Three days looping Kauaʻi by rental car, from the sun-baked South Shore to the red gorge of Waimea Canyon, a sunset boat ride beneath the cliffs of the roadless Na Pali Coast, and a final morning on Hanalei Bay’s North Shore — with real hotels, a real rental car and boat operator, and 2026 prices for every stop.
Day 1Lihuʻe Arrival & the South Shore
Land, pick up a rental car, and ease into island time on the sunny, dry South Shore.
🚗 Rental Car Pickup — Lihuʻe Airport
3-day rental · compact car from ~$65-85 USD/day
Every major agency (Enterprise, Avis, Alamo) runs a counter right at Lihuʻe Airport — book ahead, since Kauaʻi’s rental fleet is small relative to the other islands and prices climb fast closer to the date.
🌊 Spouting Horn Blowhole
~20 minutes, self-guided · free
A lava-tube blowhole on the Poʻipu coast that shoots seawater and a bellowing roar skyward with every incoming swell — a two-minute stop that’s worth the short detour off the main road.
🍽️ Dinner — The Beach House Restaurant
~1.5 hours · ~$55-75 USD / person
An oceanfront dining room right on the water in Poʻipu, built around the kind of unobstructed sunset view that fills every outdoor table by 6pm — reserve ahead for a rail-side seat.
The Beach House Restaurant · Lawaʻi Road, Poʻipu
🛎️ Overnight — Sheraton Kauaʻi Resort
From $420-500 USD / night, for 2 people
A beachfront resort split across an oceanfront and a garden wing on Poʻipu Beach, with the calm, reef-sheltered water here among the safest swimming on the island.
Sheraton Kauaʻi Resort · Poʻipu Beach
Day 2Waimea Canyon by Day, Na Pali by Boat
A full loop of contrasts: a red-rock canyon carved into the island’s west side, then a sunset sail beneath the sea cliffs only boats and helicopters can reach.
🏝️ Waimea Canyon & Kokeʻe State Park Lookouts
~2.5 hours, self-guided drive · free; Kokeʻe parking ~$5-10/vehicle
Mark Twain supposedly nicknamed this the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific” — a 14-mile gorge of rust-red volcanic rock that the drive up Waimea Canyon Drive and Kokeʻe Road reveals in stages, ending at the Kalalau Lookout’s cliff-edge view straight down into the Na Pali valleys.
🍽️ Lunch — Waimea Town, on your own
~45 minutes · ~$12-18 USD / person
A quick plate-lunch stop in the old sugar-plantation town of Waimea before the drive back down, where James Cook first set foot in the Hawaiian Islands in 1778.
⛵ Na Pali Coast Sunset Sail — Capt Andy’s
~3.5 hours, guided · ~$179-199 USD / person
A catamaran out of Port Allen Harbor running the full roadless Na Pali Coast at golden hour, past sea caves and 3,000-foot cliffs that drop straight into the Pacific — the only way to see this coastline up close without a multi-day backcountry hike.
Capt Andy’s Sailing Adventures · napali.com
🛎️ Overnight — Hanalei Colony Resort
From $360-430 USD / night, for 2 people
A low-rise, no-TV beachfront condo resort on the North Shore’s last stretch of road, set directly on the sand with Bali Hai’s green ridgeline rising just behind it.
Hanalei Colony Resort · Hale Road, Hāʻena
Day 3Hanalei Bay & the Drive Back to Lihuʻe
A relaxed North Shore morning before the drive back across the island to fly out.
🏖️ Hanalei Bay
~1.5 hours, self-guided · free
The two-mile curve of beach made famous as the backdrop of countless surf films, backed by the jagged, waterfall-streaked peaks that frame nearly every North Shore postcard.
🍽️ Lunch — Hanalei Dolphin Restaurant
~1 hour · ~$25-35 USD / person
A riverside fish market and restaurant on the Hanalei River that’s been serving fresh catch since the 1970s — the poke bowl from the attached market is the move if you’d rather eat on the move.
Hanalei Dolphin Restaurant · Hanalei
📸 Wailua Falls Photo Stop
~20 minutes, self-guided · free
A roadside pull-off above a twin 80-foot waterfall made famous as the opening shot of the 1970s “Fantasy Island” TV series — a five-minute detour on the way back to the airport.
✈️ Rental Car Return & Departure — Lihuʻe Airport
Variable · allow 2 hours before a domestic flight, 3 for international connections
Return the car at the airport counter where you picked it up — Lihuʻe’s small terminal keeps the whole process to about 15 minutes door to gate.
Download your itinerary here
