Kauai Overlander Review

Recently went to Kauai for 10 days (9 nights) and it was an amazing Thanksgiving vacation. While planning our trip I saw this post from @kauaioverlander offering a TW member discount and decided to take them up on the offer. We booked a vehicle for 6 days (5 nights) and wanted to do a quick write-up on the experience. Not paid nor endorsed, just my feedback. YMMV.

Short Summary
We had such a great vacation in Kauai. The island has such diverse terrain with lots of unpaved/potted roads and stream crossings that are accessible with 4WD. There are canyons and forest and miles of hiking trails within an hour of long stretches of beach. Had we just stayed at a resort, we would have missed out on the adventure. After five nights my shoes were covered in mud and my hair filled with sea salt; yet I felt we had barely begun to explore the island. Guess I'll have to return in the future. If I do, I'm definitely renting from Kauai Overlander again. Read on for details.

Getting the Discount
I sent an email to kauaioverlander@gmail.com providing my dates and requesting the TW discount. They then provided me a discount code I could use at checkout on their website https://kauaioverlander.com/.

Booking
Pretty straight forward. They have 1st and 2nd Gen TRD OR Tacos as well as an '04 Frontier. Enter dates and the site shows vehicle availability. Down payment due at booking, balance due the week before along with a $1k deposit that's refunded when you return the truck.

Guide/Info
In my opinion, the guides and information provided by Kauai Overlander are top notch and a must if you want to experience offroading and camping in Kauai. They provide a custom Google Maps layer with recommended camping, farmer's market schedules, laundry locations and excellent directions to hidden gems. Some places you need to get permits in advance, some are hidden gems you literally just arrive and setup camp for the evening. I had a plan and essentially scrapped it up because of the solid information provided in their overlander guide. Permits can be purchased either online or by phone and you should book well in advance as some trails have limited capacity and sell out.

Getting the Truck
They'll meet you at the airport or hotel with the vehicle. Since it was a 14hr flight from the East Coast, we opted to get a hotel room for the first night and start fresh in the morning. Melody met us in the hotel parking lot and gave a pretty thorough orientation to the truck. Some things we went over quick (like how to put the truck in 4WD and lock the rear diff). She also asked where we were headed and provided some great local insight (the restrooms were broken at one site so she gave us some alternatives near-by). From there, we went outside the vehicle to learn how to use the tent and a quick run-through on everything provided. We were told to have fun and get the outside of the truck dirty!

The Truck
We rented the Silver Surfer 2.0, which is an '02 TRD OR (DCSB) with a snug top. This thing is kitted for offgrid camping and very well maintained. Here's what came with the vehicle, tho I'm not sure if all the trucks are equipped the same: Tepui rooftop tent and awning, french press, yeti cooler, cell phone battery bank, headlamps/led lights strips, coleman dual burner camp stove, 3gal propane, refillable 4gal water jug with filtration system, camping chairs/umbrella/blanket/towels, solar shower bags, kitchen stuff (pots/plates/cups/mugs/etc), toilet paper, bedding, ac sine wave inverter.... To be honest, all you need to do is bring clothes/hiking shoes/sandals/toiletries and fill the cooler with food/ice, open up Kauai Overlander map and go on an adventure because they've provided EVERYTHING. I purchased firewood at Safeway.

Contact with KO
We exchanged cell info and I texted them a couple times during our trip. Very responsive. Some parts of the island have zero cell/wifi coverage so keep that in mind.

The Trip
It was amazing! My girlfriend and I really enjoy both hiking and chilling on the beach. There are miles of trails to see canyons, ocean vistas or swim in a pool under a waterfall. Off-roading and sunsets while having a fire on the beach and star gazing. Some days were planned because of permits, other days we just opened the KO map on our phone and picked something that looked fun. Every morning the roosters are crowing to ensure you wake up and enjoy the sunrise. Lots of sand and mud, we got our truck dirty but the rain washed most of it away before I could get a good pic.

 

Amazing! We are so stoked you both had an epic trip. Means the world to us having people from around the world sharing our joy for adventure and the outdoors. Please come back again soon! Love the images!

 

Good review - thanks. Hope to sign up for next visit.

 

This is pretty awesome. We go to Hawaii a couple times a year and Kauai is our favorite island. Never knew this was an option, I’ll be checking this out for our next trip to Kauai.