Where to stay in Kauai in December?

Hello there-

My husband and I are heading to Hawaii for the first time during the crazy Christmas week. I know, I know, but it%26#39;s the only time we can do it this year. So right now we have 3 lodging options:

1) An incredible beachside cottage in a quiet are of the far north shore

2) A perfectly nice bungalow on the east shore (near Kapa%26#39;a)

3) A nice oceanfront unit in a small cottage complex on Lawaii Rd. in Poipu

I relish the thought of option 1, but realize that we%26#39;ll be taking a chance with the weather. On the other hand, if it%26#39;s just raining for an hour or 2 every day, it could be glorious. Even if it rains for a couple of days straight, we could always use those days to head south, and we do like road trips.

So, question #1: Are we crazy to take the chance in December? The two people I know who have risked it in previous years had a great time and they both said, ';Yeah, it rained a few times, but when it stopped, you were in the most beautiful place in the world.

Question #2 is, If we did decide to avoid the North shore and stay elsewhere, should it be Poipu or the east side?

Our interest for this vacation would include doing some hiking and kayaking, a little bit of snorkeling, and lots of reading and relaxing in a hammock.

Thanks so much for your help...

Maya

Where to stay in Kauai in December?

North shore is at the end of the road. If you want to go other places it can be a bit of a drive, Waimea Canyon for example.

which might not be a problem if the north shore has decent weather, but in Dec a bit of a rsik.

I would choose Poipu, better chance of decent weather and a little better located to see other places. Though last time were were at Kapaa in Oct and it worked well cause really centrally located.

three years ago we were on Kauai in Dec at Poipu, even there we got two days of heavy rain, got plenty of reading time.

Where to stay in Kauai in December?

Hi --

I read your post and after thinking about it for awhile, I guess I agree with the previous poster. If you are considering staying at Coastline Cottages on Lawai Road, that sounds like a great place to do the relaxing and reading you ret alking about. There also is pretty good snorkeling just down the road near the beach House restaurant. You probably won%26#39;t be snorkeling much on the northshore in December and rain could sometimes be an issue. The other issue staying far north (Haena area) is that it is quite a hike just to go out to dinner over one lane bridges, narrow road, etc. Of course if you stay home in the evenings that is not a big deal. But I wouldn%26#39;t want to do that road after a pitcher of mai tais.

You%26#39;ll have to figure that traffic will be worse during Christmas week and it can take you awhile to get through Lihue and kapaa, especially during the morning and evening rush hours.

Thanks so much for your input, everyone. Maybe we should save the north shore for a future summer visit, if we can be so lucky!

Are there any Kauai residents or regulars here who can describe what the average rain situation up north is like in December? I know ';average'; isn%26#39;t really a meaningful concept when you%26#39;re talking about Hawaii weather, but if anyone would be willing to generalize...

Kimocat, have you stayed at Coastline Cottages, or are you just going by reputation?

Thanks again,

Maya

I haven%26#39;t actually stayed there, but we have walked past them many times and I did stop and go in for a quick tour about two years and thought that they were just beautiful.