G'day Sarah,

You wrote: "t seems like we'll need a car to get around but we're a bit worried about driving on the right-hand side of the road! we drive on the left in australia...are the roads quite busy on kauai/big island? i guess we'll just do our best not to hit anything!!!

We circumnavigated BI last month, and hit nothing, not even possums, lol.

We found most of the roads in good condition - really, all you need to imprint on your mind is that the driver is ALWAYS in the 'middle' of the road and you should have no probs with the left/right changeover.

You'll have more problems with the indicators, windshield wipers inevitably activated on left/right turns ;)

We booked and paid for our inter-island flight on the Net in advance, printed our tickets and did a little dance at the $9 flights from Kona to Honolulu - check http:www.hawaiianair.com

Cheers,
Jackie

If you choose to island-hop, make sure you get a very early interisland flight. The flight itself will be under an hour. Then plan to do some sightseeing on the way from the airport to your hotel. No reason you have to go straight to the hotel, check in, unpack, etc. right then and there.

I have been to Oahu four times now. The first three times I spent in Waikiki. Last May I went to a friend's wedding at Turtle Bay and fell in love with the North Shore. I have a whole new respect for Oahu, it's not just the concrete jungle of Waikiki with beautiful Diamond Head in the background. I think it's worth considering at least a 3-4 night stay on the north shore.

Good choice to go to Kauai, definitely my favorite island. Two days is probably not enough for BI. It is HUGE. The volcano will take a full day, especially if you stay on the Kona side, which gives only one day to do anything else. Another thing about BI thhat I didn't like was that there are very few beaches, mostly rocky coastline.

On Kauai, try to stay at the Marriott on Kalapaki Bay. It has the best location on the island. It is more than 45 min. to either side of the island from Lihue. It also has the best beach of any hotel in Kauai. There is calm, protected side for swimming and a rougher side for surfing (lessons available on the beach). Spend one day on north shore. See Hanalei, Lumahai Beach, and Ke'e Beach. Use another day for South shore. See Poipu/Brennecke's Beach, Hanapepe, and maybe as far as Barking Sands or Polihale. Take another day for a boating or helicopter tour of Na Pali Coast and Waimea Canyon or drive to Koke'e State Park. For any extra days spend more time north or do an activity like surfing, snorkeling, kayaking, or check out Kauai Backcounrty Adventures. They have atvs, a zipline, an intertube ride through old sugar cane irrigation ditches (pretty cool).

One last thing for Kauai, dining.
Must try...
Puka Dog, Poipu
Bullshed, Waipoli (just south of Kapaa)
Kalapaki Beach Hut, Kalapaki Bay (behind Duke's)
Check out...
Bubba Burgers, Kapaa & Hanalei
Brennecke's, Poipu
Duane's Ono Burger, Anahola
Beezer's (ice cream), Kapaa

I don't think you are giving yourself enough time to enjoy anything. Seven days translates to 6 nights. The first and last days are almost all airport/travel days and cannot be counted for in sightseeing. First night/day is getting over jet-lag, no time to see anything, then you're off on anther flight to another island. That means check out of hotel, 2 hours at airport, get rental car, drive to accomodation. Then you get to repeat that again for the next flight day. Flying to another island will take up 1/2 day of your few precious days. I'd rather spend it exploring a beautiful beach or snorkeling.

You can really enjoy a great deal of Hawaii on Oahu. It isn't mandatory to visit Kauai, in fact, I'm not that crazy about Kauai.

I's recommend 3 nights on Oahu, and 3 nights on either Kauai or Hawaii.

I think 3 islands in 6 or even 7 nights is not a nice trip.

6 nights? I would only do one island. I did an 8 nights on 2 islands, and I thought that was too much rushing around.