best town to stay if you dont have a car

We will be on holiday in Feb 08 and are wondering where is the best place to stay if you dont have a car and like to have restaurants and shops etc in walking distance. Looking at Lihue, Poipu and Kapaa what would be better??? Or can you suggest somewhere else?

best town to stay if you dont have a car

Kapaa -- many shops in easy walking distance of some of the resorts. But in Feb the beach will likely be dangerous..

Or alternatively the Marriot in Lihue has shops and dining within an easy walk. Beach will be more sheltered than in Kapaa.

Poipu is kinda spread out. No sidewalks/walking trails and your transit to the airport will be expensive.

best town to stay if you dont have a car

Your experience of Kauai will be extremely limited without a car---you%26#39;ll miss much of the most wonderful parts of the island. I%26#39;d strongly recommend that you try to find some way to get a car.

Mina...I agree with Dave that an accommodation in Kapaa (Coconut Coast area on the east side) is your best bet without a vehicle. Coconut Marketplace, Kauai and Waipouli shopping centers, and nicer Hukilau Lanai and Wahoo restaurants are nearby as are numerous other casual eateries and fast food chains. While February is rainier and the ocean rougher, that does not negate beach strolls and beachcombing or lolling at the hotel and/or condo pool. The tradeoff favors the Kapaa area; as Dave suggests any other areas are not so easily walkable and the North Shore gets more weather.

Aloha from Kaua%26#39;i!

I%26#39;m afraid Kaua%26#39;i isn%26#39;t an island where it is at all easy to stay without a car of your own -- our public transportation system is really poor and the few towns that we have aren%26#39;t laid-out for easy walking -- I guess I%26#39;d have to say the exception to that would be Kapa%26#39;a -- which is a commercial area of the island -- if you stay someplace like Waipouli Beach Resort you would be right across the street from Safeway and Longs, etc. -- you can walk easily to a number of restaurants. However since swimming beaches are few and far between on the East Side -- you will be very limited to where you can go to the beach -- more than likely it would either be the small Fuji Beach (aka Baby Beach) or the pool at your vacation rental.

I definitely wouldn%26#39;t recommend it here on the South Shore in the Po%26#39;ipu Beach Area -- there is so much construction going on now that it is very difficult to visitors to navigate the limited bike path area around the construction to walk to say Po%26#39;ipu Beach or Po%26#39;ipu Shopping Village. While you can do it -- I wouldn%26#39;t recommend it.

In Lihu%26#39;e your choice would be pretty limited to down at Kalapaki Bay -- either the Lihu%26#39;e Marriot or one of the other small properties in the area (Kaua%26#39;i Inn, etc.) -- since this is where the cruise ships dock and unload -- there are lots of shops and restaurants within walking distance of the harbor area and Kalapaki Beach that cater to that crowd.

I%26#39;d say if a beach is important to you -- then Kalapaki would be your best bet -- if it doesn%26#39;t really matter -- then you might consider Kapa%26#39;a as you would be able to walk to grocery stores, etc. In the Kalapaki Beach area you would be limited to one ABC Store for your groceries -- and you know how much that would cost you!!!

Malama Pono,

Janet

thankyou all so much that has made it easier to decide. We are 2 Aussies that just dont feel confidant of driving on the right hand side of the road as we drive on the left! So probably Kapaa looks best then. Ta!

Aloha from Kaua%26#39;i!

You%26#39;re welcome! However I really don%26#39;t think you could do much worse than a lot of our drivers!! Wrong side or road or not!

I hope that Kapa%26#39;a works out for you -- and that you are able to see the rest of this beautiful island. There is a company called Polynesian Adventure Tours that does lots and lots of motorized tours of various parts of the island -- if you don%26#39;t want to drive and still want to see the island (and it would be such a shame for you only to see Kapa%26#39;a -- it really isn%26#39;t representative of Kaua%26#39;i as a whole!) they are well recommended. I%26#39;m sure other folks have suggestions as well.

Best of Luck!

Malama Pono,

Janet

I%26#39;d really encourage you to give driving a try. We%26#39;re from the U.S. and have driven in Ireland and in the Virgin Islands (where driving is also on the left). It%26#39;s something that you get used to fairly quickly. Trickiest part of driving in Ireland was the rotaries. Trickiest parts of the VI are the hairpin curves and switchbacks.

Without a car, you%26#39;ll really miss out on much that is most wonderful about Kauai. If our experience of Kauai was limited to Kapaa, I feel like we would have missed the heart and soul of the island.

I would recommend not going to Kauai if you have no car. There is no public transport, and the sites are quite far from each other. If you don%26#39;t drive, you may even wish to hire a driver. I would choose another destination before going to Kauai without renting a car.

Steve in Houston

You might find The Kauai Bus schedule for Sept. 1, 2007 helpful to you in your decision making. This is not the easiest way to get about the island or perhaps not the most reliable, but it is one way to do it.

If you are visiting Jan/Feb, rainy conditions can sometimes cause the road in and out of Hanalei to flood and be closed to traffic part of a day or longer.

Copy and paste:

kauai.gov/Government/…Default.aspx

To go to Hanalei (north shore) from Kapaa click to open the Hanalei schedule on the upper right-hand side of the page.

To go to the south and west sides click to open the Kekaha schedule but not going to Kekaha itself ... rather getting off at Waimea town or Hanapepe stops.

Fare is $1.50 for adult.

Bus Fares

FARES

Have fare/pass/proper ID for reduced fare ready before you board.

MAINLINE SHUTTLE

General Public $1.50 / trip $0.50 / trip

Seniors (60+ years) $0.75 / trip $0.25 / trip

Youth (7-18 years) $0.75 / trip $0.25 / trip

Children 6 and under travel free and must be accompanied by a paying passenger

Frequent Rider Monthly Bus Pass $15.00

Bus passes may be purchased at the Lihue Civic Center, Treasury Division, Monday - Friday from 8:00 am - 4:00 pm