I went to Kauai to visit one of my best friends and explored the island for a week (June 2 – 8, 2025). Note that this is my second trip to Hawaii. I went to Oahu and Maui for the first time a couple of years ago and thought those were perfect for first timers! I’d highly recommend island hopping, renting a car, and exploring every corner while you’re there. Kauai is a much smaller island with limited resources (so things are a bit more expensive!), but it’s got great beaches with super easy access and amazing ‘untouched’ scenery, great for nature lovers and families!
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6 Days in Kauai, Hawaii
+ 4 hours in Waikiki – Honolulu, Oahu
Time & duration: Monday June 2 – Sunday 8, 2025 (early morning flight, 4-hour layover in Honolulu before flying back to JFK, NYC)
Weather forecast: comfortable tropical weather, mid-70s, rain showers, strong trade winds on the west side of the island
What I packed, HERE, and how I wore/styled everything, HERE
Where I stayed: at my friend’s residence in Lihue. It’s a pretty central spot because I can go north or south, and each is just about an hour’s drive. From my friend’s, we’re less than 10 minutes away from the airport (LIH) and most major food spots, Costco, Target, Times, Safeway, and many more!
How I got around on the island: by car – my friends lent us their second car for the week! So grateful!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Day 1: Arrival in Lihue, farmer’s market, dinner with friends
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Day 2: Waimea Canyon + South shore exploration
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Day 3: road trip to Hanalei + 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay
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Day 4: Napali Coast Sunset Boat Tour
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Day 5: North shore exploration, beach day
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Day 6: Morning hike, Lihue farmer’s market & beach picnic with friends
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Day 7: Early morning departure + 4 hours layover in Waikiki, Oahu
view from 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay
HIGHLIGHTS
The highlights of this trip are the quality time spent alone with my partner and catching up with my friend (and her family) while learning the local ways of living on the small island, Kauai. The Hawaiian lifestyle is slow, and everyone is living as one with nature, so it’s amazing to hear how knowledgeable most locals I’ve spoken to are about the island, the animals, and the plants here. My friend’s husband went diving and caught us a huge fish, and that would continue to be the story I’d tell everyone in the months and years to come.
So many aspects of Kauai remind me of my home country, Vietnam, and it makes me miss my family in Vietnam so much. The fruit selection and variety on the island aren’t as diverse or as sweet as compared to those from tropical countries like Vietnam, but the local produce I saw at the farmer’s markets brought me so much joy.
Since Kauai is a much smaller island where everything is shipped to on a boat, everything is expensive here! I screamed when I checked the price of a watermelon, on sale, and it was $25. Costco had it for $12, and I jumped from happiness. On the mainland, watermelons in-season are $5.
I loved the 1 Hotel visit and enjoyed all of the beaches, how easily accessible and how pristine they are. Big waves though! The Napali Coast boat tour was so fun, and the views were like straight out of Jurassic Park. I gasped so many times!
Every day on the island was different, and I felt like we got a lot of things done every day, in our way. It also helped because of the time difference, since Hawaii was 6 hours behind NYC time, so we got to get a lot of things done in a day.
It is easily one of my favorite trips I’ve done in a very long time, and I’ve got a lot to thank my friend and her family. They’re such great hosts who made sure we got all of the local recommendations and experiences! Thank you, Yen and Dave!
Day 1: Arrival to Lihue, farmer’s market fruits, dinner with friends in Kapaa
Monday 6/2
My friend, Yen, picked us up at the airport in Lihue, got us leis, and ordered lunch takeout from Smiley’s Local Grinds. After the initial catch-up, meeting her 4-month-old baby, Lilikoi, my partner and I went on a quick drive to downtown Lihue. We got a coconut acai bowl at Aloha ‘Āina Juice Cafe, per my friend’s recommendation, and fruits from the local farmer’s market (Mondays 2 – 5 pm), located at Times Supermarket in Lihue. Later in the evening, we joined my friends on their beach walk at the park and got take-out from Smash Time Grinds, a food truck in Kapaʻa.
Day 2 – Waimea Canyon + South shore exploration
Tuesday 6/3
We woke up at 5 am Kauai time because it was technically 11 am on the East Coast. Kauai Bakery in Lihue opens at 6 am, and I’d recommend sharing the malasadas, a type of Portuguese donut that is very popular in Hawaii, with your group. It’s sweet and so filling, but yummy and dangerous! There are a lot of sweets and dessert options on the island, so it’s easy not to want to order everything.
From Lihue, it takes about an hour to an hour and a half to Waimea Canyon State Park, known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. The morning drive was so sleepy because I forgot to pick up coffee, but we made it regardless. Remember that you can stop at any pull-outs or overlooks and go for a short hike when doing this drive. You’ll eventually reach the end, so you’ve got to turn back out as there’s no one-way through or around the island.
