Help planning trip to kauai
 

Hi I’m new to flyertalk and have a rough draft of my itinerary I’m only able to be in Kauai for a few days in august going to be going with the wife and 6 month old please advise with any corrections/ thoughts on what’s not doable…. Time wise or baby wise Going to try to pack it in because we are only being there 330 Sunday until 11pm Wednesday
Sunday:
Walmart/Costco
-Settle into grand Hyatt Kauai

Monday:
-Morning blue Hawaiian tour
-Hanalei Valley lookout
Queens bath
-Kalalau trail 2 miles

Tuesday:
-Waimea Canyon Lookout
-Pu’u o Kila Lookout
-kalepa ridge trail
Wednesday:
-Poipu beach snorkel
-shipwreck beach
-Kayak/Hike to Fern Grotto/Secret Falls is it doable with a baby?
-Ho'olalaea Waterfall/Opaeka'a Falls should I do Wednesday trip after heli tour on Monday and do kalalu trail Wednesday?
Depart 1059

Welcome to FT! Hope you enjoy your Hawaii vacation!

I'd suggest that you remove half the items off your agenda. Seems really ambitious and stressful to me.

DO NOT GO ON THE KALALAU TRAIL WITH YOUR BABY! (Sorry for the shout, but really need to get your attention on this. It is a really bad idea to have a baby on that trail (or any of the other ones you mention.) Really, your six-month old is best kept in the shade around the Grand Hyatt's pool while the parents relax a bit.

All the best in your decision-making and travels.

Remember, hawaii doesn’t change the clocks so sunset will be earlier than the continental USA and days are shorter.sunset will be before 7 pm.

you are doing too much. Break it down into three parts..do one part each day

north shore
east shore to Poipu
Waimea Canyon and the south shore

thanks for advice here is revised itinerary Monday

Helicopter tour

Wailua falls

shipwreck beach/ Poipu Beach snorkel & Maha'ulepu Heritage

Trail



Tuesday



Kalalau trail 2 miles

Kee beach/Tunnels beach

Hanalei Bay

Queens bath





Wednesday

-Waimea Canyon Lookout

-Pu’u o Kila Lookout

-kalepa ridge trail

Polihale state park

Remember you need reservation for parking or shuttle for Kalalau. It’s pretty slick in places, will need to be extra careful with the baby.

I don't know how set you are on those particular trails, but I'd suggest some different ones given your situation (sounds like it's your first time there, and you have a baby):

Instead of Kalalau, do Sleeping Giant. (Though maybe not if it's been raining very recently, as parts of this trail can also be slick. Start from the east trailhead.) Also on the east side, Kuilau Ridge is an easy one with a nice view of the lush interior of the island and some tropical plants with amazingly huge leaves.

Instead of Kalepa Ridge, do one of the official maintained trails such as Awa'awapuhi or Canyon Trail to Waipo'o Falls. Walk down the trail a bit from Pu’u O Kila. Skip Polihale so you can spend more time in Waimea Canyon and Koke'e.

Since you're staying in Poipu, be sure to try Waikomo Shave Ice. That and Wailua Shave Ice in Kapa'a are the best shave ice on the island, IMO. And you gotta try Puka Dog once; not fancy, just fun--and definitely get the fresh-squeezed lemonade. (Ask for the lemonade with 1/2 or 1/4 sugar if you don't want it as sweet.)

And since you're spending all that money (or points) to stay at the Grand Hyatt, take advantage of the pools. I'm thinking the lazy river in particular would be nice with a baby.

thank you so much for your input I myself am a pretty serious hiker and specifically picked out these two hikes for the views with such a short distance the least amount of time out of hotel the better so kalepa ridge being 1.8 round trip and I can do half and be satisfied is the idea and kalalu is not to be missed so unless it’s suicide I would like to do those two your input is appreciated

1. Don't say we didn't warn you.
2. With a new kid, you can still take future trips to Kauai.

David

Keep in mind the traffic on that small island can be frustratingly slow, especially during commute times.

