Walk a real cacao orchard, taste the fresh fruit, the honey and the vanilla, then sit down
to chocolate made from beans grown on the farm. The tour, the rules and the alternatives, compared honestly.
Farm or garden, spelled outWhere the cacao really grows, and where it doesn't
Real guest ratingsLive Viator & Tripadvisor figures, September 2026
Free cancellationUp to 24 hours before, on every tour here
Secure checkout on ViatorMobile ticket, instant confirmation
Tours
Choose your Kauai chocolate tour
The Lydgate Farms cacao farm tour and tasting in the centre. Beside it, the two tasting walks
people weigh it against: the Princeville garden tour with chocolate, and a pick-your-own organic fruit farm.
A guided walk through Lydgate Farms' cacao orchard and gardens with honey, vanilla and fruit, then a long tasting of chocolate made from their award-winning beans.
What's included
Three-hour guided tour of the Lydgate Farms cacao orchard and botanical gardens
Tastes of estate honey, vanilla, tropical fruit and fresh cacao fruit
Chocolate tasting, from chocolate-covered macadamias to the 70% estate bar
Weekdays only (Monday to Friday); children 9 and over, no infants
Not included: hotel pickup, farm shop purchases, gratuities; free cancellation to 24 hours
Several tours sell a "chocolate tasting". Only some of them take place on a cacao farm, and the
others are on different islands. The "where" column is the one to read first.
Lydgate Farms takes children from 9 (child fare 9 to 13) and runs Monday to Friday
only. The Princeville price already includes the tip. Every tour here cancels free up to 24 hours ahead.
The farm
A working cacao farm, not a chocolate factory.
Lydgate Farms is a 46-acre family farm in the uplands behind Kapaa, on Kauai's green east side, with
Nounou, the Sleeping Giant, on the skyline. The Lydgate family has farmed in Hawaii for five generations;
today the farm grows around 3,000 cacao trees alongside vanilla, fruit and bees. Its beans have been
recognised several times by the international Cocoa of Excellence awards in Paris.
Hawaii sits about 20 degrees north of the equator, at the very edge of where cacao will grow, and it is
the only US state that grows cacao commercially. The tour is about that: how the pods grow, what the fresh
fruit tastes like and how the seeds become chocolate. You will not watch a factory line; reporting from
2023 and 2024 says the bars have been made off the farm from its beans. One more thing people mix up:
Lydgate Farms is not Lydgate Beach Park, the seaside park in Wailua that shares the family name.
~3,000
Cacao trees on the farm, planted from 2002, with the first
harvest in 2008.
Cacao orchardVanillaEstate honey70% estate bar
Kauai's east side: the farm sits inland from the Kapaa coast.
01
Which days?
Monday to Friday only. The farm lists start times at 9, 10, 11 AM and noon.
02
Any age limit?
Yes: 9 and over. No younger children or infants in carriers.
03
How do I get there?
Drive or take a taxi to 5730 Olohena Road, Kapaa. There is no pickup.
04
Who might skip it?
Families with little ones, and anyone short on time: the Kapaa tasting room is quicker.
The tour
How the three hours unfold
Arrive 15 minutes early. The walk comes first, the tasting last, so keep some appetite.
01
Check in at the farm
Park at the farm on Olohena Road and meet your guide and group of up to 25.
15 min early
02
Gardens and bees
Walk the botanical gardens, taste estate honey and seasonal tropical fruit, and see the vanilla vines.
First hour
03
Into the cacao
Pods on the trunks, the sweet white pulp of a fresh pod, and how seeds are fermented and dried.
Mid-tour
04
The tasting
A long, guided chocolate tasting, from covered macadamias to the 70% estate bar. The shop comes last.
Search "Lydgate Farms Chocolate Tour" in Google Maps or Waze; directions come in the welcome email.
There is no hotel pickup: drive, or book a taxi or rideshare both ways.
From Kapaa town it is a short drive inland; from Poipu or Princeville, allow 40 minutes to an hour.
Arrive 15 minutes before your start time. The tour ends back where it starts.
From $145 per person on Viator, the same from-price as the farm's own site.
The child fare applies to ages 9 to 13; nobody under 9 can join.
Tip for your guide and farm shop purchases are not included.
Groups are capped at 25 travelers; the farm also offers private tours.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before on Viator.
Farm visits are by reservation only: there are no self-guided visits.
Not wheelchair accessible; guests report golf cart help on the steepest hills.
Not advised for people with heart problems or other serious medical conditions.
Tours run Monday to Friday only.
Closed-toe shoes with grip for grass and red dirt paths.
Insect repellent: it is a tropical farm on the wet side of the island.
Sunscreen, a hat and a light rain jacket.
Water, and a light breakfast: the tasting is rich.
