Welcome to Lihue / Kalapaki Bay
The gateway to Kauai is Lihue. All visitors either come here by plane or cruise ship. Airline passengers flying over have an excellent view of Kalapaki Bay and Nawiliwili Harbor as they approach the Lihue airport runway. Cruiseship passengers have even more time to appreciate the beautiful views as they sail past into the docks.
Kalapaki Beach & Kalapaki Bay
The Kauai Marriott Resort & Beach Club fronts the white sands and gentle waters of one of Kauai’s most popular beaches, Kalapaki Beach. It’s an ideal place for ocean recreation, particularily for beginning surfers, but also for sunning, swimming, bodyboarding, canoe paddling, catamaran sailing, beach volleyball and sandcastle building.
Residential homes along the cliffs have a terrific view overlooking the beach, the bay, Nawiliwili Harbor and beyond towards the Nawiliwili Small Boat Harbor and Yacht Club.
Above the Kalapaki Beach cliffs is Kauai Lagoons, 40 acres of freshwater tropical lagoons that serve as a sanctuary for exotic wildlife along with two Jack Nicklaus-designed 18-hole golf courses.
Nawiliwili Harbor
Adjacent to Kalapaki Beach, this picturesque harbor is Kauai’s main port and can accommodate large druiseships and offshore vessels. Established in 1930, Nawiliwili Harbor was named for the Wiliwili trees that were once abundant in the area.
Just beyond the the main port is Nawiliwili Small Boat Harbor, tucked behind the Hokunui and Haupu mountains on the Huleia River.
Nearby Niumalu Beach Park ranges over three acres and offers picnic tables, showers and restrooms. Camping is allowed with a County permit. Kayaking up-river and sailboarding is also popular.
The Huleia River which flows past the harbor, is a popular kayaking destination and home to a National Wildlife Refuge. It was featured in the opening scenes of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
The Alekoko (or Menehune) Fishpond is situated near the Huleia National Wildlife Refuge, on Hulemalu Road, is about a half-mile inland from Nawiliwili Harbor. The fishpond gets its name from legends that say the large pond was built some 1,000 years ago by hundreds of very small Hawaiian people called Menehunes.
Lihue
Lihue (Lay-hoo-way) is not only the largest town on Kauai, it’s the county seat and the center of major economic activity for the island. About 4,000 people live in Lihue of whom a large number are state and county officials and their families. The two most important transportation facilities, Lihue Airport and the deep water port of Nawiliwili Harbor are located here.
Lihue offers much in the way of culture — Hawaiian music and hula performances and other fun heritage festivals.
Tour extensive exhibits of Hawaiiana, art and island history along with memorabilia from the sugar plantation era at the Kauai Museum. Here you can see how plantation owners and workers lived more than a century ago. The Grove Farm was one of the most successful sugar plantations and Gaylord Wilcox’s former home, Kilohana, houses distinctive retail shops and an open-air restaurant.
Lihue offers the tourist the advantage of being only a few minutes by car away from Kukui Grove Shopping Center, a wide variety of restaurants, championship golf courses, theatres, several good beaches.
Wailua Falls is also nearby, at the south end of Wailua River, cascading in two streams to a spot at least 80 feet below. Like other spectacular views on Kaua`i, Wailua Falls has been captured on film for thousands of people who have never seen them in person. In this case, the Falls appeared in the opening credits of the long-running television show, “Fantasy Island.”
Distances From Lihue Airport:
(Heading South)
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Kalapaki 1 mile, 3 min
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Nawiliwili 1 mile, 3 min
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Puhi 2 miles, 5 minutes
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Koloa 11 miles, 25 minutes
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Poipu 14 miles, 30 minutes
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Kalaheo 14 miles, 25 minutes
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Eleele 17 miles, 30 minutes
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Waimea 25 miles, 45 minutes
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Kekaha 28 miles, 55 minutes
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Waimea Canyon 36 miles, 1 hr. 15 min.
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Kalalau Lookout 45 miles, 1 hr. 40 min.
(Heading North)
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Wailua 7 miles, 15 minutes
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Kapaa 10 miles, 20 minutes
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Anahola 15 miles, 30 minutes
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Kilauea 26 miles, 45 minutes
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Princeville 30 miles, 1 hr.
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Haena 40 miles, 1 hr. 15 min.
Lihue/Kalapaki/Nawiliwili Area Subdivisions:
Kipu & Niumalu
(Search MLS: Zone 3, Lihue District, “4-3-1”)
Kupolo Tract, Nawiliwili, Nawiliwili Harbor Lots, Niumalu.
(Search MLS: Zone 3, Lihue District, “4-3-2”)
Haiku, Kukui Grove Village, Kukui Grove Village-West, Lihue, Nawiliwili-Niumalu, Puako Subdivision, Puhi Industrial Park, Puhi Subdivision, Ulu Ko Subdivision.
(Search MLS: Zone 3, Lihue District, “4-3-3”)
Lihue (Search MLS: Zone 3, Lihue District, “4-3-4”)
Kalapaki, Kauai Lagoons, Lihue Airport, Lihue Industrial Park
(Search MLS: Zone 3, Lihue District, “4-3-5”)
Fairview Business Tract, Fairview Tract, Hale Nani Business Tract, Hale Nani Tract, Hanamaulu & Kalapaki, Kalapaki, Lihue, Lihue Industrial Park, Lihue Residence Lots, Lihue Town, Lihue Town Estates, Lihue Town Tract, Molokoa Subdivision Unit IIIq, Molokoa Village-Lihue Homes Subdivision, Molokoa-Lihue Homes Subdivision, Nawiliwili & Kalapaki, Ulu Mahi Subdivision, Ulukukui Subdivision.
(Search MLS: Zone 3, Lihue District, “4-3-6”)
Hanamaulu & Kalapaki, Hanamaulu Residence Lots Subdivision, Hanamaulu Town Tract, Kapaia Town, Lihue Town Tract, Wiliko Homes Tract.
(Search MLS: Zone 3, Lihue District, “4-3-7”)
Hanamaulu Homes, Hanamaulu-Nawiliwili, Isenberg Homes, Isenberg Subdivision, Kalapaki & Nawiliwili, Kapaia Town, Lihue Gardens Subdivision, Lihue Town Tract-Camp “A”, Lihue Village Park.
(Search MLS: Zone 3, Lihue District, “4-3-8”)
