Kauai's East Side, Kauai Hawaii Travel Guide, touring Wailua Kauai, visiting Kapaa

Kauai's East Side

Kauai's East Side

The East Side of Kauai, also referred to as the “Coconut Coast” for its extensive coconut groves, is more populous and fertile than the West Side of the island and even the South Shore of the island. It takes in, quite broadly, the area extending northward along the east coast of Kauai, from just above Lihue to Moloa’a Bay at the northeastern corner of the island.

Wailua

Wailua is one of the principal communities on the East Side and also among the oldest towns on this part of the island. It is situated some 6 miles north of Lihue on the east shore, at the mouth of the Wailua River, Hawaii’s only navigable river. The main places of interest here are Wailua River State Park, located at the mouth of the Wailua River, and Fern Grotto, upriver a little way from Wailua, where hundreds of weddings are performed every year. Also worth visiting in the area are the picturesque, 40-foot O’paeka Falls, the recreated, cultural Kamokila Hawaiian Village, and the nearby Keahua Arboretum.

Kapa'a

Kapa’a lies approximately 2 miles north of Wailua (or 8 miles north of Lihue) on the east shore. It is a former sugar and pineapple plantation town that has emerged as Kauai’s most populous community, ahead of even Lihue, with a population of over 8,000. The town is filled with several restored, 19th-century storefronts and buildings, housing, quite typically, souvenir and clothing shops and other tourist-oriented businesses. In addition to its town center, Kapa’a also has some good beaches.