Kauai Weather

The weather on Kauai is pretty balanced throughout the year. Still, knowing about this balance and what the weather is like here, before your trip, is very helpful when it comes to selecting a place to stay on the island. If you're adamant about avoiding the rain, then, as you'll see below, the south shore is certainly going to be your best bet. If a little rain doesn't bother you, then perhaps somewhere on the north or east shore is better suited for you. You may also be interested in our When to visit Kauai article. Now, let's take a look at Kauai's general weather patterns.

Kauai is known as 'The Garden Isle' for good reason - it's lush, green, and wet (home to one of the top two wettest spots on the planet actually). Many folks who love Kauai do so because they know its verdant appearance is thanks to a happy medium of both sunshine and rain. Plus it means rainbows, and to date we can certainly say we've seen more rainbows on Kauai than anywhere else in Hawaii; often double and even triple rainbows depending on our location - it's a sight to be seen, that's for sure.

When you begin to plan your Kauai trip you'll likely want to know which areas offer the most sun and the driest weather. This is especially important to consider during the winter months, when the tradewinds bring additional moisture to the islands. Below is an ordered list of the driest/sunniest locations to the wetter locations on the island, year round. We'll start with the driest.

1.) Waimea is probably the driest of all the areas on the island, but offers fewer accommodation choices than other locations

2.) Poipu or Lawai, which offer an abundance of accommodations on the south shore, are your best bet for a dry and sunny vacation. The area averages about 30-40 inches of rain each year

3.) Kapa`a on the eastern (coconut) coast is your next best choice averaging about 50 inches of rain annually.

4.) The fourth location is also the wettest, but offers gorgeous scenery and lush surroundings - it's the north shore; Princeville, Hanalei, Kilauea, etc). This area gets around 85 inches each year.

In selecting any of these locations be mindful of where you'll be spending the majority of your time on the island. Will you be hiking, beach lounging, swimming or snorkeling? Keep these things in mind when selecting your location. The good news is that Kauai is small enough to reach almost any area of the island within an hour or so. If you find yourself in a rain shower one minute, it'll typically be sunny again just up the road. Ultimately, it's hard to pick a bad location on Kauai to stay for your vacation. Be sure to check our Where to stay on Kauai article as well for more information about each area of Kauai.

More information about Hawaii weather can be found within our Hawaii Weather and Climate Patterns article.

The map below should also help you visualize which areas are the wettest and driest on the island.