1.   CAN WE WALK TO THE BEACH?   Many places advertise that you can walk to the beach.  A friend who manages 40 rentals and has her own rental near beach says that all her guests drive somewhere else everyday.  Why?  You will want to explore many different beaches, each with different character.  (See our beach tour Beach Photo Tour.)  Kauai has more white sand beach than all the other islands combined.  Some beaches offer soulful walks, some good for swimming, (lagoon sheltered beach or lifeguard), some for surfing (winter),  snorkeling (summer),  infants ..... For rentals that claim "walk to beach", question is, "Is it a safe beach?  Is it crowded by houses?  Do you walk by streets that are dangerous for kids? Is it even attractive? "    

The beach that is walking distance from our place, about 10 minute walk, is a river mouth that is not as epic as other choices.  We ourselves never use it.  It is better to drive 1 mile to world class beach, Lumahai, or Tunnels Beach, 2 miles, or 4 miles to Hanalei Bay, or 4 to Ke'e.  The list goes on.  Walking on road here isn't safe as there are no shoulders in some places. Bike riding in this area is also hazardous for same reason. There are intrepid joggers who make the traffic go around them, dangerous for everyone. I think it is better to drive 5 minutes to long beach and walk or jog there.   When there are big waves, ONLY SWIM at lagoon beaches or near lifeguard towers.

2.  HOW CLOSE ARE STORES AND RESTAURANTS?   Hanalei Town is 4 miles, or 10 minutes away, with about 15 restaurants, grocery store, photo processing, ATM machine (of course!),  and gift-art shops.

3.   IS THIS ONE HOUSE OR SEVERAL? This is one long house with all rooms sharing view to south. Each space has a private entrance after coming up stairs (or elevator )

4. WHAT WEATHER CAN WE EXPECT?     Is the weather predictable anywhere?!!   Do I trust the weather report??? (not!)  Hawaii is a land of rainbows. That means sun shining down on rain. That means passing clouds and showers mixed with blue skies and sun. You can expect the weather to change several times a day. You can expect gloomy mornings to change to brilliant baking sun block afternoons, and vice versa. We have had a record breaking droughts in recent winters, while some summers have been rainy, which just shows how unpredictable it is. Honestly, in 6 years of business, there have only been 4 times where a period of 5 days was rained out, and all 4 times it was state wide storms.   In general, anticipating some rain is wise, and having sunblock with you is very wise! You will be in shorts and t-shirts most of the time. Summers bring one sweater just in case an evening is cool. Winters, bring two layers in case it gets real chilly. ... Below is current weather within one hour of right... now!..........                                  If you hear that it is storming here, don't worry.  It will change before you arrive.

A note on South Shore vs. North Shore.   All the calendar photos of Kauai that you have probably ever seen were taken on North Shore, the green lush side of every island in Hawaii.  I think this makes the South shore businesses jealous, so they put out negative comments about the North Shore being rainy or cloudy.  Read GREEN!   The south sides of all our islands are the leeward, dry sides.  Mesquite and prickly pear cactus, no kidding.  Sun is guaranteed and so are mega resorts and artificial environments.  On Oahu it is Waikiki, on Maui it is Kihei, on Big Island it is Kona, and on Kauai  it is Poipu-Waimea-Kekaha.  On Kauai, a small island, the 20 mile long  south side can be seen in a 2 hour drive.   Forget splitting your vacation between North and South!  Stay on North Shore and visit South side one half day, see the desert and resorts and be very pleased you chose the calendar photo, green, North shore.  Oh, another criticism from the south, "rough water in winter on North Shore".   True, depending on waves, but there are several sheltered beaches.   We know.   We swim daily.

Not convinced?  Why is Pierce Brosnan my neighbor and NOT living on South Shore?

5. ADA? ADA refers to wheel chair friendly. Dawn Studio was designed as complete wheel chair access space, with lever door handles, roll under kitchenette and bathroom vanity, and roll in shower. And of course, the elevator.

6.  VALUES/SPIRIT/LIMITS ?    We don't want to attract drunk energy or drugs or promiscuous energy (people who bring home strangers). We expect our guests to dress modestly in the carport area or on grounds.  (One young couple in carport explained their nudity this way  "We're from California!"   So! ) I am as alternative as can be, but I believe in discretion and wholesomeness.   We don't subscribe to HBO or Showtime anymore, because of late night porn. If you like to party, maybe a different rental would be better for you.    I would like to hope our place is supportive of traditional family bonds.   I use words 'traditional' and 'family' and 'honeymoon'  in historic and biological sense. 

7.   HOW CLOSE ARE THE NEIGHBORS?  We have one neighbor behind bamboo, maybe 150 feet away. Basically no neighbors. We hear crickets, frogs, dogs sometimes, chickens sometimes, wind sometimes, rain sometimes.

