Anyone been to Kauai?

tttcharm04

Hello!  I am looking for anyone who has been to Kauai to offer any insights.....I have never considered visiting Hawaii....We live in Michigan, and the thought of a 9 hour flight just sounds awful to me....however, a friend of mine has offered us 10 days in her beachfront condo in Kauai as a wedding gift!  How can we pass this up?
After speaking to a friend of mine she said that Kauai is not the place to go if you want any type of nightlife, or expect to do anything after 9:00 pm...Just curious if this is true.  We would love to just get away and relax on the beach, swim, snorkel, etc., but we also like to go out and go dancing..have some drinks and celebrate. While we dont need to be closing the bars down at 2am,  I don't want to be in bed everynight at 10pm on our honeymoon!   While I appreciate this gift so much, I don't want to make a decision based on the fact it's "free"....

Thanks for the replies!

Jells2dot0

I've been and am heading back in May. Your friend is right. You may be out at dinner and have drinks and dessert at the table, but once the restaurants close up for the night, you are pretty much left to be on your own. However, as I have found with most tropical vacations, being in the sun all day drains you, especially when you are active, so going to bed at 10pm is great! You want to make the most of your trip and getting up bright and early to get going is something you'll find yourself wanting to do. Besides, you can always buy some wine and sit on your patio or balcony and enjoy the peaceful seaside evenings together!  Kauai has so much to offer and is absolutely beautiful and I would not back out of this opportunity just because of a lack of nightlife.

arrestclementine

We went to Kauai a couple of summers ago.  It is beautfiul!  We are night people also... but you have to remember the time change, is like 5 hours, so by the time we got used to the time difference it was almost time to go home.  So staying up till 10 pm, was more like 3 am, and after a day of sight seeing, snorkeling, hiking, or whatever it was that we did that day - we were more than ready for bed!

K&P414

Also, if you are saving money on the condo, you could always fly in to HNL and spend a night or two at one of the larger resorts there before taking a hopper over to Kauai.
I would definitely not pass up the opportunity to have a free place to stay in Kauai though, especially if it's beachfront!

jemali_2003

My husband and I went to Maui in April and because of the three hour time difference for us, we never adjusted.  We were going to be around 9:30-10p.m. and waking up around 5-6a.m.  Coming from Michigan, you might also not really adjust quickly to the time difference, so going to bed at 10:00p.m. will be 4 a.m. in Michigan.  Walking on the beach so early in the morning was beautiful and we didn't feel like we missed out on any nightlife because we went to bed early.    

daria24

We went to Kauai (as well as Maui & BI) for our honeymoon. What side of the island is the condo on? We stayed on the west side and there were nights we couldn't find a restaurant open for dinner at 7pm! If the condo is on the north shore, or in Poipu there are restaurants open a little later where you can have drinks, live music, etc. But in general, it's not a night life island. 

I am not a morning person, but in Hawaii I was awake (naturally) by about 7am every morning, and we were so active during the day, I wouldn't have been able to stay awake to be out bar hopping. I'd take them up on the condo offer and go to Honolulu for a few nights to get your night life fix.

Summer2011Bride

We did Oahu for our HM and the other posters are dead on. Even though the Waikiki area was bustling at night, we were in bed by 10:00. Our first night there we fell asleep by 9! It was a 5 hour time change coming from IL and we never totally adjusted to it.

We are looking to go to Kauai (and Maui) for our five year anniversary; I would not pass up an opportunity to have a free place to stay on the beach! It looks gorgeous there. However, if you are concerned, you could split your trip. Take her up on her offer but for half the time, then fly to Oahu, which has much more nightlife (and lots of other activities to offer as well) for a few nights to get the best of both worlds.

caitlincallahan

If you're going to do Hawaii, you gotta hop across a couple of the islands.  AVOID Honollulu, it's NYC on the beach.  But Kauai is beautiful.

There is a seafood "chain" out there called Rick's or Ray's I cant remember, but the food was AWESOME!

sharkchompsal

We visited Kauai as a "scouting trip" for a destination wedding in September and fell in love with it! It's definitely aimed more towards outdoor adventure (kayaking, hiking, snorkeling, general exploring) than party time. However, it's GORGEOUS and much less touristy than other Hawaiian destinations. It feels intimate because it's so small and you get get from one end of the island to the other in just a couple hours. It's very mellow there and as others have mentioned, it's a get yourself a couple bottles of wine and chill out watching the beautiful scenery type of place. Very romantic and lovely if that's your kind of scene. Depending on where you are and when you go, there's always at least 1 place to go out to though

Ksteve246

Yes. My husband and I went to Maui for 5 days (Westin for 3 nights and four seasons for 2) and then we went to Kauai for 5 days and stayed at the st Regis. Kauai was hands down our favorite island. The scenery is breathtaking. I have to admit I was disappointed when we got to Maui, the scenery was so much more dry than I had pictured in my head. When you're in Kauai, you truly feel like you're in Hawaii. If I were you, I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to take on your friend's offer. Yes, some of the restaurants close early but as someone pointed out above, you're going to be doing so much during the day that you will want to pass out a little early,I promise you. I would go back in a heart beat if I could.