Five days is the right length for Kauai: enough for the Nā Pali Coast twice, the canyon, the river and both shores, without spending the week in the car. This is the itinerary we give friends, ordered so the long drives are short and the weather-dependent days have a backup.
It assumes you land in Līhuʻe and stay on the south shore for the first three nights and the north shore for the last two. If you are staying in one place, the where to stay guide has the drive times to adjust.
Before you fly: book these
Three things sell out: the helicopter (book early in your stay so weather can be rebooked), the mountain tubing, and the Hāʻena State Park reservation for Kēʻē Beach and the Kalalau trailhead, which opens 30 days ahead and goes in minutes. Book the Nā Pali boat a week or two out, and the Wailua kayak for a weekday; the river is closed to tours on weekends.
Day 1: Arrive, Poʻipū, sunset at Spouting Horn
Land in Līhuʻe, pick up the car, and drive 25 minutes south to Poʻipū. If you arrive by early afternoon, the afternoon goes to Poʻipū Beach Park: the keiki pool for small kids, the snorkel cove for everyone else, the monk seals behind the rope. Sunset at Spouting Horn, ten minutes west, with the blowhole going. Dinner in Kōloa or Poʻipū and an early night; tomorrow starts at dawn.
Family version: the same, with shave ice in Kōloa town.
Day 2: Nā Pali by boat, then the zipline
The main event. Take the Nā Pali raft from Port Allen at 7:30 am (25 minutes from Poʻipū) if you want the adventure, or the power catamaran from Kekaha at 7 am (45 minutes) if you want comfort or have kids under 6. Both are back by early afternoon. Lunch in Hanapēpē on the way home, then either the Koloa zipline at 3 pm, with the sunset on the last lines, or a nap and Shipwreck Beach.
If the ocean is too rough: the captain decides early. Swap in Day 4’s tubing and move the boat to Day 3 or 4.
Day 3: Waimea Canyon in the morning, the west side in the afternoon
Leave Poʻipū by 7:30 and drive west to Waimea, then up the canyon road. Stop at the Waimea Canyon lookout and Puʻu Hinahina, then continue to the top for the Kalalau and Puʻu o Kila lookouts, which look down into Kalalau Valley from 4,000 feet. Be at the top by 10; the valley clouds over by late morning. Walk the short Cliff Trail or the first mile of the Canyon Trail to Waipoʻo Falls if the legs allow.
Afternoon: plate lunch in Waimea, then either Salt Pond Beach in Hanapēpē for a calm swim, or Polihale if you have a 4WD and want the sunset over Niʻihau. Drive back to Poʻipū for the night.
Family version: the canyon lookouts only, then Salt Pond.
Day 4: Helicopter, then tubing, then north
Check out of Poʻipū and drive to Līhuʻe for the first flight of the morning on the private helicopter. The crater is open early and clouds over by noon. Then, five minutes north, mountain tubing at Hanamāʻulu: three hours, lunch included, done by mid-afternoon. Drive north, an hour to Princeville, with the Hanalei Valley lookout on the way in and sunset at Hanalei Bay.
If you would rather not do two tours: drop the tubing and spend the middle of the day at the Wailua Falls and ʻŌpaekaʻa Falls lookouts on the way north.
Day 5: The north shore, properly
Two choices depending on the month.
March to December: the Nā Pali catamaran from Hanalei at 7:30 am, loading from the beach, 15 minutes to the cliffs, back by 11:30. Then lunch in Hanalei town and the afternoon at Tunnels (summer snorkeling) or Hanalei Bay.
January and February, or if the bay is closed: the first two miles of the Kalalau Trail from Kēʻē to Hanakāpīʻai Beach with your Hāʻena reservation, about four hours round trip, no swimming at the beach. Then ʻAnini for a calm swim behind the reef, and the Kīlauea Lighthouse before it closes.
Either way, finish with sunset at the Hanalei pier.
If you have a sixth day
The Wailua River kayak to Secret Falls on a weekday morning, on your way back toward Līhuʻe, and the afternoon at Lydgate or on the coastal bike path. It is the trip we would least want you to miss, and it only fits a weekday.
The rain and surf rules
- Rain on the north shore usually means sun on the south. Flip the days rather than wait it out.
- Surf cancels boats. Book the Nā Pali boat for Day 2, not Day 5, so a cancellation has days to rebook.
- Tubing runs in the rain and is better for it. It is the universal backup.
- The helicopter needs clear mornings. Book it for your first full day in Līhuʻe, with a rebook day after.
For the full ranked list of tours with prices and seasons, start with the top things to do, and for the beaches on each day, our best beaches guide.
Written by Kauai locals who spend their days on the water and the trails. How we make money.
