After our golf plans got canceled, we decided to squeeze in a tasting at Kōloa Rum Company--and…read morehonestly, it ended up being one of our favorite stops of the day. It's located at the beautiful Kilohana Plantation, so even if you're not a big rum drinker, it's worth visiting. You can wander through the gardens, stop by the sweet shop, grab a bite at Gaylord's Restaurant, or catch the luau. It's just a really nice place to spend an afternoon. It's highly recommend making a reservation online. However we couldn't book online, but we called about an hour before and were able to get in. I also had no idea the tasting itself was complimentary, which made the experience even better. Our Rumtender, Randy, was awesome! He walked us through the history of Kōloa Rum, explained each variety, and shared his favorite ways to enjoy them. It felt more like chatting with a friend than sitting through a tasting. Safe to say we were convinced--we ended up bringing home two bottles! Whether you're a rum fan or just looking for something fun and different to do in Kauai, I'd definitely recommend adding this to your itinerary.

This is a 21+ NO CHILDREN alcohol tasting event. You sign up ahead of time for reservations to join…read moreabout 10-15 others for a rum tasting and history lesson about local rum making. Every day is a different experience as they use different rums and premixes. We came on the Mai Tai day with about 10 others. When signing up, it looks like they can sometimes charge, but there was no cost when we signed up. It is located across from a modern shopping area, next to the local highway (not fast). You enter the plantation area that is a wide open flat grass kept area leading to large older building and entertainment like plantation tours, train and restaurant. Drive the little winding path to the left side and there is the Koloa building with a gift shop and tasting room. When you check in at the gift shop you can browse or wait on the porch. They will check ID and confirm no children. In the bar tasting room, you will be given a large shot and then tasters, not more than 2 shots total in liquor. You can ask for water, and you can use one of the two shot glasses to pour any leftovers into if you don't like one of the rums. NO SHARING, it is part of their license requirements. Great rum. I will not explain because that is part of the experience and they do it much better. Friendly staff. No pressure. After the tasting, they offered to take pictures and answer questions. This is a good stop for rainy days or when you are on your way from one side of island to the other. Located on the south side on the main road (highway).

I found HouLau on yelp after looking into chocolate farm tours on the island. With the 5 star…read morereview and the economical price, my husband and I decided to book. What a fabulous experience! There was only one other couple on the tour, which lasted nearly four hours. Howard and Sally gave us the full story of how they came to be chocolate farmers, took us on the tour of the property, we picked our own ripe pods, then opened them to taste the matrix. They then took us into the building where the chocolate is made, showing us the step-by-step process. Both are great communicators, with a gentle mannerism and easy humor. The final part of the tour included a tasting, with the option to buy some of the chocolate, the amazing brownies that Sally makes, homemade vanilla and also the local honey. We both left very inspired by Howard and Sally's story and dedication. If you are inclined to take a chocolate farm tour, HouLau is highly recommended for a personalized and memorable tour.

I loved this place. Howard and Sally were awesome! They treated my gf and I like we were long time…read morefriends, showed us their whole process from picking cacao pods to roasting beans and pouring the chocolate molds. They gave us more than a chocolate tour by giving us their interesting family history and how they learned to make chocolate. Not only was the chocolate great but they also make the best brownies (not this kind lol!) Email them on their website to schedule a visit and learn about these great people.

Spring for the deluxe tour. At the end instead of having to decide what you want you get a great…read morevariety. Our tour guide Sherry was amazing, great energy. Expected to have my husband pass me his dark chocolate as normally it's not his thing but he tried it and I'm sad to say he kept eating all the chocolate. If you're looking for a good intro to fine chocolate and eco tourism this is it.

