As someone born and raised in Hawai'i, shave ice is one of those things where I unfortunately…read morebecome insufferable. I don't make the rules. I tried a bunch of highly rated spots around Poipu and kept having that same experience where you take one bite and immediately think, "Oh... this is for tourists." But JoJo's? THIS was the closest thing to home for me. The ice was actually soft and fluffy like real shave ice should be, and the flavors tasted nostalgic in the best way. One bite immediately transported me back to hanabada days. Also, after I rolled up in muddy-ass clothes, sis working there took one look at me and hit me with the kamaʻāina discount without hesitation . That honestly healed something in me. No questions asked. At that point I knew the shave ice was gonna be good because locals can sense when someone grew up eating shave ice instead of "shaved ice." 10/10. Bumbai I come again.

This place is kinda standard when it comes to shave ice. I was a bit confused by their preset…read moreflavors, but just look at the picture and don't let them pressure you into ordering right away if you don't know what you want. My wife and I shared a single scoop of tropical breeze and it ended up being really good and just enough for us two. It was pretty busy inside so there were no places to sit.

While planning our trip and going through Hawaii's best magazines to see what was ranked best for…read moreeach category and all the runner ups, Jojo's shave ice was recommended not only from Hawaii's best magazines, but also by so many people on youtube. There are different locations of Jojo's shave ice and we were lucky that there was one by our hotel! There was no line and we shared a a lilo and stitch (red raspberry and blue raspberry) with li hing mui and vanilla ice cream! The shave ice was super soft, and the syrups were not sweet! The staff were super friendly and the service was fast.

In the coconut shopping area, there is a little hut with icy desserts. We came over as the shopping…read morearea is close to our hotel. It has many gift shops, a grocery and restaurants. The center also has some entertainment, and our main reason for the visit was the hula and fire dance that was put on by a local hula school. Jojo's has many shaved ice options with ice and ice cream and many flavor syrup options. We had the tropical breeze, and it had tropical syrups and ice cream covered by shaved ice. Two sizes available. We shared a large for the show. Quick service and nice treat location.

The Thai ice tea shave ice was one of the culinary highlights of our trip to Kauai. This is a…read morecompetition grade shave ice on creativity, execution and taste. Super friendly service was an added bonus.

This place was pretty disappointing. Based on the reviews, we were expecting much better. I would…read morenot recommend this place, when there are tons of better options on the island, including just a short trip south to Wailua. Our entire family of four got different things in our one stop at Honu Shave Ice and all were a bit disappointing. The ice quality was mediocre, the ice cream was barely there, and two of our shave ices had almost nonexistent syrup, to the point where it was just clumped ice chunks. I suspect that they don't train there staff well, given that our experience was pretty different than the reviews. Here are the shave ice rankings from our recent trip to the island (June 2026): Kauai Shave Ice Rankings 2026 1. (Tied) North Shore Bowls in Kilauea - very enjoyable and creative pre-designed flavor combos, nice fluffy ice, good ice cream, flavorful syrups 1. (Tied) Wailua Shave Ice - very enjoyable and creative pre-designed flavor combos, delicious toppings, very good ice texture and ice cream; too light on the syrup for one of our two trips 3. Wishing Well in Hanalei - good fluffy ice and really flavorful natural syrups; downside is it's very crowded (always!) and pretty basic 4. JoJo's in Hanalei - this is a standard shave ice place; ice was a bit compact and icy, but the syrup was plentiful (maybe too much, if you can believe that, for our one visit) and the ice cream was both generous and good 5. Hee Fat in Kapaa - great flavors but the syrup was light coverage, and the ice cream seemed gummy/freezer burned, ice was decent texture; used to be our favorite in Kauai in years past, but it hasn't kept up with other places and maybe the quality has gone down hill 6. Honu Shave Ice in Kapaa - syrup was very light, almost nonexistent on one of our shave ices, ice was clumpy/chunky, ice cream was really minimal, flavors were decent

First time checking out Familee Shave Ice and it was one of the best bingsu I've ever had. This…read moresays A LOT when I live close to Ktown. The shop is hidden behind a shopping plaza so follow the signs along the way. Service is great - Tim and Jess, the owners, are so friendly. They will come out and chat with you if it's not too busy! We ordered 4 different flavors (mango, strawberry, injeolmi, and coffee) to try but I only got pics for two of them. They were all beautifully crafted and tasted so fresh with every bite. The ice is so powdery too! Familee really does not skimp out on ingredients and are very generous with their portions. My family really liked everything we ordered and will definitely recommend Familee to everyone who visits Kauai. Mahalo Tim and Jess!

