1st Trip - Best Island to Go
 

My husband and I are going to Hawaii in November and know NOTHING about the islands. We'll be there for 8 days. We would greatly appreciate any advice on which island is the best to spend a week on, and what to do while we are there. We love nature....Thanks for your help!!

Hi,
My husband and I honeymooned on Hawaii last month. We visited Oahu, Big Island, and Maui. If you click on my screen name and scroll down, you should be able to find my 3 trip reports for the 3 islands. They are all different and offer great things, and my trip reports talk about all of them in comparison to one another. Good luck!

Of the three iuslands I've been to (Maui, Oahu and Kauai), I would say that if you're looking for nature, I'd recommend Kauai. Beautiful scenery!!

Everybody's got favorites, and I can't really compare because I've only been to Oahu and the Big Island. However, I can tell you what we loved about the BI: it's extremely varied. There's every climate from desert (in the Parker Ranch area) to snow (at the summit of Mauna Kea). There's an active volcano. We loved parasailing, horseback riding in the Waipio Valley, seeing the Mauna Kea summit at sunset - we were there for 2 weeks and never ran out of things to do. Have a look at www.konaweb.com - it has lots of useful information on it about the BI. Have a wonderful trip!

Just got back from 2 weeks there ourselves. We visited Hawaii, Kauai, and Oahu.

Oahu: The best place to go if you want big city atmosphere, and tons of clubs, shopping, restaurants. Don't try to drive yourself around Honolulu, traffic is terrible.

Kauai: Beautiful, lush, tropical, GREEN, waterfalls everywhere. Also - swarming with wild chickens (!!!).

Hawaii (Big Island): Like nowhere else I've ever seen - parts are lush & tropical, but there are also vast fields of lava, fantastic geological formations, an incredible variety of terrain and environments. It's the only place to see a volcanic eruption actually in progress (best seen from a helicopter.) There are several black sand beaches, and a even green sand beach (though it's not the easiest place to get to.) Definitely rent a car here.

Hi! In my opinion Maui is a great island if you can only see one island and have a full week. Why? Because it has a good variety of things to do and see. You have the "road to Hana", Haleakala crater, Ioaw Needle, etc. All of these are great for those who love nature. But, although I will agree that Kauai is the most beautiful island, it lacks any nightlife and does not have as much shopping, etc. Maui is not as built up as I had thought really. But, Lahaina is a cute fishing village and home to many art galleries and probably the best commercial Laua anywhere...Old Lahaina Luau. So, my recommendation would be Maui. I recommend on another trip that you do Oahu and Kauai with about 5 days on each island. The two islands are neighbors and really offer great contrast to one another!!

Have to say I agree with wtggirl. I've also only been to Maui, but when I was researching for our honeymoon, everything I read said that if you only have time for one island, Maui offers the best variety. (We had two weeks, but to me, a vacation is getting there, unpacking, and not having to even think about packing again until the night before you leave!)

Kauai is worth every penny that you spend there. We were there for fourteen days and still didn't see everything. The helicopter tour with Jack Harter is a must. We liked shopping at Hilo Hattie's - got turned on to it on Oahu ten years ago. Do rent a car as you will use it every day. But by all means, reward yourself and see Kauai and all it's greenery!

To me the islands are so different. I'm not sure I have a favorite but next time we go back we will probably stay on Kauai.

We spent 10 days in Maui last month and felt like we did a ton of driving. It could be that we stayed in Kihei and not on the west side. It seems though that everything we did involved driving 30 minutes to more than 1 hour.

For an untouristy place DH and I went to Molokai for 5 days on our honeymoon. We had the most amazing time but it's not for everyone.

Both the times that I have been to the BI were amazing as well. Like everyone has said has a wide variety of things to do.

Really, I think you can't go wrong if you are going to Hawaii! :)

Been to Big Island, Maui, Oahu, Molokai and Kauai and Kauai is tops in my book. We just returned from our 10th visit there and will go back again in 2 years. It is lush, very hawaiian, fun things to do. People complain about the rain but we have never been rained on. It rains almost every day at some point but early mornings we are asleep and late at night also. If it rains in the day time it is only for a few minutes and doesn't stop you from fun. Of course, it depends on when you go. I guess we've just hit it at the best times.

It's tough to beat the natural diversity of the BI. How many other places can you have a snowball fight in the morning and swim with sea turtles in the afternoon?

Plus it's got the wet and dry sides, lively volcano action and geothermic hot pools.

BI has parts of the best of everything in Hawaii. Depending on how they count them, folks claim there are between 11 and 21 climate zones. Whatever is correct, there are plenty.

Aloha prettysmith,

My suggestion would be to go to your local library and check out guide books for each of the islands... research till your heart's content and then make your decision.

No one can tell you what will work best for you... only you'll know that by narrowing down what you do & don't want to do on your honeymoon. As you research the islands it will become very clear to you.

Hawaii is a wonderful destination... ((R)) happy planning and congratulations.

We have been to Hawaii 3 times in the past few years and our favorite island is Kauai. It is really beautiful and the beaches are great. Whatever island you visist buy the blue book called Kauai or whatever island revealed book. Full of great info, places to stay, eat and swim all updated. Rent a car and experience the whole island. Just enjoy.
Karen

Prettysmith's post is from 9/04. She has already completed her travel to hawaii. Why did you pull this up for further comment, repete?

Just a bonehead mistake to be perfectly honest. Confused it with another post.

are you the board police?

hooray repete, just an honest mistake and you get creamed!!

Wonder where prettysmith went? A trip report would have been great after all this advice!

I have noticed some people post questions, get lots of good advice from Fodorites who take the time to answer their questions, and then the original posters never has the courtesy to say "thank you" or to post a trip report.

However, hopefully other people who are planning a trip to the same area will get some needed information. So maybe not all has gone for nought.

Clicking on prettysmith's name it is easy to see she only posted on Fodors twice. There was this post, then another about four weeks later in which she said they were going to Maui in November and asking for more advice.
It is especially funny that she made a big point of how she couldn't wait to get back to post her travel report. Was there something in the news I missed about two tourists falling in a volcano or something in November?

We have spent a week on Maui and week on Kauai and took a quick trip over to Oahu. Maui is my favorite due to the variety of scenery & activities, however you can't go wrong no matter which island you choose!