Hello all,
I am planning a trip to the islands Sept 22 - Nov 17 2009. I will fly into Honolulu first. I am planning to spend 2 weeks on Oahu. Then to Kauai for 2 weeks. Then to Maui for 2 weeks. Then to the Big Island for 2 weeks. Then back home.

I have read that in order to see what each island offers, you need a car. I am planning to rent a car on each island for 1 week, then the other week would be on foot, bicycle, or moped.

I will be tent camping. I am having difficulty in determining where to camp for the weeks that I will have a car, & where to camp without a car. These are some ideas I have come up with. For example, when I fly into Honolulu, 1. rent a car & go to North Shore for the week, then come back to Honolulu where most things are foot/bike/bus accessable. 2. Fly to Kauai, rent a car, spend half a week around Waimea Canyon, spend other half of week up on North Shore, then a week around Lihue where foot/bike/bus travel is easier. 3. Fly to Maui, rent a car, head to East Maui for a couple of days, then towards South Maui for a couple of days. then head towards West Maui for a couple of days. Somewhere in these 2 weeks I would like to go to Molokai & Lanai.
4. Fly to Kona, Big Island, rent a car, head towards Volcano park for couple of days, then towards Hilo for couple of days, then North for a couple of days. Head back to Kona for a week.

The main problem I am having is that each place I fly into, I need to fly out of the same place. I am trying to avoid rental car drop fees. I also need a week on each island that I can travel by foot/bike/bus/moped. I want to make the most of the time I have in Hawaii.

I am interested in nature, scenery, some hiking, some swimming & basic snorkeling. Mostly scenery. I have no interest in shopping or fancy dining, as I will be eating out of a cooler. I don't have alot of money to spend on attractions, but I would like to see the Arizona Memorial. I should also point out I am a 40ish female, & will be traveling alone.

Please give me any ideas, tips, pointers, or anything that may be helpful in my travels.

Thank you very much

The one island I think you don't need a car even for one week is Oahu, if what you want to do is simply get up to the North Shore to camp out there. You could take the bus. And you definitely don't need one in Waikiki/Honolulu imo.

Hopefully others will chime in because I can't figure out how you'd do a week without a car, camping, on Kauai, Big Island, and Maui. I guess you could somehow get dropped by bus or taxi if you were willing to stay just at the same campground?

To help you decide which campground you want to stay at, I'd look at the following webpages for information on the various permits, locations and fees:

Honolulu County campgrounds:
http://tinyurl.com/clbjoj

Hawaii County campgrounds:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/lh7q74

Maui County campgrounds:
http://tinyurl.com/md93q9

Kauai County campgrounds:
http://tinyurl.com/n5qkv9

For State of Hawaii campgrounds, I didn't get much info from their website, but you would need to contact the Division of State Parks, Department of Land and Natural Resources for info.

Here's a travel website that lists the state campgrounds:
http://tinyurl.com/l5bb9p

As for having a car only part of the time, how much gear/stuff will you have? Tent, cooler, etc.? I'm just not sure how you would haul that stuff around unless you used a taxi when you didn't have a car.

I'm also really curious how you see the logistics of this going. Without a car how are you going to get from a campground to purchase food, ice, water? How are you going to get your tent, sleeping bag, cooler, etc. to the campgrounds in the first place. How will you get around to "do" anything once you are at your home base?

It sounds like a fascinating trip, I just can't picture how it will work without a car.

8 weeks of camping?

You will need reservations at campgrounds. There is a limit on the amount of time you can stay in any one campground. I think it is a week. There are several campgrounds on Oahu that have been taken over by the homeless.

You can google for more information.

Your concern over drop-off fees is unfounded. Actually it makes no sense, as there is generally just one major airport per island. The exception would be Hawaii, but you have sufficient time to drive back to Kona.