Things To Do In Kauai And How To Spend Your Last Day Before Your Red Eye Flight

See my review of Hanalei Colony Resort on Kauai’s North Shore. Spoiler alert- We loved it!

Our goal was to maximize beach and snorkel time but if you want more active excursions, the concierge at the Hanalei Colony Resort can help you go all out with additional activities like ziplines, helicopter tours, surfing lessons, and more.

Day 1- Arrival and Grocery Shop

Arrive at Lihue Airport and go to the grocery store on the way to Hanalei Colony Resort.

Heads up- food is expensive in Kauai compared to the mainland. We stopped at the Safeway Grocery in the town of Kappa on the way to Hanalei Colony Resort. Kappa is located 20 minutes north of the airport and about 50 minutes from the resort.

Safeway is a full service grocery store and has the best prices compared to the smaller Big Save Grocery found closer to the resort in Hanalei.

FYI: There is also a Costco on the island near the airport.

Hanalei Market is a super small market on the north shore less than 5 minutes from the resort if you need just a few things.

Tip: You can download the Safeway app on your phone, see the prices, and create your list sorted by aisle. Remember to bring a soft cooler bag from home.

For dining out, Kauai’s north shore has several well-reviewed restaurants in the tiny town of Hanalei:

Day 2- Explore Hanalei Town

Honestly, the snorkeling at Hanalei Colony Resort was really good. You can walk just a few steps from your lanai to reach the beach behind the resort.

For the best snorkeling spot on the beach, turn left at the seating area to walk about 5 minutes just past the point that juts out into the ocean. Here is where you’ll find a sandy entry to the shallow reef. We saw lots of fish and even sea turtles.

In the afternoon, take the resort shuttle to Hanalei Town to explore the fun kitschy tourist shops and enjoy shaved ice. Dine at Dolphin Fish Market or pick up fish and poke bowls from their market.

Day 3- Waipa Farmer’s Market

Enjoy some beach time of choice. If you are here on a Tuesday, make sure to go to the nearby Waipa Farmer’s Market in the afternoon for souvenirs and food.

This was a fun farmer’s market with a nice variety of Hawaiian fruits and vegetables. You can sample fruit at most vendor stalls, and we found it to be less expensive than the grocery. Try to arrive when the market opens at 2pm for the best selection.

It’s also a great place to pick up souvenirs from local artists, and you can eat here at various food stands as well.

Day 4- Visit Hāʻena State Park’s Ke’e Beach and Kalalau Trail

Visiting Hāʻena State Park was definitely a highlight of the trip. Swim and snorkel at its beautiful Ke’e Beach and hike the popular section of the Kalalau Trail, which is a 4 mile roundtrip hike from Ke’e Beach to Hanakapa’ai Beach.

Important: Advance reservations are needed to enter the park. The FAQ’s section on their website is helpful.

Note- The Kalalau Trail is a difficult hike- it’s fairly steep, rocky, very hot and humid, and can be muddy and slick after rain.

With younger kids, I would recommend hiking just a short portion of the trail. You can walk ½ mile up to a fantastic viewpoint of the ocean and surrounding cliffs and return for a 1 mile hike. Or hike a bit further along the cliffside to take in the ocean views and turn around when ready. Bring plenty of water.

Day 5- Snorkel and Swim at Tunnels Beach

From Hanalei Colony Resort, you can walk to Tunnels Beach for beach time and snorkeling. If driving, note that the parking lot for Tunnels is very small and fills up early in the morning.

If staying at Hanalei Colony Resort, you can take their shuttle if you don’t want to walk to it. It took us about 30 minutes to walk to it from the resort.

Such a pretty beach and not crowded at all when we were there.

Day 6- Hanalei Market Cafe for Breakfast and Snorkel and Swim At Anini Beach

Grab coffee and breakfast pastries at nearby Hanalei Market Cafe and head to Anini Beach for some beach time and snorkeling. For snorkeling, enter the water just in front of the campgrounds where it is sandy and shallow. Anini provides plenty of sun and shade from the trees along the shore. Restrooms are available.

Last Day

It’s your last day on Kauai. Arrange a late check out time if you have a late flight. On the way to the airport, spend the remaining hours exploring the island. See below for ideas of what to do on your last day.

Things To Do On Your Last Day in Kauai Before Your Late Flight

It’s always hard to leave Kauai, but even harder when your bags are packed and you now have 12 hours before your flight departs.

Of course, you can plan ahead and book an extra night at the tail end of your stay even though you won’t sleep there. That reduces the hassle for sure, but an extra night of lodging in Kauai is EXPENSIVE.

Here are some ideas to fill your time before your flight leaves. The first thing you should do is check with your hotel or vacation rental to see what the latest time is that you can check out. Some may charge you for a late checkout, but it should be minimal.

