katie429

Hello,
My boyfriend and I would like to plan a trip to Hawaii for sometime around Aug/Sept/Oct. This will be our first trip to Hawaii, and looking at all of the different travel sites has left me extremely overwhelmed. I'm basically looking for some general starting out advice: which island(s) are your favorite? what are your favorite hotels (nice and yet affordable)? which websites/sources are good for planning this kind of trip? Is it better to purchase "vacation packages"? Our total trip will likely last a week. Someplace cozy and romantic would be nice, but we're also pretty active. It would be nice to have a good mix of fun stuff to do (site-seeing, outdoorsy attractions) and quiet, relaxing alone time. Budget-wise, I'm open to most all suggestions right now. Cool places at great prices are always a plus, but I'm not letting $ limit my experience. Bottom line: If you were a 30-year old couple looking for a mix of fun and romance on your first trip to Hawaii, how would you plan your trip? Thanks!

sf7307

Katie, the first thing to decide is what you want out of this vacation. Oahu is the island with Honolulu (big city) and Waikiki (great beach, but on a crowded stretch -- stores and hotels), other parts of the island are much less developed and are beautiful (the north shore and the east side beaches). Oahu has more actual "sights" to see than any of the other islands. Maui is the most "resort-feel" of the islands, with developments of nice hotels, good beaches, restaurants, small towns. Kauai is the most gorgeous nature-oriented island, but also the "quietest". Hawaii (the Big Island) has an active volcano, but fewer gorgeous beaches. So, do you want to go sightseeing, or hiking, or snorkeling, or lying on the beach, etc.?

suze

I would go to the library and check out every guidebook they have on Hawaii. Each of the islands has its pros and cons. Any of them would fit what you describe wanting.

Hawaii IS overwhelming to research (I found too, for some reason) and I think using books at the start is somewhat LESS overwhelming than trying to do it on the internet.

I think sf7307's descriptions above are very good.

olesouthernbelle

Good advice so far. A good guidebook ( or, in my case set of guidebooks - one on each island ) is a great aide. I used The Ultimate set by Andrew Doughty, & thought they were very helpful. But they are not without controversy, esp. here on this board. Some say they don't give enough safety awareness advice & that they encourage trespassing. But, I had no such problems in either regard. They are very informative with clear maps & great pictures.
Here's a link to the Maui one: http://www.wizardpub.com/maui/maui.html

Each island is great in it's own unique way. The Big Island may not have 'as many' great beaches but it has some wonderful beaches & some great snorkeling & other sites, in addition to the volcano.

spirobulldog

Fodors has some great Hawaii Books as well. I would get Fodors and Ulimate books.

katie429

Thanks so much for the advice so far! I'll definitely pick up some books. I think my biggest problem with picking an island is that I want to do EVERYTHING (which my be really unrealistic). I want to relax on a quiet beach and I want to go hiking and I want to see volcanos and I want to see Hawaii's sites! I guess I just need an island that gives me lots of choices.

So then another question: if I'm thinking of spending a week there, would you recommend picking just one island with some versatility or trying to see a couple of islands? I'm somewhat resistant to the idea of spending too much time traveling and switching hotels.

gggman

Few random thoughts:
Try with the process of elimination: if you definitely want to be able to swim, skip Big Island (forget swimming there, best snorkeling though). If you need nightlife to have fun, skip Kauai. If you want to run away from a big city, skip Oahu.
Dining in Oahu or the Big Island is not expensive. Neither is car rental. Plenty of deals on hotels (Honolulu-Waikiki) or vacation rentals (Big Island, Kauai).
Maui is supposed to be the most romantic, whatever that means.
Best hiking is on Kauai and the Big Island (think Volcanoes).
Flights between islands are quick and relatively cheap, but airports will eat on your precious time.
For a quick hop to another island, you can fly from Honolulu to Maui, rent a car and drive up to the top of Haleakala, stay overnight (perhaps in Paia village) and go back to Honolulu next evening. You can even do it in a day if you must.
In any case, whatever you guys chose you will not be wrong. Don't miss any sunsets.

suze

With only 7-days, I'd stick to 1 island. I'd choose Oahu for an island that gives you 'lots of choices'. It has the most historical sites, museums, along with beautiful beaches (Waikiki but also around the island), big city, small towns.

