Travel
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First Trip to Hawaii - Recs?
We are just getting started planning a trip to Hawaii for next spring. We are looking at up to two weeks (including travel from the East Coast) divided between 2-3 islands. We are going with my in-laws and probably looking for resort-type places in areas with plenty to do. We are interested in a combination of fun/adventure (volcano hiking, surf lessons, scuba) with nice beach/pool.
For starters, any first-hand advice on choosing the islands to visit? My mother-in-law mentioned the Big Island and Oahu. In addition, any specific areas and resorts?
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Re: First Trip to Hawaii - Recs?
Info about the Hawaiian islands: http://www.gohawaii.com/statewide/choose-an-island
Maui: http://pandce.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=trav&action=display&thread=20452
Kauai: http://pandce.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=trav&action=display&thread=19445
I think the Big Island and Oahu are a great combination for seeing the best of Hawaii. The only thing to keep in mind with the BI is that it is indeed very large, and if you stay in the resort area north of Kona you're going to be doing a lot of driving. A lot of people split up their stay on the BI between the Kona and Hilo sides to have quicker access to Volcanoes National Park, so that's something to keep in mind. I have lots of Hawaii info in my blog.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.
Mark Twain
My Travel Blog
I'd personally only do 2 islands in that time frame, each island has so much to check out. The Big Island and Oahu are great choices, however my faves are Kauai and Maui. Best thing to do though is research each of these 4 islands and go from there. Gohawaii.com has alot of good information, as well as the Revealed books.
If you go to the BI, I rec staying in the Waikoloa Village resort area in Kona, it's a super nice resort/restaurant/shopping hub. We rented a gorgeous 2-level villa at Hali'i Kai resort through VRBO - a vacay rental is a great option for you guys since you'll have your ILs with you. The Marriott there is very nice, as well as the Hilton (which is huge!). The must dos are the Volcano Park, Hapuna Beach, World Botanical Gardens, and all the waterfalls. We did a day road trip from Kona to Hilo and it was so much fun.
On Oahu, there are so many resort options. Of course, there are a ton all along the Waikiki Beach area. We loved the Royal Hawaiian, but the Moana Surfrider is gorgeous as well and top notch, both smack dab on the beach. If you want to be away from all of the hustle and bustle of the city, I highly rec the Ko Olina Marriott which we've personally stayed at, or the JW Ihilani right next to it. Ko Olina is about 30 min away from Honolulu in a private, low-key, but gorgeous area with 3 beautiful lagoons to snorkle in. Must dos are snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, hiking Diamond Head, going to the North Shore and checking out the historic town of Haleiwa and the beaches there.
On Maui, we stayed in the Wailea area, which is very beautiful and upscale. We stayed at the Fairmont Kea Lani, it's fabulous with huge rooms, nice pool area and beautiful beach. Kaanapali is a great area to stay in as well, there are alot more hotel, dining and activity options in that area. Must dos are snorkeling the Molikini Crater, swimming with the sea turtles at Turtle Town, and driving the Road to Hana.
Kauai is my fave island, it's stunningly beautiful and has so much to see and do! We always stay at the Kauai Marriott which is in Lihue, 10 min from the airport. It's a beautiful resort with every kind of amenity you could imagine, and one of the best pools I've every seen, it's huge with a cool island in the middle. Nice swimmable beach too on Kalapaki Bay. The must-dos are the Na Pali Coast boat tour, the Waimea Canyon, biking the Coconut Coast in Kapaa, and checking out all the stunning beaches from Poipu to the North Shore.
Let us know if you have any other questions.
Yeah I know what you mean about getting personal recs, I do a load of research myself but nothing's as good as firsthand experiences & recs right?
I'm sure you'd LOVE Kauai, and Oahu is a great choice as well, the North Shore is the best part of that island IMO.
If I can help with anything else, let me know
Definitely stick to 2 islands. Sure, the flights are short, but I think a lot of people underestimate how much time all that travel takes between checking out of your hotel, returning rental cars, getting to the airport, security, flight time, and then re-renting a car, re-checking into a hotel, etc. It can take several hours out of your day, and really wastes a lot of time that'd be better spent enjoying the islands.
I think Oahu is a great island to see for your first time in Hawaii because that's the 'main' island. See Pearl Harbor, the Polynesian Cultural Center, Dole Plantation, etc. However, it's also very crowded and quite expensive, especially if you want to stay on Waikiki Beach (parking is $30/day at the hotels), and can get old kind of fast because it's not quite the 'relaxing island time' atmosphere, so I'd limit your stay to 3 - 4 days.
As for the second island to include on your trip, it really depends on what you want to do. The Big Island is my favorite, Kona in particular. It feels a lot more homey than touristy, but it's such a beautiful place (even though the airport doesn't make a good first impression, it's carved out of an old lava field). The scuba diving is spectacular, especially the manta ray night dive. Also, the obvious thing that you can't get on any other island is the volcano. Usually the best way to see it, especially the lava flow, is by helicopter. The only downside with BI is that they have a much more rocky coastline, so you might not always be staying right on a sandy beach. However, the beaches they do have are gorgeous.
Maui is also a good choice. It's slightly more touristy than BI, but a lot less than Oahu. I liked staying in Lahaina, and there's also a great luau there called the Feast at Lele. There's a lot of great scenic drives there too, particularly the road to Hana.
Kauai is also a beautiful island. We were just there a few months ago and stayed on the north side in Princeville. We did get a lot of rain on our trip though, but still managed to squeeze in the major sights including a boat tour of the Na Pali coast, which is beautiful. It's a little more spread out though because almost everything is built along the coast and there aren't any roads through the interior of the island, so there's a lot of driving involved in being able to see all the different places. It's so green there though, but that also means you have a much higher chance of getting rain.