Twenty-minute carriage tours leave from the plantation house each hour between 11:00 A.M. and 6:30 P.M. daily. Hour-long sugar cane tours leave at 11:00 A.M. and 2:00 P.M. Reservations required.
A ++ for the whole experience! This gorgeous plantation is also the site of the Lu'au Kalamaku, offering something for everyone in the family. Here's how the perfect evening went: Check in at 5 PM. Lei greeting and photo op with the Lu'au performers. Visit the open bar for mai tai's (or juice) then stroll around the gardens. 5:30 pm train ride around the plantation with a stop to feed the pigs (random, but so much fun!). Squeeze in a rum tasting in the tasting room and gallery. (kids are not allowed in the tasting room) 6:30 dinner buffet. 7:00 Lu'au- which was so exciting my 3 year old stayed awake for the whole thing! The fire dancers helped hold his attention. Some tips: They have round tables of 12 for the buffet and show, and they seat families with kids together. Our table had a great view of the stage, but on the nights the cruise ships are in town, it can be packed and they have additional long tables a little further away from the performance.
The beautifully elaborate 16,000-square-foot mansion at Kilohana Plantation was built in 1935 and still exudes an aura of grand class. It was built by Gaylord Wilcox to suit his wife Ethel’s expectations of a Hollywood-type manor.
Today the home has been authentically restored, and various rooms have been converted into a small sampling of galleries and shops. The old living room looks like a museum with its period furniture, artifacts, and collectibles.
An optional hour-long horse-and-carriage tour pulled by Clydesdale horses is available, or you can simply park and walk around the grounds on your own for free. The horses pull tourist-filled wagons on other routes as well, through Lihue valley or sugar cane fields. Rates vary depending on the tour.