Iconic
Princeville
1 Hotel Hanalei Bay
Sustainable-luxury wellness flagship on the former St. Regis site, with six restaurants, two pools, and private Honoiki Beach below the Bali Hai peaks.
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Hawaii · Kauai
The Garden Isle, planned in full.
The stays, the tables, the boats and the trails. Every top-rated way to experience Kauai, curated and handled by a private concierge.
The destination, curated
Most of Kauai has no road. The best of it takes a boat, a helicopter, a reservation held weeks ahead, and someone who knows which side of the island the sun is on.
Ways to experience Kauai
Six trips, one place.
Start with the version of Kauai you came for. Each is designed end to end, with the activities and stays that fit.
For two
Luxury honeymoon
Begin on the lush North Shore, end in the reliable South Shore sun, and let someone else carry every reservation in between.
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For the whole group
Private family villa
Reef-protected swimming, multi-bedroom villas with real kitchens, and resort programming when you want it.
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For the active traveler
Adventure & wellness
Kauai rewards a rhythm of adrenaline and recovery in the same day.
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For private groups
Private group retreat
Every signature Kauai experience has an exclusive-use version. We assemble them into one seamless week.
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For the food-led
Food & chef experience
Kauai's farm-to-table scene is unusually deep for its size. We build the trip around it.
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Mobility-friendly
Accessible luxury
The island's grandest scenery, planned to minimize rough terrain and long transfers.
ExploreWhere to stay
Resorts and residences that hold the coastline.
From a North Shore wellness flagship to villa estates on the sunny south, these are the stays a Kauai trip is built around.
Iconic
Poipu
Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa
The island's defining resort on Shipwreck Beach: a saltwater lagoon, lazy river, the vast Anara Spa, and Poipu Bay golf at the door.
Visit official siteMICHELIN Key
Lihue
Timbers Kauai Ocean Club & Residences
Oceanfront two-to-four-bedroom residences on the 450-acre Hokuala resort, MICHELIN Key two years running, with 17 miles of trail and the Ocean Course.
Visit official siteAdults-leaning
Poipu
Ko'a Kea Resort on Poipu Beach
An intimate 121-room oceanfront boutique built for romance and seclusion, home to the acclaimed Red Salt.
Visit official siteBest for families
Poipu
Koloa Landing Resort, Autograph Collection
Villa-style resort with full Wolf and Sub-Zero kitchens and a 350,000-gallon pool complex, a short walk from reef-protected Poipu Beach.
Visit official siteTop rated
Princeville
The Cliffs at Princeville
Spacious clifftop suites a hundred feet above the Pacific on a 22-acre North Shore plateau, ideal for longer, independent stays.
Visit official siteThe table
Sunset tables and farm-to-fork chefs.
Kauai's dining runs from oceanfront icons to North Shore wine rooms and true farm dinners. We hold the hard reservations.
Iconic
Poipu
The Beach House
Kauai's most iconic oceanfront sunset table, Pacific Rim cuisine served right at the water's edge.
Visit official siteAward-winning
Poipu
Merriman's Fish House
Chef Peter Merriman's farm-to-table flagship at Kukui'ula, sourcing more than ninety percent local.
Visit official siteAward-winning
Poipu
Tidepools at Grand Hyatt
Thatched bungalows over a koi lagoon at a waterfall's base, named a top hotel restaurant in America for 2025.
Visit official siteTop rated
Hanalei
Bar Acuda
The North Shore tapas-and-wine institution from Jim Moffat, a former Food & Wine Top New American Chef.
Visit official siteAward-winning
Poipu
Red Salt
Frequently cited as Kauai's finest restaurant, a Kauai-native chef cooking local seafood at Ko'a Kea.
Visit official siteTop rated
Koloa
Eating House 1849
James Beard winner Roy Yamaguchi's plantation-era eatery at The Shops at Kukui'ula.
Visit official siteFarm dinner
Kilauea
Common Ground
A four-course, in-season dinner served on a working North Shore farm, with lei-making before you sit.
Visit official sitePrivate chef
In your villa
Kauai Ono (private chef)
Chef Justin Smith brings true farm, fish, and forage private-chef dinners into your villa or residence.
