Most of our Kauai vacation rentals have full sized kitchens so you’ll want to stock up on your favorite foods and beverages while you’re here. Maybe try some new Hawaii foods too like poke. These bite sized pieces of raw, fresh fish are also known as “Hawaii’s soul food.”
Some of our Kauai grocery stores have familiar names like Safeway. Others will look new to you like Sueoka which has been owned by the same family for 90 years. Wherever you decide to shop you’ll see unique foods not available on the mainland. Also different are the store locations near beautiful Kauai beaches with spectacular mountain backdrops.
The first thing to decide when you arrive is how much shopping you want to do the first day. For a quick stop try the new Safeway in Lihue at Hokulei Village. If you’re ready to grocery shop for your entire Kauai vacation, you may want to consider other stores like Costco.
Kauai Shopping Tips:
- See our shopping guide to Hawaiian foods. It covers everything from fish to produce.
- Hot or Cold thermal bags are an easy way of transporting any temperature sensitive foods to your Kauai vacation rental.
- Weekly Kauai grocery sales begin Wednesday. Some of our store links below list weekly sale items.
- Plastic bags are no longer available. You may want to purchase a reusable grocery bag for your purchases.
- Safeway and Foodland offer complimentary savings cards.
- Hawaii Pineapples pass agriculture inspection and can be taken home to the mainland. Make sure they are free of soft spots and insects.
Our Island Guide to Kauai Grocery Stores
Click store links for up to date hours, directions and store coupons.
Lihue Stores Are Close to Airport
Safeway New! | 4454 Nuhou Street | Lihue | 808-246-0290
Open 24 Hours. Brand new at Hokulei Village with 122,400 square feet of shopping that includes a bank, Starbucks and deli.
Costco | 4300 Nuhou Street | Lihue | 808-241-4000
Best gas price on Kauai. Shop for local items like Anahola Granola, Koloa Rum, reef slippers, sporting goods and Aloha wear.
Times Market | 3-2600 Kaumualii Hwy (Kukui Grove) | Lihue | 808-245-7777
Formerly Star Market and now better than ever with some organic foods.
Wal-Mart | 3-3300 Kuhio Hwy | Lihue | 808-246-1599
Reasonably priced beer and wine. Expanded food selection including frozen items.
Kapaa Stores (East Shore)
Big Save | 1105 Kuhio Highway (Kapaa Shopping Center) | Kapaa | 808-822-4971
Now owned by Times Market.
Foodland | 4-771 Kuhio Hwy (Waipouli Town Center) | Kapaa | 808-822-7271
Recently remodeled with new pharmacy, you’ll find good deals on fish here.
Safeway | 4-831 Kuhio Hwy (Kauai Village | Kapaa | 808-822-2464
Open 24 hours and recently remodeled. Large produce selection and familiar surroundings.
North Shore
Big Save | 5-5172 Kuhio Hwy (Ching Young Village) | Hanalei | 808-826-6652
Now owned by Times Market.
Foodland | 5-4280 Kuhio Hwy | Princeville | 808-826-9880
Largest Kauai grocery store on the North Shore with Pharmacy. Located at Princeville Center.
Harvest Market Hanalei | 5-5156 Kuhio Hwy | Hanalei | 808-826-0089
Shop for organic and natural foods in the heart of Hanalei. Check for sale items at the end of aisles.
Healthy Hut Market | 4480 Ho`okui Road | Kilauea | 808-828-6626
Featuring locally grown produce and organic and gluten free products. Located off the highway near Kilauea.
South Shore
Big Save | 5516 Koloa Rd | Koloa | 808-742-1614
Now owned by Times Market.
Kukuiula Market | 2827 Poipu Rd | Koloa | 808-742-1601
Locally owned with organic products, local produce, good meat selection and new juice bar.
Living Foods | Shops at Kukuiula | 2829 Ala Kalanikaumaka | Koloa | 808-742-2323
Extensive wine selection, gourmet goods, deli, organic foods and cafe with European style menu.
Sueoka | 5392 Koloa Rd | Koloa | 808-742-1611
Serving Kauai for 90 years, shop for Asian grocery products, cut flowers/lei, liquor. Snack Shop offers burgers and plate lunches.
West Shore
Ishihara Market | 9890 Kahakai Rd | Waimea | 808-338-9915
Nice deli, bentos are popular here, a good place to stop on the way to Waimea Canyon and Polihale.
Specialty Stores
Fish Express | 3343 Kuhio Hwy | Lihue | 808-245-9918
Reasonable prices, excellent poke, also local lobster tail. Grill features plate lunches. Located across from Wal-Mart.
Hoku Food Natural Market | 4585 Lehua St. | Kapaa | 808-821-1500
Large bulk container area and assortment of organic foods. Located on a side street at the Dragon Center.
Koloa Fish Market New Location! | 3390 Poipu Rd. | Koloa | 808-742-6199
Great plate lunches and a must for fresh fish. Now in a brand new location! Closed Sundays.
Papaya’s Natural Foods New Location! | 4-901 Kuhio Hwy | Kapaa | 808-823-0190
In addition to organic foods, check out their cafe and salad bar. This new location is on the highway past Kauai Village.
Princeville Wine Market | 5-4280 Kuhio (Princeville Shopping Center at South Entrance) | Princeville | 808-826-0040
Fine wine, cigars, specialty liquors, craft beer, artisanal cheese, chocolate and more. Shop for wine online too.
The Wine Shop | 5470 Koloa Rd. | Koloa | 808-742-7305
Best selection and variety of wine. Located across from the Koloa Post Office.
