Ultimate 6-Day Kauai Family Itinerary

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For Thanksgiving this year, we really tried to rally our relatives for a Kauai family vacation for Thanksgiving–let’s eat our turkey in Kauai! They agreed and we booked our room. Then one by one, they started to flake. So we changed things up a bit.

We decided to make our lives 10X harder by going to Kauai for 6 nights BEFORE Thanksgiving, and then flying to Spokane so we could still be with family (my husband’s side) for the holiday. What’s worse than packing for a family of 5? Packing for 80-degree weather followed by 28-degree weather all in one trip. But we did it. And it was so worth it! Check out my Hawaii packing list to see what we packed for that portion of our trip.

This was our first time in Kauai, so we wanted to make the most of the 6 days we had there, to really see and explore the island. This is our full 6-day Kauai family vacation itinerary, complete with commentary about what I would or wouldn’t change if I could do it again.

Day 1: Costco – Must-do For all Kauai Family Vacations

We landed in Kauai around 4pm local time, however, our luggage did not. It was stuck in Oahu and wouldn’t make it over until (hopefully) the next flight an hour later. So we picked up our rental car and hit up Costco to pass the time before driving to our hotel on the other side of the island. I highly recommend you do the same–even if your luggage arrives on time. Costco is super close to the airport, and then you can get that chore out of the way early on in the trip. We stocked up on Uncrustables, water bottles, snacks, adult beverages, and SUSHI! The Costco in Kauai has a sushi counter with fresh sushi trays. Dinner night one, done.

After our Costco trip, we were able to grab our luggage and head to the hotel. We ate our sushi platter for dinner and then hit up the pool.

We spent the first couple of nights staying at the Wyndham Bali Hai Villas in Princeville, which is among one of the more budget-friendly options on my list of best family Kauai resorts. The location was nice, no views or anything, but in a beautiful area. Food trucks were on site, but like many of the places to eat on Kauai, they close early. We chose to stay here because of the area, and because the rooms have full kitchens and separate sleeping areas.

Kauai Day 2: Hiking, Cliff Jumping, Waterfalls and Beach Day

Our day 2 adventures ended up being our favorite, so if you want to save the best for last, you might want to rearrange our itinerary a bit. Our favorite outing of our entire Kauai family vacation was the hike to Ho’opi’i Falls.

After I made us stop for Starbucks–there is no Starbucks on the Princeville side of the island, so when in Kapa’a, I wasn’t going to skip an opportunity to stop, we headed to the trailhead. This is a pretty flat hike through lots of greenery. Very pretty and peaceful. The trailhead is right in the middle of a neighborhood.

Hiking Ho’opi’i Falls

The short hike brings you to not one, but two different waterfall areas. One that has great cliff jumping options from various heights. My 9-and 10 year-olds did the tallest jump! I did the shortest one, and even that was more than enough for me.

The second waterfall area has a rope swing in the pool below it. You can also play on the rocks/ stand underneath the waterfall–we saw a few other families climb the falls, but that made me nervous.

Because we spent so much time playing in the falls (the kids could have stayed all day!), by the time we left, it was about 1pm and we were starving. We stopped at Wahine Weenies – A Beach Sandwich Shack in Kapa’a for lunch before heading back to the hotel to regroup and grab our snorkeling stuff.

Next, we headed to Anini Beach so that the kids could snorkel. This was a super calm beach, with a shallow shelf that prevents waves from coming to shore. Great snorkeling conditions, however, the snorkeling wasn’t the best snorkeling we’ve ever done. The kids did get to see fish though, and we even saw some giant turtles in the water. Anini is high on list list of the most family-friendly beaches in Kauai.

If time permits, or if you want to switch things up, another excellent option would be Hideaway Beach. This one involves a short (but steep) down to it from the parking lot, but the beach is beautiful!

Kauai Vacation Day 3: Backcountry Tubing, Poipu and Shave Ice

Prior to arriving in Kauai, I had booked a couple of tours for us. The first one was the Backcountry Tubing down an irrigation canal on an old plantation. The tour leaves from Lihue (back near the airport) and was a couple of hours long, with lunch included. It was calm (but cold) water, and you travel through about 5 dark tunnels along the way (they provide headlamps).

We all enjoyed it, but for us, it was a one and done type of activity. It was fun, but I don’t feel the need to do it again. We met a family in the spa at the hotel who said they go on that tour every year during their Kauai family vacation, so to each their own.

Visiting Poipu

After our tour ended, we made the roughly 30-min drive to Poipu. Princeville and Poipu are on opposite sides of the island from one another, and they couldn’t be more different. While Princeville is lush with greenery and mountains, Poipu is dry and you pass through areas of dirt and cactus on the drive there.

There is a lot to do in Poipu. The beaches there are very kid friendly, with gentle waves to play in. There are turtles and elephant seals that lay out on the sand. And there are lots of eateries in the area that you can walk to. We enjoyed our visit in Poipu, but we loved the views on the North Side of the island even more.

After we left Poipu, we took some advice the tour guides gave us while tubing, and we stopped at Wailua Shave Ice. This shave ice isn’t made with artificial syrup flavors, but real fruit and toppings, and it was AMAZING. So good, we made another trip back later in the week. .

