Coconut Marketplace
Comprised of about 70 shops and vendors, Coconut Marketplace is an outdoor bazaar and shopping area that includes a movie theater. On weekend nights, there is often live music that you can enjoy while eating a gourmet ice cream from Lappert's. The marketplace is laid out with stall vendors in the middle, surrounded and brick-and-mortar shops. You'll find everything from locally made soaps and candles to clothes to Hawaiian music.
Coconut Marketplace
4-484 Kuhio Highway
Kapaa, HI 96746
808-822-3641
Lappert's Ice Cream
484 Kuhio Highway
Kapaa, HI 96746
808-822-0744
www.lappertshawaii.com
Food
Kapaa isn't a gourmet center, but it is does have a few local dining institutions. Eggbert's Family Specialty Restaurant in the Coconut Marketplace is a local favorite and has 150 omelets as well as banana pancakes, and you can have breakfast until 3 p.m. The restaurant has been around for more than 30 years. In town, the Kapaa Kountry Kitchen is kind of like a local Cracker Barrel -- besides serving up comfort food, there is a small shop with antiques and tourist items. The food is great and there's lots of it.
Eggbert's Family Specialty Restaurant
4-484 Kuhio Highway
Kapaa, HI 96746
808-822-3787
Kapaa Kountry Kitchen
1485 Kuhio Highway
Kapaa, HI 96746
808-822-3511
Beaches
Donkey Beach to the north and Lydgate State Park to the south are the best beaches close to Kapaa. Due to its fairly remote location (about a half-mile hike off the highway just past mile marker 11), you may find people sunbathing au natural at Donkey Beach. The surf here is rough, but it is a meeting point for good surfers. Lydgate State Park is a very popular beach, easily visible from the street, with plenty of parking. It features a protected swimming lagoon for kids and offers some snorkeling opportunities. On calm days, the swimming is good, but outside of the lagoon is not a snorkeling spot. Because it is a state park, you'll find a bath house, picnic tables and trash cans.
About The Author
J.D. Chi is a professional journalist who has covered sports for more than 20 years at newspapers all over the United States. She has covered major golf tournaments and the NFL as well as travel and health topics. Chi received her Bachelor of Arts in professional writing from Carnegie Mellon University and is working toward a master's degree in journalism.