I returned yesterday (7/26) from 2 weeks in Hawaii, including a week in Kauai - actually stayed next door to the GH (phew, what a fantastic place!).

+1 on the traffic - the 12 miles between Poipu and Lihue sometimes took 40 minutes - so plan accordingly and have lots of patience. For example, Poipu to Hanalei is typically 85 minutes, without traffic. And there was lots of regular and emergency road repair on the beach-side roads due to the very high surf from the storm that passed by 2 weeks ago.

That schedule is so full and busy it seems built for rushing around to say "yeah, saw that" rather then having a reasonable amount of time to leisurely appreciate and savor each place. At the same time, 30 minutes at some places like Spouting Horn is more than enough (maybe too much?) time while places like the canyon could easily take more than 2 hours. Be prepared that many (most) places have very limited parking so finding a place to park may take up much more time than expected.

Wailua Shave Ice is excellent. Creamy topping -- unique.

JoJo's also very good.

Beware the Kalalau trail. The trail gave way under my foot and I seriously injured my ankle. Fracture, torn ligaments, crutches, wheelchair, Xrays, MRIs the whole shebang.

Be aware there are several ways to order shave ice - normal/regular (just the ice), with ice cream on top aka "snowcap", and what we found to be the best - ice cream on the bottom! Try them all, let us know which one you like best.

Not suicide, but I'm confused. You're going with your wife and baby, but the hikes are only for you? You want to drive to the end of the road in Ha'ena so that you can hike for 4 miles, but "the least amount of time out of hotel the better"?

I suggested the alternate hikes because those are more feasible with a wife and baby. Also because the drive from Poipu to Ha'ena is long and slow (as others have said), plus the need to reserve a permit or shuttle (as escapefromphl said). It's a lot of time spent for a 4-mile hike.

Sleeping Giant is something you could do with your family, and you can get your adventure on the last stretch. Kuilau Ridge is easy and enjoyable by everyone. The time saved can be used for getting a nice meal in Kapa'a or Lihue. You can go back to Kalalau when your child is bit older and can hike with you. And then, instead of turning around at Hanakapiai Beach, continue upstream to the falls. Or to fully experience Kalalau, get a camping permit and do the whole trail.

In Koke'e, avoid the trails when they're muddy, whichever one you decide on. Awa'awapuhi has great views at the end, and the trail could be done by your whole family; if you want some extra adventure, you can proceed past beyond the railing while your wife and baby stay back. The Canyon Trail that I mentioned earlier is a bit shorter and has nice views of Waimea Canyon instead of Na Pali.

Anyway, whatever you decide, enjoy your trip, and give us a report when you return if you don't mind.

I’ll definitely report back thanks for all advice we’re all going on the hikes together and I’m explaining why I picked kalepa ridge because we would go early in the morning do however much of the trail were comfortable with and head back to hotel kalalu is not to be missed and I don’t see a baby carrier messing with my capability of hiking the trail and I only would do the first two miles anyway without the baby (bit lazy)

Hey just got back from amazing trip upgrades cleared from den to lih with pp I’m a 1k and lih to sfo way back cpu used a suite upgrade to standard suite at grand Hyatt Sunday got to hotel at 4 just took it all in grounds are absolutely gorgeous and got good night sleep Monday morning had a 9 o’clock helicopter tour with blue Hawaiian best way to see the island then we snorkeled at poipu beach got Waikomo shaved ice was great and rest of the day we relaxed at hotels pool/ beach and hiked a little bit of mahaulepa heritage trail watched sunset Tuesday drove up north hiked only 1st mile of kalalu trail wife couldn’t do it nothing to do with me and the baby but it was definitely beautiful worth the drive spent a little bit of time at kee beach on way back stopped at hanalei bay for lunch drove back finished day at Hyatt pools Wednesday drove to Waimea canyon and kalalu lookout and I hiked just myself kalepa ridge trail wife and kid just relaxed at lookouts got a little lost cause no one but me on the trail very hard to follow the signs as was cloudy and rainy towards end so went in a bit of a circle but worked out aside from Charlie horse all in all great trip