Must stops:
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Pu’u Ka Pele Lookout
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Kalalau Lookout
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Pihea Vista Trail – The road to the parking lot and trailhead is closed, but you can walk to it, mostly paved and flat, and family and kid-friendly. I’d highly recommend packing along water and rain jackets because it can get misty or rainy during the hike! The views get better and better as you hike in!
Pu’u Ka Pele Lookout
Kalalau Lookout
Pihea Vista Trail
long-sleeved half-zip top/pull-over: Year of Ours
After the canyon drive, we made a lunch stop in Waimea, the closest town, since the park’s visitor center wasn’t open for the day yet. We ordered coconut shrimps from The Shrimp Station, a smoothie, and sticky rice coconut dessert from Coconut Corner.
Later in the afternoon, we got an acai bowl at the very popular juice shop (everyone made a video about them on TikTok!), ‘Anakē’s Juice Bar, located inside the Kukuiula Market in Poipu. It ended up being my favorite acai bowl with a good flavor combo and a big portion for the price (as compared to all acai bowls I’d had on this trip)! The poke at Poipu Poke Shack, located in the same market, recommended by another local friend, was good for the price.
Poipu Beach, the famous sea turtle resting/viewing point, is just a 5-minute drive from here. There are many swimmable beaches in this area, so beach hopping is highly recommended here! I swam at Shipwreck Beach and took another dip at Kiahuna Beach, not too far away from Poipu Beach.
Shrimp Station
The Hulk at ‘Anakē’s Juice Bar
Kiahuna Beach
Day 3 – Road trip to Hanalei + 1 Hotel
Wednesday 6/4
We picked up coffee at Java Kai and donuts (made from locally grown taros) at Holey Grail Donuts (multiple locations) in Kapaa and headed north. A stop for a smoothie or an acai bowl at Kalalea Juice Hale in Anahola is a must, and I adore the location as well!
I had some work to do, so I packed along my laptop, hoping that I’d be able to find a cafe or work from a hotel lobby. Luck was on our side because a random pull-in at 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay in Princeville completely altered our plan. It ended up being the best thing I did on the island (and my favorite day for sure!).
Holy Grail Donuts
Kalalea Juice Hale
1 HOTEL HANALEI
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1 Hotel Hanalei Bay (photo carousel)
So apparently, accordingly to the valet staff (he was super kind and nice telling us about it!), you could valet park and use the hotel amenities for the day. To validate the parking, you’d need to spend $100, and it could be on anything from the gift shop, spa services, food, or drinks at the restaurant or cafe/lounge. There’s an infinity pool and jacuzzi (on the 8th floor with mountain views!!!), a bigger lagoon pool with private cabanas by the beach, and access Puʻu Poa Beach with daybeds plus food and drink services. And their golf course looks insane, too! We spent all day in there swimming, sunbathing, and relaxing until after sunset, and it was so nice and perfect.
For dinner, we went for seafood at a sit-down restaurant, called The Hanalei Dolphin Restaurant.
Puʻu Poa Beach
1 Kitchen
Infinity pool
10/10 day!
Main pool
Day 4 – Morning cooking & Napali Coast Sunset Boat Tour
Thursday 6/5
The morning of our boat tour, I made Bun Rieu (using the jar of crab paste and seasoning my friend has already had in her pantry. She said she had to order it from Amazon!), and so glad that everyone enjoyed it.
For the Napali Coast boat tour, we debated between the morning vs sunset tour and ended up with the latter. There was dinner service (it was just okay!) with drinks, and I thought we had a pretty fun group of people on the boat (that made it even more fun and memorable!).
Price: $245/person x 2 + $64.74 tax and fees = $554.74
Time & date: 2:15 pm on 6/5/2025. 4 hours!
Location: Tour departs from Port Allen in Eleele to Napali Coast. Boat stops twice along the Napali Coast and once for sunset on the way back. We did see some dolphins, no whales because the season was over.
Our captain stopped the boat here and played Jurassic Park music since it’s one of the filming spots. It’s a lot more stunning in person. I wish you’ll get to see it with your own eyes one day!
These razor-cut cliffs! I couldn’t stop comparing it to Game of Thrones (or at least what I remembered from the movie poster!).
Another 10/10 day!
Day 5 – North shore exploration, beach day
Friday 6/6
For day 5, we decided to head North to do some more exploring. We made a quick detour to Hanalei Pier in the morning and noticed a lot of early morning boating activities involving families and kids. Overall, Hanalei is a pretty touristy town, not my favorite, but I get its convenience if you’re traveling as a family with kids.
