East side of Big Island
 

We are tentatively planning a trip to Hawaii for next June. We have never been before and this will likely be our one and only trip, as we are not getting any younger and the 20 hour flight from the UK is enough to put off anybody! Anyway, we will only have 2 weeks and I think it might be best to split this between Oahu and Big Island - Oahu for the fun stuff (we are children at heart!) and Big Island for the Volcano, in particular. I found a really nice (affordable) rental on the east coast of BI, near Hilo - but I've read (Lonely Planet) that there is an awful lot of rain on that side of the island, which is offputting. So would we be better splitting our time on BI between east and west sides or should we spend the whole of our time there on the west side? And, are we right to split our weeks into Oahu and BI - or would we be better off taking a few days on Maui?
Thanks very much for any comments.

June is the least rainy month, and the east coast near Hilo is so charming. You can explore the Volcano, and venture to Waimea, Kona, and North Kohala.

If you want to see gardens, hike, sightsee, visit small towns, I think you'll be happy near Hilo, especially if your rental has charm.

If you want to primarily relax on a warm beach, then you'd be happier on the west Kohala coast.

The Big Island is big, so there can be a lot of driving, but except for Kona traffic, most of the drives are beautiful, and you'll fall in love with the diversity of landscape and the island's history and beauty.

King Kamehameha Day is June 11th, and this is a Hawaii state holiday, so there are wonderful festivals and parades on that day.

I usually go to North Kohala, birthplace of Kamehameha, and home of the original statue. It is truly a beautiful and meaningful ceremony and fun local event.

http://www.kamehamehadaycelebration.org/home.html

I'd do Maui and BI vs. Oahu (too crowded and like the mainland for me, but everyone has their own favorites and opinions.)
If you have a car on the BI (the rental prices are great), you could go to the volcano National Park, Hilo, waterfalls, hot pools, all those sights for a couple of days. If your focus is on sun and beaches, you can stay on the west side for the rest of the time, Kona or Waikoloa, and do beach hopping, snorkeling, etc. So, split the BI!

You've going to get lots of different opinions. Here's my two cents:
I'm not a big fan of Oahu when I compare it to the other islands, but I have a sister who lives there so always spend a few days there when we visit Hawaii. My personal opinion is I wouldn't give it a whole week, though I'm sure others will disagree. It all depends on what you want to do and see. Keep in mind Honolulu is a big city, and it and Waikiki have a lot of traffic (though not as bad as London!).

Now, the Big Island I really like, (I'm a sucker for volcanoes, one of the reasons I love Costa Rica so much) and we're heading back this winter for a second look. It is large and driving distances can be long, so we stay on both sides. Consider spending at least a few days on the Hilo side, for the botanic gardens, hiking/seeing some beautiful valleys in the North, ease of access to Volcano National Park (or stay right there a night, it's a cool place), and the SE side is where you can see the lava at night. Yes, there's more rain but I believe it comes and goes rather than all-day washouts (I could be wrong on that, that's just been our experience), and that's why there are so many rainbows there. I would imagine you would also like to spend a few days on the drier West side - Place of Refuge, Hapuna Beach, etc.

If I were going to add a third island to the mix, which is doable with two weeks though probably not advisable, I'd pick Kauai (we've been to Maui twice). Others will surely disagree, but I love the lushness and peacefulness of Kauai. However, the West side of Maui is quite nice with lots to do (though more crowded), perhaps that would be more to your liking. Hana on the East side of Maui is quieter, and I enjoyed it for an overnight visit.

See what people say here, look over previous posts/trip reports, and also
check out www.wizardpub.com. Whatever islands you decide on, buy the "revealed" book -the info. is worth every penny. And whatever you choose, you will have a fabulous time, it's all good!

While three islands in two weeks is certainly doable, you'll waste a lot of time just getting to and from your accomodations.

Each island has its own set of unique activities. First-time visitors may find it helpful to research these activities, make a tentative list of what you'd like to see and do, and let that determine your length of stay on each island. 2-3 days is enough to see VNP and Hilo (although one can spend much, much longer on that part of the island and still not explore it all), and remember that no white sand beaches exist on this side of the island. The east/windward side of the islands (including Hilo) get a lot of rain, even in June. Rain and lushness go together. The west/leeward side is relatively dry, much of it is barren and desert-like.

Spend a week on Oahu & a week on Big Island. You can split the week on Big Island into 4-5 days on Kona (west) side and 2-3 days on Hilo (east) side.

