North Shore Question (Kilauea, Wailua, Princeville: rentals, condos, house)

[aacdemay]

Hello:

My wife and I make it to Poipu about every other year. This year we will be bringing our 3 year old son. We decided we'd extend the trip by 3 days to see the North Shore.

What is the best part of the north shore? Should we try to stay in Hanalei? Are the beaches there ok for a 3 year old?

Looking for something affordable, somewhat secluded, that encourages being outside, hiking, kayaking, biking. Also where we can sit and enjoy the view over coffee, without worry about time, or what the three year old is getting into.

[jenalove]

We love the north shore - it's especially beautiful between May and September. We like to stay in Princeville, but Hanalei is also a good choice. We rent through Na Pali Properties and highly recommend them. They have several rentals up north and a great website. Many with young ones also like staying in the Anini area, so you might want to check that area out as well. Another good rental company is Summit Pacific, and they also have a great website. Hope you have a great time!

[bresdo]

The best place for little ones is Anini Beach it has virtually no waves and is very shallow going out to about 400 yards. It is located between Kilauea and Princeville.

[aacdemay]

What do you like about Princeville?

We will be staying a week in Poipu before we get to the north shore and have been told that Princeville will be more like Poipu.

Annini sounds great, but we're thinking we might want to do some hiking, exploring, giving me the sense that if we want less built up we should go north west. Does that sound right?

I will check out your rental sites. Thank you

[whynot?]

I live on Maui and have only been to Kaua`i a few times, but the North Shore is memorable and gorgeous. The town of Hanalei is amazing, the Na Pali coast (granted, in the summer) unforgettable, and just the "upcountry" change from Poipu. While you're checking out rentals, don't forget HankDfrmSD's house at Princeville. He's a terrific resource even if his house is booked.

Like Hana here -- or parts of Lana`i and/or Moloka`i -- the North Shore of Kaua`i is magical, for lack of a better word.

Have fun!

[jenalove]

We like Princeville because there are so many great ocean view condos to choose from there. You might want to check out the condos at Hanalai Bay Resort (in Princeville) as well. They have some lovely pools that your little one might enjoy and a great location. There are many choices at Summit Pacific for HBR.

Princeville is a lot like Poipu in that there are a lot of upscale neighborhoods, although the scenery is much better IMO. Hanalei is more of a surfers/hippies paradise (but we definitely enjoy it there too even though we are neither!) Either way you will be very close to great beaches as there are many to choose from along the north shore. The driving distance between Princeville and Hanalei is only about 10 minutes, and we always visit both places when on the north shore as there are lots of cute little shops and restaurants in Hanalei.

[Nicolai]

The beaches on Hanalei are okey only when the waves are flat. Otherwise it is very dangerous. Anini is the only place (other than rivers) that would be safe for a three year old when there is waves. On flat days, you can try ke'e beach, Hanalei, Anini, ...and thats about as many "safe" beaches as I can think of right now. Hanalei is horse-shoe shaped and even with some waves, one side will be smaller surf than the other.

As far as hiking goes, there is the powerline trail above princeville and the Kalalau trail at the end of the road. You could hike lumahai beach if you consider walking a long sandy beach to be hiking. Powerline trail is a muddy dirt road that runs from above princevill, up through the mountain plateaus and passes and comes out in Wailua. In the beginning, there are some nice views of Hanalei and the backside of Makaleha and Namahana Mountain ranges. Theres another trail in Hanalei valley take the mountain road after crossing the Hanalei bridge and it's located up there. The trail climbs up through some forest and eventually gets on top of the ridge where you have a great view of the bay. You might need a guide book to help you find that. I think it might be called the Okolehau trail. The Kalalau trail is a very popular and rugged trail which climbs very steeply for the first half mile before leveling off and eventually dropping down to Hanakapiai beach 2 miles in and the trail keeps going after that. It's a very slick trail but in the first half mile, there is a real good lookout of ke'e beach and the reef and then there is another really great lookout at "windy point" at which you can look down the entire coast.

Hanalei River, Kalihiwai River, and all the large brackish rivers which flow intot he ocean can be kayaked. I wouldn't go up the Lumahai river- That's deep local territory if you catch my drift.

The whole north shore is relatively mellow by hawaii tourism standards but that depends on the time of year as welll. Haena is the most relaxed place to just kick back, especially along the less visited stretches of beaches which tand to have some tretcharous ocean conditions when the waves are up.

I recomend staying at Anini. Sounds more along the lines of what you're looking for.