The date is now firm: the 2026 Kauaʻi Chocolate & Coffee Festival is Sunday, October 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Kilohana Plantation in Līhuʻe. Fall travelers can put a real event on the calendar.

The finer details are not finished. The organizer's schedule page is still labeled as the 2025 schedule, and the 2026 ticket page says tasting-passport sales are coming soon. Book around the confirmed date if the festival fits your trip, but do not treat last year's performers, demonstrations, vendors, or times as the 2026 program.

The organizer currently lists four planning anchors: Sunday, October 18, 2026; 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; Kilohana Plantation; Līhuʻe, Kauaʻi. The festival is a one-day event, so use it as a Sunday anchor rather than the reason for an island hop.

The official ticket page also draws an important line between entering and tasting. Guests may enter without a ticket, but samples are not guaranteed. A tasting passport is the option for guaranteed samples once sales open.

No current passport price or working purchase link is posted. That is still uncertain, and it matters more than a recycled price from an older festival. Check the ticket page before paying for a nonrefundable Sunday activity elsewhere.

The festival's schedule page carries the new October 18 date in its page description, but the detailed heading still says “2025 Kauaʻi Chocolate & Coffee Festival Schedule of Events.” That mismatch is the signal to wait.

Do not build the day around a named demonstration or entertainment slot until the heading and program both roll forward to 2026. The same caution applies to participating makers. A prior-year booth list can explain the event's shape, but it cannot promise who will pour coffee or chocolate this October.

The useful plan is simpler: keep 10 a.m.–4 p.m. open, buy a passport if tastings matter once the live purchase link appears, and recheck the schedule during the week before the festival. That sequence protects the trip from schedule drift without turning one event into a six-day logistics project.

Free entry and guaranteed samples are not the same product. If you mainly want entertainment, demonstrations, shopping, and a look around Kilohana, the free-entry option may be enough. If comparing local chocolate and coffee is the reason you are going, the passport is the part to watch.

The organizer has not posted a current price, quantity of samples, or on-sale deadline. Treat each of those as pending. Once sales open, read the current terms before buying for the whole group.

The festival gives visitors a chance to compare products and ask makers direct questions in one place. The final participant list will show how broad that comparison is in 2026. Once it posts, use it to shortlist a few booths instead of racing through every sample, and ask each maker where the coffee or cacao was grown rather than assuming every ingredient came from Kauaʻi.

Make Sunday the festival day and keep Friday or Saturday for the part of Kauaʻi you would choose even if the event disappeared. Līhuʻe is the simplest base for a short trip. The South Shore is a practical alternative if beach time is the other priority. Use our Līhuʻe guide and South Kauaʻi guide to compare the two.

Kilohana's regular attractions are separate decisions. Its official site lists the Kauaʻi Plantation Railway, and Kōloa Rum runs a tasting room at Kilohana. Do not assume either experience is included with festival entry or a passport. Check their own hours and reservation rules if you want to add one.

If you are staying in Līhuʻe or on the South Shore, a rental car lets you reach Kilohana on your own schedule and leave when the festival day is done. Compare current inventory through Discount Hawaii Car Rental, then price the whole trip with the Hawaii Cost Explorer. Free festival entry does not offset a poorly placed hotel or an unnecessary island hop.

1. Watch the ticket page. Buy a passport when sales open if guaranteed samples are central to the day. Do not rely on a prior-year price.
2. Confirm the schedule has rolled to 2026. The current detailed program is still labeled 2025. Recheck before choosing an arrival time more precise than the posted 10 a.m. opening.
3. Check conditions and your route. Use Hawaii Guide's weather forecast and your preferred navigation app before leaving the hotel. Keep the hour after the festival open so a slow exit does not collide with a dinner reservation.

Reserve Sunday for the festival, keep surrounding plans flexible, and use the organizer's current ticket and schedule pages before finalizing the day.