Best of Hawaii?
 

Hi
Myself and Mrs Lyon are visiting Hawaii in September. We will be mainly based in Waikiki and will be asking a separate question on this. We are both active, love nature and national parks, love beach and swimming, and like our food and drink. We have a number of books on Hawaii and have pulled out what seems to be some of the best parts of various islands according to our likes.

Feel free to add your own ideas or question what I have included.

Big Island
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Puuhonua O Honaunau
Beaches: Kaunaoa; Hapuna; Kehena.

Kauai
Kalalau Hiking Trail
Helicopter ride from Lihue
Alakai swamp
Beaches: Poipu Beach Park; Hanalei Bay; Na Pali Coast

Maui
Hana highway
Haleakala National Park
Pipiwai trail

Thanks for any help.

I highly recommend kayaking on Oahu - we went out of Kailua and loved it (we did the 4-hour trip).

"We will be mainly based in Waikiki..."

This is a bit confusing. Are you thinking about the other islands as day trips? That's usually not advisable given your only inter-island transportation option is flying, which is expensive and time consuming. How many days are you planning to be in Hawaii?

For Kauai, after you take the helicopter tour and see the Na Pali cliffs, go on a catamaran trip and see them from sea level. We used Holo Holo, but there are many others.

Thanks everyone and apologies for any confusion. We are visiting the other islands after a short stay in Waikiki. But we have limited time on these other islands. Not ideal I know but making the most of what is probably a once only trip, given the length of time to get there.

If you have a short time frame for this trip, I would strongly consider not trying to do all 4 islands. You spend a lot of time and money moving around, and I'm not sure increases the value of the experience significantly.

Agree with suze, if you have a week or less stay on Oahu. With more time you can visit another island or two. You need to say how many days you have for the trip. Each inter-island flight will cost about $100pp one way. There are no ferries between the main islands. Prices for inter island flights go up the closer you get to the day of travel so do not think you will get any last minute "deals".
You also need rental cars on the outer islands.

Thanks again - good advice as always.

A couple of years ago we were on a Road Scholar program aboard Pride of America ship. This enabled us to visit four islands and have some conducted tours of awesome sites.

Oahu: Bishop Museum, Iolani Palace, Polynesian Cultural Center with luau, Pearl Harbor, USS Arizona Memorial Park, dance group entertainment.

Maui: Iao Valley State Park, hiking, Kepaniwai Heritage Gardens, Haleakala National Park and summit of Haleakala (above clouds and cold).

Hawaii (Hilo): Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Halemauna Crater overlook, Jaggar Museum, walk to Kilauea Caldera, drive around crater rim to Kilauea Iki Crater and Pu Puai, Kilauea Visitors Center for displays on volcano formation, walk through Thurston Lava Tube, forested Devestation Trail, orchid nursery. In evening ship passed Kilauea Volcano molten lava.

Hawaii (Kailua): field trip to Kalaho cloud forest, trip to Puuhonua (Place of Refuge Park), Capt. Cook landing, stop at Kona coffee farm shop.

Kauai: free day in area and to museum, next day to Waimea Canyon overlook, Kokee State Park high in rain forest, Kokee Museum, later ship departure going past Na Pali (cliffs) and saw some whales, arrival in Honolulu.

As you can see, this was not a sun and surf trip but study and sightseeing.

Thanks Ozarksbill, and sorry just picked up your contribution ... much appreciated..... and if you were to pick just a few of the highlights what would they be? And, if there were any you would drop what would they be?

Okay, to answer your original questions directly....

I generally agree with your Big Island picks, except that I probably wouldn't bother with Kehena Beach, and replace it with a Kohala Coast beach where you'll find good snorkeling - e.g. Makaiwa and/or Honokaope (also a black sand beach), both of which are within the Mauna Lani Resort property. I also might replace Hapuna with Manini'owali, which IMO is the most beautiful easily accessible beach on the island. If it makes a difference, Big Island has better snorkeling than the other major islands.

On Kauai, the helicopter tour is spectacular, and may be all you need/want/have time to see of Waimea Canyon and the Na Pali coast. Otherwise, you'll get a better perspective of both features from various lookouts and a boat than you will from a trail. If you're looking for a hike, consider Maha'ulepu (perhaps in place of Poipu Beach). Kalalau Trail is nice if you don't mind a crowd. Our favorite beaches on the island are Makua (Tunnels) and "Secret Beach", which requires a short hike down a steep trail. Favorite drive in all the islands is from Princeville out to Ke'e Beach. Beautiful and dramatic scenery, and it doesn't eat up a whole day as does Road to Hana on Maui.

Our most memorable experiences on Maui are a sailing trip to Lana'i, walking the Kapalua Coastal Trail, and attending the Slack Key Show at Napili Kai. The drive to La Perouse Bay is interesting too. And it's a bit Disney-ish, but we always enjoy a meal at Mama's Fish House.

All that said, I think the general advice here is that you shouldn't schedule yourselves too tightly. In our experience, you don't have to seek out the magic of Hawaii. In fact, the less busy we are, the more it seems to just envelop us. Of course, it could just be those mai tais. /:-)

I echo FaceintheCrowd's Big Island itinerary change suggestions.

The highlights of our month long stay on the Big Island were hiking in Volcanoes National Park and the boat tour of the active volcano lava gush into the sea. (That boat tour is actually tops on the list of all travel we have ever done. ever. My daughter was 6 at the time, and I remember telling her that she would always remember and one day tell her children about the time she got to see the Earth making itself from within. She paused and said she would have to bring them to see it themselves because it was too much magic to just hear about.)

Snorkeling at Two Step and a trip to the Green Sand Beach (one of only 3 in the world) would be the two other top forays I would say shouldn't be missed on the Big Island. It was easy to fill an entire month with worthy and enjoyable outings without ever leaving the island, but those four top the list for me.

Thanks so very much everyone, as always great information. Need time to absorb it all and may follow up with questions if you don't mind. Best wishes
Steve

No boats to see lava in a long time, alas.