I haven't been there, but I hear the "Garden Island" is beautiful.

While I don't have specific reco's on best places to stay, friends/family say that the North is more rugged (but beautiful) and the South has more sunshine and better beaches - depends on what you prefer.

Check out the Ultimate Kauai Guidebook by Andrew Doughty: http://www.wizardpub.com/kauai...

We stayed here in 2008: http://www.secretbeachkauai.co.... It was very spendy, but worth it. Extremely secluded, except for the occasional gardener wandering the grounds - the cottage is set within a nursery (the plant-kind) on a cliff overlooking the Pacific. Just a short drive from Kilauea (for restaurants and a few shops) on the North side of the island. We also stayed at the Hilton (which is now the Kauai Beach Resort), which was a great home base to explore other parts of the island. The guidebook that Sam recommended is "the blue bible" and the only one you will ever need.

Good advice, Sam. I'll pickup the book.

Nicole - wow, this cottage is amazing. Lucky you. Spendy is right, but I can see how it could be justified. We'll keep it on the radar as we shop airbnb...thanks!

I highly recommend going through homeaway.com or vrbo.com to find a vacation rental. We stayed at the Waipouli Beach Resort in Kapaa, it was beautiful. The condos are large and nicely furnished and the comlex has a large resort pool.

Check it out, here's an example of a unit available for rent on VRBO:
http://www.vrbo.com/140747

We also stayed at the Kauai Beach Resort, which was nice as well. If we went back I think we would prefer to stay near Poipu beach on the South end of the island. We really fell in love with that beach and there many resorts and condos in that area too.

My husband and I have been to all 4 major hawaiian islands and we return every year. Our favorite is the Big Island, but there is truly and island for everyone!

One area that you may want to look into is Princeville. The St.Regis Princeville resort and also the Westin Princeville both are very nice hotels and in prime locations but because of the size of the island you may want to stay at a resort near the airport for 3 or 4 nights and than venture on to the Princeville area later. kauai is an island with so much to do and see, my wife and I were there in 2001 and we drove over 500 miles over the 6 days that we were there.On Barkingsands beach the sealions are lying all over the place but you have to keep your distance and than there is Waimea canyon,I'd say you've got at least five days of siteseeing and luaus to do; If I were to book this trip today I would make it an 11 day trip and spend the last 5 nights in Princeville. HappyTravels. PS. you will need a 4x4 to see all of the sites, most roads leading to the best beaches are of sand and unpaved, so be sure and take the damage protection package. For good island food at the south end of the island, we ate at a place called the Oki Diner it's where the locals ate.Great prices! Great breakfast & lunch menu. Happy Travels.

Poipu on the south coast would get my vote. Very beautiful, not quite as pretty as the north shore, but less rain. You have a choice of top hotels like the Hyatt Kauai and the Kauai Marriott down to less pricy places like the Aston Poipu Kai and Poipu Point. So stay down south and make excursions dependent on the forecast.
Kauai is brilliant for hiking - challenge yourself with the Kalalau trail on the famed Na Pali coast, or walk the magnificent Polihale beach.
Kauai makes a refreshing change from Hawaii so why not do something new?
Regards,
Mark S. Stickney
Miami car accident lawyer

Thanks to all for the advice. We had a fantastic time on Kauai, a much needed break from the City. Taking in consideration what worked for us, and what didn't, we posted an itinerary here on DL: http://www.dinklife.com/chat-s...