Kilohana

Fun little informational train ride with a long stop in the middle to feed the pigs. When the train slowed down to feed the animals, I wondered what animals the guide was referring to… then as the train stopped I saw one or two pigs running towards the train. They know when they get fed :) The guides gave us some slightly moldy bread to feed to the pigs. He said they’re fed the leftover luau foods as well. By the end of the feeding time, there were about 15 pigs.
The guide pointed out most of the fruits, nuts and vegetables that are grown on the plantation. Too many to name. My 4 year old really enjoyed it.
After the train ride, we walked around the mansion to visit the shops. Overall, this was a nice little family outing. 3.5 stars.

We booked the 4 hour tour which included a train ride, feeding of goats and pigs, nature walk, lunch, fruit picking, and train ride back. Wow what an amazing day, even for my 3 yr old! We were able to take some fruit home with us! And the fresh coconut water was delish. Our tour guide Ky was great! What a memorable day!

Lovely family tourist attraction.
Train ride was fun — all sorts of tropical fruit trees, feeding animals, talkative guide to keep things interesting.
A smattering of gift stores that arent bad. Didnt eat at the restaurant but they look like they know what theyre doing.
And friendly rum tasting room (and a piece of rum cake!) for the adults — not even a hint of sales pressure, love it.

We wanted to do the nature walk and the train ride but did not do our due diligence. Apparently, no nature walk on the weekends. The train itself was nice and pleasant, nothing to rave about. It was a nice leisurely ride with a stop to feed some animals. Remember to say «Internet discount» when you buy your tickets, you get a few $ off.
We did not get a chance to do the free rum tasting since it was too busy. Perhaps it be been a higher rating if we were able to do that. They also have a luau here but we are going to do the Smith’s since everyone has been raving about that.

We have visited Kilohana multiple times over the years here, mostly for meals at Gaylord’s, but also sometimes to shop in the shops and wander the grounds. Today we were here as part of a private event staged by the Point at Poi’pu, the resort where we are staying. We were picked up at the resort by a couple of Kilohana staff members w/​vans. We were greeted w/​individual containers of chilled freshly cut up pineapple, banana and Sunrise papaya along w/​napkin wrapped forks to eat w/​. Our drivers were Kai and Josh and they were both very helpful in assisting this gimpy old lady in and out of the van. They helped everyone else who needed it too. Kai was our van’s driver and he gave us some history of Kilohana as we drove there.
Our first stop upon arrival was the Mahiko Lounge for a mai tai making lesson and a mai tai. The bartender was engaging as she described her process for making mai tais and then distributed mai tais to each of us. The rum she used was Koloa Rum, which is made on the grounds at the Koloa Rum Company. The rum was floated as the last ingredient. She suggested sipping a tiny bit of rum before mixing the drink w/​our straw. Mine was delicious. Then she pressed sugar cane juice w/​a special hand cranked press and gave us small tastes of the freshly pressed juice. Very tasty and unusual, not as sweet as I had expected. After the mai tai and sugar cane juice we all returned to the vans for a tour of the grounds.
The train goes through the grounds, but the vans can go through the orchards so Kai could tell us about the various trees, their countries of origin and their general schedule of blooming. He showed us fields that are shared w/​local farmers who plant and tend their crops and sell the produce at the farmers’ markets. In addition to the fruit trees there are various types of hardwood trees and taro patches. The gardens are extensive. And then there are pigs, a few cattle, lots and lots of moa and cattle egrets. The tour was interesting and educational. Afterward we were dropped off at the main house for lunch, which will be reviewed separately. After lunch we had about about half an hour to relax or explore the shops and grounds before being driven back to the resort. It really was a lovely outing.

This was a great stop for the entire family. The plantation train ride was 40 minutes and the guide Tiny was very knowledgeable and funny. If you are interested in environmental stuff like plants and agriculture, this is up your alley. If you don’t care for things like plants, you should still check it out because there is a lot of history and culture served up here and it will better yourself. There is a quick stop to feed some pigs and goats which is always a good time. They have a luau here as well that looked much more impressive than the one we went to in Poipu as they use an actual Imu for roasting the pig.

If you enjoy a country scenery you have to visit a plantation such as this one when visiting Kauai. This particular one offers a tour by train. It’s mature cultivation is absolutely beautiful with numerous fruits, nuts, flowers, and trees.
As part as the train tour, it will stop to give you an opportunity to feed some animals-​pigs and goats. Ofcourse this is optional should you want to participate. Be aware that chickens are all around you. It’s actually kind of fun and hectic at the same time.
I highly recommend you try it if you’ve never done it.
There are so much to do when in Kauai and taking it country style is definitely a must on your list!
#iloveKauai

A perfect family pit stop! They have a great 40 minute train ride that talks about the different plants grown on property and stops to feed the farm animals– the kids favorite part! It’s also home of the Koloa Rum distillery which has FREE rum tastings every half hour! They sample 5 different rums, rum cake, and rum chocolate sauce!!! Just enough to leave you with a little buzz! They also have an awesome sweet shop with delicious chocolates, and this Oreo cream bar that is super ‘Ono! The shop also has kauai-​made goodies like ‘aioli scrubs and mālie organic products! Clayworks is also located on property where kids can paint or «glaze» handmade clay tiles and other items. Oh, and you can’t forget gaylords Sunday brunch with hawaiian music and farm-​to-​table offerings! A winner stop for the whole ‘Ohana!