Tucked away in Kapa'a, this bingsu spot was the perfect treat after a hot beach day. The menu…read moreboasts size small and large options, small being pictured here. The flavors blend local flare and Asian influence, including matcha and ube, which we ordered. We will definitely be back on our next trip and were happy to have something a little different than our normal shave ice routine! Definitely don't be in a rush when you get here. There's lots of space to sit outside the storefront, but it does take about 5 min to make each dessert...so don't wait for your friends to enjoy if you get yours first!

We hit a minimum of one shave ice every day (sometimes 2 or 3!) in Hawaii and this trip to Kauai…read moreall 7 of us agreed this was the best we found. The Ube flavor was so creamy and delicious. The stand is small and they are made one at a time, but that's ok. It's a small truck in a parking lot, and that's ok. It feels like a homemade specialty treat. I wish we could have gotten another, but we are back on the mainland

Step away from Jojo's and come here! You won't regret it…read more Absolutely delicious, with fresh fruit syrups you can see some pulp in. The owner makes them fresh every morning. No dyes so you can see the natural color. Best shave ice on the island, by far!

I enjoyed the shave ice here, loved the natural flavors and the honey and pineapple bits on top…read morewere great. This is next to a small shopping area and parking spots are there but sometimes can be full. If you are in the area, it's worth the stop. Definitely not worth driving to if you aren't close. As most places in Kauai, cash is preferred and using credit cards comes with a 3% surcharge on the bill.

Delicious shave ice and love that they use natural everything. No artificial colors or flavors. We…read moregot the mango and passion fruit flavors and both were delicious. Love the addition of coconut cream and fresh fruit. Very expensive but so are all the other shave ice places.

If you are in Hawaii, you need to get shaved ice and Cocos is a must!…read more Cocos was highly rated so we decided to insure that this was a must stop and it surely didn't disappoint. I ordered when Rootbeer with Vanilla Ice Cream topped with a sno cap (which is a requirement in my opinion). I love the fact that they make little holes so the syrup sneaks deep into the snow cone. The vanilla ice cream was creamy and very tasty. The sno cap added that extra sweetness and well worth it. I love root beer floats and this was spot on - root beer floats will never be the same! Again, if in the area make sure you stop here. The service is great and the atmosphere is fun!

After eating at Pacos, just stop by the window next door for something sweet and refreshing. Got a…read moresoursop lilikoi slushy! Really good. There are a few benches and one umbrella for shade where you can enjoy your dessert or you can walk around and shop. Can't wait to come back to try the shave ice and ice cream.

Right off the beach, there's a little shaved ice truck. It's got great flavors of real fruit syrup…read moreand classic syrup. They also sell other items--it all sounds so tempting and refreshing in the hot, humid weather! Got the guava and mango real fruit syrups. I'm a super big fan of the guava!! It's sweet, but like juice sweet, not pure sugar sweet. The ice melts fast, but knowing that, they give you a straw. I'd come back!

This was right across from Lawa'i beach and it was very very popular. The service was friendly but…read morethey were definitely on island time. I didn't mind waiting - stood there and enjoyed the nice ocean breeze! I ordered the coconut cream and guava plus a snowcap. I decided to go with the organic syrups but they also have the more traditional flavors too. In addition to shave ice, they also sell snacks. Compared to some of the other shave ice places, I felt like the syrup was more on the sweeter side ... most people don't mind that but for me, I like it less sweet so it tastes more like "natural" sweet. Don't get me wrong though, I ate the whole thing! I would definitely get this place again if I was in the area! Highly recommend!