What to do in Kauai with Kids- I love to really research my vacations. I spend hours online reading blog posts and articles about things to do and places to see in the area I’m going. This time I spent a ton of time online and noticed something- most articles are for adults. I also noticed that being a family of 5 we stood out like crazy in Kauai! Most people don’t take kids but I’m telling you we loved having our kids with us. We are 100% going to Kauai again with our kids. So here are a few things we did during our week stay that I would totally recommend to everyone.

I should add that not only did we have my 5 kids my brother also had his 5 kids on the trip as well. We had 10 kids total and  7 kids under 7. Let me know if you want me to add a few things my brother did when he wasn’t with us here too.

SNUBA Tours of Kauai -The cross between snorkeling and scuba diving. You are attached to a hose with air while you get to dive under the water. I had my husband and three oldest boys try this (ages 14,12 and 9). They loved it! My 9 year old struggled a little bit with it but he was connected to the same raft as my husband who helped keep a eye on him. And you are free to go up to the surface whenever you want.

Truth be told we were connected to this though family to the past owner and knew it would be a fun excursion. The new owner Ryan was amazing! I was so nervous about how it would go but they absolutely loved it enough that we did it later in the week as well. Ryan takes pictures of them in the water too- that makes my photographer heart really happy. He also helped get some video on our go-pro for us. And even helped search for our go pro when my husband lost it. (that is another story. )

Lawai Beach- We hung out here while they were doing Snuba. Honesty it isn’t the greatest beach because their is very little beach.  I can tell it’s a great snorkeling beach though because tons of people snorkel there!

Poipu Beach- This is a great beach for a family with younger kids! They have part of the ocean blocked off so the water on the other side is super calm and great for kids to play in without having to worry about waves knocking them over. Their is also a playground and bathrooms close by. Parking is hard later in the day so come early. Also parking is FREE. Its pretty much free parking everywhere we went and that really surprised me. Lots of beach area and lifeguards here as well.

There are chickens EVERYWHERE. Like everywhere.

A scenic pull out on our way to Glass beach

Glass Beach – I’ve heard good and bad things about this beach but we loved it! The sand is actual pieces of glass worn down by the ocean so they are smooth. I guess so many tourists have taken the “sand” home with them that their isn’t as much of it left but enough that we could see it. We thought it was beautiful. It almost looks like you are pulling into a industrial park then all of the sudden you’re there.

Kauai ATV – I almost didn’t book this one because it was, by far, the most expensive single thing we did on our trip. (remember I have lots of kids! It adds up!) But this ended up being a huge highlight of our trip! Their slogan is “do something dirty” and this was dirty. Mostly because my driver was my crazy husband who loves to hit every mud hole he can find.

You start the tour by getting some t-shirts and shorts if you want them to cover up your regular clothes. I loved that because we didn’t have to drive back covered in mud. They also had some outdoor showers to clean off before you leave too. We did the waterfall tour that went though a tunnel in the mountain, a WW2 bunker and took us to a really beautiful waterfall. They provided treats and drinks as well. I really loved driving through areas that were in some big movies like Jurassic park and world and Indiana Jones. It was so incredibly beautiful! You have guides stay with you the whole time and show you where to go. The trail was really fun to be on as well.

They also take pictures for you on our tour. They know how to earn brownie points with me!

Spouting Horn- Honestly we went to see this because it was within 5 minutes of our resort. It was cool if you are in the area. My kids loved the little souvenir stands next to it more than that actual spouting horn.

Waimea Canyon- It really was beautiful to see. You go from sea level to about 5000 feet in elevation by the time you get to the very top! You may get car sick on this drive word to the wise.

This is what the top looked like for us. Boo. It should have a view of the Napali coast and I was really looking forward to seeing it. But we got fog. It’s just how it goes.

If you go to Waimea Canyon you have to stop and get a snow cone at Jo Jo’s when you’re done. They were hands down the best snow cones I’ve ever had. Ever. Cream on top and ice cream on bottom? Yes please! Apparently they have more locations which will make my husband sad we didn’t go there more.

Secret Falls- Kayak Trip- One of my favorite days of our trip! We rented kayaks, went up the river, went on a hike and saw the most amazing waterfall. We had kids age 6 months to 14 do this. Honestly it was hard with the really little kids but we rented kayaks with a extra seat in the middle for them to sit or babies sat on laps while we held them. Rentals came with life jackets etc.

The hike itself was super muddy. We had to cross a river a couple of times but a they always had a rope to hold to get across and even the younger kids could make it because it wasn’t very deep.

Hoopii Falls- There are two waterfalls to see on this hike. The first one isn’t very far from where you park your car. We didn’t spend a lot of time there. We did the full hike to the big waterfall at the end. People on the trail give us the tip that to get down to the falls you have to hike up and around. Little did we know to get down to the falls we had to do just that- go straight down! It was really hard to get all the kids down to the bottom. Honestly you can have a great view from the top if you don’t want to climb down.

This wasn’t my favorite hike- maybe it’s because it was hot and we didn’t really get in the water at all. The trail was beautiful and the waterfall was ok. Not sure I would take my family again.

Queens Bath- My kids had it in their mind we had to go here. We knew beforehand that the ocean was too dangerous this time of year to actually swim. We did go and take a look though and found some other guys crazy enough to jump in. It really was beautiful! We would love to go during a time of year where we could swim.

Shipwreck Beach- this beach was on the southern end of the Island. I was told it’s more of a locals beach. It was beautiful! You can do a easy hike to the rock in the background.

My husband is on the end of the rock in the orange shirt.

There was so many things we didn’t get to do while we where there! My husband and I both said we have to go back in a couple of years. We loved it to much to never go back.

Napali Coast-  My number one regret of our trip! We never made it there. You HAVE to have a parking pass to even go on the Kalalau trail on the Napali coast. You will need a full permit to do the backpack. To do the two mile hike you just need the parking pass from what I understand.  Click HERE to go to the website to get your parking permit. It’s really inexpensive. Like $5. But you will need to check 30 days before and grab it or it is gone. We learned that the hard way! You can also pay per person to have a shuttle but when I checked it was $15 and that adds up when you have a family of 7.

Everyone told me to do a boat tour of the Napali coast but we decided with the expense and our kids ages we would wait for another time. Something on my bucket list though!

 

I know there is so many things we missed! If you have something add let me know in the comments below!