Hi,

I am a bridesmaid in my close friend's wedding in 2 weeks. They are immediately heading to Maui and Kauai for their honeymoon and are really excited about it. Originally they just wanted to relax and play it by ear, however, now they are starting to worry since they haven't made ANY plans (except a Luau one night)and have asked for my assistance. Considering I have not been fortunate enough yet to visit Hawaii, I am not able to offer much advice. They are both 30 and are somewhat adventurous (definitely want to bike ride down the volcano and take the helicopter). They are just looking for various activities and advice on tour groups and whether they need to make reservations in advance. Also, any suggestions for restaurants would be great. Thank you so much in advance for your assistance. Planning the wedding is stressful enough, so I'm doing my best to try and help add any additional stress from this wonderful trip.

The Trilogy (that's the name of the company) boat ride to Lanai is very popular. Good food, and when you get to Lanai you can either go snorkeling, play on the beach, or take a ride into Lanai town. It's pretty pricey, but my friends who have done it think it's worth it.

Then there's the road to Hana (do a search on these forums). Just for the price of a rental car

Sorry, both of those are on Maui.

The last thing they need right now is more stress before the wedding.

Fortunately, there is no need to make plans for anything. They should just look foward to a really relaxing honeymoon and do whatever strikes them at the moment. They can read the books and look at the brochures while lying on the beach.

We can make a list of some ideas, if we knew where they were staying- which hotels.

But honestly, both Maui and Kauai are just wonderful for enjoying spur-of-the-moment fun and there is no need to make plans. Maybe you could get them some guidebooks to pack- The Hawaii Revealed series (the blue books) are usually best, overall, but there are others. They can figure out restaurants, etc when they get there.

Agreed - buy them copies of Maui Revealed and Kauai Revealed to read on the plane. They should be able to book what they want when they get there.

No need to plan anything ahead of time. I never do. Good idea to get them a guidebook as a gift, they can read it on the plane ride over.

Back in my day, we didn't "worry" about what to do on a honeymoon. (Especially in Hawaii.)
Pass them teeth over hyere, pa, it's my turn to chew...

I agree with the others, buy them the Maui and Kauai Underground or Revealed and let them read them on the boat.

We went to Oahu on our honeymoon (16 years ago) and had not thing planned. Everything worked out just fine, we went to a luau and explored the island.

Congrats to your friends! Hope you get a chance to visit paradise in the future.

"Fortunately, there is no need to make plans for anything."

I kind of agree with this. But, if they want to go to a specific luau, a helicopter ride, ziplining, biking down Halekala, they need to book ahead of time.

Most other things they can wait until they get to Maui or Kauai.

Lots of info including many sites that are good for all islands.

Its probably too late to get some of the free brochures for the islands from the websites, but doesn't hurt to try.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34812564

psucarrie- You mention biking down the volcano, helicopters, tours.

None of those existed for the original Hawaiians, or for visitors to the lovely island until about 15 years ago when people moving to the islands needed to create something to make them money.

Anything they want to do can be arranged by the concierge at their hotel, or just by making a few phone calls.

sylvia3- ROFLMAO

We loved both Maui and Kauai. We went to Maui for our honeymoon. Our favorite activities there were snorkeling at Molokini with Trilogy, watching the sunrise at Haleakala, doing the old Lahaina Luau, and driving the Road to Hana. On Kauai, we did a sunset sail with Captain Andy's and also a helicopter tour of the Na Pali coast; both were wonderful, and also just spent a lot of time on the beautiful beaches like Ke'e and Tunnels - just have to be careful of the currents.

Thanks everyone! All great tips. I think it will definitely help her to know she has nothing to stress about and will be able to figure it all out while she is there. I'm heading to Barnes and Noble today to buy the books and will hopefully be able to use them myself sometime!

The only dinner reservation your honeymoon couple friends may want to make ahead, would be in Kauai for the Beachhouse Restaurant. Their tables go fast, especially for the sunset. They should make a reservation for a window table at 6pm - most romantic and hard to get table on Kauai. They can call from home now. Another great restaurant in Kauai is Tidepools at the Grand Hyatt.
(My son and new "daughter" are on their honeymoon in Maui and Kauai right now !!!)