Hilo side is nice for waterfalls & the volcano. But there are really no beach & it does rain a lot. June is in the dry season, so it may not be too bad if you decide to spend a week on Hilo side.

Noting that you are from U.K., Oahu is the only island that you can get to most attractions using public transportation. You really need to rent a car on any of the other islands.

Lots of info including sites with free brochures for all islands:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34812564

Thanks all for your very informative replies.
I'm thinking of 4 nights in Waikiki (I should add that we are taking our 34 year old son with us, so he will be happy with the bright lights) - maybe at the Marriott or something. Then a flight to BI. This will actually work out to be on 11th June. Will there be flights? Also, I read that Aloha Airlines have ceased flying between islands. Is it likely that Hawiian Airlines might go the same way?
So, to BI and I thought either 4 or 5 days on the west coast (I've found some lovely rentals!) and 2 or 3 days around either Hilo or in Volcano. Then back to Oahu for our last 2 nights somewhere. We can always add an extra day as long as I have this planned before I buy our flights!
I was concerned about the rain around Hilo because we want to escape the rain and dreariness of the UK and to fly all that way for more of the same would be a real bummer!
Wonderful links - thank you! I think I need to go out and buy a book!

Forgot to say. Yes, we will be renting a car. I actually, yesterday, joined the AARP ($28 for overseas membership) and, on checking with Alamo, I see that we can save nearly $200 on a week's car rental on BI! I wish I'd realised we could do this from overseas this year, when we rented a car and drove across the USA mainland - would've possibly saved us a small fortune!

wildblue,
We did your itinerary two years ago and LOVED IT. I know a few posters have suggested skipping Oahu, but I have to disagree!! We, too, chose Oahu for the "fun factor" and I can honestly say -- I don't know how a week on Oahu could be too long. I would move there tomorrow ((#)) Waikiki is lively -- or overcrowded, or touristy, depending on your perception -- but the east coast is stunning and I don't think I've ever had a more relaxing day in my life than those we spent in the North Shore surf towns.

Now on to Big Island -- we stayed on the Kohala coast (northwest side) and drove to Volanoes Nat'l Park. I'd personally recommend staying on the Kohala/Kona side (so much to do -- hanging around Kona, kayaking Kealakekua Bay, snorkeling at the Place of Refuge, etc). BUT, depending on your budget, you might want to book a cheap room in Hilo or Volcano to crash after visiting VNP -- especially if you plan on hiking. There's so much to see there that you can't see anywhere else -- we hiked sixteen miles that day and the drive back to Waikoloa was long and delirious!! I don't think I'd bother splitting my time, because checking in and out of hotels is a waste of precious beach time -- I'd just leave my room in Kohala/Kona empty for the night and spend the $100 for a place to collapse. :)

I'd stick with two islands in two weeks, but you could certainly do five days each on three islands and be happy. Also, look into flying into Kona and out of Honolulu, or vice versa. You might be able to save yourself one island-hop.

1. I recently returned from 4 days on Waikiki and 10 days on The Big Island. I'm glad I did Waikiki first. It got to me by the 4th day. Too busy, too noisy, too much traffic. Once you leave Waikiki, you will not want to go back. I wouldn't take a couple of days there at the end. It would have ruined my trip.

2. Plan to spend some time on the west side of The Big Island, as the beaches there are much better than the rocky east side. Important for a small child. Also, there is a much bigger variety of resorts that have activities for little kids. I like to visit east Hawaii, but I would never want to spend my entire time there. My favorite hotel is Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel because of the fabulous beach. The Mauna Kea should be re-opened too, and they have a spectacularly beautiful beach. <<sigh, just thinking of those beaches>>

Even with a 34 year old "kid" I would do only 3 days Waikiki ( if you determine that's what you reall want to do), then Maui, then Hawaii. I find Hawaii is really much more laid back than Maui. That series of flights from UK is gonna be a killer, so don't expect to do much for the first couple of days.

I like your plan but agree with karameli about trying to avoid backtracking to Oahu if you can get an open jaw flight. If not perhaps spend just one night on Oahu at the end of your stay.
4 nights in Waikiki
6 or 7 nights in/around Kohala
2 nights in/around Volcano or Hilo

one more night on Oahu if you need to.

The rain in Hawaii is nothing like the rain in the UK. It won't be cold and damp; think warm tropical downpours then rainbows.