Visit official siteNa Pali by sea
The coast you cannot reach by road.
The Na Pali cliffs only reveal themselves from the water. Private full-boat charters are the luxury way to see them.
Na Pali boat season runs roughly May to September; winter swell can cancel North Shore departures.
Top rated
Port Allen
Holo Holo Charters
Repeatedly voted Hawaii's top boat tour, running the bucket-list Na Pali and Ni'ihau crossing on a purpose-built 65-foot catamaran.
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Port Allen
Captain Andy's Sailing Adventures
Kauai's original Na Pali operator since 1983, with luxe Star Class sailing catamarans for sunset and snorkel sails.
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Port Allen
Blue Dolphin Charters
Forty years on the coast, 65-foot catamarans with snorkel, sunset-dinner sails, and seasonal whale watching.
Visit official siteIntimate
Hanalei
Na Pali Catamaran
The only tour catamaran departing Hanalei Bay, nimble enough to slip into the lava-tube sea caves.
Visit official siteFrom the air
Seventy percent of Kauai has no road.
Waimea Canyon, the Na Pali fluted cliffs, hidden waterfalls. A helicopter, ideally doors-off, is how you actually see the island.
Doors-off
Lihue & Princeville
Jack Harter Helicopters
The originator of Kauai helicopter touring since 1962, with a dedicated doors-off flight for unobstructed photography.
Visit official siteTop rated
Lihue
Blue Hawaiian Helicopters
Hawaii's largest operator, an EcoStar fleet, FAA Diamond certified every year since 1998, with synced in-cabin narration.
Visit official sitePrivate
Lihue
Mauna Loa Helicopter Tours
Boutique, doors-off at no extra cost, with a private two-to-three passenger Kauai experience: the lowest-density option.
Visit official siteDoors-off
Lihue
Air Kauai Helicopters
Small-operator doors-off and doors-on circle-island flights with strong reviews and open-air photography.
Visit official siteReef & sea
Turtles, lava tubes, and clear water.
Swim south in winter, north in summer: the swell follows the sun. These are the spots and boats we point guests to.
Year-round
Poipu
Poipu Beach Park
The most consistent, beginner-friendly snorkel on the island, with resident monk seals and green turtles.
Iconic, summer
Ha'ena
Tunnels Beach (Makua)
Kauai's premier reef snorkel, lava tubes and turtles, calm and safe only in the summer months.
Iconic, summer
Ha'ena
Ke'e Beach
A protected reef lagoon at the Kalalau trailhead; entry to Ha'ena State Park requires a reservation.
Visit official siteBoutique
Koloa
Fathom Five Divers
Kauai's longest-running dive shop, capped at six divers per boat, and the elite Ni'ihau offshore trips.
Visit official siteTop rated
Poipu
Seasport Divers
Readers' Choice-winning boat and shore dives, courses, and Discover Scuba for first-timers.
Visit official siteIsland feast
Imu, fire, and the oldest stories.
From an oceanfront lawn at sunset to a riverfront botanical garden, Kauai's luaus range from the most produced to the best fed.
Bucket-list
Poipu Beach
Auli'i Luau at Sheraton Kauai
Kauai's only oceanfront luau, staged on the beachfront lawn with the sunset behind the performance.
Visit official siteTop rated
Poipu
Grand Hyatt Havaiki Nui Luau
Consistently the strongest food of any Kauai luau, imu kalua pork and fresh catch at the flagship resort.
Visit official siteIconic
Wailua
Smith's Tropical Paradise
A fourth-generation family luau in a thirty-acre riverfront garden, with a traditional imu ceremony.
Visit official siteTheatrical
Lihue
Luau Kalamaku at Kilohana
A story-driven show on a 1930s plantation, with upgrades to a railway ride or a sit-down manor dinner.
Visit official siteBluewater
Marlin, mahi, and ono off Nawiliwili.
Private sportfishing charters run year-round from Nawiliwili Harbor for Pacific blue marlin, mahi-mahi, ono, and ahi.
Top rated
Nawiliwili
Captain Don's Sportfishing
A thirty-year local captain aboard a 39-foot Hatteras, private four, six, and eight-hour charters.
