Kauai Info For Students

The information below is provided as a service to students and visitors, and Aloha International assumes no responsibility for your personal experience if you use it.

WHAT TO BRING
Kauai has a tropical climate, so include shorts, swimwear, sandals, hat, sunglasses, sun lotion, and your favorite mosquito repellant. Dressing up for dinner or a luau means a shirt and trousers for men and a light dress or slacks and a top for women. A light jacket or sweater may be useful for cooler evenings or mountain trips. Anything else is optional.

USEFUL LINKS

County of Kauai Visitor Site.

Sites, attractions, and bus schedule.

Kauai Visitor's Bureau.

Includes information on accomodations, activities, services, and a virtual tour of the island.

Kauai Hostels.

Hostel-type accomodations.

More Lodging Choices.

Alternative accomodations.

Kauai Camping.

Local government information for camping on Kauai.

Car Rentals.

Detailed information on four car rental companies.

More Car Rentals.

Additional car rental companies.

All Local Events.

A community calendar of events and activities on Kaua'i.

The Garden Island.

Kaua'i's daily newspaper online.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Location
Kauai is a fairly small island, part of the State of Hawaii and the United States. It is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Honolulu, which is on the island of Oahu.

Air Transportation
Unless you have your own boat, or are on a cruise, the only way to reach Kauai is by air. United Airlines, American Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha Airlines fly to the airport in Lihue on Kauai from Honolulu and various airports on the Mainland USA. Flights from California directly to Honolulu or Lihue take about five hours. Please note that the Lihue Airport does not have any currency exchange services.

Local Transportation
On Kauai it is highly recommended that you rent a car and reserve it in advance of your arrival. There is no public transportation from the airport in Lihue, and very limited service to other parts of the island. Taxi service is available, but is very expensive. There are very few places to rent bicycles, and cycling on Kauai's narrow roads (most of which do not have shoulders) is very risky. Some airlines, like Aloha, have special offers that include a car at a lower price than usual. If you are coming for one of our courses and you do not drive, we will do our best to help you get to the classes, but we cannot guarantee anything.

Lodging
There is no airport service for finding lodging, as in many airports near large cities, so it is wise to arrange for lodging before you arrive. Kauai has high-end resort hotels, medium-priced to cheap hotels, and lots of bed and breakfast lodgings at various prices. Please note that a lot of so-called "bed and breakfast" lodgings do not provide any food, so ask in advance. For specific lodging information see the links on our Resource Hut page or do your own search on the Web. Some courses are residential, and this information will be posted with our course information pages.

The Social Environment
Kauai is rural. The population is about 55,000 scattered mostly around the coast and concentrated in a few small towns. Overall, sidewalks and wheelchair ramps are very limited. It is the custom of most residents to remove their footgear when they enter a home, but not a store. There is not a great deal of evening entertainment. The towns with the most services are listed below:

Lihue: location of the main airport and the seat of county government, with the most shops, restaurants, paved streets, and sidewalks. There is a shopping center called Kukui Grove at the west end of town, with a cinema, K-Mart, and Borders Bookstore (a major chain); and a Wal-Mart store and a hospital at the East end of town; plus many shops and restaurants scattered around. Internet cafes are available at several locations.
Kapaa (includes Wailua): the most populated area, but the commercial part is mainly a strip about five miles long on each side of Kuhio Highway, about five miles north of Lihue. There are lots of shops and restaurants, and several shopping centers, including The Coconut Marketplace, which has a cinema. Internet cafes are available. This is also the location of the Hawaiian Art Museum.
Hanalei: in the North a few blocks from Hanalei Bay, it is a short strip on the highway with mostly tourist shops and restaurants, and one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
Waimea: in the West, the gateway to Kokee State Park, Waimea Canyon, and the Kalalau Lookout. It has a short commercial strip on the highway and one supermarket (plus a really great "shave ice" shop).
Princeville: there is a small shopping center here right on the highway at mile marker 28, and it includes a grocery store, internet access, some tourist shops, 2 restaurants, and two resort hotels with magnificent views from their own rather expensive restaurants.

The Physical Environment
Kauai is a tropical island, with all its implications. It is fringed with beaches and reefs, and the interior is mountainous and forested.

Weather: At its best, a balmy 77F (25C), with blue skies, puffy white clouds, soft breezes and gentle waves. At its worst, either stormy and rainy with high waves, or very hot and humid with waves doing whatever they feel like. The weather is very changeable, and there is no guarantee of any kind for any season.
Swimming: You must always use caution, because the waves and currents are unpredictable, even on a calm day. The rules are "If in doubt, don't go out" and "If you do go out, look about." People are lost every year, either by large waves they weren't looking at or by riptides, especially in the winter season from November to March. If you should get caught in a riptide (a strong current that pulls you out to sea for up to a hundred yards or so) just go with it until it weakens and swim along the shore until you can get back in.
Wildlife: No snakes and nothing larger than wild boar, which you are unlikely to see unless you go hunting for it in the mountains. Lots of birds, and lots of insects. You are most likely to encounter mosquitoes, geckos (small lizards that often live indoors), cockroaches, spiders of various sizes, and, possibly, a centipede or two. When you come for a course you will learn how to deal with insects using Huna.

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