Is Kauai Ready For Visitors Right Now?

Wednesday morning on Kauai, we still have no power. Beat of Hawaii is running on a generator, and keeping it going has become more complicated because we haven’t been able to get gas for it as of this morning. KIUC technicians we’ve spoken with told us to be prepared for perhaps a week or longer without electricity, while making clear that nobody really knows yet how long restoration will take.

Our lead photo was taken at Baby Beach on the Poipu coastline. The home on the right should be facing the ocean. It was ripped off its foundation and is sitting in the middle of the street.

Normal errands aren’t necessarily normal either. Some stores are letting people inside only a few at a time because they had no power. Those conditions can change by the hour, but they’re part of what someone arriving for a Kauai vacation needs to understand before assuming that because the hurricane is gone, the island has simply reopened.

One reader, Pamela, put the uncertainty plainly Wednesday morning: “My husband and I are due to fly in 9/13 and spend the first 4 days at the Outrigger. So many questions. Not sure if it’s a possibility to change islands; I can’t change my vacation week from work.”

So is Kauai ready for visitors? As Rob put it this morning, anyone arriving immediately needs to understand that they’re entering a real mess, with a lot still upside down and brown water around the island.

If you come now, this will not be the vacation you were hoping for. We suggest looking at a different island until power is restored on Kauai and the island has time to recover. Not all hotels, restaurants, and activities are open. What matters now is exactly where you’re staying, whether that property has working utilities and services, where you plan to go, and which parts of the island your trip depends on.

33,000 means electric accounts, not people, media.

One number is being repeated everywhere this morning as though 33,000 Kauai residents remain without power. That’s not at all what KIUC reported. The cooperative said approximately 33,000 of its 36,000 member accounts remained without electricity, representing about 90% of its accounts. Those include homes and businesses, so the number can’t simply be translated into a resident head count.

Restoration is only beginning. KIUC restored 466 accounts in Eleele and Hanapepe Tuesday while completing an initial inspection of its transmission system using helicopters, drones and crews on the ground. The utility said it would focus on transmission repairs until Friday, with distribution circuit work following if that goes well. KIUC still has not provided individual restoration times. What the technicians told us about possibly being without power for a week was a conversation with crews, not an official islandwide KIUC estimate.

For now, Kauai visitors should check their specific trip details.

The state’s current visitor guidance is fairly broad. Visitors with reservations are being told to keep checking with their airline and accommodations, while those whose Kauai lodging is no longer available may need to consider another island until conditions improve.

We’d go further than simply confirming that a reservation still exists. Ask the specific hotel or vacation rental whether it has power, whether restaurants and other services are operating, whether any part of the property was damaged or remains inaccessible, and whether the beaches, roads, and activities you planned are actually available.

We’ve already heard directly from travelers caught by the uncertainty. People we know had their vacation rental canceled just as they were leaving for Kauai, while others turned around on the way to their mainland departure airport. We don’t know how common that is, and we aren’t going to turn a handful of examples into an islandwide trend.

The answers will likely change quickly over the next several days, and perhaps longer in the hardest-hit places. Anyone coming soon needs to check the trip they actually booked rather than decide based on whether Kauai as a whole is “open” or “closed.”

What we found when we went back to Poipu Tuesday evening.

We first drove the Poipu coastline Monday while Lowell was approaching, when the ocean had an anger to it neither of us could remember seeing before. We returned late Tuesday with cameras and video to see what the water had done after the storm passed.

What we found just reinforced how uneven the damage and recovery are. Some places looked battered but usable, while others faced far more serious effects or even destruction, and that can change what a visitor experiences from one property or beach to the next.

That’s why we keep coming back to the same advice for anyone arriving soon: check the exact place you’re staying and the things you came to Kauai to do. A functioning airport doesn’t answer whether your accommodation has electricity and full services, whether the beach you planned to use is safe, or whether the activity you booked is operating.

LIH is operating, but on generator power.

Lihue Airport resumed flights Tuesday afternoon, and HDOT says airport facilities weren’t damaged in a way that prevented operations. We are advised that LIH is operating on generator backup while electrical restoration continues across Kauai.

Road access is improving unevenly. HDOT cleared Kaumualii Highway between Lihue and Kekaha, while Hanalei Bridge remained closed because of fallen utility poles. Wailua traffic will also be altered through Friday while crews clear debris beneath the mauka bridge. Other areas of the highway are running alternating single-lane traffic, and delays should be expected.

Kauai’s ports are also coming back unevenly. Nawiliwili Harbor reopened before 5 p.m. Tuesday, while Port Allen remained closed in HDOT’s latest update. Honolulu Harbor also remained closed, with officials hoping conditions would allow full restoration of its entrance buoys Thursday. In the meantime, schools and state and county offices remain closed through Friday while recovery work continues.

Brown water remains a problem around Hawaii.

The Hawaii Department of Health has brown-water advisories posted across the major Hawaiian Islands following Lowell, including an islandwide advisory for Kauai. Storm runoff can carry sewage, animal waste, chemicals, and debris into coastal waters, and the state advises people to stay out of affected areas.

Anyone coming primarily for Kauai’s beaches should check current conditions at the specific places they intend to use.

We’re still reporting from Kauai while our own power and water remain out, and conditions are changing too quickly for this to be the last word. We’ll update again as restoration progresses and we learn more about what visitors are actually encountering.

Photos and Video © Beat of Hawaii.

By Rob and Jeff, Beat of Hawaii.

Some of the most meaningful parts of Hawaii are the ones visitors walk right past without knowing they are there. We’ve spent nearly 20 years finding them firsthand for BOH as full-time Hawaii residents reporting on travel, culture, and island life, and telling you what they mean for your trip. Join us →