Waimea Canyon, the Na Pali cliffs, and a coastline you can only really see from the water or the air. The smallest of the main islands to drive, and the one where timing matters most.
Kauai is the oldest of the main islands and it looks it: deeper valleys, taller cliffs, more green. It is also the wettest, which is the thing most people do not plan around. There is no road that circles the island, so where you base yourself decides most of your trip, and the two ends of Kauai have genuinely different weather.
| Airport | Lihue (LIH), on the east side, roughly in the middle. |
|---|---|
| To the south shore | About 25 minutes from the airport to Poipu. |
| To the north shore | About 45 to 50 minutes to Princeville and Hanalei, roughly 28 miles. |
| The rain difference | Poipu on the south shore averages around 30 to 40 inches a year. The north shore around Princeville and Hanalei gets closer to 85. That is the single most useful fact for planning Kauai. |
| How long to give it | Four to five nights. It is small to drive but the weather can take a day from you, so leave slack. |
| Best months | September to mid November, and March to May. Shoulder season means lower prices, smaller crowds and generally better weather. Summer is drier than winter across the island. |
Pick the wrong side and you spend the trip driving, or under cloud. Pick the right one and everything else gets easier.
The dry side, and where most of the resorts are. Sunnier and more dependable than the north, with easy access to Waimea Canyon and the west side.
Stay here if it is your first time, you are on a short trip, or you are travelling in winter and cannot afford to lose days to rain.
The postcard north shore: Hanalei Bay, taro fields, waterfalls and the start of the Na Pali coast. Spectacularly beautiful, and considerably wetter, especially November through March.
Stay here if you are coming in summer, you have five nights or more, and the scenery matters more to you than guaranteed sun.
We write these after staying. Each one includes the honest part, the beach situation included.
South shore, Poipu, if you want reliable sun, if it is your first trip, or if you are coming between November and March. North shore, Princeville and Hanalei, if you are coming in summer and the scenery matters more than guaranteed weather. Poipu averages around 30 to 40 inches of rain a year and the north shore closer to 85, which is a bigger difference than it sounds.
Four to five nights. The island is small to drive but the weather is unpredictable enough that you want a spare day, and the best things here, the boat trip and the helicopter, are both weather dependent.
It is the one we recommend most often for honeymoons. It is the quietest and the most dramatic of the main islands, and it suits couples who want scenery and privacy over a resort scene.
Kauai for green, romance and dramatic coastline in a compact island. Big Island for volcanoes, variety and the highest end resorts, with much more driving. Many of our travelers do both, with Kauai second so the trip ends slowly.
The shoulder seasons, September to mid November and March to May, are the best combination of price, weather and crowds. Avoid the Christmas and New Year window, which is both the most expensive and the wettest.
Tell us your dates and what you want out of it, and we will shape the islands, the resorts and the pacing around that. Hotel bookings cost you nothing extra.
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