jormot

My husband & I are planning our 1st trip to Hawaii. We will have 9 days total on the islands, not including our travel days. We want to experience as much as possible during our time there. What we need advice on is which island or islands to visit. We know we don't want to visit Ohau as big cities are not our thing. My husband wants to spend the entire time on the BI as he is very excited to visit Volcano National Park, however, I worry that is not enough of a draw to plan our whole vacation around. We enjoy being outdoors, seeing the beautiful sites, snorkeling, etc. Budget is not a big issue but we do want to stay at nice hotels & have some nice resturant options. Advice would be greatly appreciated. I have read travel books, visited websites, but I keep getting more overwhelmed!

sylvia3

The BI might be just what you want; best snorkeling, volcano, incredible scenery, way too much to do in 9 days. The resorts along the Kohala coast (north of Kona) are a great base for visiting the beaches (lots of reasonably priced condos in the Waikoloa beach resort area, plus restaurants, shopping, and grocery).

seeksocean

Why don't you spend half your time on the BI and half your time on Maui? Want to see a rare beautiful sight? Go to Haleakala at sunrise and then hike around. Drive the windy road to Hana, making stops along the way. Since traffic is an issue, stay away from tourist areas on Maui. On the BI, stay on Kona side and maybe take a drive to Hilo side for a view of the other side of the island.

jormot

Do we have enough time to do the BI and another?

michele_d

Our son and DIL just returned from their honeymoon. They spent fours day each on Maui and the BI and felt it was a good amount of time on each. They did sunrise at Haleakala, swimming, snorkeling, driving around the island, a helicopter tour around the BI, lots of great food.

halfapair

We recently spent two weeks in Hawaii, one week on the BI and the other on Kauai. There is so much to see & do on the BI:
Volcanoes NP
http://www.worldbotanicalgardens.com/
Akaka Falls
Boat tours: http://www.bodyglovehawaii.com/
City of Refuge: http://www.aloha-hawaii.com/big-island/city-of-refuge/

I think you can easily spend a whole week on the BI and not run out of things to do. It's much less crowded than the other islands, but you still get the Spirit of Aloha.

ChiSue

Minimums: One week - One island. Ten nights = Two islands. Two weeks = three islands, unless one is the BIG Big Island and you want to do both sides of it. (Count your nights, not days.)

BTW, Oahu is not a city'. It's a typically tropical island with a small city (Honolulu) on its' southern shore, and a tourist enclave within the city, Waikiki Beach. Honolulu is also home to Pearl Harbor and Punchbowl, the Iolani Palace, and Bishop Museum. The East and North Shores of Oahu are quite rural.

Two or three nights in Volcano are probably plenty. You could even do just an overnight there. The Kohala Coast (opposite side of the island) is home to possibly the best hotel in the state, the Four Seasons Hualalai. Moana Lani is another fine hotel. There are condos and townhomes in the area.

When will you travel? Most people stay 'south' in winter and 'north' in summer on Kauai, Oahu and to some extent Maui. Hana on Maui and Hilo area on Big Island are wet in winter. The oceans are calmer south in winter; opposite in summer.

suze

Big Island is, well big. It has a lot of diversity. There's plenty more to see than only the volcano. You could easily fill 9 days there and not even scratch the surface.

Oahu is not a city, it's an island. Again, there is much more to Oahu than just Honolulu (the city you refer to).

Sure 9 days is enough time to change islands if you don't mind that extra time and expense. Can you fly direct to BI from your home airport? If you have to fly thru Honolulu you could add 2-3 days there would make sense.