Kauai POAl 2nd day plan

Since we depart at 1:00 in the afternoon, will there be time to go to the Fern Grotto and river cruise before we have to be back onboard? Is this something that can be done on our own, with our rental car? Any other suggestions for our second day? Is driving to Waimea canyon feasible?

I would not drive to Waimea canyon on the second day, just because I would worry too much about missing the ship. We did go there on our second day, but we took the ship's excursion (the only one we did take) -- that gave us at least a bit of comfort that if something went wrong, the ship MIGHT wait for us. Robert's (www.gorabbitgo.com) doesn't offer their Waimea Canyon excursion on the second day, which told me something -- they guarantee you will make the ship from their tours, or they'll fly you to the next port -- but they don't offer Waimea on sailing day in Kauai, which I speculated is because they know that things can go wrong and they don't want to pay to deliver a busload of people to the next port.

The Wailua River and Fern Grotto excursion, however, is close to Nawiliwili port and very doable on your second day in your rental car. As MommyJamie says, though -- the price of the www.gorabbitgo.com excursion is dirt cheap (admission to Fern Grotto is $18 per person if booked in advance on the web, so the excursion is $4 more per person -- you would save money by returning the rental after day one and taking the gorabbitgo.com excursion to Wailua/Fern Grotto on Day 2; you'd save one day's car rental plus the $10 overnight parking fee).

Hope that helps!

Thanks for your advice and information. I'll have to mull this over.:)

We're booked for Blue Hawaiian helicopters in the morning on the first day, and we're picking up the rental car afterward, around noon. So we only have it for a one-day rental, figuring we'd return it before noon on the second day. We're also going on a Napali dinner cruise in the afternoon on the first day. I doubt that I can change the helicopter to the second day....hmmm....:confused:

You should see Waimea Canyon on day one on your Blue Hawaiian tour -- the videos on their website are fabulous, by the way -- if my own personal fears permitted me to take a helicopter trip, I'd have taken theirs. That being the case, I think you will have seen Waimea Canyon more "up close and personal" than you could do by rental car or tour bus, stopping at the overlooks. So I wouldn't hesitate in recommending doing Wailua/Fern Grotto on day two by whichever method you choose -- rental car or an excursion through gorabbitgo.com. Have a wonderful trip! :)

Is there another excursion which you would recommend, or is Fern Grotto the thing to do? Thanks so much for your information. I get overwhelmed with the choices!

Oh, sorry, I got the impression you wanted to do Fern Grotto! I actually liked it -- it's a relaxing ride up the river and the grotto itself is beautiful. We also thought the entertainment on the riverboat was fun (singers, musicians, hula dancers). There are some video clips from it, and still photos, at the links below my signature. However, as judyf says, a few people have said they didn't think the Fern Grotto was anything special. It wasn't the highlight of our trip, but we enjoyed it.

If you are interested in other options for day 2, you could do a driving tour of the east or south shores (I don't think on day 2 you will have time to drive to and from the north shore; it's a long drive round trip and in the Kapa'a area you could encounter heavy traffic). The south shore has Poipu Beach, Spouting Horn, botanical gardens, and sometimes monk seals sun themselves along the shoreline. The east shore has waterfalls, beaches, an arboretum, and a couple of historic sites.

This website http://www.alternative-hawaii.com/ has "Hawaii Drive Guides" for all the islands that are very detailed and have good information for how long it will take to get where, plus driving directions. I used their drive guides for east and north Kauai (along with other sources) in planning our sightseeing/beach day on Kauai, which we did on day one.

Another option for day 2 is to go to Kalapaki Beach -- it's within walking distance of the port (in front of the Marriott) and it's a pleasant beach for swimming and sunning; I believe surfing lessons are also offered there. You could have an early lunch at Duke's before returning to the ship; it's also nearby.

Hope that gives you some other ideas. :)

We will be taking a heli tour in the am and were wondering too what to do for the pm, I didn't think the beach was within walking distance to the pier. My DH and I are walkers, but how far of a walk would you say it is? We will not be renting a car.

I'd say 1/2 mile at most. I'm attaching a thumbnail we took from the ship -- in it on the left you can see the road/sidewalk from the pier area up to the Marriott/Kalapaki Beach (the pier is out of camera range to the left). You can also see the beginning surfers waiting for a wave in this photo if you look carefully for the little dots in the center of the picture. :)

MichelleP...Thanks for the great website (http://www.alternative-hawaii.com/byotg.htm) Just what I was looking for!! Did you do any of the drives?

 

Thanks,

 

Michele :)

We sure did! I took the East Kauai drive, and the North Kauai drive info, put them together with information from here, the Revealed books, the Drive Guide maps, and my interminable sticky notes, and wrote out a detailed itinerary with directions for our day one drive up to the North shore of Kauai. It worked out great; the directions were perfect. We weren't slaves to it, however; as we drove through Kapa'a on the way north we saw a craft market that looked really cool, so we cut short some of the drive on the north shore in order to make it back to Kapa'a in time to visit the market. I'd say do the research to be prepared, then be flexible in case something just "grabs" you and you want to savor that experience. :)

Michelle great suggestions. I really love this meassge board or I should say the poeple that post here!!!!

 

I'm looking for day one but these tips help me too. What would you suggest we could do after Waimea Canyon? On day 2 we booked ship tour tubing the ditch.

 

After work I plan to look at the site you posted. I'm only home for lunch now with very limited time.

 

Thanks again.

Since to get to Waimea Canyon you have to drive past the south Kauai area (Poipu Beach, etc.), I think after Waimea I'd come back via the south side and visit Poipu Beach State Park, the Spouting Horn blowhole, etc. Be aware that they are doing some major construction in this area and that affects the roads from time to time -- but since it's your day one, you won't be panicked about getting back to the ship. After the south shore, you could drive a bit past the ship and go to Kalapaki Beach or stop at Duke's for a drink or meal. Hope that helps!