Kauai. It is blessed with an offshore reef, protecting much of the shoreline, creating idyllic conditions for diving, surfing, boogie boarding, snorkeling and swimming. The Royal Coconut Coast, on the east coast, is named for its acres of ancient coconut groves and is known for its moderately priced accommodation options.

Kalapaki Beach, in the capital of Lihu`e, overlooks Kalapaki Bay. Located on the southeast coast, this is a favorite surfing, swimming and fishing locale and is near the Lihu’e Airport and Nawiliwili Harbor and has many condominiums, hotels and motels. The North Shore is known for its spectacular scenery, especially “bali Hai," the famous view from the classic movie, South Pacific.

Accommodations include upscale resorts, moderate priced condominiums and bed and breakfasts. The West Side offers the quintessential old-fashioned, plantation-style towns and home to quaint Waimea Plantation Cottages and the charming town of Hanapepe. Lihu’e, the hub of Kauai, offers a variety of cultural events and the Kauai Museum and shopping.

The South Shore, Poipu especially, is the best bet for visitors who desire maximum sunshine. The Westside tends to be the driest, especially towards Kekaha, Mana and Polihale, but there is plenty of sunshine available in all coastal visitor areas island-wide.

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