Hawaii - Kauai
March 2024
4 Days
Our first visit to Hawaii in 2020 was incredible and is one of those places I could definitely go back to over and over again. Everything in Hawaii is incredibly expensive so utilizing points for hotels can save a ton of money. I believe Hyatt is the most valuable rewards program of the major chains, but the Andaz Maui and Grand Hyatt Kauai are notoriously difficult to book with points due to availability and minimum stay requirements.
In late 2023 I saw a news article that both of these hotels had wide open award availability so I jumped at the chance to book both hotels for a trip in March 2024.
Contents
Daily Itinerary
Sushi and cocktails at Stevenson's Library
Lunch at Kickshaw's food truck after a morning on the beach
Cool off with shave ice at The Fresh Shave
Browse the shops and galleries in Old Koloa Town
Watch the sunset with the turtles and seals at Poipu Beach 5. Dinner in an all-Hawaiian setting at Keoki's Paradise
Early morning snorkeling with Holo Holo Charters
Brave the waves on a Catamaran to get to the Napali Coast
Drive up through Waimea Canyon for views and hiking
Refuel at Island Taco
Casual dinner at Seaview Terrace
First road trip stop at Wailua Falls
Walk along the beautiful Tunnels Beach
Stop in Hanalei for some poke
Walk to the end of Hanalei Pier at Black Pot Beach
Pull off the side of the road for the Hanalei Valley Lookout
Check out the Kilauea Lighthouse
Stop for a snack at The Musubi Truck
Dinner at Hukilau Lanai
Lunch at Wailua Drive-In before departure
Flights
United Airlines Economy ORD-DEN-LIH: Cash one-way
Hawaiian Airlines Economy LIH-OGG: Cash one-way
United Airlines First OGG-DEN-ORD: 25,000 United miles one-way + $6 taxes & fees
Hotels
Grand Hyatt Kauai: 95,000 Hyatt points for 3 nights + 1 free night certificate
▸ Consistently ranked as one of the top hotels on Kauai. A large resort with amenities for everyone from couples to families, located on South Shore very near the popular Poipu Beach.
Food (With Beli Ranking)
Stevenson's Library (9.1) - Located in the Grand Hyatt hotel, an upscale sushi restaurant and bar often cited as having the best sushi on the island.
Hanalei Poke (8.9) - Small poke shop in the Hanalei Market that was featured on the show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
Hukilau Lanai (8.6) - Located in the lobby of the Kauai Coast Hotel, the decor feels a bit like stepping back in time and on the surface wouldn't appear to be that great, but the food was delicious.
Wailua Drive-In (8.1) - Casual spot serving some of the best traditional Hawaiian comfort food.
Keoki's Paradise (7.6) - The fun indoor/outdoor atmosphere makes you forget you are in a strip mall and the food is pretty good too.
Island Taco (7.3) - Good place for a quick stop before or after your visit to Waimea Canyon.
Kickshaws (6.6) - Food Truck serving various sandwiches in a small park.
The Musubi Truck (5.4) - If you like spam, this truck serves all sorts of various musubi.
Seaview Terrace (5.4) - Restaurant/lounge overlooking the water in the Grand Hyatt hotel. Great views and good drinks, but nothing special as far as the food goes.
Full Itinerary
Day 1
There are a few points properties on Kauai, but the Grand Hyatt is the only Hyatt property and is widely regarded as one of the best hotels on the island. With cash rates regularly over $1,000 per night and award stays starting at 25,000 points per night, this is one of the crown jewels of award redemptions if you can find availability.
We flew directly to Lihue airport from Denver but unfortunately were delayed 3 hours so we arrived at the hotel around 9pm and missed our dinner reservation at Tidepools, the fine dining restaurant located at the hotel.
Grand Hyatt Kauai - Kauai, Hawaii 2024
Stevenson's Library is another restaurant located in the Grand Hyatt and fortunately was open serving food until 10pm so we were able to go there as a backup. The green carpet and wood paneling would make this place feel incredibly outdated anywhere else, but for some reason it just seems to work in Hawaii.
Although a bit pricey (what isn't in Hawaii?) the sushi was indeed excellent. There's also a bar at the restaurant which was quite crowded and looked like the place to be although we were so tired from our extended journey we just went straight to bed.
Chirashi at Stevenson's Library - Kauai, Hawaii 2024
Day 2
For our first morning in Hawaii we were up at 5am so we took the opportunity to watch the sunrise from the beach and get first pick of pool chairs. By late morning we were quite hungry having been up so long already so we drove to nearby Koloa. There is a park with several food trucks although most were closed when we arrived.
Kickshaws' menu rotates around different sandwiches - I tried their Reuben and Gwen had the burger, both of which were quite tasty and had some subtle twists on the respective traditional version.
Kickshaws - Kauai, Hawaii 2024
Old Koloa Town
Just across the street from the food truck park is Old Koloa Town featuring a number of shops, galleries, coffee shops, as well as some restaurants.
You can find shave ice all over Hawaii, but The Fresh Shave in Koloa was much closer to the Japanese Kakigori which is a bit more fine like snow as compared to many other shave ice which are just made of crushed ice.
The Fresh Shave - Kauai, Hawaii 2024
Poipu Beach
Poipu Beach is one of the most popular beaches on Kauai and just a few minutes drive from our hotel. As the sun sets, a number of seat turtles climb ashore to sleep and we even saw this monk seal taking a nap on the beach.
Poipu Beach - Kauai, Hawaii 2024
Although the entrance to Keoki's Paradise is from a strip mall parking lot, the atmosphere inside feels completely different. The restaurant feels fully like being in a Tiki hut with open walls to the outside.
