Kauai: Hanalei

A fruit stand in the center of Hanalei.

Hanalei

Hanalei was our favorite town in Kauai. It just has so much going for it- it’s nestled around Hanalei Bay, surrounded by verdant green cliffs, close to the most beautiful beaches on the island as well as the Napali Coast. It has a walkable and charming downtown, is has easy access to gas stations and a grocery store, and is the kind of place where every house has multiple surfboards waiting outside; it’s great. At some point on your way in and out of town, make sure to stop at the Hanalei Valley Overlook; it would be especially pretty early in the morning or with sunset light.

Surfboards fill the yards of the houses closest to Hanalei Bay

The view from the Hanalei Valley Overlook

Wishing Well Shave Ice

Hanalei favorites and skippables:

Don’t miss out on mai tais from Tahiti Nui (check out the picture of George Clooney proudly displayed on the wall; a scene from The Descendents was filmed here). The drinks were good, but we liked this place because it was buzzing, full of not just tourists but locals too; it was fun to be in the midst of their chatter and the sense of everyone knowing everyone else. It’s open late, and was one of the few places on Kauai that is; in general, the island got pretty quiet once the sun sets.

Next door, the cucumber mint juice at Akamai Juice Company was so good we went twice. Also, if you make it to Tahiti Nui, keep an eye for this juice on their cocktail menu; it’s served with a shot of rum or gin.

And in the same corner of town, we loved the ice cream at Pinks Creamery. Lapperts gets a lot of attention in Hawaii, but we thought the Kona Coffee and Macadamia Nut flavors at Pinks were so much better.

We had a nice lunch sitting outside at The Dolphin, right next to the water where we watching a few paddle boarders drift by. I enjoyed the avocado poke bowl.  

We tried a few places that were fine but we wouldn’t necessarily seek out again. Wishing Well Shave Ice is cute, but was the least memorable of the three spots we tried on the island. We also had dinner at Bar Acuda, a fancy small plates restaurant. Though it was beautiful (great decor, scene-y, the kind of place where people were wearing “outfits” and not just beach cover ups), the service was a bit aloof, and though none of the dishes were bad, neither were they so good as to justify the expense.

Mai Tais from Tahiti Nui

Surfboards in the Hanalei Shotting center.

Hanalei Bay Pier at sunset

Hanalei Bay

One day, we swam and lounged at the huge Hanalei Bay Beach, which was nice, but not as beautiful as some of the other beaches in Kauai. However, the sunset near Hanalei Bay Pier was beautiful, and it was another place where it was fun to watch a mix of locals and tourists. This was also the best sunset we saw on our vacation.

Hanalei Bay Pier

Swimmers at Hanalei Bay Beach

Walking from our Airbnb to the St. Regis Princeville

Princeville

We actually stayed in Princevillle, a residential area just east of Hanalei. There are several resorts and golf courses there, and the abundance of condos meant that there were many affordable Airbnb options. We stayed at one that was perfect for the three days we were there, mostly as just a place to come home to, but the mini kitchen meant that we could make our own breakfast smoothies and dinner (and pina coladas too), and we appreciated all the beach gear they leave on the patio for guests to use.

On our first night, we walked from the Airbnb to the Princeville Resort (the fanciest hotel Kauai) to watch the sunset from their patio, which overlooks Hanalei Bay. The drinks were expensive, but worth the hours worth of views and people watching. I had read online that regardless of the timing of the sunset, it’s important to get there between 5-6 to get a table, and I agree. It was crowded, and we were glad to have arrived early.

Each night there is a “champagne-sabering” ceremony

The sunset from the patio at the St. Regis Princeville

At Queens Bath

Queen’s Bath

We also spent a morning at Queen’s Bath, a natural tide pool with coral and fish. I hesitate to even include it here, because there’s a lot of debate about it online. The bottom line is that you should not try to visit or swim in Queens Bath during the rough winter months, or on any day that isn’t totally calm. There are terrible stories of people who are swept out to sea from this spot, which is reinforced on the warning signs posted every 15 feet on the trail. Even on the still, sunny August morning we visited, we observed the ocean a long time before getting in. But it really was amazing, and we were glad to have our snorkeling goggles with us to swim around the pool.