Many places will make you adhere to your check out time but will let you stay for the day to enjoy the premises with access to their pools and showers.

Our resort was happy for us to stay and enjoy the premises for the day with a shower and restrooms available in the pool area.

Since we had a late check-out (no charge), we did not linger at the resort but instead hit the road to see other sights on the island.

If you have a late flight and a morning check-out, you have several options which I’ll discuss below.

Option 1- Book A Day Room

A few hotels offer a room for daytime only that includes a day pass for 2 adults and 2 kids to all resort amenities including their pools. This could be ideal but know that these day rooms sell out quickly!

The Royal Sonesta Kaua’i Resort Lihue (10am-8pm for $259)

Outrigger Kauai Beach Resort & Spa (10am- 5pm for $250) and

Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach Resort (10am- 8pm) each offer Day Rooms for $250.

To book a day room, you’ll need to reserve through the Resort Pass website rather than the hotel. Resort Pass is a booking site for participating hotels who provide day rooms or day passes to access their resort amenities.

Option 2- Get A Pool Pass

You can also consider getting a Pool Day Pass at one of these participating resorts. It’s a nice way to check out another resort like the Royal Sonesta, Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa, or Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach Resort.

Each of these hotels offer a Family Day Pass with access to their public showers. Get a cabana and enjoy the day!

You can reserve resort day passes at the same website as day rooms above- The Resort Pass website.

Option 3- Take A Final Tour of The Island

If you need some ideas of things to see after (hopefully) enjoying a late checkout at your lodging, here are some stops to fill in a few more hours before your flight.

Your last day is a good day to either revisit some favorite places from your visit or take a final tour of places you haven’t seen around the island.

Waimea Canyon State Park

If you haven’t already visited Waimea Canyon State Park, also known as the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific,” your last day could be an ideal day to take a scenic drive through the canyon and take in the amazing views.

The drive (Highway 550) is about 19 miles one way to the end point at Kalalau Lookout. It’s a slow, winding road with scenic overlooks along the way as well as a few easy hiking trails. You could easily spend a 1/2 day here.

We opted to hang out at our resort on the North Shore for half the day and then took a leisurely drive to explore these spots on our way to the airport.

Stop 1: Hanalei Pier

Walk out to the end of Hanalei Pier for an incredibly beautiful spot for family photographs. The backdrop of the turquoise water with the mountains in the background can’t be beat.

Stop 2: Kapaia Swinging Bridge

Kapaia Swinging Bridge is a super brief stop, and one that you could skip, but hey, it’s all about filling time at this point and it was an interesting stop. It’s also on the way to Wailua Falls so you can easily combine them.

Stop 3: Wailua Falls

Know that there is limited parking but people cycle through pretty quickly. You’ll get a nice view of Wailua Falls, and it’s one that you don’t have to hike in to see. Just park in the small lot and walk over to the sidewalk and peer over.

Stop 4: Poʻipū Beach Park

We spent all of our time on the North Shore, so we headed south to Poʻipū Beach Park to see the surfers and the sea turtles. You can find some shady spots here to hang out as well. If your kids are young, the park also has a playground to blow off some kid energy.

This is also your chance to try a puka dog along with some shaved ice across the street!

Stop 5: Spouting Horn

Hop back in the car to see the Spouting Horn, a natural lava tube blow hole. It can spray water up to 50′ high which is pretty fun to watch, especially at high tide. If you are in Kauai between December and May, it’s also a good whale watching spot.

You’ll find restrooms on sight and parking is ample here. FYI- You’ll pass some shopping areas on the way here if you want to squeeze a last minute splurge in before leaving for dinner.

Stop 6: Dinner at Duke’s Barefoot Bar

Duke’s is located right on Kalapaki Beach which is just a 6 minute drive to the airport. Note that Duke’s offers two menus- one for their dining room and one for their Barefoot Bar.

Duke’s Barefoot Bar is a more casual and kid-friendly option. It even has a kids menu. Enjoy a nice meal on the nice covered outdoor patio.

Don’t miss the Hula Pie here! Also note that you can go online to get on their waitlist.

After dinner, take a nice stroll along the boardwalk before heading to the airport.

Finally (sadly), Arrive At Lihue Airport For Departure

Lihue Airport- Arriving 1.5 hours before flight time should give you plenty of time to return your rental car, check-in through security,

Important: When returning to the airport, allow ample time to catch the car rental shuttle and check-in. It took a while to get on our rental shuttle to the airport, but once there it moved fairly quickly. I would recommend allowing at least 1.5 hours.

Note that all checked bags have to be scanned on a conveyor belt before check-in at the airport for your return flight. And depending on your airline, some carry-on luggage has to be scanned in addition to the checked baggage.

We flew Alaska Airlines, and we had to have everything scanned before check-in.