Kauai - 4 Day Itinerary
WHO
Sky and I first went to Kauai in 2010 to celebrate our 10th anniversary, as a part of a 10 day trip to Maui and Kauai. We loved it so much that we went back to celebrate our 16th anniversary in 2016! For that adventure (described in this post) we spent 4 days on Kauai at the end of a 2 week trip exploring the Big Island, Maui, and Kauai. We can’t wait to come back and bring our girls!
WHAT
Here is a quick look at what we packed for this trip (per person). We spent 4 days in Kauai, but this packing list covers our entire 2-week trip to the Big Island of Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai. We used one standard-size carry-on suitcase and Sky’s 5.11 Tactical “Magic Backpack”. I did not bring my big camera on this trip - just our phones and the SJCam. Also, “basic toiletries” is just that - no hairdryer or flatiron, and minimal makeup. We spent our days hiking and swimming, and a messy bun was fine by me when we went out to dinner each night.
3 swimsuits
2 pairs of activewear pants
5 tank tops (Allyson)
5 tshirts (Sky)
2 pajama tops (Allyson)
2 pajama pants
6 pairs of underwear
6 pairs of socks
2 pairs of shorts
1 zip-up sweatshirt
Baseball cap
Flip Flops
SJCam
Kindle
Sunglasses
String bag for the beach
Camelbak water pouch
Basic toiletries
WHEN
For this trip, we traveled to the Hawaiian Islands for the last two weeks of April 2016. We also went to Maui and Kauai for 10 days in October 2010. The weather was great for both of these trips - because it’s always wonderful in Hawaii - and we managed to avoid summer-season crowds. When we go back someday, we’ll probably go in either the spring or fall again.
WHERE
We are big fans of AirBnB, and for this trip we stayed at a condo in Princeville. Since that time, we’ve found our new favorite place - this gorgeous 4-bedroom house. Kauai is so small that you can stay just about anywhere and still travel everywhere easily. We love Princeville because it’s close to Hanalei Bay, which is one of our favorite places in the world!
The map shows all the main locations we went to during our four day trip. There is not a road that goes all the way around Kauai, but even though we stayed on the north side of the island we were easily able to see everything we wanted to!
WHY
The Hawaiian Islands are our favorite place to travel when we’re wanting an adventure! There is so much to see and explore beyond sitting on the beach. If you like hiking, surfing, swimming, biking, or anything outdoors - Kauai is the place for you!
HOW
Day 1: Awaawapuhi trail & BarAcuda
After an evening flight from Maui, our first full day in Kauai began with breakfast at the condo, packing lunches for the day, and getting coffee at our favorite spot, Kalaheo Cafe & Coffee Company. Then we drove toward Waimea Canyon to hike the Awaawapuhi trail (2 hours from Princeville to the trailhead). It’s about 6 miles round-trip, and the final view is incredible! The entire hike took about 4 hours. Next we drove to the Waimea Canyon Lookout, but it started to rain and our feet were tired, so we headed back to the condo to clean up. We ate dinner at BarAcuda in Hanalei.
Day 2: NaPali coast, Tunnels Beach, & Ho’opi’i Falls
We started the day by hiking the Kalalau Trail of the NaPali coast, but it was muddy from rain and rather crowded with tourists today. The NaPali coast has a very long out-and-back trail that we will tackle some day, just not on this trip. We drove to Tunnels Beach to do some snorkeling before lunch. Next we drove to Kapaa to hike two waterfalls, both called Ho’opi’i Falls. There were some people swimming at the first falls, so we kept going to the second falls - which we had all to ourselves. There was even a rope swing into the pool at the base of the waterfall!
Day 3: Kuilau Ridge Trail, Wailua Falls, & Anini Beach
The Kuilau Ridge Trail was a long, easy hike through several types of rainforest. It was interesting to see the types of vegetation change as the elevation changed. After a snack, we went to Wailua Falls. The view from the top is great, but we wanted to hike down to the bottom as well. Unfortunately, we missed the trail and ended up a little stuck, so we crawled back to the top… only to drive around the bend and see the actual trailhead! Whoops! We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on Anini Beach.
Day 4: Hanalei, Lydgate Beach Park, & Waimea Canyon
We spent our last morning in Kauai on the beach at Hanalei swimming and watching the surfers for a few hours. Then we drove to Lydgate Beach Park, which consists of two man-made tide pools by the edge of the ocean. We did some more snorkeling there before rinsing off and changing into hiking clothes. Our flight was in the late evening, so we had time to drive up to Waimea Canyon Lookout (no rain tonight!) to watch the sunset before heading to the airport.
Final Tips
The flight to Kauai from Illinois (where we live) is LONG… so consider visiting multiple islands during your trip. There are fairly cheap flights between the islands, so if you’ve already traveled that far, it may be worth adding on a day or two.
The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook is AMAZING. Actually all of the guidebooks by that author are incredibly helpful. The author is so entertaining, I could sit and read them just for enjoyment.
To save money, we always stay in places that have a kitchenette so we can buy the basics to make breakfast and lunch for ourselves, and then eat out for dinner.
We subscribe to NextVacay.com to get alerts on cheap flights. We also use Google Flights to set up alerts for cheap flights if we are wanting to travel on specific dates to specific locations.
What else would you like to know? Leave a comment below!