We were in the area and decided to stop by and get a tasting. We were in luck. they had room for…read moretwo more people for the next session. When the time came, we went up to their patio and they called in each party. Our host was amazing. He was very knowledgeable and friendly. Kept us engaged with light humor. All the drinks were amazing. Our favorite was the coffee rum! Needless to say, we enjoyed our bottle during our vacation and had the best time. I highly recommend this stop if you're on the island. Did I mention it's a complementary tasting? 10/10

After our golf plans got canceled, we decided to squeeze in a tasting at Kōloa Rum Company--and…read morehonestly, it ended up being one of our favorite stops of the day. It's located at the beautiful Kilohana Plantation, so even if you're not a big rum drinker, it's worth visiting. You can wander through the gardens, stop by the sweet shop, grab a bite at Gaylord's Restaurant, or catch the luau. It's just a really nice place to spend an afternoon. It's highly recommend making a reservation online. However we couldn't book online, but we called about an hour before and were able to get in. I also had no idea the tasting itself was complimentary, which made the experience even better. Our Rumtender, Randy, was awesome! He walked us through the history of Kōloa Rum, explained each variety, and shared his favorite ways to enjoy them. It felt more like chatting with a friend than sitting through a tasting. Safe to say we were convinced--we ended up bringing home two bottles! Whether you're a rum fan or just looking for something fun and different to do in Kauai, I'd definitely recommend adding this to your itinerary.

I found HouLau on yelp after looking into chocolate farm tours on the island. With the 5 star…read morereview and the economical price, my husband and I decided to book. What a fabulous experience! There was only one other couple on the tour, which lasted nearly four hours. Howard and Sally gave us the full story of how they came to be chocolate farmers, took us on the tour of the property, we picked our own ripe pods, then opened them to taste the matrix. They then took us into the building where the chocolate is made, showing us the step-by-step process. Both are great communicators, with a gentle mannerism and easy humor. The final part of the tour included a tasting, with the option to buy some of the chocolate, the amazing brownies that Sally makes, homemade vanilla and also the local honey. We both left very inspired by Howard and Sally's story and dedication. If you are inclined to take a chocolate farm tour, HouLau is highly recommended for a personalized and memorable tour.

I loved this place. Howard and Sally were awesome! They treated my gf and I like we were long time…read morefriends, showed us their whole process from picking cacao pods to roasting beans and pouring the chocolate molds. They gave us more than a chocolate tour by giving us their interesting family history and how they learned to make chocolate. Not only was the chocolate great but they also make the best brownies (not this kind lol!) Email them on their website to schedule a visit and learn about these great people.

I had the absolute honor of attending the Lydgate Farms Kaua'i Chocolate tour during my first (but…read morecertainly not last) trip to Kaua'i with my mom. And let me tell you, it will not disappoint! It is absolutely a once in a lifetime experience. Our tour guide Brooke was outstanding in teaching us all there was to learn about Kaua'i cacao beans, the fermentation process, incredible chocolate tasting notes, and other fruits and nuts that are unique to Kaua'i and Hawai'i. I am not a "chocolate person", and while I only attended this tour out of admiration for the cacao bean and chocolate making process, I must say Lydgate's chocolate is truly unique and worth the visit. It is unlike any other chocolate I have ever tasted. Lydgate Farms' other products-- honeys, chocolate covered macadamia nuts and chocolate covered coffee beans-- are incredible as well. My personal favorites were the honey roasted macadamia nuts and chocolate covered coffee beans, which I bought. In addition to the extraordinary tour (thank you Brooke!! Seriously, you are fantastic!!) and souvenirs we enjoyed, one of the more memorable parts of this whole experience was hitching a ride back to our hotel in Lihue from Lydgate's Marvelous Maintenance Guy, Mike. Mike saw me and my mom struggling to get a Lyft back and offered us a ride back. A journey that would have taken us 5 hours to walk became a precious 25 ish minute drive where we got to both share our stories about what led us to Kaua'i. Mike was so sweet, he made me and my mom feel so safe-- especially as two young women traveling by ourselves for the first time. It is welcoming and kind people like Mike who put the "ohana" in the "Lydgate Farms Ohana" name and make Kaua'i what it is. This was a beautiful experience, and I can only hope that I can visit again in my lifetime.

This was such a special way to spend a morning on Kauai. The Lydgate Farms grounds are stunningly…read morebeautiful & your appreciation will only increase as the tour progresses. Our tour was led by Henry, who was equally knowledgeable as he was passionate about all of the plants & flowers. He clearly had a passion for chocolate and the mission to educate visitors. We were introduced to the cocoa trees (the process of growing and maintaining the orchards), vanilla vines, ginger plants, allspice trees, cherry and guava trees to name just a few. He informed us on what was edible from the trees. The "pit stops" were interactive, fun & most of all tasty. We got to sample a whole variety of exotic fruits from the farm & a wide range of chocolate during the chocolate tasting. I don't think I will ever be able to think of chocolate in the same way again. How lucky we are to have this farm working so hard to not only bring the craft of chocolate creation to more people but continuing to mindfully curate this bio-diverse plant sanctuary.

