Where to stay on Kauai?

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Where to stay on Kauai?

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Right nea da beach, boyyeee!

Congrats on the sex

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Hotels are for the birds. LINK

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I love AirBnB, but since you can get hotels for free, I think a good mix of both, especially on a long vacation, is a good strategy.

Do the helicopter tour...great views of Nepali Coast...plus they drop you down just like the helicopter in Jurassic Park did. (That's where it was filmed)...Boat ride is also nice.

Grande Hyatt is nice as is the Marriott and Princeville.

Princeville area is not as remote as it seems. Your on a small island that you have to drive around the edge on one road. I forget the name but across the bay from princeville resort is a town with restaurants and activites.

The beach view from Princville or the restaurant are spectacular. The restaurants a great choice for sunset if you dont end up staying there but want to see it and the beach.

If you want more stuff to do on island like shopping and more restaurants then the middle and south east of the isalnd is where all that is (around the airport area and also a little north). Maybe 45 minute drive from Princeville to that area.

There are a ton of great hikes. Just have to pick the one you want to do. We headed over to the West Side of Island and drove up into the mountians of the nepali coast and did a great hike to a waterfall.

Get the Kauai underground book or the ultimate kauai guidebook to answer all your questions on hikes, boat tours, helicopter tours, etc..

Rent a house on Anahola Bay. Badass snorkeling. Really chill.

Go to Princeville if you wanna buy some weed.

Are you dead set on a resort? If so, stay in Princeville. My wife and I have been 4 times and we stayed on the south side of the island at the Marriott the 1st trip.

Poipu is far more remote than Princeville. Consider that the north and south ends of the island are very different in geography and scenery. The south side is more like what you would see in Wyoming or a plains state. Very dry and while green, it is nothing like the lush jungle like setting of the North side. Don't get me wrong, the south side of Kauai is gorgeous when comparing to most places but few places on earth can hold a candle to the North side from Anahole over to Ke'e beach where Na Pali begins.

And there isn't a lot to see on that end versus the north end except Waimea Canyon and Polihale Beach State park and a few waterfalls. The closest towns are Hanapepe(arts district) and Waimea. After visiting these places(about two days worth of touring) you would find yourself gravitating to the north end a lot and wishing you had stayed up there to avoid that hour drive back and forth. Best thing is to stay up north and make your base there and drive one day south. Seeing you will only have 5 days, I would recommend getting up around 6am one morning and driving the hour down. You could be at the bottom of Waimea Canyon Rd. by 7am. If you want to do that great hike....this would be the day. The canyon rd. us 17 miles to the top vista point. At around mile 16, the Awa'Awa Puhi trailhead can be found on the left. It is 4 miles across one of the Na Pali ridges and terminates at one of the most awe inspiring lookouts anywhere. Four miles back up. Should be able to have all that done by 1pm. Then head in your car the last mile to the end of canyon rd and eat a pre-packed lunch and enjoy the lookouts. As you descend canyon rd, stop by the vista turn offs to see the canyon. It is clear this time of day after the clouds gave lifted and it's really pointless to try and view before noon anyway.

You could leave there and ride over to Hanapepe or go to Polihale park. And then stop by Poipu on the way back in the evening to eat dinner. Really, this would knock out the south end in the most time efficient manner.

As far as resorts. The only one on the north is St. Regis and it is awesome. But, unless you just have to have the pool, spa, etc.., there are many great condos to rent in a Princeville. We usually stay at Pali Ke Kua which is on cliffs with a trail down to a Hideaways beach. Princeville is the perfect distance to go either east to Kiluea, Anahole, Or Kapa'a. Can be in Kapa'a in about 20 minutes and there are very good restaurants, shops and art galleries there. Kilauea is beautiful horse area and the lighthouse is there to visit. Grab a burger at Duane's Ono burger in Anahole right at the base of King Kong's profile(mountain name).

Go west from Princeville and visit Hanalei. Actually, the St. Regis actually overlooks Hanalei Bay. Great, great town. Unbelievable view of the mountains just inland from any vantage point in Hanalei. West a bit further and you will be at Tunnels Beach (great for snorkeling) and Haena beach park. This beach sits right under the mountain called Bali Hai and is just wonderful. There is one nice restaurant in a Haena and that is the last one before Na Pali coast begins at Ke'e beach. One of the most picturesque beaches in the world. Do not miss Ke'e or Tunnels beaches, whatever you do!

Gotta run. Any detailed questions you have I would be glad to help. Oh yeah, if you do Na Pali boat tour, do the one that leaves from the north end. You get to see the best parts of Ba Pali which is the northern most part. The ones leaving from the south never get up that far before they turn around,

Queens Bath. Almost forgot that. In Princeville and a cool excursion to swim at and visit.

Stayed at Grand Hyatt and loved it. Beautiful resort (walked out and saw breaching humpbacks on first morning there) and you could not leave the resort and have an incredible vacation but theres just so much to do on the island. Avis car rental located on property as well which is nice. Boat and Helicopter tours are a blast. Helicopter is a bit better due to seeing more of the island but raft tour was an adventure.

Thanks for the great info!

I may be hitting you up later for some more specific recs. I appreciated the time you took to type that out.

GF prefers resort, and I've heard great things about St Regis.
Thanks again.