Ching Young Village Shopping Center is the main food area, so we’ve been back there twice during this day. I thought the breakfast sandwich at Hanalei Bread Company was just okay, and the poke lunch at Hanalei Poke was good but expensive, with a tiny portion. The shave ice at Jojo’s Shave Ice has a surprise scoop of ice cream at the bottom, pretty good. For mid-day snacks, we shared a cold brew and an acai bowl at Wishing Well, another very popular spot on TikTok in Hanalei. Make sure you order the cold/iced drink and ask for a lid because you can get to take it home (as a souvenir!).
dress: TROVATA
Hanalei Bay
top: DOEN | shorts: Faithfull the Brand
Again, a day spent at Hāʻena State Park hiking and going to the beach would have made it another 10/10 day, but everything was all booked out for the week that we were there. Tunnels Beach is a very popular beach recommendation in the area, and everyone goes there when they’re in Kauai.
We parked at a free lot a mile up the road from where the Tunnels Beach parking sign was and ended up spending about 2 hours at Haene Beach instead. And it was perfect and lovely! We could have walked to Tunnels Beach, too, but we were pretty happy with our spot and didn’t want to walk too far in the sand. It was a really nice day out, even though the waves were huge!
swimsuit: HUNZA
For sunset, my partner wanted to check out a famous local beach/picnic spot inside Polihale State Park on the west side of Kauai, so we drove over an hour there for sunset and back. Note that you’d need a high-clearance 4×4 car! We had my friend’s HRV, and that was a tough ride. Sunset at the beach was so nice, and I loved how fine and soft the sand was! Everyone was quite far away from each other (lots of people showed up late, and I guessed they were there to camp overnight?!), so we felt like we had the beach to ourselves. It was magical with the sunset.
Polihale State Park
dress: Sonderhaus
Day 6 – Morning hike, farmer’s market & beach picnic with friends
Saturday 6/7
Saturday was our last full day in Kauai, and I realized we didn’t get to do any hiking. Recommended by a friend of my friend’s little brother, another local (or at least she’s been on the island longer than any of us), we went for a morning hike at Sleeping Giant (Nounou Mountain) West Trail, just to the peak and back. We stopped by Opaekaa Falls Area and Lookout and Wailua Falls for a picture after the hike.
Before heading back to meet up with my friends, we got coffee at Sunrise Coffee (paid $11 for a mid cup of macadamia coffee latte, lol!) and an acai bowl at The Granola House.
acai bowl from Granola Girl
coffee from Sunrise Coffee (I paid $11 for this cup, and it was my least favorite!)
sports bra: Year of Ours | leggings: Year of Ours
For lunch, we all went to the Grove Farm Market (9:30 am – until supplies last – 4411 Kikowaena St) in Lihue, bought some vegetables and fruits, and got burritos at one of the food stands there. I loved seeing the fresh local produce and seasonal flowers that the farmers grew here! It was beautiful and much better than what Times, Big Save, Safeway, Costco, or any other stores I went to during this entire trip. My friend’s husband offered to take us snorkeling, but we had to change the plan to a beach picnic because the waves were crazy that day.
While my friend and the baby were napping, my partner and I sneaked out for some sushi at Sushi Station and soft serve at the Pineapple Shack. We also went to Costco to pick up a watermelon (it was $13 vs. $23 at Big Save in Hanalei!) and some local snacks to bring home, vacuumed the car, and got gas. =
My friends took us to their frequent picnic spot at Anahola Beach Park, made a fire, and we had a picnic at a secluded spot by the beach while watching the sun set. It was so much fun and perfectly wrapped up our trip! My heart felt so full!
Sushi Station
The Pineapple Shack
Day 7 – 6 am departure + 4 hours in Waikiki, Oahu
Sunday 6/8
The flight from Lihue to Honolulu was so short and sweet, 40 minutes! People say that by the time you’re getting served juice on the plane, you’re already preparing to land. At Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) in Honolulu, there’s Baggage Storage service at Terminal 2, and it costs $12 per hand/carry-on luggage. From there, it only takes about 20 minutes to Uber to Waikiki without traffic.
So we did all this with our 4 hour layover in Honolulu, Oahu.
While I was waiting in line at Kona Coffee Purveyors, my partner went across the street to get us some hand rolls at Sato Seafood. I had an iced cortado from Kona, and it was my most favorite cup this entire trip. Pineapple & coconut almond croissant and the black sesame Kouign Amann were also pretty good there. For lunch, we had udon at Marugame Udon and sugarcane juice at the juice stand, Hawaiian Cane Juice, nearby. Then we walked around the mall, Royal Hawaiian Center, checked out the Pink Palace aka The Royal Hawaiian Resort Waikiki. Besides a chicken magnet for our fridge that I bought as souvenir, I only bought a made-in Hawaii bag from a local brand, LANI’S General Store, from Harbors Vintage in Waikiki.
The 9 hour flight home to NYC from HNL with Hawaiian felt much shorter than it was. We played Angry Bird and ate a bunch of snacks on the plane, and were served dinner and breakfast. I was so glad to make it back home safely. My heart was full and filled with gratitude. It was one of the best trips!
- Kaui Food Diary (photo carousel)
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading just as much as I love creating these travel guides and diaries. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments. Thanks for reading!
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