There’s no shortage of restaurants on Kauai. From top-shelf, white tablecloth dining to roadside stands in Kekaha, you’ll be able to find close to anything you need while staying on the Garden Isle. Even though you’ll receive about 20 recommendations in the personally-written guest guide when you book with Poipu Beach Condo, I wanted to spotlight four South Shore spots that have definitively earned my recommendations.
Anake’s Juice Bar
Located inside the Kukui’ula market in Poipu (not the Kukui’ula shopping village!), Anake’s is one of the best spots in all of Hawaii for acai bowls, smoothies, and more. Open 8-3 every day (unless closed for short staffing reasons), this is where I would eat every single morning if I could. The Hulk is simply my favorite acai bowl of all time. Everything on the menu is made fresh and tastes amazing – and I always recommend eating as much fresh fruit as possible while you’re on Kauai.
The Funky Monkey bowl at Anake’s
The Beach House
Located right on the ocean next to the Prince Kuhio hotel, the Beach House is the go-to spot on the South Shore if you are looking for an unforgettable location for a special evening. The view from the restaurant is quite simply stunning. Featuring locally sourced ingredients and high-end service, The Beach House is high in the running for Poipu’s best restaurant. I’ve been to everything from wedding receptions to birthday parties here, and for good reason: it is a beautiful location with a fantastic selection of menu items. The Beach House books up very quickly (especially around sunset), so I recommend booking 30 days in advance if you can.
The sunset view from The Beach House’s dining room
Koloa Fish Market
The Koloa Fish Market cannot be passed up if you are a fan of seafood! The Koloa Fish Market only deals with fresh-caught seafood, and the selection really shows. Though you can get some cheaper pokē bowls close by (such as at Big Save Market), the KFM bowls are truly some of the best on the island. The quality of everything on the menu is through the roof, and it’s great value for money if you are looking for classic Kauai staples for lunch. KFM is only open for lunch so it’s a perfect meal when you need a break from the ocean.
Kalaheo Cafe
Open 7am to 2pm Wednesday through Sunday, Kalaheo Cafe is a classic brunch cafe. It’s about a 15-minute drive from Poipu, but well worth the trek. Kalaheo is a beautiful area of the South Shore that’s nestled a little more in the mountains. There’s a small stretch of shops around Kalaheo Cafe that are well worth visiting too, such as Aloha Exchange and The Right Slice (which sells pies and pie slices). I am a big fan of the breakfast bowls here, and the coffee is some of my favorite on island too. Parking is definitely a little tight here, but that’s a small price to pay for a fantastic breakfast and brunch – especially if you’re coming back from or on your way to Waimea.
Kalaheo Cafe has an authentic feel to it, a perfect compliment to their great menu
There are tons of great spots to eat on Kauai but I hope you enjoyed my four highlights here. Aloha oe and ahui hou!
Parker Biehn
Poipu Beach Condo, owner
Do I Need A Rental Car?
The short answer is: yes, you definitely need a rental car when you are visiting Kauai. Public transportation is very limited across the island and ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft are only reliable around the Lihue airport. You should not expect to have any kind of regular service by Uber or Lyft while in the Koloa/Poipu area. In my personal experience, scheduling these services is less-than-ideal as cabs can still run quite late. Kauai’s south shore has a great deal to offer visitors, but trips to the grocery store or nearby restaurants for dinner almost always require a car. Save yourself the headache and grab a rental car!
Rental Car Recommendations
There is no secret cache of cheap rental cars on Kauai! My strong recommendation is to look at Kayak.com and compare rental car prices there. All of the major car rental companies list through Kayak and service the Lihue Airport. Sixt is the newest rental car company on island, though be aware that their location is not at the airport and requires a short shuttle ride to reach. If you are booking through Sixt, make sure to budget extra time to catch the shuttle. Turo is another option for guests, although read on to the next section to find out my thoughts on this service.
There is one service that I have found to be consistently cheaper than every other offering on Kauai: EconomyBookings.com. They operate out of Europe but – having myself personally rented a few cars from them myself – I have never had any issue with them whatsoever. They work directly with the name brand rental car companies at the Lihue Airport. By my lights, this is exactly like reserving through a regular company – just significantly cheaper.
Why Turo On Kauai Is Awful (With One Caveat)
Turo arose as a sort of Airbnb for cars, allowing users to rent cars from individuals rather than through traditional rental car companies. Though there’s one exception, I do not recommend Turo to any Kauai guests. There are a few reasons why:
- The main reason is that all Turo cars were moved far off-site to the Kukui Grove Mall. To get to your Turo rental, you need to board the shuttle at the airport and take a 15-minute (or more) shuttle ride to the mall. The shuttle only runs every 30 minutes, so you’ll need to book out at least an extra hour on top of your busy arrival and departure days to drop off your rental car. Though the lines can be long inside the traditional rental car company check-in kiosks, they are nowhere near this bad. Furthermore, since there is only one shuttle, space inside can fill up quickly and you’ll need to wait another 30-to-40 minutes just to get into the next shuttle. For me, this is an absolute non-starter.
- The second reason that I do not recommend Turo is that there have been a plethora of complaints regarding onerous demands of renters. It is not uncommon to find that individuals renting their cars out will ask for drivers to take their car through the car wash and vacuum the inside. Because Turo does not have a cleaning service like other competitors, that responsibility is pushed onto the driver. The last thing I want to do on my departure day is have to detail someone else’s car!
- Almost every single rental car on Turo has restrictions on where it can go, namely: Polihale Beach. Polihale Beach, if you don’t know, is a beach on the west side of the island that has a long drive out on a bumpy access road before you hit the beach. I have seen other location-based restrictions in the copy of Turo listings — and these are just not things you ever find when renting through a traditional company. Though likely impossible to enforce in practice, I find no good reason to gamble on this at all.
Lastly, I also find Turo to be more expensive than the name brand companies – and much more so than EconomyBookings.com. For all of these reasons, I strongly advise against using Turo for your rental car while on Kauai.
There is one exception to this. Turo does have a wider selection of cars than traditional rental car companies. If you are absolutely determined to grab one particular (likely luxury) car during your time here and suffer through the aforementioned advisories, then Turo would be a decent option for you. But with Sixt moving in and offering more luxury cars, I would struggle to think that Turo is worth the price of admission for nearly any car.
As always, get in touch if you have any questions or need further recommendations!
Parker Biehn
Poipu Beach Condo, owner