JimTammy

Traveling to Hawaii 7/29 - 8/6. Which 2 islands and what areas what you recommend staying? In Maui was thinking Lahaina (Lahaina Shores Beach Resort - Good or bad?) or Kihei? Hawaii Island - Kona. First time there, so probably wanting to do the touristy stuff this time around. Interested staying close to good dining. shops and beaches. Also would like to see the volcanoes. Yes.. not much time, but trying to get the most bang for our buck. It's hubby's 50th birthday... so I heard a trip to Mama's Fish House in Paia is a must do.... maybe even for the actual birthday celebration. Any suggestions on Big Island or Honolulu? Dining and accommodation recommendations appreciated as well! Thank you!

Alohaheidi

Hi there, I live on Oahu and travel to neighbor islands weekly for work and every cpl months for pleasure. As far as what to do and where to stay...It really depends on what you are interested in. Every island has beautiful resorts and beaches and every island it's own unique sights to see. That being said...In my opinion...Maui is a must see and yes Mama's fish house is pretty amazing ( I was just there last month). The views and food are both up to par. To me the big Island is a disappointment and my least favorite island...It's big and brown and covered in lava rock. All other islands are much more beautiful (again just my opinion...but I am there every week). The volcano is cool (to say you've seen a volcano) but unless you do a helicopter ride or boat tour, you want see anything. It is a volcano after all, so you're kept far away from it. Other than that the main draw of B.I. are the kona side resorts..But if you're lounging on a beach or pool at a resort you could be on any island. All natural shorelines are rocky or cliffsides. Kauai is the most beautiful (by far) and relaxing island..it's small but a cpl days there is amazing...the napali coast boat tour and atv rides are life changing. Oahu has the most to do and if you stay out of waikiki and lodge on the N.Shore or in Kailua you can avoid the throngs of annoying tourists..You also get to snorkel at Hanauma Bay and see Pearl Harbor as well as amazing beaches, restaurants and hikes. Let me know more specific or when you narrow down your islands and I can give tips on where to stay and places to see. Aloha

JimTammy

Thank you, Aloha Heidi. I will be checking out Oahu & Kauai. I will hopefully be able to research more of each island tomorrow.

lanejohann

We loved Maui
Stayed in Kihei in amazing condo right on the water but would recommend Lahaina and North
More to do at night
Kihei is dead at night and kinda depressing with lots of shops closed
Maui is beautiful

Loved Waikiki .very vibrant and better than our own Gold Coast in Australia..classier
But would only go back to eat and shop
Maui is gorgeous to chill and snorkel
Did the Hana raid trip
Great! So beautiful

MichelleY

You really only have a week as your arrival and departure days are shot. I would pick one island. They are all wonderful, but it would pick Maui or Kauai for a first visit.

fdecarlo

JimTammy, we have no specific experience with the Lahaina Shores, but they appear to be privately owned condos. In this situation, unit quality will vary widely, depending on individual owner, so it's impossible to give a reliable recommendation for the resort as a whole. Some rooms will be much better than others. However the place has good reviews overall, so most units should be fine imo.

Location-wise it's hard to beat imo. Great combination of ocean view and proximity to downtown. Reviews claim it has no beach of its own, but you won't have far to go to get to one in that area. The only other repeated negative we've read has been about the parking, apparently it's not the best at this resort.

As for the number of islands to visit, we've stopped giving our opinions about it. The bottom line is that some people go to Hawaii to do nothing but relax, others go to do as much as humanly possible, and an infinite range of preference exists between those two. But I agree with MichelleY about moreless losing both your arrival and departure days, and every accomodation change entails another half-day loss. So a one week vacation, even to one island only gives you about five solid days of relaxation and sightseeing time. A two-island visit entails loss of another half-day, so now you're looking at only two days or so between moves. Acceptable to some travelers and not to others. If the primary goal is relaxation I agree with the advice to limit the trip to one island.

nanabee

My favorite islands are Oahu and Kauai for the reasons Alohaheidi mentioned.

uncfan

Which island(s) to choose? Nice problem to have....especially if this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30gWIuBiUsw) is the "big, brown, disappointing" one... : )

I would agree with the others that you should probably stick to one island given the length of your stay. Personally, I would try to add 2-3 days to your trip and then split your time between two islands. For a one week trip with young children....I would probably focus on Maui or the eastern shore of Oahu (Kailua/Keneohe). I would add Kaui (my favorite) if you can get a few more days.

Have a great trip!

cmstraf

Kaui is our favorite--small, lovely, with many geographical differences, great hiking and good snorkeling.

We did not have a great experience on Maui (perhaps because an injury forced us to change from a planned 10th anniversary trip to Venice and Prague at last moment), while we very much enjoyed our 10 days on Big Island. We broke our usual rule and stayed in 3 areas. First 2 days at Four Seasons (this vacation was compliments of my husband's former company) then on to a beautiful cottage by Volcano National Park in rain forest near park (which we found stunning, though austere), then driving up other coast and a final 5 days at Mauna Kea resort, with very beautiful beach and great Pacific art donated by Rockefeller).

Our next trip will probably be back to Kuai.

