You can fill up every day with activities, or you can choose to slow down and enjoy the Resort. (True story: we try to take our own family and friends to see everything when they visit us and more than once our guests have begged us, “Can’t we just stay here and hang out at the pool?”)
In Your Condo: We have provided a DVD/VCR player in the living room. The Kauai movies collection includes every movie made on Kauai, and there are many! Every Jurassic Park movie, South Pacific, Tropic Thunder, many Vietnam-themed movies, Elvis’ Blue Hawaii and so many others were set in Kauai. Kids love to try to identify where the scenes were filmed! The CDs are of island music, and many guests have told us they like to play them in the car while driving around. (Just be sure to pop the CD out of the rental car before returning it!) The books include tour books about Kauai with information about beaches, hikes and other activities. There are also some board games, puzzles, and DVDs for children. The condo also has boogie boards, beach chairs, umbrellas, and other beach gear, ice chests, and snorkel gear (including kid sizes), and sand toys
At Waipouli Resort: Your kids will want to spend many hours at the pool! It’s a two-acre lazy river through lush tropical landscaping complete with waterfalls, a “secret” grotto, flumed water slides, and a shallow sandy bottom area for small children. Just north of the resort is an area that is wonderful for tide-pooling at low tide. On the south side of the resort is a fresh-water canal that kids love to play in. It has small waves from the ocean, tiny fish and small crabs. A short distance from the ocean, the canal becomes a fishing spot where small perch can be caught by fishing from above the canal. (The Long’s Drugstore, across the road, has fishing sets for $15.) From the beach, you may spot a whale or dolphin or even the endangered Monk Seal. A McDonalds is across the road.
Within A Short Stroll: Kauai’s east side is home to “the path that goes by the coast”, an unforgettable bicycling path. Bike rentals are available a short distance from the resort or you can take a leisurely family stroll. This one of a kind multi-use path is best known for its countless panoramic views and miles of spectacular Kauai beaches as well as the unique local marine and bird species that make Kauai their home. We also recommend taking the Kauai Movie Tour located nearby.
Within A Five-Minute Drive: Catch the hula show at the Smith Family Garden Luau, Rent Kayaks and explore the Wailua River with its waterfalls, the Fern Grotto and restored Hawaiian Village. Kealia Beach is perfect for boogie boarding.
Lydgate Park is just south of the Wailua River on the ocean side of the highway. Lydgate Beach is calm and clear – perfect for young swimmers and beginner snorkelers. This park is popular with locals and visitors for its range of activities. Swimming and snorkeling are safe here with the protection of a nearby reef and an even more protected area with a man-made boulder enclosure. The pool is one of the best year-round snorkeling spots on Kauai. Families of brightly colored fish feed along the rocky perimeter, so tame they almost swim into your hands. There are showers for rinsing off sand and salt before going home and a lifeguard. Two amazing play areas make Lydgate a favorite for children. Adjacent to the swimming areas is a large award-winning Playground. Constructed of natural materials incorporating Hawaiian themes, this playground is large and complex enough for young and older children. At the far southern end of the Park is a Play Bridge, also made of natural materials. This is a multi-storied structure featuring mazes and tunnels and a play chute. It has been designed to be very safe (railings are high and narrow enough to prevent falls). Children and adults can be seen running to enter this play space once they have glimpsed it from afar. It is fun for all! At Lydgate park you can also fly a kite, play frisbee on the wide sandy beach, and collect shells and driftwood.
The Rest Of Kauai Attractions: Take your kids on easy to moderate hikes, where they can count some of the lesser known Kauai waterfalls and spot wild birds. Little ones enjoy walking to the end of the pier at Hanalei Bay, where they can look out into the ocean and see the fish. Enjoy some of Kauai’s numerous “Activities”. Go tubing in an old plantation irrigation system. Take a helicopter ride. See Waimea Canyon and learn about Kauai’s environment at Kokee Natural History Museum. Go ziplining. Island horseback riding is also a popular family activity.