Once you land, retrieve your luggage and pick up your Lihue rental car and load it up, you’ll be ready to roll to the Kauai accommodations you’ve arranged. The chart below sets out approximate driving times from the airport to various cities in Kauai’s popular vacation destinations, but be advised actual times can vary depending on the time of day you’re traveling:
Lihue to North Shore (Princeville, Hanalei, Haena) – about 60 minutes
Lihue to Northeastern Shore (Anahola, Kilauea) – about 40 minutes
Lihue to East Side (Lihue, Wailua, Kapaa) – about 15 minutes
Lihue to South Shore (Koloa, Poipu) – about 35 minutes
Lihue to West Side (Hanapepe, Waimea, Kalaheo) – about 45 minutes
As you can see, you can get from Kauai’s West Side to its North Shore in roughly two hours (again, this can vary depending on traffic conditions). While not prohibitive, it’s probably not something you will want to do every day so you’ll want to plan your activities and sightseeing on the island in order to make the most of your vacation time.
We’ve found staying in Kauai’s East Side cities (Lihue, Wailua and Kapaa) provides a good central “home base” location, but Poipu vacation rentals (on the island’s south shore) and Princeville vacation rentals and Hanalei vacation rentals (on the north shore) also offer a great way to enjoy Kauai.