Poipu Beach and NaPali Coast

[wchvdg]

Could you suggest to us the best way of doing the NaPali Coast

and Poipu Beach in the same 8 hr day?

Also is this do~able without renting a car?

 

Thanks as always for your help in making all our vacations

extra~special :)

[beachchick]

I'm sorry, but I think that you may have to choose one or the other unless you do an air tour of NaPali. Even then it could be very tight. That's a short day. There are companies that do NaPali coast tours. They may have shuttles/buses from the pier. As for Poipu, I suppose you could take a taxi, but it would be $$$.

 

If I had to choose, I'd look into a NaPali boat tour. Many of them have snorkeling, etc. as part of the package. You might get some of the best of both worlds this way. I have not done this, though, so it's just speculation. Poipu is wonderful, but there are other great beaches on all the islands.

 

As always, these are just my opinions. Our helpful locals might be able to give you more specifics.

 

beachchick

[wchvdg]

Thanks "Chick" ;)

 

Even though we were hoping for a better chance at these two places...lol

(I wanted the Coast as bad as the DD wanted the beach)

[wchvdg]

Are there any other suggestions for this request?

 

I'm looking for secondary ideas at this point.

 

HELP..LOL....THANKS AS ALWAYS.

[mikefast]

Not a reply, but a question about this too. Has anybody taken an airplane tour of the Napali coast rather than the helicopter. It is about half the price of the helicopters, and the ones I have seen are four place, so everybody would have a window seat instead of maybe being stuck in the middle of a three or four person seat in the back of the helicopter.

[phxd08]

I don't have specifics but I can tell you the following. You will probably need to rent a car. Depending on the time of year you go, you could leave from either Hanalei on the North Shore or Port Allen on the West shore - both are about 45 minutes in the opposite directions from Nawilili assuming that is where you will be. Most of the boat rides from Port Allen leave fairly early in the morning and the trip takes about 4 hours including snorkeling. It is about 30 minutes to drive back to Poipu beach so your time on the beach would be limited if you had eight hours to do it all.

 

In my opinion sailing up the NaPali coast has it all over Poipu Beach which I do not believe is anything too special. The snorkeling there is not very good and I did not enjoy that beach as much as some others. If you can leave from the North Shore and sail the NaPali coast, when you get back drive another 15 -20 minutes up to Ke'e beach, this has it all over Poipu IMHO.

 

From what I remember there are a couple of boats that leave from the North Shore in the Spring and Summer only. NaPali Catamarran is the one I remember and it is the one we took. Good trip, saw dolphins and sea turtles when we snorkeled. Good lunch too.

[Umbarger]

First off I agree, the two places are an awful lot to do in 8 hours. The only way to see Napali is by air or boat. Many people on our cruise did helicopter flightseeing and raved about the beauty of the Napali coast.

If you want to do Poipu you will need to rent a car. Renting a car was inexpensive and easy. I think a taxi would be very expensive. It was a 30 min drive out to poipu from Lihue and around 45 mins back as the traffic was terrible. However, I am experienced at snorkelling (all over Hawaii, Caribbean and Mexico) and Poipu (Longhouse Beach) was one of the best places I have ever been snorkelling! A small beach but the depth, visability and variety of fish was wonderful when I was there. There was a big sea lion on the beach too. Also, Spouting horn is a blow hole and it was much better than the one on Oahu. It is just a mile up from Longhouse. Next time I do Hawaii I will stay a whole week in Kauai and stay in Poipu. Kauai was awesome.

Good luck with your decision. Whatever you decide to do, you will have a wonderful time. Enjoy! Linda

[spleen93]

... However, I am experienced at snorkelling (all over Hawaii, Caribbean and Mexico) and Poipu (Longhouse Beach) was one of the best places I have ever been snorkelling! A small beach but the depth, visability and variety of fish was wonderful when I was there. There was a big sea lion on the beach too. ...

 

Just to clarify, there are no wild sea lions in Hawaii. What you saw was most likely one of the rare Hawaiian monk seals. They're not common so you should feel honored that you got to see one ... :)

 

Spleen

[Umbarger]

Gee, thanks Spleen. I would have never known! :rolleyes: