5 Things to do With Kids in Kauai: From a Family Luau to a Hike Up Waimea Canyon and Delicious Ice Cream

Thinking about taking your family to Kauai? We took our two girls (ages three and five at the time) to Kauai back in January and there were so many family-friendly activities to be enjoyed by both parents and kids. It was amazing! We love how beautiful the Garden Island is and the wide variety of activities it has to offer. While it wasn’t my first time there, it was my first time going to Kauai with kids. This was definitely a different experience but in a good way! We may not have been as adventurous as we were previously, but we still had a great time. I highly recommend it as a place to visit as a family. Below, I’ve come up with a list of the top five things to do with kids in Kauai:

Smith Family Luau and River Cruise

Both the luau and river cruise are fun for the whole family! There are different ways to explore Waialua River (via kayak, plane, etc.), but I recommend taking a boat cruise through the Smith Family especially if you have really young kids. On board, the crew share stories and music from the region. The boat then drops you off at the spectacular Fern Grotto before taking you back to port in time to enjoy a wonderful luau and night show. Tickets for each activity are bought individually. If you don’t have time to enjoy both a cruise and a luau, you can always just pick one or the other.

Lydgate Beach Park and Playground

Lydgate Beach Park is the perfect place to stop for a picnic. There’s a huge playground that is great for getting some energy out as kids run around through all the little passageways. Our girls especially loved the swings and also climbing up to the top of the “volcano.”

There is a small beach with a manmade rock wall around it on the other side of the parking lot. This makes it a great, safe place for families to enjoy the ocean.

Kamokila Hawaiian Village

Kamokila Hawaiian Village is a fun place to explore with kids. It’s only $5 per adult and $3 per child three and older to enter the village. It includes a self-guided tour that takes you through what a traditional Hawaiian village would have looked like while explaining the purpose of each building and several of the plants. Many of the buildings also feature interactive items and activities that our girls especially enjoyed checking out.

Lappert’s Ice Cream

We love ice cream! When planning out our trip, we asked Bebe Voyage’s Facebook Community about places to visit and Lappert’s repeatedly came up as the best place to get ice cream on the island. We tried it, along with a couple of other ice cream shops, and Lappert’s definitely was the best. Make sure to pick up a punch card on your first visit to earn a free ice cream. If you’re anything like us, you’ll earn it before you leave the island .

Waimea Canyon

Waimea Canyon is called the “Grand Canyon of Hawaii.” Its views are spectacular and it’s the perfect place for families who love the outdoors. There are also several little hikes and viewpoints on the way up that are great for stretching your legs and exploring. We personally enjoyed checking out the Red Dirt Waterfall and the Iliau Nature Loop before heading to Waimea Canyon Lookout, the main viewing point of the canyon.

What bebe loved: Our girls loved eating ice cream almost every day of our trip. 😉 They also enjoyed spending so much time outside, and of course, playing on Kauai’s awesome playgrounds.

What mom loved: How beautiful the island is (it’s a great place to take cute pictures of your little ones!) and learning more about Hawaiian culture.

Have you been to Kauai before? What did you enjoy most with your kids? Are there any other places and activities that you would add to our list? Let us know in the comments below!