I think I did a trip report.

sf7307

My favorites are Kauai (becuase it's lush and gorgeous) and Oahu (much of which is beautiful - outside of Waikiki (which is fun). We've been on Maui a number of times, and while I always enjoy myself, it just isn't a favorite - I like Lahaina and hiking in the volcano, some of the beaches, and the drive upcountry, but overall, I don't think it's beautiful except on the beaches and within the resorts. We were on the BI this year, and it's my least favorite - when I go to Hawaii, I want a tropical feel, palm trees everywhere. We're not fans of the lava rock landscape (again, we did enjoy individual things about it - like the hike at Pololu, and the town of Hawi - in fact, the whole drive up to Hawi was very pretty, some of the beaches, the Lava Lava Beach Club), but if I had to choose two, it would be Oahu and Kauai. (Keep in mind though that when we go to Hawaii, it's for relaxation and being outdoors - we don't do much sightseeing, if any. Mostly beaches, pools, kayaking, hiking, sitting, little towns (like Hawi and and eating. In 10 trips, we've never been to the Polynesian Cultural Center or the Doris Duke estate - not saying they aren't interesting, just saying it's not what we want to do on that kind of trip). (P.S. I'm sure the volcano would be interesting, but we were there in the late 70s when you COULD get "up close and personal", not only with the caldera, but you could walk over active lava streams, so I can't imagine it being nearly as interesting now).

jamie99

I agree with Michelle about sticking to one island, my choice would be Kauai or Big Island, my second visit to Maui we were hating the traffic and high prices, and except for a splurge once at Mama's we were not eating at pricey places for the most part.
You lose half a day to travel and usually have to check out of your hotel or condo at 11-12 and cannot check into new lodging until about 3pm.

JimTammy

Thank you all! I've been broken between all your choices... but as a first timer, and maybe last timer (LONG flight from FL), I think I've decided on Oahu & Maui. I did change my dates to have 4 nights in Honolulu and 5 nights in Maui. Staying at the Regency Hyatt Waikiki and Lahaina Shores since both seem convenient to shopping/dining. We also will have a rental car, so can make day trips to see a few more sights on each Island. My friend, who grew up in Hawaii,(many years ago)also mentioned Kauai as being one of the prettier Islands - but will opt for this on another bucket list. Thank you for all your input! I really enjoy hearing & learn from all of you. I haven't hit the "book" button... so if I change my mind again... will keep you posted. I think another reason for not opting for Kauai, was the flights and amount of days offered on each island for the vacation package offered from Costco.

ChiSue

One week = One island. Ten nights = Two islands. Two weeks = Three of the smaller islands or Big Island and one other.

Day One is adjusting to the time change. No departure day is a full vacation day. Every transit between islands will eat 4 - 5 hours, door to door.

In late summer, you could have a great time splitting between Waikiki and North Shore on Oahu. OR...if you are booked in and out of HNL, you could stay within TSA security for two hours at HNL and press on to Maui, staying there your full time; same on return.

Lahaina Shores would not be my choice -- noisy, no beach. (Check the Maui Forum on TripAdvisor for more information.)

suze

My family stayed at Lahaina Shores, we all loved it, I don't really understand the "noisy" comment just above.

Besides that I always go to Waikiki/Honolulu on Oahu.

suze

And I think 4 nights Honolulu and 5 nights Lahaina is perfect.

Inakauaidavidababy

"One week = One island. Ten nights = Two islands. Two weeks = Three of the smaller islands or Big Island and one other.

POPPYCOCK

Beware the posters that state their biased opinions as fact. And offer opinions as fact on places they have not stayed. Just because the above poster requires a wide body plane to get to the islands and takes time to recover, prefers to move slowly, doesn't mean that is the law of the land. I've never once "wasted" a half day island hopping. Unless you're in a prison bus, I usually enjoy the travel from lodging to airport and find it all to be part of the grand scale adventure.

I think 4 nights/5nights is a nice plan. I'm usually very particular on the timing of inter island flights so that I get the most quality time during the transition. Usually early morning or early evening - direct when possible.

suze

I'm still trying to figure out how Lahaina Shores is noisy. ChiSue, can you say why you think that?

Our family had a great stay there, we have 5 different units. We loved that it was walking distance into the town of Lahaina, so people could go off on their own without having to get in the rental cars every time.

fdecarlo

> I've never once "wasted" a half day island hopping.

This border on intentional misinformation imo. Between packing up and checking out of one accomodation, getting to the airport, returning the rental car, checking in for security (which still isn't being waived for interisland flights), the flight itself, getting a new rental car and driving to and checking into a new accomodation...

How long does the above take you?

You better believe it's a half-day, and that's assuming everything goes right.

Inakauaidavidababy

Well for instance, on my last trip to the islands we got up early in North Kohala and watched the sunrise as we made our way to KOA for the first direct flight to OGG. Landed, provisioned up and had a lovely lunch at HGStore before hitting the road to Hana for 2 nights. Not one bit of it was time wasted, just part of the journey. Same when after only 2 nights we switched locations. Hung in Hana until checkout, headed to Mama's for a decadent lunch before checking in at Napali Kai. Not a minute was wasteful switching lodging and locations. That plan served us well. It might not for everyone.

And how long do you require to pack and walk out the door? We carryon from the east coast, so it's one trip each to the rental car.

fdecarlo

My point is that a change of island entails a half-day loss of potential relaxation and touring time. The claim that it's wasted time is a different one, yours not mine.