If you want to divide your trip but stay on Oahu, you could do a Waikiki hotel 4-5 days then North Shore or somewhere more quiet 2-3 days?

The volcano is on Big Island. So that part is a pretty specific request you'd need to plan for. You can find 1-day tours from Oahu that offer this. Or you could go on your own for 1-2 days. My thought is it's a bit of a commitment, money, and time to include the volcano... just depends on how important that one thing is to you to do.

Hawaii's *wonderful* and I agree with others posting here, you really can't go wrong!!! aloha, suze

beanweb24

Volcanoes National Park is on the Big Island, but Mt Haleakala is on Maui (and is a volcano). While Mt Haleakala is "potentially" active, Kilauaea on the BI is extremely active.

So to see an active volcano with the potential to view lava flows, you need to go to BI. But if you're content seeing a (currently) inactive volcano, you could do so on Maui. The Sliding Sand trail at Haleakala is a really great (but challenging) hike.

sf7307

Diamond Head is also an inactive volcano. The climb is fairly easy - about 1/2 hour-45 minutes. Not that interesting, but the views are good from the top.

I agree with Suze, with 1 week, I'd also stick to one island (unless 1 week can magically become, say, 9 days?)

suze

Oops yes I know those others are technically volcanoes too. And both Haleakala and DiamondHead are amazing to see!! (usually when people say 'see a volcano' i assume they mean the very most active one with lava and the works on BI).

sf7307

suze, I definitely knew what you were saying -- I was following up on beanweb's, since s/he mentioned Haleakala, which is inactive, I thought we should mention there are other [inactive] volcanoes.

Dave0099

I think "sf7307" was dead on with the descriptions.

Do not go to more than one Island if you are only going for a week. In fact if there is any way you can extend that for at least 10 days, I would highly recommend it.

It's a long way to travel for just 7 days. Don't forget, you lose one day there and one day back, so you only are there for 5.

Unless you're looking for one static environment, I would go to Oahu which will give you more variety. Rent a car for the week and you can explore the Island. There are beaches 45 minutes from Waikiki that are like post cards, yet you'll be the only one on the beach.

Waikiki is busy, but it is fun, absolutely spotless clean, and there are plenty of places to see and reastaurants to eat especially if you like Japanese.

If you had a bit more time, I would suggest you use Oahu as a place to explore from. You can leave Honolulu in the morning fly to any of the other Islands for the day, and come back late at night for very little money.

That way you could find out what other Islands you might like. That's what we did on our first visit and we're glad we did, because we definately ruled out Maui.

Choice of Islands really depends on your personality, but don't worry too much, because ALL of the Islands are beautiful beyond description!

olesouthernbelle

I agree - Oahu should do nicely for your first trip. There is tons to do to keep you busy for a week. We were there a week & still didn't get it all in.

gggman

Just to note that volcano activity on the Big Island is not guaranteed. Lava was not flowing when we were there. There are plenty of other fascinating sights and experiences on the Big Island so we had plenty of fun even without lava, but if considering a day-trip make sure to check with the Volcanoes National Park whether lava is flowing!

Cadgirl

If you do go to Oahu, I would highly recommend purchasing the book "Oahu Revealed" before you book your trip. Has great advice regarding hotels.

charnees

I'd stay on once island and rent a condo, so that you can have some "time alone" in a relaxed setting. You can also then have breakfast and some lunches or dinners there, and save on restaurants.

If you stay on Oahu I suggest the north or east (windward) shore where the beaches are lovely in the summer. I personally dislike Waikiki because of the crowds and traffic and noise. It's like being in a big city, IMHO. We stayed in the Haleiwa area and liked it a lot. It's a small town, although with plenty of tourists, but it's quieter and more laid-back.