A cool bag in the car if you plan to buy chocolate.
On the walkEstate honeyHoney from the farm's own bees, tasted in the gardens.
On the walkVanillaVanilla orchids pollinated by hand; guests often watch a demonstration.
On the walkTropical fruitWhatever is in season, often apple bananas.
On the walkFresh cacao fruitThe sweet white pulp around the seeds, straight from the pod.
The tastingCovered macadamiasHawaiian macadamia nuts in 55% dark chocolate.
The tasting70% estate barDark chocolate from the farm's own award-winning cacao.
Where the tour starts
Lydgate Farms location
Lydgate Farms Chocolate Tours
5730 Olohena Rd, Kapaa, HI 96746
The farm lies inland from Kapaa and Wailua on Kauai's east side, up Olohena Road toward the mountains.
Type the farm's name, not "Lydgate", into your map app: "Lydgate" alone sends you to Lydgate Beach Park
on the coast in Wailua. Parking is at the farm, and the tour ends where it starts.
4.9★★★★★ 1,105 reviews · Kauai Chocolate Farm Tour & Tasting live Viator & Tripadvisor figures, September 2026
5 ★1,069
4 ★14
3 ★11
2 ★10
1 ★1
★★★★★
Lovely experience! Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and it was evident she loved her job and the farm. We got to see her hand pollinate a vanilla flower. The chocolate tasting was delicious!
★★★★★
Is a three hour tour but does not seem that long as the information presented was interesting and creatively delivered. We got to sample soooo much chocolate along with honey and unique tropical fruits in season.
★★★★★
We had a great time on the tour! Our guide was outstanding!! We learned A LOT about the entire process to make chocolate, as well as the other plants on the farm. One of the highlights of our trip.
★★★★★
I didn't realize how much labor and time was involved in the process of making chocolate. Our guide Mason was very knowledgeable and answered all our questions. Vanilla, honey, nuts, fruit, flowers, and chocolate: this farm tour had something for everyone.
★★★★★
VERY knowledgeable guide, lots of chocolate to sample, and fresh local fruit to sample, and local honey.
★★★★★
Such a great experience! Highly recommend this tour as it supports local farmers and also research into sustainable methods that can stretch across Hawaii.
★★★★★
The tour was informative. The sample chocolate is very good and made me realize the store bought chocolates are full of artificial flavorings and emulsifiers. So delicious!
★★★★★
Excellent presentation and experience around the entire chocolate making process. Plus, tasting of the very good chocolate in its various presentations. Our guide was top notch.
★★★★★
Wow! Beautiful farm with excellent hosts. If you love chocolate, this is the tour for you! Fresh fruit, mac nuts, and chocolate smorgasbord!
No car, or no weekday?
See the east side with pickup
The farm tour has no transport. If you are not driving, this small-group day covers the
sights around it and stops in Kapaa, home of the walk-in Lydgate tasting room.
Kauai Small-Group Sightseeing Tour with Pickup
★ 4.9 · 91 reviews · 5.5 hours
No car, or not able to join on a weekday? This small-group day (13 people at most) picks you up and covers the east side around the farm: the Menehune Fish Pond, Wailua and Opaekaa Falls, Lydgate Beach Park and lunch time in Kapaa, where Lydgate Farms runs its walk-in chocolate tasting room. It is a sightseeing tour, not a farm visit, and the tour's own chocolate tasting is optional.
Kauai's chocolate farm tour is a slow, delicious morning on a working cacao farm: three hours
of walking, tasting and learning, with a sit-down chocolate tasting at the end. Here is what it is, what it
costs, who it suits and how to get the most out of it.
What the tour is, and what it isn't
The tour takes place on Lydgate Farms, a family farm in the uplands behind Kapaa. The first part is a walk:
through botanical gardens where you taste estate honey and seasonal fruit, past vanilla vines, and into the
cacao orchard, where pods grow straight out of the trunks in yellow, orange and deep red. Your guide opens a
pod so you can taste the fresh fruit, which is sweet and tangy and nothing like chocolate, and explains how
the seeds are fermented, dried and roasted. The second part is the tasting. It is not a factory tour: you
will not see a production line, and the chocolate itself has been made off the farm from its beans.
A freshly opened pod: the white pulp around the seeds is sweet and tangy.
What it costs, and how to book
The tour is from $145 per person on Viator in 2026, the same from-price the farm lists itself. Children
aged 9 to 13 pay a child fare; younger children cannot join at all. Add a tip for your guide and whatever you
buy in the farm shop, which is where most people spend a little more. Booking through Viator adds free
cancellation up to 24 hours before, which is worth having on an island where the weather changes quickly.
The farm's own site sometimes runs promo codes, so if price is your only concern, check there too.
