How many days?

My wife and I are planning our first trip to Kauai this September to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. We will be traveling from the East Coast of the U.S. and would like to know how many days we should plan on staying to thoroughly enjoy Kauai. We are up for everything including hiking, snorkeling, helcopter rides, boat tours etc. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

How many days?

We usually try to stay 2 weeks, but I%26#39;d say a minimum would be about 10 days if you can swing it. You want to make sure to leave some time to just chill out and relax. That%26#39;s what makes Kauai so special for us. We always come home and feel like we%26#39;ve really had a vacation, which I can%26#39;t say about any other vacation we%26#39;ve ever taken.

How many days?

Yes I agree a minimum of 10 days coming from the East Coast. If you can do 2 weeks I suggest staying on Oahu for 2 or 3 to visit the Memorial and see Waikiki.

September is a fabulous month on the island. I was here right after Labor Day. It was gorgeous weather, no kids, little rain if any and the sunsets are wonderful.

You have many options on places to stay but I highly recommend you stay at least part of the time on the North Shore. The ocean conditions are still A+ and the beauty of the North Shore is a can%26#39;t miss. You will enjoy hiking, boat tours, kayaking. snorkeling and relaxing on the beaches while staying up North.

Please buy a guidebook on Kauai and start studying up.

Here are a few websites for you to enjoy.

Let us know if you like to rent a house, cottage, condo or stay at a hotel.

http://www.serenity-rentals.com/

http://www.summitpacificinc.com/

http://www.kauaidiscovery.com/kauai/history/

http://www.kayakkauai.com/index.html

I would say 2 weeks from North Carolina - you spend a day traveling there and a day traveling back. We normally go for 2 weeks from Michigan. In May my daughter and I are making a solo girls trip and are going for 10 days which to me is just not enough. This trip in May we will be spending the first few days in Honolulu visiting friends and on to Kauai. Kauai is the most relaxing place on earth I know!

Funny, 2 weeks seems to be the minimum for us from Los Angeles. But 10 days is good. We went for 3 weeks in 2007 and that was perfect! But our trip in June 2009 is only 2 weeks.

Also, suggest two weeks, or close to it.

Being active like you are , 10 days to 2 weeks will absolutely fly past.

Just FYI...

On Erica and I on our first visit was 7 days

Next one 10 days

the following trips , two weeks....

Then we sold or gave away all the '; mainalnd stuff'; and moved here.

As to one of the things that we heard from our friends on the mainland...'; You will get island fever';...

Well, next anniversary will be three years, and it only feels like three weeks. So much for negative warnings of doom and gloom.

You are coming at a great time, and will be able to enjoy all of the shores, with sunny weather,and beautiful scenery.

Suggestions:

If you have a condo, pack light, as you will have a washer and dryer. And you will not need loads of clothes in any case.

Also, at a condo, you can fix breakfasts, snacks, lunches and bbq dinners which saves many bags of shells over eating at the resorts or reataurants ( 3 meals per day ).

I have a very, very dear friend from NC, ( ashville) and now lives in socal.. we keep in touch with her and the family weekly by phone). Love the dickens out of them.

so, I am sure that you will be bringing your own aloha with you, and your visit will be fantastic.

Will post some other suggestions, that you asked about on a different post, so this does not get too long.

Denny

Laujam,

Suggestions and tips:

please pick up the Ultimate Kauai Gide book, it will be of tremendous help in not only planning what you might want to experience here, but also great to bring with you as an important reference.

Other hints.

Call up the places that you might want to stay and check out their websites to see what feels good to you.

lots of trails all over the island to hike, we enjoy the less crowded, but Kauai Trails is a great additional guide book to have and refer to.

Snorkeling on the north shore, and the south should be just fine, but pay attention to the surf reports as well as the currents.

Helo tours'; Recommended companies for us are:

Air Kauai, Blue Hawaiian, Jack Harter

We have been on 11 napali coast boat tours , all different sizes, and loved every one of them.

Depends on your adventure level, from small fast inflatables to large catamarans.

Our first day on island, we would check the weather, and book our paying activities. As well as our early dinner reservations for the beach house in poipu for our main special dinner out.

If you intend to eat at the condo a few nights, or breakfast, or lunch, etc...

COSTCO:

You can get supreme quality filet mingnon stakes, thick aussie lamb chops, chicken breasts, or even cooked huli chicken, or some easy dinners, like ready to much sushi, salmon, or micro wave other tasty meals or oven done teryaki shrimp, etc.

18 egg carton is $ 3.75. Gal of milk is about $ 4.00 or so.

Local super markets we use for small items not available at costco. Like mint jelly for the aussie lamb.

lots of beaches to explore, and if you want to change up a bit from where the general mass of human beings congregate, check out SECRET, LARSENS, and MAHA%26#39;ULEPU.