8.   ARE ALL THE RENTALS NON-SMOKING?    Yes, no smoking.  Message from webmaster.... smoking killed a friend of mine before he turned 50.  Quit now.

9. ARE THESE HOT TUBS?  The jacuzzi tubs are empty until you fill them with fresh water.

10.   AIR CONDITIONING?   We don't need AC on the North Shore.   All the spaces have ceiling and portable fans, and many screens. This is comfortable. If you are from the Southern states and used to air conditioning,  or have stayed on desert sides of islands, maybe you will expect AC but you won't miss it once you are here.   And on winter mornings when there is a clear starry night, as stated in weather paragraph, a sweater and socks are often needed, (unless you just flew in from winter in Wisconsin!).

 11.  WHAT IS CANCELLATION POLICY?  When you book, you do this with an email confirming your intention, the booking manager confirms with email, and marks calendar and then sends directions by email., and  after all that, that is when you pay your deposit by credit card or your paypal account with buttons near bottom of home page.   Full payment of balance is expected with another credit card payment 60 days before your arrival.   If you cancel more than 60 days before your booking, we charge $50 service fee and return funds to you using Paypal. Less than 60 days, if you choose to cancel, we refund you only if we can replace your dates with another visitor.  What if there is a disaster?  If airport is closed and your vacation cannot occur, or if landslide blocks road and you can't get here, we each should take 50-50 responsibility for the loss, and I would refund you 50%.  

If you arrive here and do not like the place, we''ll refund 30%  in such a scenario.  This is unconventionally generous compared to other rental agencies on Kauai.  This has only happened once in 2 years. The guests thought there was lack of privacy because there were no curtains on balcony sliding door and left before talking to anyone. The house is 20 feet up in air and there is no other house in sight. It would be impossible for anyone to see them from the jungle at that height.

 12.  DO YOU TAKE CREDIT CARDS?        Yes.  The service is provided by Paypal.com with over 100 million accounts, and EBAY their biggest client.   If you are coming from Europe and don't want to use card,  we can arrange for you to wire money bank to bank. However Paypal is now international.

13.   WHAT DO YOU PROVIDE ... Washer (with detergent included) and Dryer for laundry  is located at top of stairs,   beach towels,  cooler, charcoal barbecue, iron and ironing board, hair dryer,  dvd, cd player, cable tv, ethernet - direct internet, no wireless for health reasons, some beach equipment.  

There is no daily maid service.  You clean your place while you are here and take trash to cans in carport when needed.  On that subject, it is shoes-off policy in house, and there is hose at bottom of stairs to wash off your feet.   If you have a favorite shampoo, bring it, but not in carry on luggage, as you know.  Hikers should bring shoes and shorts that WILL get stained by iron oxide  in dirt here.

14.   WILL WE NEED TO RENT A CAR?   Yes, absolutely. The public transportation here is very marginal. You will want to explore all the beaches and there are no signal lights within 20 miles, so don't worry, you will not be in a traffic zone on north shore.  There is rush hour traffic in Lihue and Kapaa.  For car rental quotes, use Expedia.com to compare prices, then contact car agency directly to see what best deal is. Tell them you are needing a car at Lihue Airport (LIH) on Kauai. For guests under 25 years old, you will probably pay double for car.  I, webmaster, personally think renting a jeep is a waste of money. They are all automatic transmission, you can't lock them, they cost double an economy car, and, there are almost no roads where you need one!    I know,  I know, you are on safari and have to have 'the look'....   Ask for AAA discounts, etc.   Remember to check for damage before driving off with car.

15.  AIRLINE TIPS?   

Recently, airlines are charging a fee per check in bag.

There is a scanner in Lihue. I definitely reccommend opting out and taking the offensive pad down because of radiation safety issues. If this is new to you, just do search for TSA airport scanner safety alert . The newer scanners have not been sufficiently tested. You can research this quickly. Children or young people who want to someday have children should avoid scanners. More recent TSA rules do not force pad down of children. I would be sure to discuss this with TSA officers before subjecting your child to possible molestation.

I suggest trying to find direct flight into Lihue Kauai (Airport LIH) so you can avoid the waste of time connecting through Honolulu.

Be forewarned.  Frequent flyer miles are usually very stingy on availability.  Book way in advance when you want to use your miles. It is no longer really feasable to count on getting standby flights.

16. HIKERS Bring grubby clothes as the earth (okay, MUD!) here, repeat,  has iron oxide, staining clothes and shoes permanently.  Here are some great photos of famous Kalalau trail (link).    

THE 3 QUESTIONS YOU WILL ASK YOURSELVES...

 1. Do we have to leave?   

2.  How can we bring this feeling home with us?       

3.  When can we come back?    

Reality.....  If you liked this website

you will love our place!  

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