A Change in Resorts

After our long day of adventure, we drove back to the north side of the island and checked into the timeshare that we would be staying at for the remainder of our trip–the Hanalei Bay Resort. We would have stayed here the entire time, but after we adjusted our days to arrive early and leave before Thanksgiving, we had to add a couple nights on to the front of our trip.

This resort was BEAUTIFUL and was one of the best Kauai family resorts in Hanalei. The view was absolutely stunning–we looked out at tall, green mountains with waterfalls coming down them. Helicopter tours went by regularly, and we were so lucky to be able to have that view for the next 4 days.

Check out this list of the best family resorts in Kauai if you’re looking for a great place to stay.

Kauai Vacation Day 4: Maniniholo Dry Cave and Hanalei Beach

Today was the one day we didn’t travel much in the car. We stayed on the north side of the island to enjoy some of the best things to do in Princeville. First, we tried out a local coffee shop in Hanalei called Wake Up Coffee Bar. Then we went to the Maniniholo Cave near Haena Beach Park. There was parking directly across the street from the cave, and you don’t need a lot of time to explore it, but it was cool to see and was just a short distance from the town of Hanalei.

After that, we explored the beach just in front of the cave for a bit, and walked down to Tunnels Beach, where we could watch the surfers out in the distance while the kids played and snorkeled in the calm waters. Note: If you book the Ha’ena Shuttle, you can get on and off at Tunnels, Ha’ena Beach and Ke’e Beach and not have to worry about parking.

Our last stop of the day was at Hanalei Beach. This is another must-do if you’re planning your own Kauai family vacation. It’s a beautiful beach with fantastic backdrops, but even better, Hanalei Beach has the pier you can jump off of. We all made the plunge, although once was enough for me.

After several hours out and about, we grabbed fish tacos and headed back to the hotel. I thought fish tacos would be a safe choice in Hawaii, but they still couldn’t come close to a San Diego fish taco. Some day I’ll learn…

Check out this list of the better restaurants in Princeville Kauai so you’re not disappointed like we were.

Day 5: Napali Coast

On day 5, we did a Napali Coast sail and snorkel outing. It was pretty windy that day, so I’m fortunate we got to go out at all, but it wasn’t the best conditions for truly experiencing the Napali Coast. The Captain told us that in better conditions, they can get right up next to the coastline, where you can really feel the magnitude of the mountains, but we weren’t able to get super close. It was still a beautiful sight, though, and made for great backdrops to our pictures.

While I’m glad we did it, I’m not sure I would do it again. The snorkeling wasn’t great (again, rougher waters), and the rockiness of the boat wasn’t ideal for all of our tummies. Luckily we didn’t get sick, but it took awhile to feel good again after the 5-hour outing.

Since we were already on that side of the island, we decided to head to Waimea Canyon after the boat ride. The kids fell asleep in the car (it’s an early morning if you do the Napali Coast tours), so we just enjoyed some pretty views from the car and took turns getting out at one of the lookouts. The waterfall was dammed that day and wasn’t flowing unfortunately; otherwise we would have had a beautiful view of it from the lookouts.

That night, we took it easy at the hotel and took an evening walk after dinner, only to discover that it was super low tide and there were the BEST tidepools just steps from our resort (right in front of the 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay). We saw eels, crabs, turtles and sea worms (so gross).

Kauai Family Vacation Day 6 : Another Hike, Another Shave Ice

The kids really wanted to do the hike/ cliff jumping that we did on day 2 again, but I was determined to see something new. I read about several kid-friendly hikes in Kauai, and this particular one sounded more like an obstacle course, but my husband was sure we could do it.

It was the Makaleha Trail to the Makaleha Falls, and it was about 4 miles round trip—4 miles of pure family adventure. I had read enough about it that I was pretty sure I could figure it out, but my husband was wishing we had bread crumbs to find our way back. That being said, there is no real clear trail for a lot of this hike. It crosses the stream several times, and sometimes the trail just ends. You will climb over branches and through mud, but it is all worth it.

Like the other hike we did, the trailhead is in the middle of a neighborhood. We only saw 2 or 3 other groups the entire time we were out there, but it was enough that we knew we were at least in the right spot. There is no question about it when you meet the final destination. It is a beautiful waterfall. Very cold though. Just be sure to check the weather if you choose to go. Because you have to cross the river, you don’t want to risk rising waters and fast currents.

Second Option: If you decide not to do the Napali Coast, you can use this day to kayak and hike to the Secret Falls in Kauai. We swapped that into our schedule on our most recent trip and we had so much fun.

After this hike, the kids definitely earned a reward, so off to shave ice we went. They wanted to go to the same place as before–it was that good! Then they requested that we go back to Hanalei Beach for more pier jumping and relaxation.

Tidepools!

We spent the final night of our Kauai family vacation back at the tidepools hoping to catch a peek at the eels again. No such luck that night, but we still saw lots of sea life. And met a super nice family who insisted they take a family picture of us with the sunset in the background. Can’t say no to that!

The next morning, we were packing our bathing suits up and getting our snow jackets ready… off to Liberty Lake, Washington! Check out these fun things to do with kids in Spokane for a peek of that trip.

If you’re interested in a few money-saving tips for your Kauai family vacation, check out my blog post: Money-Saving Hacks in Kauai. And for more family-friendly resort options on other Hawaii islands, check out my posts: Best Hawaii Family Resorts on the Big Island and Best Family Resorts on Maui.