Also up on the north shore, some of our favorites are Hideaways, and Anini. We generall pass on

Ke%26#39;e, but you should go by to check it out and also get some phenominal photos. Tunnels is also super, for snorkeling up there...parking is the bear. Park at Haena Beach Park, and stroll along the shore and sand back to Tunnels.

South Shore: Poipu and Lawai are popular, with Lawai being the best for snorkeling.

Slow down, smile, be open and respectful of everyone, and just say hello to total strangers, and you will not be short on new folks to talk story with. We meet inteesting new people every single day.

Driving tips: Stay alert, DO NOT STOP for Chickens, they will get our of your way. We stop at the stop signs but 90% of residents, blow thru them, especailly when turning right, sometimes even truning left, and sometimes straight ahead. Just be prepared.

Also, they like to drive right on your six, so just know that will happen and use your turn signals and plan ahead on your slowing or stopping.

Mind the speed limits, but please at least go what is posted. 25 in a 50 will rile up Kimo, in his jacked up truck, who is behind you.

Dangerous: The above are not such a big deal, but oncoming vehicles in your lane definitely are..we have several head on collisions occuring on our island

We watch for them, and are ready to slow down and move to the far right as we can. Sometimes , without shoulders, it has been some very close calls.

No worries, you will successfully drive our island and return home in one piece, but just want you to be aware, and prepared.

Just want to add, the most dangerous, and dumb things that we have encountered are by the visitors.

Won%26#39;t get into those, but you will be amazed at what you will encounter. Just stay alert, and let the person riding shot gun enjoy the views.

You have time to start researching and planning, and after reading up on what looks good to you, please feel free to ask any questions that you might have.

Oh, a free book, that will be all over the island, is 101 things to do on Kauai. We referred to that, as well as the UKG, and our hiking books. Even tho we live here and know the island pretty well, we carry one UKG in the glove box, and also have one in the condo. Still comes in handy on a regular basis.

That should get you started on your vacation to the beautiful garden island.

Denny

We have taken two weeks for both our trips. Also have picked September and have really enjoyed the weather and that both the South and North shore are usable during that month.

We unfortunately can only swing a week at a time but we make great use of that time. We also travel from CA so the flight is much shorter.

I%26#39;d say 10-14 days would be optimum to enjoy the beautiful island and what it has to offer.

Below is what we enjoy/ejoyed doing on the island:

Waimea Canyon all the way to the end of the road. Plan to go early in your trip and early in the morning just in case there are clouds. You can always go back on another day. Lunch at Waimea Brewing Co. (www.waimeabrewing.com/waimea/restaurant.htm)

Polihale State Beach for great sunsets (hawaiiweb.com/kauai/beaches/PolihaleStateBea鈥?/a>).

Drive north to Ke%26#39;e Beach and either snorkel or hike. Hit Tunnels for snorkeling. Lunch at Hanalei Dolphin (http://www.hanaleidolphin.com/) or Bubba%26#39;s Burger (http://www.bubbaburger.com/restaurant.html)

Wailua Falls (hawaiiweb.com/kauai/鈥ailuaFalls.htm)

Explore Kilohana Plantation (http://www.kilohanakauai.com/)and have dinner at Gaylord%26#39;s

Dinner at Duke%26#39;s (http://www.dukeskauai.com/)

Explore the Marriott in Lihue, enjoy the beach and have lunch at Duke%26#39;s Barefoot Bar, Kapapaki Joe鈥檚 or Kalapaki Beach Hut

Check out the swinging bridge in Hanapepe

Lunch at Da Imu Hut and ice cream at Lappert%26#39;s in Hanapepe

Spouting Horn to shop with the local vendors. Eat lunch at Puka Dog.

Explore Maha%26#39;ulepu beach and Poipu.

Visit the Kilauea Lighthouse and go to Kilauea bakery

Helicopter trip on island with Inter Island Helicopters out of Port Allen (the waterfall tour is awesome!)(www.interislandhelicopters.com/about.htm)

Sunset cruise or snorkel cruise with Kauai Sea Tours out of Port Allen (http://www.kauaiseatours.com/)

Kayaking with Outfitters Kauai on the The Hidden Valley Falls Kayak Adventure (http://www.outfitterskauai.com/hidden.html)

ATV tour with Kipu Ranch Adventures (http://www.kiputours.com/)

Fixed wing (airplane) flight with Wings Over Kauai (http://www.wingsoverkauai.com/)

Golf at Kukuiolono in Kalaheo (awesome view and very cheap green fees)

Enjoy ypour trip to paradise! We have 82 days!