What area is best recommended for first timers?

Hello--- I%26#39;m wondering what area is best recommened for first timers, Poipu or North Shore? THe main thing we are looking for is a great sandy beach-- Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

What area is best recommended for first timers?

It depends a great deal on what time of the year you are going to be there. Although we love the north shore, if you%26#39;re going to be there in the winter, most of the north shore beaches will be way too rough to swim and snorkel.

Since it%26#39;s your first time, you might consider staying on the east shore. There aren%26#39;t really many swimmable beaches there any time of year, but you would be midway between the north and south so it would be a good base for exploring the entire island.

What area is best recommended for first timers?

Welcome to the Kauai forum. We probably need a bit more information. The biggest issue for some would be the time of year you plan on coming over. The surf changes and if you are planning on doing a lot of snorkeling etc it will make a difference. There are many differences between the north and south. The north has rugged mountains to look at, lush landscaping and gorgeous sandy beaches. During the winter the surf is high so it makes it more challening to venture in. The south shore has a lot to offer but there is a ton of construction going on so please read past threads in this regards. You do want to avoid some areas. The weather is sunnier on that side of the island especially Jan-April and the surf conditions are calmer but many people enjoy the north shore during that time. You can always drive to the ';sunnier'; side of the island for the day. Brightonbill always suggests trying both sides of the island so you can avoid the drive. If you have over a week here I like this idea. If a hotel is what you are looking for (vs a condo) stay at the Hyatt on the south shore. A terrific place. Great pool, restaurants but not good swimmable beach.

So let us know when you are planning your trip and others will pipe in with suggestions.

Aloha from Hanalei.

Hello, and thanks for the replies!!

Travel will be October 8 for a week-- any suggestions with this info?

That%26#39;s a tough call. October is right when the waves get a bit higher on the north shore and the weatather a little cooler everywhere. I love October. It is a popular time on the north shore, but the south side is good as well. I think you will be fine either way, but in my opinion the north shore is prettier.

Aloha from Kaua%26#39;i!

In October our weather is generally pretty darn hot -- lots of times it is the hottest time of year - at least here on the South Shore!

It so much depends on you as to what your expectations are about your vacation -- do you want to stay on the very lush, green North Shore - which is very beautiful and has many vacation accomodations -- but it is also in the most distant part of the island (you can%26#39;t drive around Kaua%26#39;i) -- which makes driving elsewhere on the island a somewhat lengthy proposition -- usually October is pretty dry and it is certainly extremely dry now (we are in a drought) but you normally can expect more rain on the North Shore than elsewhere on the island -- which is why it is so very green and lush. Beaches are plentiful here and in October you shouldn%26#39;t have any issues with high surf -- Hanalei Bay and other beaches are popular swimming spots.

The East Side is the most centrally located area -- there are lots of vacation condos and rentals and a large hotel (Lihu%26#39;e Marriot) -- it is also the commercial center of the island, so it isn%26#39;t at all rural and a lot of people don%26#39;t like to stay in the midst of that. If you don%26#39;t mind it though you will be on a part of the island where there isn%26#39;t any swimmable beach other than Lydgate Park -- or Kalapaki Beach.

If you stay in this area you will have easy access to either the North Shore or the South - West Sides of the island. Traffic is an issue also in these areas as a large majority of folks who live here have to commute into either Lihu%26#39;e or Kapa%26#39;a -- there are times to try to avoid driving around here if you don%26#39;t want to get stuck in traffic.

The South Shore is where I live. It is traditionally the ';sunny side'; of the island. There are tons of condos, hotels, vacation rentals here and it has a very popular swimming beach as well. There are lots of shops and restaurants in the area also. The downside is the massive amount of construction that we are experiencing here -- with the exception of the east side of Po%26#39;ipu Beach Park (which would include the Grand Hyatt hotel) you will be around construction almost anywhere you stay. If that doesn%26#39;t bother you then there are tons of choices for accomodations.

