First time Maui...Kauai
 

We are looking to go to Hawaii (maui, Kauai...or both).

We have 10 days...and were 1st thinking both islands...(wife wants Maui...I am thinking more Kauai).

We are now thinking that 4 whole days in either might not be enough. Between the activities and the need to just hang, explore.

Also with Maui I am afraid about the traffic. We live in the country and I dread with a passion every time we good visit the relatives in California. I havent got a clue on how bad it is...or isnt.

So with 10 days.....both, 1....or is 10 days on either too much?

You're right about the similarities of California and Maui, concerning the traffic. Those 12 lane freeways on Maui during rush hour are just terrible. Just stay in the commuter lane along the water and you'll move through just fine. :-!

I've never been to Maui, but Kauai is nice. I think that 10 days on Kauai would be too much, but I like a more active vacation. Kauai is a MUCH more laid back island. The pace of life there is not hurried at all. So if you are look to just plop on a beach and watch the turtles in the surf, Kauai is the place.

The best book series I have found on the islands is the Revealed series. Kauai Revealed, Maui Revealed, the Big Island Revealed, etc.

Now, I have to say that my favorite island is the Big Island. You would definitely need 10 days there. You might need a month there to explore and relax. ;-) Also try Konaweb.com Great BI site.

Enjoy! I am SOOOO jealous!!!

You could do 5 on each. And have your island hop/ fly early in the day so you will not waste a day traveling.

I would do both islands in ten days; I find 5 days enough on Kauai, but then I am not a hiker or actively outdoorsy. Avoid morning and afternoon commuting hours on Maui, just as you would at home. The beauty of Maui makes up for it being a bit more commercial/busy than Big Island and Kauai. (Besides your wife would never let you forget, if she got a little bored on Kauai, having missed Maui! :p)

I'd do both. The interisland flights are easy and don't take that much time. You'll be fine driving on Maui.

Have a great trip!

I'd either do Maui with a few night stay in Hana or Maui with a few night stay in Lanai. Do a search in the box of Hawaii trip reports, or maui trip report, or kauai trip report and you will find many ideas.

Welcome to the forum!

If you think you'll be able to go back someday soon (to another island), I'd stick with Maui like sistah says. Otherwise, I'd have to check out a little of both.

Kauai is my favorite island (so far) followed closely by Oahu. I was not that impressed with Maui, but take that with a grain of salt. Maui is beautiful and offers tons of activities. It's Hawaii...how bad can it be?! I felt Maui was more commercial than Kauai and even Oahu. The traffic in Lahaina is a killer, but traffic on Kauai can be just as bad. Our first day in Kauai it took nearly 2 hours to get to Princeville from the airport. I was blessed in Oahu and did not encounter any bad traffic jams. Maybe you should consider Kauai and either Lanai or Molokai (if no traffic is a priority).

Do one island in 10 days. It is a great amount of time for one island I was just on Maui, so it is my current favorite. My ideal 10 day itinerary would be 7 days in the Wailea area and 3 days in Hana at the Hotel. Ahhh

We did Big Island (4 days) & Maui (5) a couple of years ago. Even though we did almost everything we had planned, I felt we did not relax enough, a couple more days on each island would have been perfect. Are you flying directly into one of the two? If so then I think you can shoot for both, we wasted a lot of time in inter-island flights since we flew into HNL. Also, if you think you will not be revisiting Hawaii again soon, do try & see both.

Everytime we go back to Kauai (and this coming holiday season will be our seventh visit), we add days to the trip. We don't hike, we don't snorkel much, we do a wee bit of surfing, we did a heli tour once, we do a garden tour or two--and that's it. In fact, we spend most of our time lying on the beach, soaking up the spirit of the place, and when we manage to sit up it's to watch the surfers. Basically speaking, we never do anything when we're on island, and at the end of the vacation every year we both agree that we needed MORE time on island! Our goal eventually is to arrive, plop down at Hanalei or Secret or Mahaulepu or Salt Pond and never get up again. Now THAT would be a long vacation . . .

My point: on Kauai, doing nothing can be totally time-consuming, so why try to squeeze only a few days into a longer trip and deal with all the hassles of moving from island to island? Find a place and absorb it.

Cidbob
You have it in a nutshell.
Every trip we have this "plan".
Every trip 95%+ of it just vanishes.
Next trip the plan itself, finally, will be utterly minimal;)

10 days isn't too much in Maui and my friend will tell you that 10 days in Kauai isn't too much (never been there myself). I'm going to do 5 on Oahu and 7 in Maui in just a few months and am already afraid that I should have stayed a few more days both places.

I can assure you though that being an Oregonian myself, I'm sure you will develop a Hawaii addiction and will visit again. So if you don't make it to both this time, you can visit the other next time. Believe me, you'll find yourself drooling over those $350 special fares they keep offering out of PDX.

And don't worry about Maui traffic. It's really not that bad, it's certainly better than Portland area rush hour.