Visit official sitePrivate group
Nawiliwili
Go Fish Kauai
Private charters aboard a 41-foot Bertram Sport Fisher with a six-seat flybridge, comfortable for a group.
Visit official siteTop rated
Nawiliwili
Imua Fishing Charters
Locally owned, a captain with Pacific commercial-fishing background, well regarded for private trips.
Visit official siteOn foot
The Grand Canyon of the Pacific, and a cliff trail.
From a soul-stirring Na Pali day hike to canyon overlooks and an uncrowded south-shore sea cliff, paced to any fitness level.
Some North Shore trails require Ha'ena State Park reservations and Kalalau permits via Hawaii State Parks.
Bucket-list
Ha'ena
Kalalau Trail (Na Pali Coast)
Eleven miles along the Na Pali cliffs; we pair a guided Hanakapiai day hike with a boat or air view of the valley.
Visit official siteTop rated
Ha'ena
Hanakapiai Falls
An eight-mile round trip off the Kalalau Trail to a three-hundred-foot waterfall (park reservation required).
Visit official siteIconic
West side
Waimea Canyon & Koke'e
The Grand Canyon of the Pacific, the Canyon Trail to Waipo'o Falls and the Kalalau lookout, no permit needed.
Visit official siteTop rated
Poipu
Maha'ulepu Heritage Trail
A dramatic, uncrowded sea-cliff walk past lithified dunes from Shipwreck Beach, the best south-shore stroll.
Restore
Open-air spas and oceanfront calm.
Kauai is built for the slow restore after the big day: garden hales, cold plunges, and nature-forward programs.
Iconic
Poipu
Anara Spa at Grand Hyatt
The island's largest spa, forty-five thousand square feet of open-air rooms opening to gardens, with private hale bungalows.
Visit official siteAward-winning
Princeville
Spa & Wellness at 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay
A nature-forward wellness program and the island's premier wellness-led resort experience on the North Shore.
Visit official siteTop rated
Lihue
Hualani Spa at Timbers Kauai
An organic, authentically Hawaiian spa within the MICHELIN-Key Hokuala resort.
Visit official siteFairways
Oceanfront holes with a Bali Hai backdrop.
Three of Hawaii's most celebrated courses, all within reach of where you stay.
Iconic
Princeville
Princeville Makai Golf Club
Robert Trent Jones Jr.'s first solo design, six oceanfront holes, a Golf Digest Top 100 Public course.
Visit official siteAward-winning
Poipu
Poipu Bay Golf Course
Sunny south-shore links that hosted the PGA Grand Slam of Golf for thirteen years, beside the Grand Hyatt.
Visit official siteIconic
Lihue
The Ocean Course at Hokuala
A Jack Nicklaus signature design with Hawaii's longest oceanside stretch and a cliffside par-three.
Visit official siteSignature adventures
Tube the plantation, zip the ridge, paddle the river.
The one-of-a-kind days: floating 1870s irrigation tunnels, ziplining a half-mile line, kayaking Hawaii's only navigable river.
Only-on-Kauai
Lihue
Kauai Backcountry Adventures
The only mountain-tubing experience on Kauai, floating the old sugar-plantation tunnels below Mt. Wai'ale'ale.
Visit official siteMulti-sport
Poipu
Outfitters Kauai
Premier guided outfitter for kayak, zipline, and the classic Wailua River paddle to a jungle waterfall.
Visit official siteTop rated
Koloa
Koloa Zipline
Kauai's longest zipline course, eight lines including the half-mile Waita line over a reservoir.
Visit official siteWhen to go
Timing is the whole trip.
Best overall months
April to June and September to October bring fewer crowds, lower rates, and good weather on both shores.
Na Pali by boat
Essentially May to September, when summer seas are calm. Winter often cancels North Shore departures.
Swim south in winter, north in summer
The swell follows the sun. Poipu snorkels most of the year; Tunnels and Ke'e are summer only.
Whale season
Mid-December through March for humpbacks, the time to add a whale-watch sail.
Your Kauai
Let us build the Kauai you came for.
Tell us the shape of the trip you can already picture. A concierge fills in everything still open and sends back a plan, not a quote.