a must-stop three hour tour for chocoholics if visiting the island of Kauai…read more Like coffee, the cacao plant grows in the tropical belt with Hawaii being the only state in the Union that can grow it. Thus, taking a chocolate tour (and sampling chocolate) became something my wife wanted to do during our visit to Kauai. I booked it on the first day on the island, with cost being $140 per person via Viator, and was able to reserve spots for the following day at 11:00. It's well set-up with clear signs pointing you to the farm (need to pass by other houses through a small residential area). Guides will tell you where to park your car...we intentionally came only 10 minutes before the start and were some of the last ones to arrive. Our tour was fully filled with a maximum of 25 guests. The property is hilly, and the tour does involve a bit of walking, with 3 separate sitting areas where we sampled different foods. In our initial gathering spot, we met Mason (our primary guide). He later told us that he was going into civics. His charismatic personality and willingness to help others, really serves his guests well during the tour and his future (in politics, I'm assuming). We learned a lot about the farm, and had access to bathrooms, natural bug spray (mosquitos definitely bite here) with a place to wash hands, and distribution of umbrellas (for the occasional shower and protection from the sun). Got to sample an apple banana and cocoa tea while learning about the history of the farm. There was so much information, I had to take notes on my smartphone...apologies if I looked like I was not paying attention. In addition to the 3968 cacao trees on the farm (46 acres), other products are grown and raised to supplement the viability of the main crop: apple bananas whose leaves are used the cacao fermentation process; honey from the 50 hives to pollinate the cacao (the parasitic destructor mites that have devastated honey bee hives across the world have not yet made it to Kauai...makes me appreciate the Hawaiian agricultural controls); the vanilla plant vines that are hand pollinated to produce such rare extract that the public can't buy it. We walked to the second spot, passing by various plants and crops. There we sampled unusual tropical fruit (rambutan, soursop, and white pineapple), chocolate covered macadamia nuts (grown in Hawaii), and different honeys. Made me love mac nuts again. The final spot was to taste the chocolate bars. We sampled 5 of theirs (70% dark, 70% with sea salt, 75% with rum, 78% reserve, 50% milk with coffee/nibs), 3 Valrhona, and 1 Hershey. Mason gave a demonstration by hand of how cocoa liquor is made from the fermented seeds (this part is done by machine at a plant in Oahu...their plan is to do future expansion in Kauai so they can emphatically state that it is a completely Kauai product). The 70% dark 1/8 lb bars are $18, and I ended up buying quite a few to give as gifts (Mason didn't buy this explanation). We tried one bar when we got home, and can confirm how creamy and sweet they are (no bitterness). Other tidbits: -- chocolate is a fruit, not a bean or vegetable. -- Only Hawaii can grow it in U.S. -- Grafting is common for consistency -- Chocolate is purple. Black means there were moldy shells. No mold here, so discarded shells can be made into tea -- Most macadamia nuts sold in Hawaii are grown in Australia, and only packaged in Hawaii. -- White chocolate is real chocolate, just using cocoa butter only. -- AI will tell you dark chocolate is bitter cause raw cocoa is earthy (i.e. bitter). Instead, Mason proposed that it was because mass production causes uneven, incomplete fermentation. Smaller batches = careful watching = less bitterness. This was a revelation to me. -- the owner is a fifth generation farmer in Kauai, with him recently changing the name of his farm to his family name. -- At the 2023 Cacao of Excellence Awards held in Europe, Lydgate won the top prize (gold medal) for the Asia & Pacific region, along with six others in the same region, including 2 others from Hawaii. They had previously been named Top 50 in the world multiple times. -- Because they are such a popular tour, there are multiple time slots and days available. The most important thing to note about the quality of the chocolate: cacao plants bear fruit all year round, with Lydgate farms picking and fermenting by hand when it is the right time (as opposed to bigger operations where they combine ripe and unripe fruit all together for the sake of efficiency). Even for a layman like me, it was a convincing argument on why their dark chocolate is premium, costly, and has no bitterness (even at 70%). The major awards that they have received is just confirmation of this fact. And the tour being 3 hours long in such a small area...the time went by really fast.

