A Week in Kauai

Now that our wedding season is over with, I wanted to get back to posting and share all of the wonderful places we went to during our Honeymoon in Kauai! This is one of Evan’s and my favorite places, so going back was such a great experience. Read below for all of our recommended places including scenery, food, and things to do!

Food & Drinks

My favorite part of any trip! I love to check out places that locals love to go to. I’ll start with the tried and true places we went to multiple times and work my way down!

Little Fish – my favorite place in the world for acai bowls! The pakala bowl is the absolute best, topped with blueberries, chocolate chips, almonds, and in-house made peanut butter (I asked because I would have bought 20 jars if they sold it up front). Their coffee is also delicious! The only thing to call out is that the chickens have gotten very aggressive since our trip in August 2023 and will attack your coffee and food, so I recommend taking everything to go!

Java Kai – Another tried and true place! I would say the best coffee on the island and a great variety of healthy brunch food! We literally came here almost every morning during our trip. They had a ton of fun seasonal items, including the pumpkin waffles which has amazing seasoned cream cheese. 10/10 recommend.

Kalalea Juice Hale – This is a MUST to check out when you’re in Kauai. These are the best and freshest smoothies I’ve ever had in my life. With so many yummy choices, you can’t go wrong! Their location was a bit far from our hotel, so we only were able to go a couple times, but it is so worth it! Not to mention, the views are pretty cool as well.

The Cabana Kauai – a great spot for drinks and easy dinner spot! We loved the view from their patio and how casual it is!

Koloa Thai Bistro – Amazing Thai food!! Their Thai tea and pad thai tasted very similar to the Thai food I had in Malaysia!


Fish Bar Deli – Super cute spot to grab lunch and drinks! They had a huge selection at their bar and some of the freshest poke I had on the island!

Brenneckes– A staple on the south shore! We loved having a beach day, freshening up, and hopping over here! They have world famous mai tais and a great selection of seafood!

The Fresh Shave – I forgot to take a photo of our shaved ice here!! But it was fantastic and some of the best I’ve ever had.

Other notable mentions:

  • Koloa Pizza Kitchen + Bar – great for a casual drink and pizza!
  • Living Foods – We wish we would have found this place much sooner! Lots of healthy options and good drink selection
  • Duke’s – A Hawaiian staple. Good variety of food and located in a secluded cove where it’s super nice to walk around!
  • Kauai Beer Company – Super close to the airport and a great place to grab food and beer! If you go during happy hour, they have $8 burgers that are fantastic.
  • Mamahunes’ – A secluded spot to grab a drink and casual food. Loved coming here for a low key night!
  • Tahiti Nui – Fun place to grab a drink with great views! It gets super packed in the evenings, so I highly recommend getting there early or going in the daytime.

This sums up all the places we ate during our trip! As I was typing this, I started craving at least half of what I ate in Kauai. There are so many great local and mom/pop restaurants, I highly recommend doing a bit of research before your trip to make sure you hit your must haves!

Places to Visit/Things to Do

Queen’s Bath – This is hands down one of my favorite spots in the world. It’s a hidden spot as it starts as a small hike from a parking lot in a residential neighborhood. You’ll see beautiful, lush greenery and a few waterfalls before you hit the ocean. It’s super cool to be a bit elevated off a cove of the water. It can be very choppy before you get to Queen’s Bath itself, so it’s not advised to jump in! You’ll encounter a super rocky area right before you approach Queen’s Bath which is a bit of a drop. It’s amazing to go swimming in it and many people jump off the rocks in!

Shipwreck Beach – Where we got engaged! Such a special spot for me. It’s a beautiful beach featuring large lava rocks and a short hike to an elevated point to view the ocean (which many people also jump off, but not for me). Just a warning that the water can get very choppy here, so it’s best for laying out and taking in the scenery.

Napali Coast – Highly recommend going on a boat tour! It was so cool to travel on the ocean and see the cliffs, many that are not accessible by land. It does get pretty wet and windy, so make sure you’re wearing a swimsuit! I also brought my windbreaker which came in pretty clutch towards the end. There are also many moderate to difficult hikes you can take as well, which would be amazing to access certain waterfalls and beaches!

Sunrise Yoga – There is nothing like doing beach side yoga in Hawaii! I’ve done it a handful of times and it is so peaceful, and a great way to move your body while on vacation! Many hotels in Hawaii include it as a feature of your resort fee, so it’s easy to pop in!

Waimea Canyon – Very cool area to check out on the west portion of the island! There are many hikes and trails you can do out here. Since our most recent trip was winding down from our wedding, we decided to just drive which another option to see the major scenic areas! I highly recommend as it’s super cool to drive up and see the views from such a high elevation point. We had a late flight, so we did this to pass some time on our last day!

Snorkeling – This is a must in Hawaii! We had so much fun going out into the ocean and looking at the beautiful fish and underwater scenery. I’m sure you can do it all over the island, but we mostly stuck to Poipu beach and had a blast! You don’t have to swim out too far to where the fish start, which is a huge bonus!

Spouting Horn – A fun spot to stop at! It’s easily accessible and you get pretty close to lava rock lining the coast where water bursts out of a hole of one of the rocks. The sounds the rocks make when the waves crash is so interesting and it’s really nice to watch. There is a legend that a giant lizard guarded this area of the ocean and is stuck in the rock too.

Tree Tunnel – A favorite spot for us to drive through is the tree tunnel located on the south shore of the island. It’s so gorgeous to see these giant trees hovering over the road. Highly recommend!

These are all the major spots we loved checking out in Kauai! The beautiful thing is that this island has SO much to offer that I probably just scratched the surface on things to do. I hope this post serves as a guide to planning your trip! xx