Kauai is a typical place where you won’t be able to enjoy your holiday or see the main attractions without hiring a car.

The bus service here is mainly for locals, although it can be used to travel to the most popular beaches.

Car hire on Kauai

If you want to explore the most beautiful parts of Kauai, thenhiring a caris the only option.

There are no big cities on Kauai, and driving here is relaxed, straightforward and very easy to navigate. The locals are considerate, and virtually all the major international car hire companies operate right at Lihue Airport, so there’s a really wide choice.

You can find detailed information on car hire prices, driving on Kauai, petrol prices and more in the article‘Car Hire on Kauai’.

Find the cheapest car hire

Buses on Kauai

You can make use of the bus service, for example, on the first or last days of your holiday, when it’s no longer worth renting a car for the whole day and it works out cheaper to return it a day early.

However, heading to Kauai with the intention of not hiring a car and relying solely on buses would be neither sensible nor, in fact, practical.

You’d miss out on all the most interesting natural attractions. You simply cannot reach the Na Pali Coast, Waimea Canyon, Kokee State Park or half of the most beautiful beaches by bus.

The buses on Kauai are operated directly by the local government, and there are3 main routes (Mainline) and3 local routes(Shuttle). You must always wave to flag down the bus when boarding; when alighting, you must pull the cord running along the windows, as all stops are request stops.

• Route 100/200 (Mainline) – route 200 runs along the route LIH Airport – Lihue – Lawai – Hanapepe – Waimea – Kekaha, whilst route 100 is reserved for the opposite direction. The service runs once an hour from approximately 5.30 am to 7.30 pm.
• Route 400/500 (Mainline) – route 500 runs from Lihue to Wailua – Kapa’a – Anahola – Kilauea – Hanalei, whilst route 400 is reserved for the return journey. The service runs once an hour from approximately 5.15 am to 9.15 pm.
• Route 30 (Shuttle) – runs on the route Lawai (connection to routes 100/200) – Koloa – Poipu; it runs once an hour from approximately 6.15 am to 8.15 pm
• Route 60 (Shuttle) – a local public transport service within the town of Kapa’a, running once an hour from approximately 6.30 am to 8.30 pm
• Route 70 (Shuttle) – a local public transport service within the town of Lihue, running once an hour from approximately 6.00 to 21.00
• Route 800/850 (Mainline) – route 850 runs between Lihue – Wailua – Kapa’a, whilst route 800 is reserved for the return journey. The service runs 2–3 times a day.

Tickets are purchased from the driver for the exact fare. It makes no difference whether you’re travelling one stop or across the whole island; the fare is always the same and is always valid for a single journey only:

• 2 usd for Mainline routes
• 0,50 usd for Shuttle routes

A day ticket is available for $ 5 usd, which is valid only on the calendar day of purchase, not for 24 hours.

Official information, detailed timetables and current ticket prices can be found on the website:kauai.gov/BusSchedules.