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Which luau would you recommend on Kauai? We are staying in Kapaa. I am seeing mixed reviews for all of them. To us tradition and good food is pretty important. Thanks!
Re: Luau on Kauai
There was zero way I was going to be able to convince my DH to go to one of the big luaus like Smith Family. It does actually get good reviews but I've BTDT with the big luau and wasn't interested either. We were traveling with friends that wanted to go to one, though, so I sought out other options.
We ended up going to the luau at Hanalei Colony Resort. It's in their restaurant on Tuesday nights and is pretty small. The restaurant handles the food and drinks (good luau food, too, with a nice variety, DH loves Hawaiian food and was pleased, I'm not a huge fan and I was happy, too) and the show is performed by 3 native Hawaiian families that are obviously good friends with each other. The show was great. It isn't a huge show but it's authentic and you can tell that the families do it as a way to share their culture and traditions with others in a way that is respectful to the culture. It was wonderful and much more like an authentic luau in feel.
The downside, for you, is that it's in Ha'ena, which is even further west on the north shore than Hanalei and requires travel on several 1-lane bridges. Smith Family is north of Lihue and south of Kapa'a, so significantly closer to where you'll be staying.
(My DH's mom is Hawaiian and he grew up there. We actually do go to a luau with all of their Hawaiian friends, complete with kalua pig cooked in someone's backyard imu, yearly and we felt like this one was a similar experience. Big luaus can be fun, though, and Smith Family isn't nearly as big as some of the behomoths on Oahu and Maui).