This rental was fantastic for our group of 5! My parents (in their 60s) really enjoyed relaxing on the beautiful lanai and walking the beach in front of the house. Also, the snorkeling in front of the house was superb when the wind was down. On windier days we would take a short walk around the point where the outer reef keeps the water quite calm. Their were dozens of turtles to swim with every afternoon, definitely a highlight of the trip. My boyfriend and brother and I (in our 20s) really enjoyed the hiking that the Haena area has to offer. If you go DEFINITELY do the 2 mile Kalalua Trail to Hanakapai Beach. It is a little strenuous but worth every bit of effort. If your not a huge hiker even the first 1/2 mile of the hike offers OUTSTANDING views of the Na Pali coast.. definitely not to be missed!!! We planned to hike the 4 miles to Hanakapai Falls (I hear its great) but ran out of energy and time! We definitely will be back to conquer that! Other activities we enjoyed were a helicopter ride as well as a catamaran sail along the Na Pali Cost... both BEAUTIFUL ways to see the breathtaking north shore of Kauai. As far as restaurants and groceries we enjoyed going to the Dolphin Fish Market in Hanalei and cooking fresh caught fish on the grill at the house. Other places we really enjoyed were Bubba's Burgers and TikiMan Pizza in Hanalei. Tahiti Nui (next to TIkiMan) was a great bar to relax, listen to local hawaiian bands in the evening and enjoy their 50 year old mai tai recipe!!! Everyone in Hanalei was really friendly. We found a number of our groceries at the Big Save in Hanalei but recommend Foodland in Princeville for more variety (and only 5 minute additional drive). Oh and dont miss grabbing a smoothie at the Aloha Juice Bar stand (located next to the Big Save in Hanalei)!!! The Hanalei passion was our favorite of all the smoothies (yes we had one each day, it became an addiction!) I would recommend this house to anyone, regardless of age or ability due to the high number of activities offered. Some days we just enjoyed nothing more than napping on the lanai and beach. The sunsets every afternoon were outstanding. You could walk out to the point on the right and see all of Bali Hai and the accompanying mountains. Such a beautiful way to end each day! The house and neighborhood were so quiet that we all slept great each night. The option of having AC helped as well as we did have a few hot nights and many rentals in this area do not offer AC. We were a bit worried about the Y Camp located next door but this was not an issue. It was occupied part of our stay but we could not hear any of the noise next door. There is also a beach access between the Y Camp and the house but that did not bother us either. Since the house is up on stilts it drowns out a lot of the noise and with very few beach access parking there was never more than a few cars parking and using the beach access. The entire booking process of the house was great!!! Vacational Rental Agent answered all of our questions when trying to find our perfect house. Once we arrived on the island we were greeted by Ginny, the house caretaker. She was really helpful in giving us restaurant ideas, grocery shopping, etc! I cannot recommend this rental enough, we will definitely be back! We stayed for 10 days and it flew by. If you can definitely try to stay at least 10 days to really soak in the area. Kauai offers SO many activities that its fun to do a few things and have days to do nothing. This was my third trip to Kauai and definitely the most enjoyable! I know this is a long review but I know when deciding to invest in a trip like this, more information is better than less. Thank you Vacation Rental Agent, Ginny and the owners of the Makua Kai homes for such a fun trip that we will remember for years to come! Natalie Dallas, TX

Natalie P., Garland, TX, 9.21.11