If you think of Kauai as a small and quiet island where driving will be easy and fun, think twice! Kauai’s popularity has grown dramatically over the last years and more and more people have been moving there. So driving on Kauai is not so calm and relaxed anymore.

I live on Oahu and I have always thought that Kauai’s traffic is significantly less than traffic on Oahu. On a recent visit I was surprised to see how busy Kauai’s streets actually are. The areas around Lihue, Wailua and Kapaa are particularly busy during rush hours (on weekdays early in the morning and in the afternoon). I would say Kauai’s traffic feels almost as busy as on Oahu. The only difference between the two islands is that Oahu has multiple-lane roads and highways while Kauai’s highways are mainly one lane in each direction. Also I noticed that there are few traffic lights on Kauai outside of the main towns, even in busy areas where a traffic light could be very helpful.

Some of the roads on Kauai are narrow and curvy, such as the roads to Kalihiway Bay, Anini Beach, Anahola Beach and others. Kuhio Highway 560 from Princeville to Kee Beach is a bit challenging. After Hanalei, it is a narrow and curvy road with several one-lane bridges and warning signs for falling rocks on the side of the street. When I drove there the road reminded me a bit of the Hana Highway on Maui. It is just much shorter. Keep in mind that if you want to drive that route and stop at some scenic locations, it is best to do that during the week. On weekends it is even busier and you may have a hard time finding a parking spot. There is a large parking lot on Tunnels Beach where you can park when you can’t find parking space on the side of the road, but you have to pay $10 if you want to park there.

The trickiest area (in my opinion) on Kuhio Highway 560 between Hanalei and Kee Beach is a double one-lane bridge, which is located right before the Hanalei Colony Resort. You can barely see if a car is coming from the other side of the bridge so once you start crossing the bridge and you see a car coming from the opposite side, one of you will have to drive back to make room. Kauai has an island-wide bridge etiquette which means that 7-8 cars from one direction drive over a one-lane bridge and then it’s the other sides turn. But sometimes when you arrive at this double-bridge and there aren’t any cars in front of you, it is difficult to know if other cars from your side have just passed or not. A traffic light here would certainly help.

Below I have posted some photos and videos about driving on Kauai.