Kauai - Any Suggestions

[seamare]

We will be renting a car for the first day, probably going to Waimea Canyon and NaPali coast. What should we do on day 2 - the ship is due to leave at 2PM. Didn't think we would rent a car for the second day due to the early departure. Is there anything within walking distance or public transportation of the pier or anything else you can recommend? We are leaving this Sunday.

[PDAZ]

There are shuttles at the pier to the usual suspects -- Walmart, Hilo Hatties (same shopping center) and Kmart (other direction -- located at an open mall). There are some shops and restaurants within walking distance, although we didn't visit them. Some people walked to the Marriott and hung out at the beach -- it's fairly close and really lovely.

[PDAZ]

Here's an older thread that has a picture of the beach...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=547381&highlight=walking+distance+Kauai

[AZGrandma]

We will be renting a car for the first day, probably going to Waimea Canyon and NaPali coast. What should we do on day 2 - the ship is due to leave at 2PM. Didn't think we would rent a car for the second day due to the early departure. Is there anything within walking distance or public transportation of the pier or anything else you can recommend? We are leaving this Sunday.

 

What to do on Day two:

 

Sleep in.

Take 10 min. walk to the prettiest beach we were on, our entire cruise!

Kalapaki Beach in front of the Marriott. Loved it!

Enjoy.

 

Leslie

[fendbass]

You might want to try a helicopter tour. My wife and I made a reservation for 10am, and were back on the ship by 1pm, time enough to rent a car, and go to Poipu Beach in the afternoon. The helicopter companies will pick you up at the pier, and bring you back afterwards

 

The tour itself is 45-60 minutes, and is a real E-ticket ride. One of the highlights of my first trip to the islands

[beachchick]

Could you clarify what you mean when you say you're "going to" the Na Pali coast on the day you have a rental car? I want to make sure you know that you can't drive the Na Pali coast (there are no roads; the perimeter road around the island isn't a complete circle). You will be able to look down on the Na Pali coast from the highest lookout at Waimea Canyon. That is a gorgeous view! But you won't be able to "go to" the Na Pali coast unless you take a boat excursion (or spend many, many hours hiking on some challenging trails, many of which are closed right now because of the rains and floods).

 

Your second day might be a great day to hit the beach. It's an easy walk to Kalapaki Beach fronting the Marriott. That way you won't have to worry about transportation issues of any kind. There's some shopping right by the piers, so you can do a bit of that too if you like.

 

beachchick

[whale-watcher]

We drove to Poipu beach our second morning, and while we had a wonderful morning, we were constantly watching the time and worrying about traffic on the way back. We did not realize how nice the area in front the Marriott was until we saw it from the deck of the POAM on our way to the NaPali coast. Next time, we will spend our morning at the Marriott (and finally get a piece of Hula Pie from Duke's which is located on the Marriott property).

[seamare]

What to do on Day two:

 

Sleep in.

Take 10 min. walk to the prettiest beach we were on, our entire cruise!

Kalapaki Beach in front of the Marriott. Loved it!

Enjoy.

 

Leslie

 

Thanks - this is exactly what I was looking for

[jerseyjk]

Could you clarify what you mean when you say you're "going to" the Na Pali coast on the day you have a rental car?

 

Hahah ... I caught that too. Hope the OP doesn't plan on going all the way round Kauai with that rental.