ILuvParis

It is gorgeous (not to mention fragrant - I had no idea) when the trees are in bloom. (I don't remember what time of year that is.) There are also views of acres and acres (and increasing in size every year) with the ocean in the background. Also an opportunity for taste testing and buying a variety of coffees. I always take visitors and I'm not even a coffee drinker.

Arthurrs

The Kauai coffee plantation is huge, they have a visitor's center where you can sample their coffees and buy it, but otherwise nothing really special. Nice to visit only once if it's convenient when enroute to/from the canyon.

I find the coffee farms on the Big Island to be more interesting. Most are small family operations, berries picked and processed by hand. Whole different vibe there.

off2rome

I am going back to kauai in July. Anyone know how bad downtown Hanalei area is? Can't imagine Hanalei Dolphin or Tahiti Nui didn't get flooded?

yrs

Hanalei (Princeville) is a beatiful area - not to say that the rest of Kauai is not beautiful. But the northern shore is definitely more upscale than the rest of the island. We have been there since 2005, and absolutely love it.

The restaraunts we (vegetarian) enjoy going to are :
1) The Brick Oven - Kailua
2) Puka Dog - Koloa (not a restaurant - but a fun snack place)
3) Shivalik - Indian cuisine (great cooking - reasonable prices for Kauai)
4) Tahiti Nui - Great for night life and bar food
5) The restaurants at the Kauai Marriott Resot (forget the name)
6) Lapperts - For Ice Cream - wonderful with so many flavors.

But there is so much real estate expansion on Kauai now, that the number of restaurants are exploding, each one trying to outdo the other. There were many under construction during our last visit, that we would be interested in your experience, and any new restaurants you may have discovered. Please do post your experiences.

Merlin666

There was some disturbing videos posted on CNN and other news outlets. I only clued in that it was Hanalei when they flew over the church ... it was that bad!

We prefer to stay in Kapaa, but our favourite restaurants are all clustered in Wailua: Brick Oven Pizza, Monicos, Street Burger, and the Korean BBQ all in the Kinipopo Shopping area.

off2rome

Thanks! Anyone with on the ground knowledge of Hanalei let us know how the "downtown" area fared.

jason8612

I'm currently on Kauai and staying at the Grand Hyatt. I'll have to give tidepools a try and Roy eats, which seems to be a few min drive from the hotel. I grabbed some tuna poke bowl takeout from the dolphin (their lunch takeout and not the restaurant ) at the kukui'ula village shopping center and it was very good. Also their seafood chowder was excellent and it was mostly seafood, which is a nice change from the water downed (or creamed down) I usually see on the mainland.

ILuvParis

Roy's "seems to be a few min drive?" It's right where the Dolphin is.

jason8612

Yup, it's basically next door to dolphin.
Stopped by Makai sushi for their poke bowl and it was excellent. Better than dolphin.

ILuvParis

I never get anything but the seared teriyaki ahi at the Dolphin.

cawhite

cawhite

Postcards reopened earlier this week.

​​​​​​​The Dolphin is targeting mid-July to reopen.

DG206

So we are doing Kauai here end of Oct. We have a newborn, what are the laws about kids in bars? This is his first trip out of state, and Im not saying we are going out and getting tanked or anything but recall a few restaurants that had nice seating that would be what I considered a "bar area". TIA