We did the 3 hour walking chocolate tour. Heidi was our tour guide. She was awesome!! She truly is…read morewhat she calls herself a "Plant Nerd". And we loved her! We will be back!!

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.

What a wonderful Yelp find! Lots of locals, so you know it's good and worth the price!…read more We had the Braise Short Rib special with Garlic Mashed potatoes. And the Hawaiian plate: Kaluah pork, lomi salmon, ahi poke, mac salad, and poi. I'm not a huge poi fan- so I won't comment. But I do love mac salad and theirs is special! Less "wet" from mayo, more on a thicker side-- superb! The braised short rib was melt in your mouth with a great semi glaze and fantastic crust on the meat. It is a sports bar- so the atmosphere is quite lively and loud. Do not expect a quiet dinner. But the patio is less loud.

At least the water was good... actually it was just ok haha terrible service. They have seating for…read more100+ people and when we requested a seat where we could see the soccer game, they declined us because they needed that seating for the rush. There were 12 people in the whole place counting us. No rush came. Our waitress corrected my wife on how to say Lychee and totally said it incorrectly. Haha we slid our table over to the right 4 inches so we could see the game better since there was nobody in the table next to us and she came over and slid it back. She later was visibly annoyed at us for not ordering more and said, "Really?! That's it?" When we told her we were good with what we had. Then an little later asked us to move tables because she had another group coming in. We just asked for the check and left. Never coming back.

The food was typical Hawaiian luau fare, and plenty of it (chicken, pork, salads, desserts)…read more Drink policy is a little strange. You may only walk with one drink in hand, so getting a round for the table takes 8 trips. The good bartender made them all at once so I just had to pick them up, one at a time. No line standing for drinks 2 through 8. I got my steps in. The really aren't any bad seats. We paid a little extra for "premium" seating. That got us "ringside". Well worth it. Only negative was the heat. Fans didn't come on until after the fire dancer. Maybe that was a safety thing for the performers, but the fans could have been on before the fire act (I think). Some of the older customers from cold states were having heat issues. Being from Florida, we were fine. Would we do this again, yeah I think so.

Mixed bag here. I thought the food was good, not great. Just good. The desserts were just ok…read more But I thought the show was excellent. This is my first lu'au even though I live in Hawaii. I was impressed. I thought the performers were awesome, especially the fire dancers. Just really awesome and the dancers were enthusiastic which made for a better performance. I thought the audio was a bit off. The volume was crazy loud to fill the huge tent but it was hard to hear the individual voices of the narrators. So maybe something to boost the midrange a bit in the balance of the sound system or whatever. I'm not a sound engineer. So if you're visiting Kauai and are looking for a lu'au, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Kalamaku. I think you'll have a good time.

It was very fun to see an functioning plantation...and the pigs were so cute. The crew was greatread more

Kauai plantation railway is a fun train ride for the whole family!…read more We made reservations online, and the location was easy to find. It's a pretty solid train ride that gives you a view of the whole estate, including a number of the crops that were grown on Kauai, including sugarcane and bananas. Near the end of the tour, there's also an opportunity to feed the farm animals, which was a big hit with the kids! You can feed the horses, cows, and pigs. Boris, the pig, even does tricks on command, which was my daughter's favorite part of the whole tour! Great adventure that we all enjoyed!

We booked this tour as a fun extra thing to do on a couples vacation and it ended up being a…read morehighlight of our trip!!!! Booking we thought, drinking and animals were worth the price of admission but the tour is more than that. I can't praise our amazing tour guides, Tiny and Rick, enough. They were knowledgeable, hilarious, and incredibly kind. Rick educated us on all the agriculture grown on the farm which was fascinating, and was able to answer any questions anyone threw at him. The mai tais were obviously amazing but their original farm cocktail was knock your socks off good. If you're considering booking, do it right now! The four of us who went talked about it for the rest of the trip- I can't recommend it enough!

The tour and the guides were amazing. They were knowledgeable, personable and the rum did not hurt…read moreeither

Tasting Kauai food tours are always the highlight of our visits to Kauai. Susan is a delightful…read moreguide, bringing her island style, friendly and inspiring perspectives, and excellent storytelling to each stop. She is also extremely accommodating to all the guests. The food is always incredible - excellent dishes at wonderful eateries supporting local, family-owned businesses. Portions are generous and the food is top quality! Susan offers great recommendations for other eateries and local activities that are worth the price of admission alone! We highly recommend Tasting Kauai - all of the tours are fantastic and well worth the reasonable cost.

ZERO stars to this company!!! We (4) signed up and prepaid, was at the meeting place as requested…read more12:45 in Kapa'a. Stayed there for over 45", hubs called and texted at least 4-5 times. No call back, no text back. What a sham, no customer service, call back your damn customers. I'm sure we'll never see a refund nor explanation!! Bye bye $500 bucks. Reporting you to the BBB and TripAdvisor!!! What a rip off, do not book with these clowns!!!!! Oh, and there was "no refunds" stated on our vouchers!

So informative. Learned more than I ever knew about chocolate. Very interesting. And so much…read morechocolate to sample!

This was a great last minute stop! Aubrey's first tour showed that she is going to be a…read moreknowledgeable addition. She knew so much about the plants. The tour is longer and has a lot of information but it was very enjoyable!