Po’ipu houses two golf courses in the area: Kiahuna Golf Club and Poipu Bay Golf Course. Kiahuna Golf Club is an 18-hole, par-70 course with greens fees starting at $50 for 9 holes and $90 for the full 18 holes. The Poipu Bay Golf Course is the site of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, and offers athletes a challenging par-72 Scottish links-style course. Since it opened its greens for play in 1991, Poipu Bay Golf Course has become known as the Pebble Beach of the Pacific.
For tennis aficionados, Kiahuna Swim and Tennis Club, Po’ipu Kai Tennis Club, and Tennis Garden at the Hyatt Regency have courts available to the public, although many of the hotels in the area also provide guests with in-house courts. Racket rentals, ball machines, and private lessons are available at all three public locations for a fee.
Kayak and bicycle rentals are available through Outfitters Kauai in the Po’ipu Plaza. With each rental, there is also the option to make guided tour plans to bike down Waimea Canyon or kayak the two rivers on Kauai, the Hule’ia or the Wailua. Additionally, there are zipline tours available to whisk you through the lush, tropical forests of Kauai on a thrilling ride through the trees.
Kauai, with its pristine beaches and ocean areas, is an ideal place to try your hand at scuba diving or snorkeling. Seasport Divers, Snorkel Tours, and Kauai Zodiac Tours are all top picks for novices looking for instruction in underwater experiences or more advanced divers who are looking to get the inside scoop on the best locales for marine interaction. All three shops offer a full range of equipment rental and tours that last anywhere from a few hours out in the reef to full-scale day trips out at sea.
Snuba—an option provided by Snuba Tours of Kauai—is an up-and-coming activity that gives divers an amalgamation of scuba and snorkeling features. Divers don a regulator, weight belt, mask, and fins, but the air tank—the item most affiliated with scuba diving—float atop the surface of the water. The air supply is tethered to the diver so that the range of distance is only about 20 feet; however, without the cumbersome tank in the way, it is easier to move fluidly through the ocean.
No Hawaiian vacation would be complete without the opportunity to catch a wave on a surfboard. In Po’ipu, surfing lessons and board rentals are available at Margo Oberg’s Surfing School, Garden Island Surf School, and Aloha Surf Lessons starting at around $50 per person for small group sessions and from around $100 for private lessons.
Capt. Andy’s Sailing Adventures takes guests aboard their catamaran every Sunday for a sunset cruise. The cruise takes about two hours and sails along the Na Pali Coast, offering breath-taking views of the shoreline. $59 gets visitors the cruise, cocktails, pupus (light appetizers), and the accompaniment of Hawaiian music as they sail the South shore.
Horseback riding along the shore of Maha’ulepu Beach is available through CJM Country Stables. Riding packages range from $90 to $115 and vary in lengths of a few hours to all-day jaunts.
Free, guided hikes sponsored by the Hyatt Regency are offered every other Monday. These informational hikes begin at 9a.m. and allow visitors to trek along the coast down towards Maha’ulepu Beach. The Anara Spa in the Hyatt also offers a light daily hike every morning at 7a.m.
