Traveling to Kauai with Kids

If you are a mom of two or more, I’m sure you know how important is to get that one-on-one bonding time with your kids. Ari has always been beyond patient with sharing her time and attention with her little sister so it was beyond amazing to take a trip to Kauai just the two of us, along with our best friends.

We booked our car rental through Discount Hawaii Car Rental and decided to get a jeep. Service was great and we were able to experience so much of the island by renting a car!

I went to Hawaii for the first time when I was Ari’s age and still have vivid memories of our vacation. I’m so happy I was able to experience this with her and we packed in so many activities during our four day trip.

Here’s a list of some of the “must do’s” on your trip:

Visit the beaches

Definitely the most obvious on the list but since there’s so many beaches on the island, I rounded up the best ones for kids.

Baby beach– A sheltered-off beach bear Shipwrecks Beach. It has shallow waters and you can spot a ton of fish. We even saw a sea turtle swim right by us.

Anini Beach– If you end up on the North Shore of the island, this is a great beach for kids. You can just drive around the coast until you find a sandy, quiet spot for kids.

Kalapaki– An easily accessible bay that’s more of a tourist spot. The Marriott and Duke’s are both located here, there’s volleyball spot, surf lessons and more. A great place for beach activities.

Places to eat

Honestly all the food in Kauai was amazing. I love how there’s macademia nuts in everything and could probably eat shaved ice every day if I lived there. Some of my favorites include:

Duke’s— I went to Duke’s twice during our trip and can’t rave enough about the tuna poke. I was determine to find poke when on the island and it was beyond delicious.

Puka Dogs– A hot dog place that was beyond amazing! They have a variation of spice levels and so many tasty toppings.

Wailua Shaved Ice– I had shaved ice every day on our trip (oops) and all at different places. This one was by far the best. A cute little food truck and soo tasty. I just found out there’s actually one in SD so I’ll definitely be going!

Places to see

There’s so many towns with a different feel and I loved being able to experience so many of them.

Hanalei– A small, laid-back town filled with surfers. A great spot to go grab something to eat or shop for local goods.

Princeville– A higher end town on the NS that’s great for golf and shopping.

Poipi– Located on the southern side of the island and a great place for kids. Lots of little shopping centers, restaurants, etc.

See a Waterfall

I had never seen a waterfall before so this one was a first for the both of us. There are several waterfalls in Hawaii– some you can hike to, swim in, or just drive by in your car. Guess which one we chose? I wasn’t going to take Ari on a hike so we went to the most accessible one, which is Wailua Falls. Breathtaking and worth the 20-minute drive.