Hellobee Boards

We are in Kauai now! Our kids are younger, but we are doing a few activities, and DH is taking our 7 year-old on a few adventures. I’ll write to you next week when we’ve done it all!

@Orchid: I wrote a huge post earlier (during what turned into a terrible flight re-route--we had to rent a car and drive 3 hours to get home) but then my phone ate it. So I'll try again. This will probably read more like a wall post (and I considered that, but I wanted to be sure other people could look it up if they wanted.) So here goes

We were in Kauai for 2 weeks. We stayed near "Baby Beach"--about 10 minutes west of the Grand Hyatt. We actually did a pool day at the Hyatt and it was so fun--you all will have a blast. The first week was awesome weather and the second was a bit windy and rainy. We were still able to get to the beach on occasion, but we did some more exploring the island. Here are some highlights, but feel free to ask any questions. This was our third trip to Kauai (honeymoon, when kids were 2 and 4, and this trip kids were 8 months, 4, 7).

At the Grand Hyatt, you'll obviously have all the pools, including the salt water lagoon. The beach in front of the Hyatt isn't ideal for little ones to actually get in the water (though it depends on the wind). They often put up red flag warnings not to swim there. So if you want a beach trip to do a lot of swimming/boogie boarding, I'd suggest either Poipu beach (public parking) or nearby Sheraton beach (that's not its real name, but it's by the Sheraton). They do beginner surf lessons there and my 7 year old was going to take them toward the end of the trip, but then the weather turned and it was bad conditions, especially for learning. But that's where by (beginner) husband surfs. If you want even calmer, especially for good snorkeling for little ones, I recommend Baby Beach. My 4 year old loved snorkeling here. You'll want to ask for directions--it can be a bit hard to find, but it's a really calm beach area and there is great snorkeling. You might find yourselves the only ones there occasionally. It's my favorite, although as the boys get older, they're enjoying more action at the Sheraton beach.

Right next to the Grand Hyatt is Shipwreck Beach--you can't really go there, but there's a great hike out above it. Worth exploring and doing once or twice.

Farmer's markets are a great thing to do. The biggest is at the community college in Lihue on Saturdays, but I really enjoyed both the one in Koloa on Mondays at 12 (but don't be late!) and the more culinary-focused one on Wednesdays in one of the shopping centers (the one with Long's Drug). That shopping center also has our favorite restaurant (Kiawe Roots--great portions, decent price, everything was delicious--we went three times).

On our honeymoon, we went tubing down the old sugar chutes with a guided tour. We really enjoyed it, but I think it's ages 5+. DH took DS7 on a kayak/hiking adventure to "secret falls' (which are not at all secret), but he thought it was incredible. Let me know if you want more details--we loved the company they went with.

Koloa town is near Poipu and has some fun shops (and also great ice cream!) Definitely worth a look. That's also where you can rent snorkel gear, although buying it from Long's is cheaper unless you're only renting a day or two. In Koloa is the Koloa Fish Market, which my husband might have eaten at every day. They just moved locations, so if google leads you astray, ask for directions.

DH and my dad took the boys to the Kauai museum on our last day so my mom and I could pack, and they really liked it.

We went to the Botanical Gardens (they leave from a point near Spouting Horn, which is also worth visiting, but more of a 20-minute stop than a big adventure). The botanical gardens were amazing. There are a variety of tours and I would definitely go again and take a different tour next time.

In the past we've done a boat tour with Captain Andy's (they were the only tour that took 2 year olds last time). It was excellent, but we didn't go this time due to weather.

We went up north (Princeville and Hanalei) on our honeymoon, but haven't on repeat trips because we didn't want to drive with kids. My parents went this time, but weren't all that enthusiastic about it.

One small adventure worth the time--we went to the Kauai Coffee Company. You can just visit on your own and take a self-guided tour, or they have a variety of tours. Regardless of your choice, you can sample something like 25 of their coffees and we learned a lot and were surprisingly pleased with our $20 tour.

I think that's it. Wanted to write while it was all still fresh (and since I can't unpack, since our luggage is still sitting in Seattle...) Feel free to wall me for more info! You're going to have a wonderful time!