The West Side is the driest and hottest part of the island. It is also the most rural and has the least amount of visitor amenities and accomodations on the island. It has lots of long, sandy beaches that are what you could consider ';deserted'; and also has the only remaining sugar mill (and sugar cane fields) in the state -- it is a very ';Hawaiian'; area -- more %26#39;olelo Hawai%26#39;i (hawaiian language) is spoken here than anyplace else in the state - mostly due to its proximity to the privately owned, 100% Hawaiian island of Ni%26#39;ihau.

This is just a snapshot of each part of the island -- each is very different from each other and has its own personality. It really depends on you as to which area would be the best -- good luck with your choice!

Malama Pono,

Janet

the two real choices are north shore or south shore, I wouldn%26#39;t consider the east shore, it is not as nice

the north shore is beautiful, gets more rain but you will have longer travel times to visit south or west shores

the south shore is also beautiful, more sun, less rain and more centrally located

there is some construction going on in Poipu area currently but it really is not an issue

the whole island is full of great sandy beaches

I would forget about the South Shore, if you have ever been to California, there are much more scenic beaches there.

Go to Kauai for the North Shore or save your money and just fly or drive to Northern or Southern CA for the beach. Even if it rains on the North Shore, its warm and you can still go to the beach, and since your from AZ and don%26#39;t get much rain, its really great- We love it when it rains, coming from N Ca we only get rain in the winter and its wimpy rain. It is a much different feel going to the North Shore vs the South.

I wouldn%26#39;t recommend going all the way to Kauai for the South Shore.

%26#39;

We go for the North Shore every year- Spectacular!!!

My two cents.

Recommended places to stay on the N-Shore-

Vacation rentals- Moloaa Bay or if you want more people around- more of a resort feel (gorgeous grounds, waterfall pool, koi fish) walk to Princeville Resort %26amp; beach stay at the

Hanalei Bay Resort- direct from owner VRBO.com

I agree that the North and South shores are the best places to be . . . but coming from a newbie myself (I went for a week in June), I had a wonderful time on the East Shore. My boyfriend and I had the see-all, do-all attitude while we were there, and for that reason it was very convenient to be centrally located on the East Shore. Agreeable, the beaches are not quite as nice as some of the other locations (which we of course drove to on a couple of the days), but if you are planning a lot of excursions all around the island like we did, then you should maybe consider the East Shore. We got a very good deal from someone on vrbo.com at pono kai. It was the best vacation of my life and I am sad every time I think back on it. Next time we go, we decided it would be best to just relax on the beach the whole time and will probably look for a place on the North or South shore depending on the season.

Although our favorite is certainly the north shore and that%26#39;s where we stayed for the whole 2 weeks this summer, when we went 5 years ago we stayed at the Pono Kai on the east shore. I%26#39;m with mojorlexi - that was a great location as a base for visiting the whole island. It made it not too long of a trip to Waimea Canyon or to Polihale Beach for a sunset and we could also get to Poipu or the north shore in a reasonable amount of time.

When we stayed on the north shore this last time, we never went futher than Kapaa or Lihue (only 2 trips that far in 2 weeks), but it would have made a very long trip to Waimea Canyon or Poipu. We had just been to those places 5 years earlier, so we decided to just hang out on our favorite part of the island this trip.

Others have some good suggestions on lodging, but if you give people a better idea of what you%26#39;re looking for, you%26#39;ll probably get some more concrete ideas - are you looking for a hotel/resort, a condo, or a house/cottage? What price range? October is coming up soon so your options are probably going to be pretty limited.

as someone who lives on the beach in So Calif, there is no beach is So Cal that can even come close to any beach in Kauai!

as you can see by these posts, the votes for South and North are split, it is up to you to decide

both areas are amazing

if you want to be in more lush area and don%26#39;t mind driving a little more than pick North shore

If you want more sun and less rain pick the south shore

both areas are amazing and there is no right answer

you might also want to consider the activities you have planned and where you need to be for those