lantxinok

My wife and I are in the early stages of planning a trip to Hawaii for February of 2020 (Pretty set on the general dates.) And due to some constrains at home, we can only be gone for 7-8 days from home in N. Texas.
I made two trips to the islands 25-30 years ago, but this will be the first time for my wife to visit. (Visited Oahu and Maui over 10 days on one trip and stayed on Oahu only on a second trip. Made a day trip to Hawaii on one of the visits.) And based on what we plan on doing AFTER this trip - major life changes / relocation / retiring from FT work / working our small scale farm - this is probably going to be the ONLY time that we visit Hawaii together. Exactly where we stay we be determined later. This is more about which islands to visit. The list of things that we absolutely must see/do is pretty short - we want to visit the volcanoes on the big island. Secondary to that she would like to visit Pearl Harbor if possible. And she would very much enjoy experiencing some of the waterfalls of Hawaii. We do not care at all for anything overly developed - we are much more into natural scenery and beauty than Honolulu and Waikiki Beach. The few things that I have shown her about Kauai have been very appealing to her - the idea to just relax in beautiful surroundings away from a lot of folks. (Assuming we stay away from the north shore!). She has said that her ideal place to stay would have the ocean just steps from our lanai, with no neighbors around.

So I was thinking of staying on Kauai for the entire time and working in a day-trip to the big island. Except I can see that interisland between Kauai and Hawaii can take 2 hours and has to go thru Honolulu.

I had thought about trying to squeeze in Pearl Harbor on get-away day by having us fly from LIH to HNL early in the morning, spending that day at Pearl and then flying out of HNL for the return to Texas early evening. Is that do-able?

Or might we be better to focus on a great place to stay on Oahu and make our day trip to the volcanoes from there - since there will be more flight opportunities and the flight times will be shorter.

I know that the best thing would be to just stay longer, but that is NOT an option for us here . . .

Thanks in advance for the input.

Martin

sf7307

Kathie

Your three priority items are somewhat in conflict with each other, as that would require visiting three islands which means you would not have the experience of settling in and enjoying a place. You may need to decide which of these are most important. I do think the idea of flying via HNL on your way out and stopping to see Pearl Harbor is do-able. The problem is finding a way to visit the volcanoes on the Big Island without eating up so much time.

janisj

With such a short trip and having such long travel days from/to home . . . I'd probably do two nights on Oahu and the rest on another Island - likely Kauai. Maybe start on Kauai for 5 nights, late afternoon flight to HNL, next day visit Pearl Harbor, maybe Diamond Head, etc. Fly home the next morning.

I'm with sf7307 -- I simply don't understand >>Assuming we stay away from the north shore!

Songdoc

FYI, there is at least one non-stop flight a day each way between Kauai and the Big Island.
It's still an expensive, time-consuming proposition. But it's doable.

A couple of years ago, I did an all-day bus tour on the Big Island that included VNP. I would estimate that at least half the people on that tour had flown in from a different island for the day just to do that tour. Bear in mind that unless Pele starts up again, you will not see lava flowing. It would be great if you could find a day tour that includes VNP, and Rainbow and Akaka falls.

This is definitely do-able if you fly into HNL and spend the first day visiting Pearl Harbor. But it is an expensive and tiring proposition.

Here's a thought: how about a cruise that would stop at all these places w/o the need to unpack or fly between islands? A cruise is not the way I would personally want to experience the islands, but it might be a good option for you, since you want to see three islands in 7 or 8 days. IMO, it's critical to do excursions at every port because the ships tend to dock in the least attractive parts of the islands, and you need to take a tour or rent a car to see the attractions.

On that topic ... yesterday , for the first time, I saw Royal Caribbean's "Ovation of the Seas" sail past. (I live on Kauai's North Shore.) It's OMG-massive. 5,000 passengers! I can't imagine how the islands are dealing with 5,000 tourists all arriving at once for day tours with limited time! The Norwegian ship passes every Friday. It's big, but not nearly as big.

Good luck with your decision!

lantxinok

I'm with sf7307 -- I simply don't understand >>Assuming we stay away from the north shore!

janisj

>>I should have been more specific - I was thinking of avoiding Princeville when I said 'north shore' - my bad.

jamie99

In winter the surf will be rough up on the beautiful North Shore, better to stay somewhere in Poipu. You don't mention if you are looking for a hotel or condo. Sheraton has a very nice beach and the hotel was remodeled a few years ago, but only stay oceanfront, not in the rooms across the street. They are also converting those room to timeshares. There is also the Grand Hyatt which is beautiful but the beach is not swimmable. You can always drive to another beach anyway and the pools are gorgeous. The only condos that are oceanfront in Poipu are the Kiahuna Plantation ones but the pool is across the street.
I'd stay on Kauai and visit Pearl Harbor either coming or going to Kauai, maybe with an overnight stop depending on flight schedules.

suze

Your wish list conflicts itself. Seeing Pearl Harbor is Oahu. Seeing volcano active is Big Island. Sounds like Kauai and quiet, rest, relaxation, natural beauty is number 1 for your wife. I just don't see how you can do all that in only one week.

You could stay on Oahu (outside Waikiki somewhere). There are day trips already organized you could take to see the volcano.

It's really hard to recommend because to do what you want to do simply takes more time than you have.

TJM_70

Two islands in seven days is guaranteed to shortchange something; we've always been of the "less is more" mentality. However, I know many people like to travel and just check the box. Hawaii is a more of a slow down and relax and enjoy your time and sense of place vacation.

If you must split two islands, and your must do items are Pearl Harbor / Waikiki and Volcanoes National Park then I would recommend flying into Oahu, spending 4.5 days there, then fly to Hilo spend 2.5 days there and fly home from Hilo. You'd see just the Hilo / Volcanoes National Park area and not much else. But, that's pretty awesome, for sure.

If Oahu and Kauai is your choice then ticket your trip that way...but I make no apologies for being a Big Island first fan. My advice is a little different than others in the destination portion but the splitting of no more than two islands is the same advice. Have fun.