The menu features fresh fish and many other Hawaiian classics. My panko & mac nut crusted fish was absolutely delicious and Gwen's Guava BBQ chicken was amazing.
Keoki's Paradise - Kauai, Hawaii 2024
Day 3
Napali Coast
The Napali Coast is instantly recognizable from the original Jurassic Park movie and one of the most popular ways to take it all in is by helicopter tour.
Napali Coast - Kauai, Hawaii 2024
If heights and/or helicopters aren't your thing, the other option is a boat tour to view the coast from the water. I think in the summer the waves might be better, but when we visited in winter the waves were huge. It was very difficult to stand up to move around and many people got very sea sick.
We departed from Port Allen on the South Shore so the total trip took about 5 hours which was a very long time to be on a boat in waves like this. I was definitely ready to get off that boat by the end.
Napali Coast - Kauai, Hawaii 2024
The tour also included some time for snorkeling and in the calmer waters before we got to the Napali Coast we were even surrounded by dolphins.
Napali Coast - Kauai, Hawaii 2024
Waimea Canyon
For the very adventurous, there are ways to get out to the beaches along the Napali Coast but a 4 wheel drive car and permits are required. For more casual tourists like us, you can simply drive on the main road through Waimea Canyon for many stunning viewpoints as well as various hiking trails.
Since we were already near the Waimea Canyon Park entrance after the boat tour we thought we could do both in one day, but it ended up being too much. We were too tired and definitely should have saved Waimea Canyon for a separate day. We drove a bit in to the park, but didn't do any hiking and didn't make it to the last viewpoint which is supposed to be spectacular.
Waimea Canyon - Kauai, Hawaii 2024
Back down in the town of Waimea, we stopped at the popular Island Taco. They close at 4pm and we didn't want to miss it which is why we didn't end up making it all the way to the last viewpoint in the Canyon. It's definitely debatable if it was worth it, but these tacos were excellent. My mahi mahi tacos were stuffed with fish.
Island Taco - Kauai, Hawaii 2024
We were quite exhausted after our action packed day and as we had a very late lunch, we spent the evening relaxing at the hotel.
Seaview Terrace is one of the hotel restaurants which overlooks the resort and ocean beyond. At night there are musicians that play live music and although the food was not anything to write about, it was an enjoyable way to spend the evening (and go to bed very early).
Seaview Terrace at Grand Hyatt Kauai - Kauai, Hawaii 2024
Day 4
Wailua Falls
On our final day we decided to road trip to the East and North Shores of the island hitting a number of attractions along the way. Our first stop was Wailua Falls - nothing too exciting and not worth a trip out of your way I'd say.
Wailua Falls - Kauai, Hawaii 2024
Tunnels Beach
On the North Shore of Kauai is Tunnels Beach which is known to be one of the best snorkeling and scuba spots on the island in the summer. As we visited in winter, the waves were very big and I definitely would not want to be in the water at that time. But, we walked along the beach and it was still incredibly beautiful.
Tunnels Beach - Kauai, Hawaii 2024
After the beach we headed back the way we came and stopped in Hanalei to walk around the shops a bit and eat lunch at Hanalei Poke, which was delicious.
Hanalei Poke - Kauai, Hawaii 2024
Hanalei Pier
Hanalei Bay is a popular area on the North Shore and when we arrived in the early afternoon the beach was filled with surfers, snorkelers, and sunbathers. At the North end of the bay is Black Pot Beach where the Hanalei Pier is located. With a Western facing direction, this is an excellent place to watch the sunset.
Hanalei Pier - Kauai, Hawaii 2024
Hanalei Valley Lookout
Heading East, just past Hanalei, in Priceville is the Hanalei Valley Lookout pulloff area where you can see the whole valley.
Hanalei Valley Lookout - Kauai, Hawaii 2024
Kilauea Lighthouse
Our next stop was the Kilauea Lighthouse on Kauai's North Coast, located in a wildlife refuge. We didn't go all the way to the lighthouse, but stopped just outside the refuge entrance where you can get this view of the peninsula and lighthouse.
Kilauea Lighthouse - Kauai, Hawaii 2024
Our final stop on our drive back was for spam musubi, a classic Hawaiian snack.
The Musubi Truck is located in Kapa'a and while I only tried the original spam musubi, they had many other variations such as chicken katsu and tuna. If we hadn't just eaten lunch I would have definitely tried some of the others!
The Musubi Truck - Kauai, Hawaii 2024
I'm not sure how we found Hukilau Lanai as it's in the lobby of a Club Wyndham Timeshare Resort. I was definitely nervous at first, but not only did the food turn out to be delicious and plentiful, but the atmosphere was also quite nice with a guitarist playing relxing island music.
Hukilau Lanai - Kauai, Hawaii 2024
On our way out to the airport, we had one more restaurant on our list that we had not yet gotten to. Wailua Drive-In is located in Kapa'a, just an 11 minute drive from the airport and has an expansive menu of all sorts of classic and variations of Hawaiian dishes like Loco Moco, Kalua Pig, noodles, curries and more.
I had the Kalua Pig Loco Moco which was very good, but it's pretty hard to beat the classic hamburger version. Gwen's butter garlic shrimp were delicious.
Butter Garlic Shrimp at Wailua Drive-In - Kauai, Hawaii 2024
Overall
Kauai is called the Garden Island for it's lush landscape and definitely a great destination for the outdoor adventurer. There's plenty of great hiking available as well as many great spots for water activities.
When it comes to just sitting on the beach, I'm not sure Kauai is the best (though still very good compared to outside of Hawaii) as we experienced intermitten rain, wind, and clouds each day although the sun would come out again in a few minutes.
Overall, we loved Kauai as it has a good mix of activities whether you want to be very active or just lay on the beach. It's also not as built up as Maui and a bit less crowded.
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