The long flight is worth it! :D

Thanks for your further thoughts, guys. I agree that backtracking to Oahu is a bit of a pain, but the flight with BA is a bit of a pain too - via LA and then you change to American Airlines to Honolulu. I would've liked to have stopped over in LA for an overnight, just to break the journey, but it doesn't seem possible to do that (online anyway). And this means that the return flight is from Honolulu (7:20am flight actually - ouch!) I think this is the cheaper (or at least, quickest!) way of doing it. There are cheaper flights, but they stop all over the place and take about 26 hours+
On Oahu we would definitely like to see USS Amazon, so perhaps we will stop near there on the way back, which would also be convenient for the airport.
Volcano! Yes, indeed, that is (possibly) our biggest reason for visiting BI. I'm a geologist (at least I have a degree in it, although that's not saying a awful lot!) and am very excited about visiting an actual 'live' one!
Still working on the itinerary and enjoying a whole host of internet searches - I'll let you know where we finally settle on!
Oh, is it worth staying in one of the hotels in Waikiki which provide evening entertainment - hula and all that?
Thanks again.

Personally, I think your itinerary sounds fine. I have done, basically the same thing and it wasn't that big of an issue. I know that some dread the idea of adding another flight or backtracking, but you are really only talking an extra 3 or 4 hours. You very well may make that time up with better connections to and from London. And, it will likely save you some money.

FWIW, the shortest itinerary I would think you can get will be about 18 hours going out and 17 hours coming back. Also, just looking at some random dates in June, I see American and United flights in the sub-$1000 range, with single connections.

Allow yourself a couple of days to enjoy Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park. There is an incredible area down the Chain of Craters road where there are petroglyphs. There is a boardwalk where you can walk out and see them. If you walk off the boardwalk (caution, sharp rocks, uneven ground, hot from baking in the sun) you can see how extensive the petroglyph area is. Supposedly the ancient Hawaiians made special pilgrimages there to leave bits of the baby's umbilical cord in those round holes. There are thousands of them and it really gives a different perspective on Hawaiian life when you see this desolate lava field with the huge old ancient lava flows on the pali above it. There are also some nice hikes in the park, and the lava tube hike should not be missed.

http://www.nps.gov/havo/

Not that I want to make your decision any more difficult- but Kauai is also very interesting from a geologic status, as it is the oldest, above-water island, and is very different from the youngest, Hawaii.

Two thoughts on your last Oahu questions:

1) Not sure what time flights to the UK generally depart, but keep in mind that lines for the Pearl Harbor memorial can be up to three hours long at peak times. Your best bet it to go "at the crack" one morning -- we got theer at 7 a.m. and only had a 40-minute wait, which is just enough time to walk through the attached museum. On the way to the airport, it may be hard to gauge how much time you'll need.

2) In Waikiki, I don't think it's terribly important to have evening entertainment. Waikiki is an extremely walkable neighborhood -- you can always find something to see. That said, the Royal Hawaiian has a fun luau and the Hilton Hawaiian Village has weekly fireworks shows, hula performances, and live bands. Both are on the beach, and neither is exorbitantly expensive.

travelgournet - I've had a look on the AA and United sites and it's cheaper to fly with BA (amazingly!) - works out at around $3000 for 3, changing at LAX to AA - takes about 17 hours, including transfers. And we're familiar with BA, so will probably go with them again.
Marginal - I've actually got 3 vacation guides (those brochures) one for Big Island, one for Oahu and one for Kaiau. I was trying not to look at the Kaiau one, but thanks to your prompt, I've now done so - and I WANT TO GO THERE!
karameli - our flight out of Honolulu will be 7:20am, so we will need 2 nights back on Oahu if we haven't already planned in USS Arizona on our first stop.

This, to me, is Hawaii - and what I'm hoping to experience on this trip!

Steaming rainforest
White stretches of lonely sand with tall swaying palm trees
Pools at the bottom of waterfalls
Hula dancers with grass skirts
Large glasses of tempting cool beverages (alcoholic or non-alcoholic)
Hot lava flows hissing into the ocean
Tall, green cliffs (Kauai!)

2 islands or 3? ....

I forgot the

hammock between coconut palms.

That's an important one! :)

Is the USS Amazon another ship that's available for touring? My husband and I will be there in early December and have already done the Arizona, so are looking for other attractions.

Margy

Margy - SORRY - my mind and fingers were working totally in different directions, I meant USS Arizona! :)

I would stick with your original plan, spending all your time on Big Island and Oahu. I agree with those who advise 2 days Hilo side, 5 nights Kohala Coast on the Big Island. That will be perfect. Save Kauai for another trip ... You WILL want to come back! :)