Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Kaua'i

    5.0 (4 reviews)

    Kaua'i Photos

    You might also consider

    Recommended Reviews - Kaua'i

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration
    Photo of Emma C.
    253
    337
    3230

    8 years ago

    Helpful 9
    Thanks 0
    Love this 10
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 years ago

    This is Paradise and what I imagine heaven to look like. The Island is Breath taking.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Kaua'i Reviews in Other Languages

    Verify this business for free

    Get access to customer & competitor insights.

    Verify this business

    Lydgate Farms

    Lydgate Farms

    4.7
    (367 reviews)
    17.8 km

    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.

    Photos
    Hubs opening up a cocoa pod our guide grabbed right off a tree. They're harvested year-round so you don't have to worry about missing out.
    Hubs opening up a cocoa pod our guide grabbed right off a tree. They're harvested year-round so you don't have to worry about missing out.
    Last stop on the tasting tour. Nice seating area shaded with water.
    Last stop on the tasting tour. Nice seating area shaded with water.
    Henry

    See all

    Henry
    Princeville Botanical Gardens

    Princeville Botanical Gardens

    4.5
    (119 reviews)
    15.5 km

    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 had an amazing time on our visit to Princeville Botanical Gardens. The vast beauty of the…read moregardens were surreal. Our guide was wonderful and knowledgeable. She answered questions and explain many details of the tour. Along the way we tasted many fruits grown in the garden. The chocolate tasting was more than just a tasting. We learned so much and enjoyed many varieties of chocolate. It is truly an interactive tour. We had several younger people and it was wonderful seeing them ask questions and engage with the group.

    Photos
    Princeville Botanical Gardens
    Princeville Botanical Gardens
    Princeville Botanical Gardens

    See all

    Common Ground Kauai

    Common Ground Kauai

    4.2
    (71 reviews)
    17.4 km

    Amazing farm tour to table experience that educates and nourishes. This is a quintessential…read moreactivity that I look for on all Hawaii islands. This farm focuses on sustainability and regenerative farming; I appreciated learning that the main course was a byproduct of Ahi fishing: the Mongchong. The practice of lessening our waste is something we all need to be wary and partake in and respect the earth and the oceans that we take nourishment from. The meal was very special. This is a great chance to taste the unfamiliar; food you'll never taste on the mainland. I hope they excel when they start their restaurant business!

    The food and setting were lovely. This is more of an event space than an actual farm, though they…read moredo source their ingredients locally. The farm tour- at least with the guide we had- was a wander through a small organic garden with a guide describing some plants that might be exotic if you're from the mainland- it's pleasant and interesting. There's no serious description of agriculture on Hawaii or why Hawaii has to import food or what might be done about it. There was no asking for questions, and a maybe 30% disinformation content. I'd suggest the owners list on the menu for the day where each item comes from- clearly that's what their clientele is interested in? Some of this might have been covered in the 4 minute meet with the chef, but I didn't retain it. It would be fun to know what all the ingredients are. Any last minute unforeseen swaps could then be discussed before the meal, since the visitors are interested in sustainable Ag we'd be interested in its unpredictability too.

    Photos
    Salad
    Salad
    Introducing dinner to the farm tour.. at no point were we acknowledged or invited to join this conversation. ‍
    Introducing dinner to the farm tour.. at no point were we acknowledged or invited to join this conversation. ‍
    Dessert

    See all

    Dessert

    Kaua'i - arts - Updated July 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...