Train ride is great family fun. Be sure to ask for the Kamaaina discount if you’re local — it really reduces the price! Rum tasting is nice and informative for the adults.

First time on the Plantation Train Tour… informative and educational, and includes a mini hands-​on activity. Definitely geared toward the tourists but also a great experience for the locals, who want to learn about the past plantation industry in Hawaii.
Nice 3-​mile, 40 min train ride. And our guide, Tiny, was very knowledgeable and downright hilarious! :)

I took the short train ride and attended a Koloa Rum tasting while at the plantation on 01 November.
The train ride was a great way to see the plantation. While I enjoyed it, it is definitely more geared toward children. If given the opportunity, I’ll probably take the longer ride on my next trip.
The Koloa Rum was delicious and the rum cake was amazing. I appreciate that while they gave us lots of information about pricing and transport methods, at no time did I feel any pressure to make a purchase.
Overall a great experience.

The train moves too fast for you to truly enjoy or learn about any of the plants and vegetation. Basically, the tour guide is telling you to look to your left at a fruit tree and quickly turn right to look at an avocado tree. Not sure if this would be any more interesting to a child. My 9 year old nephew was with me and he didn’t seem that intrigued either.
However, the most entertaining part of the whole experience was stopping off the train to hand feed the pigs, goats, and sheep. The animals are adorable!
Tip: If you dine at Gaylord’s at Kilohana next door and bring your receipt to the ticket booth you will receive a discount — this is way worth it if you have a large group.

great tourist attraction!!! Take it from a local girl and former hula /​Tahitian dancer who loves to visit home. Don’t leave without taking a train tour and if you can splurge a bit the luau is superb

We came here to go on the train tour. They are scheduled every 1 hour from 10am to 2 pm. We got there just in time to board the train. It takes about 40 minutes. Plenty of plantation, farm animals, you get to feed the pigs, goat, sheep, roosters and hen. Since it was super hot my LO did not wanted to step out so we watched others feed.
The train ride was ok. But boring for us. After the ride went to Koloa rum shop. There they have rum tasting at 1 pm. You get into the list and are offered their spice, coconut and dark rum. We tasted their rum bread. Very tasty.
Got some souvenirs. Both train shop and rum shop have good items for gifting. Worth the stop here

Go here for the free rum (though not any good), or if you like trains, the train ride. Other than that, what’s there to experience? Probably best to spend your time elsewhere, getting sunburned.

kilohana has it all!
–a world class lu’au put on by amazing performers
–a fine dining establishment that boasts an excellent menu
–a rum tasting facility
–a train to take you around their beautiful property
–lots of local vendors selling unique kauai/​hawaii made gifts
whatever you’re looking for, you’re sure to find it here at kilohana!

3.5 rounded up. As long as you think of this place as somewhere to shop more than something to see, I think you will not be disappointed. In addition to the awesome Koloa Rum Company (see separate review), there is a Clayworks, a restaurant, a sweet shop, and other great artisan shops. As for something to do, the plantation railway is a great kiddie-​pleaser. It’s a 40-​minute ride among the plantation’s active crops, and you even get to feed the sheep and piggies. The tour guide is funny and knowledgeable. We got to the complex at 10:00 a.m., did the rum tasting, bought our train tickets, wandered around the shops, and then boarded the train at 11:00. You can hit the whole thing in two hours if you go in the morning, and it’s a fun and leisurely way to spend it. It’s not the thrill of Na Pali or the legit island knowledge of Limahuli, but it’s worth what you spend and something to see once.

What to do on a tiny island for 2 weeks? Go for a ride in an old train, listen to some history, and see some animals? For sure not Disney world, but was a relaxing afternoon and with other entertainment costing over $ 200 pp this was a steal. There are a couple of cute shops to wander around while you are here, so why not? Favorite moment was feeding the goats!

We went on the 45-​minute train ride here at Kilohana Plantation. Our toddler seemed to really enjoy it, but 3 stars is just about right.
The ride takes you through their massive orchard full of fruits and can be educational, and it stops briefly for an optional feeding session where you can mingle with roosters, pigs, sheep and goats. Our tour guide was fun and friendly.
We didn’t reserve in advance — don’t think we needed it, either. The train leaves every hour starting 9:30am through 1:30pm.
We don’t regret going on this ride, but highly doubt we will pay to ride it again. It costs close to $ 19 per adult and $ 15 per children over 2.
SUM: Great for kids.

We took the short 40 minute ride that happens right before the luau. I admit, it was actually quite nice; it is slightly silly but also quite informative, especially since the guys who handle the train are nice and… patient.
The only problem is that if you go right before the luau, then that means you are allowed to bring alcoholic drinks. Which means that if anyone has ill-​behaved children then you will spend more time wishing they’d be real parents instead of slacking off because their wayward children don’t understand basic manners. It’s not the train’s fault but it’s definitely frustrating when they are giving you a history lesson and you can’t hear them because:
1. There’s some stupid child yelling out the window and his parents are ENCOURAGING him.
OR
2. There’s some adult in the back who doesn’t know how to use his «inside» voice or when to shut up when other people are talking. Nah dude, it’s cool, keep yelling over the announcer.
Needless to say after the stop to feed the animals everyone tried to sit in another car.