Travel Around Kauai - Tours & Day Trips
Places to Visit - More in this category > Blue Room > Hanalei Bay > Kalaheo > Kalalua Trail > Kapaa > Kilauea > Koloa > Lihue > Niihau > Poipu > Princeville > Waimea Bay > Waimea Canyon > Waterfalls
Having arrived on Kauai, travel is often your first concern i.e. how to get from one point to another. Kauai is a small island and visitors can often squeeze in all its attractions during their vacation. Most people on the island decide to travel by car as it much more convenient than trying to use public transport and much cheaper than getting taxis. Driving a four-wheel-drive vehicle makes sense on this island with its mountainous terrain, dirt roads and sandy beaches. Other options for travel in Kauai are listed below.
Travel by Car
Car rental is available on the island - cars can be booked in advance and picked up from the airport. Reservations can be made online through car rental websites that compare prices and deals across the big-name rental companies. It is important to book well in advance during holiday season to ensure availability. Drivers must be 21 or over and have a credit card to rent a car on Kauai. Insurance can be arranged through the car rental agencies.
Travel by Motorcycle
If renting a car isn't exciting enough for you, try Pacific Island Rentals in Kapaa (tel: 1 808 821 9090) for Harley motorcycle rentals. Hawaiian Riders (tel: 1 808 822 5409) rent scooters and mopeds but these can be hazardous on Kauai's roads. Cycling is not a great option for travel around Kauai because of the many hills.
Bus Services
There is a bus system in Kauai which stops along the main highways but it doesn't serve the resorts. It is cheap but you don't have the flexibility that you have in a car and you can't take much with you on the bus. The bus stops aren't always clearly marked. The buses run from Kekaha in the south to the charming town of Hanalei in the north. Buses run pretty much hourly and there are discounts for senior citizens, students or disabled passengers.
Other Modes of Travel
There are main roads going around the edge of the island but there is no road going across the Na Pali Coast in the northwest of Kauai. The roads finish at Waimea in the west and Kee Beach in the north. Exploring the sheer cliffs of the Na Pali Coast has to be done from the sea, by air or on foot through the Kalalau Trail into the Kalalau Valley. Helicopter tours over the island are a fantastic way of seeing some of Kauai's most impressive sights such as the Waimea Canyon or the Waialeale Crater which is walled on three sides by 3,000-foot-high waterfalls. There are no roads across the middle of the island because it is too mountainous. Waialeale Mountain in the center of the island is over 5,000 feet high. Much of Kauai's interior can only be explored by air as it is impenetrable by land.
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Kauai Travel Guide