To book a stay at our Kauai vacation rentals, we invite you to call us at 800-325-5701. You can also visit our website to see our latest Kauai deals and live Kauai webcam with the best view of the Poipu Beach coastline.
33 Responses
Good post
Does Walmart have a full grocery store or just a few aisles of food? For example, does it have fresh meat? We will be staying in Princeville so maybe Foodland is comparable in price. Ideas? Thanks.
Aloha JC, Walmart does have some groceries but not full-service like on the mainland. They have limited produce and do not offer fresh meat. However, they do have frozen food and dry goods. I would stick you stick with Costco in Lihue, Kapaa Safeway and/or BigSave and then Foodland Princeville as a last resort.
Thanks for sharing this it’s really helpful for me.
Best tips i have ever read about grocery shopping i really love it.
Thanks for this guide you share with us. It is really helpful to me. Hawaii foods are so delicious ive been there last year I experience a lot of fun and eat a lot of foods there.
Thank you so much for creating and sharing your experience to Kauai! My husband & I will be going there soon. We are very excited and seeing your pictures and information only heightens our anticipation! ????
Your blog about Kauai has been wonderful to explore! I’ve taken lots of notes .. ????
Mahalo. See you on island soon.
If we are staying at a house for nearly two weeks, where would be the best place to buy food price-wise? Are the local markets more overpriced or underpriced than the big retail chains?
Aloha Justin – Food prices will be about the same anywhere you go. Most markets have a clearance shelf in the back where you can find discounts and many have sales weekly. Costco is of course a good value but you have to buy in bulk for savings. In terms of natural food stores, the best buys we find are at Hoku in Kapaa. We also recommend local farmer’s markets for produce. Have a great time on island. Aloha from Parrish Kauai
Which are open on 12/25?
Aloha Brenda, With the exception of Costco, you can shop for groceries on Christmas Day at Safeway, Foodland, Big Save markets across the island and at Times in Lihue. We hope this helps. Have a great stay on island! Best wishes from the Parrish Kauai team.
Thanks for the grocery information – my son cooks for us when we’re on vacation, so this will be a big help to know where to go and what to get at each place.
Great info – thanks! We are headed there for 10 days over the holidays.
Mahalo, Steph! We’re glad that you found our shopping information helpful. Enjoy your holidays on Kauai!
Aloha from the Parrish Kauai team
Visiting in February and staying in a home at Kiahuna golf. Not sure what that area is called, so not sure what groceries are in that area. Thanks for any ideas!
Liz
Aloha Liz, The four grocery stores listed under South Shore will be a short distance by car. Big Save in Koloa has your largest selection and Sueoka offers local produce and Asian foods (both are a 5 minute drive and close to each other). Even closer to you is Living Foods at the Shops at Kukuiula featuring gourmet products and Kukuiula Market which is handy for last minute items. Have a great stay on Kauai!
Aloha from the Parrish Kauai team.
Where is the best place to get fresh Ono? And will any of the stores be open on Thanksgiving Day – we get in really late on the 25th. Thanks anyone.
Aloha Diane, the best place for fresh ono is the Koloa Fish Market on the South Shore or Dolphin in Hanalei on the North Shore. We are pretty certain Safeway will be open in Kapaa and Lihue as well as many of the other grocery stores are open in the am to early afternoon. Mahalo!
you get all the product in one place, this is best stop for shopping. and you get every where grocery store. this is nice blog..!
Mahalo Deepak!
Staying in Princeville this fall. Where is Lihue in relationship to Princeville? Staying for one week plus where is the best grocery store near or in Princeville? Thank you.
Aloha,
Lihue is more on the south side and where the airport is that you will be flying into. This is where the Costco and several other stores are, including a new Safeway to open this summer. Right in Princeville Center is a Foodland, so this will be the closest once you are in Princeville. You will have plenty of options along the way as well.
Safe travels and we will see you soon.
News on the new Safeway? Open 24 hrs?
Great website!
Aloha Jack,
Thanks for liking our website. This week the Garden Island newspaper published an update on the new Safeway in Lihue. The scheduled opening is now mid-August. Some of the other stores in the new Hokulei Shopping Center will open in late June. We believe that Safeway will be a 24 hour store and can confirm closer to its opening. Stay tuned and we’ll post more updates soon.
Best Wishes,
JP and the Parrish Kauai team
Would like to know where I may order poi and have it shipped to me please
Aloha MaryAnn,
The place we suggest for shipping to the mainland is Hanalei Poi at http://hanaleipoi.com/. You can call in an order and I believe they do have a minimum of 12, 1 pound containers. It’s delicious and will hold well…I used to send it to my niece and she’d freeze it.
Mahalo, Pat
Is there an update to when the new Safeway, and other stores in the shopping center under construction in Lihue, (at the corner of Kaumualii Highway and Nauhou St.), will open? Visiting soon and would like to know.
Aloha Pat, We are anxiously waiting too for Hokulei Village to open in Lihue and the new Safeway. When you drive by you can see that tremendous progress has been made including a new roundabout that is now in use. According to Pacific Business News, we can expect Safeway to open in the second quarter of 2015. If it’s not open for your upcoming vacation, it will be ready to welcome you next time. Have a great stay on Kauai! Aloha from the Parrish Kauai team.
I am wondering what prices are like at the costco? We shop costco on the mainland weekly so wondering how much more our normal items are there?
Aloha! The prices at Costco in Lihue are very comparable to their mainland stores. Fill your rental car up at Costco too for the lowest price on island. Have a great time on your Kauai vacation. Aloha from The Parrish Kauai team.
Very helpful! Thanks!
Mahalo Lisa!