Came on a Tuesday, party of 2, for the 9:30am tour (they only do one 3 hour tour per day), price…read morewas $125 per person. Now I originally was aghast that a botanical garden tour was this expensive, but after doing it, I think it's actually well worth the price. This isn't one of those gardens you can just walk in and wander around - it's guided tours only with staff. Pros: - Probably the most entertaining and varied botanical garden tour I've ever done, complete with a chocolate tasting sit-down learning experience with the guides. - It's BEAUTIFUL - and doubles as a leisurely hike if you're very able-bodied. It felt like a very HAWAII experience given the lush greenery, the number of new plants I had never seen before, and fun facts about Kauai and this specific botanical garden. - There's different "stops" on the tour where you'll get to try more uncommon fruits and bites (we had longan, rambutan, apple banana, sugarcane plant, and this really delicious honey!!) and you get to try a cacao fruit (which tastes nothing like chocolate lol) - they provide organic herbal bug spray if you don't bring your own - Pretty easy to find, the staff were super communicative beforehand via email and text with directions - Our tour guide Lauren was super knowledgeable and answered all our questions kindly, even when she was visibly quite pregnant! I was impressed at her stamina - I personally liked that it was a pretty "active" tour, where you hike across a bridge, uphill a bit, etc. You should definitely wear comfortable walking or hiking shoes, because the dirt can get pretty wet if it rains. I wore hiking pants and hiking shoes and felt pretty comfortable, and I felt sorry for people who came in sandals - The chocolate tasting was really unique - we got to try their in-house chocolate that had notes of cinnamon - and they said that it was a cinnamon tree in their grove where water would pass that gave it this flavor! - They also provide walking sticks and umbrellas for people if you want them - Reservation only, online booking in advance - I think this preserves the magical vibe of this nature-y place and keeps the quality of the service high - The staff clearly love and care about what they do, which is very refreshing to see! Cons: - It can be pretty strenuous if you are elderly or have orthopedic issues.

We did the 3 hour walking chocolate tour. Heidi was our tour guide. She was awesome!! She truly is…read morewhat she calls herself a "Plant Nerd". And we loved her! We will be back!!

Good vibes. the bartenders were friendly and on point. Definitely a go to dinner spot. ‍‍read more

What a wonderful Yelp find! Lots of locals, so you know it's good and worth the price!…read more We had the Braise Short Rib special with Garlic Mashed potatoes. And the Hawaiian plate: Kaluah pork, lomi salmon, ahi poke, mac salad, and poi. I'm not a huge poi fan- so I won't comment. But I do love mac salad and theirs is special! Less "wet" from mayo, more on a thicker side-- superb! The braised short rib was melt in your mouth with a great semi glaze and fantastic crust on the meat. It is a sports bar- so the atmosphere is quite lively and loud. Do not expect a quiet dinner. But the patio is less loud.

The food was typical Hawaiian luau fare, and plenty of it (chicken, pork, salads, desserts)…read more Drink policy is a little strange. You may only walk with one drink in hand, so getting a round for the table takes 8 trips. The good bartender made them all at once so I just had to pick them up, one at a time. No line standing for drinks 2 through 8. I got my steps in. The really aren't any bad seats. We paid a little extra for "premium" seating. That got us "ringside". Well worth it. Only negative was the heat. Fans didn't come on until after the fire dancer. Maybe that was a safety thing for the performers, but the fans could have been on before the fire act (I think). Some of the older customers from cold states were having heat issues. Being from Florida, we were fine. Would we do this again, yeah I think so.

Mixed bag here. I thought the food was good, not great. Just good. The desserts were just ok…read more But I thought the show was excellent. This is my first lu'au even though I live in Hawaii. I was impressed. I thought the performers were awesome, especially the fire dancers. Just really awesome and the dancers were enthusiastic which made for a better performance. I thought the audio was a bit off. The volume was crazy loud to fill the huge tent but it was hard to hear the individual voices of the narrators. So maybe something to boost the midrange a bit in the balance of the sound system or whatever. I'm not a sound engineer. So if you're visiting Kauai and are looking for a lu'au, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Kalamaku. I think you'll have a good time.