The honest small print: the reviews are glowing (4.9 from 1,105), and the few
complaints are about the length, the hills and the heat rather than the chocolate. Three hours is a long
time on your feet in the tropics, so wear proper shoes, bring water and repellent, and tell the farm if you
need help on the slopes. And it only runs on weekdays: plan it before you plan your beach days.
Lydgate Farms or a garden tour?
Kauai's other well-known chocolate tasting is at Princeville Botanical Gardens on the North Shore:
a three-hour garden walk ending in a tasting of fine chocolates from around the world, with the tip included
and children allowed. It is a lovely morning, but the chocolate is not grown there. If you want to stand under
the cacao trees that made the chocolate in your hand, Lydgate Farms is the one; if you are staying in
Princeville or bringing young children, the garden tour is easier. Our
side-by-side comparison goes deeper.
The tasting is the finale: go easy on breakfast.
Making the most of the morning
Book the 9 AM start if you can: it is cooler, and you have the afternoon for the beach. Wear closed shoes and
light clothes, put on repellent before you arrive, and pack a light rain jacket. Ask questions: the guides are
the reason for the rave reviews. Buy your chocolate at the end, keep it out of the sun, and if you want more,
the Lydgate tasting room in Kapaa town is open on weekdays without a reservation.
Shoes, repellent, water and a rain layer: the farm tour kit.
Straight answers to what visitors ask most about the Kauai chocolate farm tour.
How much is the Kauai chocolate farm tour?
The Lydgate Farms chocolate farm tour and tasting is from $145 per person on Viator in 2026, the same from-price the farm lists on its own site. Children 9 to 13 pay a discounted rate. Gratuities and anything you buy in the farm shop are extra. See the price guide.
How long is the Lydgate Farms chocolate tour?
About three hours, including a walk through the cacao orchard and gardens and a long sit-down tasting at the end. Most guests say it flies by; a few say it runs a little long, so eat a light breakfast and bring water.
What do you taste on the chocolate farm tour?
Estate honey, vanilla, seasonal tropical fruit and fresh cacao fruit on the walk, then chocolate: the listing's sample menu starts with dark chocolate covered Hawaiian macadamia nuts and a farm apple banana and builds to the 70% estate-grown bar. Guests report tasting many kinds of chocolate, so arrive hungry.
Can kids go on the Lydgate Farms chocolate tour?
Only from age 9. The farm does not allow children under 9, including infants in carriers. Families with younger children can visit the Lydgate chocolate tasting room in Kapaa instead, open Monday to Friday. See chocolate farm tours with kids.
Is the chocolate farm tour open on weekends?
No. Lydgate Farms runs its tours Monday to Friday only, with start times at 9, 10, 11 AM and 12 PM on its own site. If a weekday does not work, the Princeville Botanical Gardens tour runs a garden walk with a chocolate tasting on its own schedule.
Where is the Kauai chocolate farm?
Lydgate Farms is at 5730 Olohena Road, Kapaa, in the green uplands behind the Wailua and Kapaa coast on the east side of Kauai. It is not at Lydgate Beach Park, the seaside park in Wailua that shares the family name. There is no pickup, so you need a car, a taxi or a rideshare.
Is the Kauai chocolate farm tour worth it?
For chocolate lovers and curious cooks, yes: it rates 4.9 from 1,105 reviews, and guests single out the guides, the vanilla and honey and the amount of chocolate. Skip it if you have young children, cannot walk on sloping grass, or only want a quick taste: the tasting room in Kapaa is quicker.
Do you see chocolate being made on the tour?
Not a factory line. It is a farm tour: you see how cacao grows, taste the fresh fruit and learn how the seeds are fermented, dried and turned into chocolate, then taste the finished chocolate. Reporting from 2023 and 2024 says the bars have been produced off the farm from its beans.
What should I wear on the chocolate farm tour?
Closed-toe walking shoes, light clothes, a hat and a light rain jacket. Bring insect repellent, sunscreen and water: it is a working farm on the rainy side of the island. See what to wear and bring.
Lydgate Farms or Princeville Botanical Gardens: which chocolate tour?
Lydgate Farms is the cacao farm: you taste chocolate made from beans grown where you stand. Princeville Botanical Gardens is a garden walk on the North Shore that ends with fine chocolates from around the world. Pick by where you are staying and what you care about. Compare them in the side-by-side guide.
Can I cancel my chocolate farm tour booking?
Yes. On Viator the Lydgate Farms tour cancels for a full refund up to 24 hours before the start, and every other tour on this page has the same 24-hour rule.
Is the chocolate farm tour wheelchair accessible?
No. The farm paths include steep, sloping sections. Guests report that the farm offers golf cart help for people who cannot manage the hills, so ask when you book. The organic fruit farm tour near Kilauea is wheelchair accessible.
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