Kauai plantation railway is a fun train ride for the whole family!…read more We made reservations online, and the location was easy to find. It's a pretty solid train ride that gives you a view of the whole estate, including a number of the crops that were grown on Kauai, including sugarcane and bananas. Near the end of the tour, there's also an opportunity to feed the farm animals, which was a big hit with the kids! You can feed the horses, cows, and pigs. Boris, the pig, even does tricks on command, which was my daughter's favorite part of the whole tour! Great adventure that we all enjoyed!

Took my niece and son here for the first time and the train ride itself was a blast -- genuinely…read morefun for kids and adults alike, and I'd recommend it for a family outing. Where things fell short was the dining/happy hour experience beforehand. We arrived on time for happy hour and were told our food would be out before boarding, but it never came. Our server mentioned she'd checked on it a few times and that our ticket had gotten stuck in the queue -- meanwhile we watched tables around us get served. It seemed like she was covering both the bar and the dining section solo, which is a lot to juggle, and I think that stretched her (and our food) too thin. To her credit, she was apologetic and comped our entire food order, which I appreciated. I did ask if we could just get some chips for the kids since we were trying to feed them before the ride, but was pointed toward the gift shop instead -- a small thing, but it would've gone a long way in that moment. We also missed out on the juice that I paid for with the ride but we never got to redeem it in time. Overall, the railway experience itself is worth it, but the food service side needs better staffing support -- maybe a dedicated server for the dining area separate from the bar would help things run smoother for families trying to eat before boarding.

We booked this tour as a fun extra thing to do on a couples vacation and it ended up being a…read morehighlight of our trip!!!! Booking we thought, drinking and animals were worth the price of admission but the tour is more than that. I can't praise our amazing tour guides, Tiny and Rick, enough. They were knowledgeable, hilarious, and incredibly kind. Rick educated us on all the agriculture grown on the farm which was fascinating, and was able to answer any questions anyone threw at him. The mai tais were obviously amazing but their original farm cocktail was knock your socks off good. If you're considering booking, do it right now! The four of us who went talked about it for the rest of the trip- I can't recommend it enough!

The tour and the guides were amazing. They were knowledgeable, personable and the rum did not hurt…read moreeither

Tasting Kauai food tours are always the highlight of our visits to Kauai. Susan is a delightful…read moreguide, bringing her island style, friendly and inspiring perspectives, and excellent storytelling to each stop. She is also extremely accommodating to all the guests. The food is always incredible - excellent dishes at wonderful eateries supporting local, family-owned businesses. Portions are generous and the food is top quality! Susan offers great recommendations for other eateries and local activities that are worth the price of admission alone! We highly recommend Tasting Kauai - all of the tours are fantastic and well worth the reasonable cost.

ZERO stars to this company!!! We (4) signed up and prepaid, was at the meeting place as requested…read more12:45 in Kapa'a. Stayed there for over 45", hubs called and texted at least 4-5 times. No call back, no text back. What a sham, no customer service, call back your damn customers. I'm sure we'll never see a refund nor explanation!! Bye bye $500 bucks. Reporting you to the BBB and TripAdvisor!!! What a rip off, do not book with these clowns!!!!! Oh, and there was "no refunds" stated on our vouchers!

Our tour guide Allison, was very informative. The tour was nice but a bit long... It was all about…read moredark chocolate, and some very different flavors! So if you're not a dark chocolate lover or have an open palate, it might not be for you..Overall , we enjoyed it!!!

We had a fantastic visit. Delicious welcome fruit table. The service and knowledge about chocolate…read moremaking and the growing of cacao trees was amazing. Angie Villa is so informative and kindly answers all questions. Delicious chocolate!!! Plan your visit.