Wally434

My wife and I are planning our first trip to Hawaii in November. We will likely be there for two weeks. A couple of questions:

1. What will the weather be like? Obviously, we would rather not be there in the hurricane or rainy season?

2. Which islands should we visit? We are not interested in touristy locations or lots of beach. We would like to see the real Hawaii - experience the local culture and geography. We don't like staying at big hotels or resorts, prefer something that is not too crowded and where we can cook some of our own meals.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

iamq

Aloha! Two weeks is a great amount of time for your trip!

1) Here's a annual rainfall and temperature summary page you might find useful:

http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/summary/climsmhi.html

I wouldn't worry too much about rain. Find the spots that interest you and go there. Hurricanes are fairly rare in Hawaii. I would not plan your trip around that possibility. Our island resident friends can correct me if I'm wrong, but Novemeber is generally considered the beginning of "winter" which, depending upon which region and which island, means cooler temps by an average of maybe 5 degrees or so and a few inches more rain per month.

2) I can't tell you what island to visit based upon what you said. I'd get a general Hawaii tour book that deals with all the major islands and read that first to get an idea. The Frommer's Hawaii books are good for getting you oriented to the islands. Each island has lots of areas that are less "touristy" than others, and areas that are not beach-centric. There are many accomdations in Hawaii that are not resorts. Try this site out and take a look, it will get you going in the right direction.

http://www.alternative-hawaii.com/accomg.htm

-Bill

OldSouthernBelle

OK, I'm going to assume this is a serious post.
Do some research. I suggest the Revealed book series, or do a search on trip reports for the various islands here.
Weather is mild, windy and rains (usually brief). 75-85o generally speaking.
Your post is actually funny....not interested in the beach?

trippinkpj

I agree with the others about doing more research. And start subscribing to Hawaii magazine. Once you've narrowed down the islands, check www.tripadvisor.com and www.vrbo.com. based on what you've said so far, I'm thinking Kauai, Big Island or Molokai. See website for Molokai:
http://molokai-hawaii.com/
Also, I have a personal experience at a B&B/ 1 bedroom apartment on Kauai (great location):
http://www.southshorevista.com/

ventdest

To make up you mind on the islands you want to visit, check out this site -
http://gohawaii.about.com/od/hawaiiv...and_scores.htm

martym

Wally434, the weather will be warm (80's during the day and 60's at night probably). Hawaii is rarely affected by a hurricane and I think Novemeber is too late for that anyway. Rainfall is quite variable--depending on where you are on an island. The north and east sides of islands have more rain; the west and south have less. I am most familiar with the Big Island. It almost never rains along the Kohala coast, you might get an afternoon shower along the coast in Kona though rains mauka and sunny coast is more likely. Hilo is the rainiest city in the US, but the rains tend to come at night and in the morning as they do in the Puna region Volcano, set it a fern-filled forest,tends to be misty, cooler and very green.

IMHO you might want to consider the Big Island. My husband and I have visited both Maui and Kauai and much prefer the the Big Island--though there are non-touristy places on both Maui and Kauai. We have never stayed at a resort and almost always rent a cottage or little house (have stayed a our favorite b&b a few days on a few trips). I do cook quite a few meals--love going to the local farmers markets, etc. I have found it easy to find inexpensive places to stay on the internet. For example, we love the area around Honoka'a. In February we stayed at a little cottage near Waipio Valley. It was peaceful and comfortable http://www.hawaiicliffhouse.com/ and close enough to Hilo that we went to the Farmer's Market on both Wednesday and Saturday. We also like the Puna area--no beaches there--but close to the volcano. And there are wonderful tide pools there. A house we really enjoyed had a tide-pool as the back yard. http://www.apoparadise.com/lagoon2.html. We also really like south Kona--the area around Kealakakua Bay--there are many rentals there. http://www.renthawaiihome.com/ is a site with a variety of rentals in that area. There are many other sites with houses, cottages etc away from the crowds--happy hunting.
Hope this was helpful--you'll love Hawaii, whichever island you choose.

matnikstym

hurricane season is june-november, but as is posted we rarely get any affects from the pacific storms. Only once in 14 years have we come close and were on hurricane watch. I agree the Big Island is less touristy and less beaches, there's plenty of b&b's on the east side. or better yet, for a more cultural trip try Molokai (but two weeks there and you'll be bored stiff) but a fun/non touristy/"more" Hawaiian type feeling of an island.

trippinkpj

I'm planning to go to Molokai on my next Hawaii trip (either in 07 or 08). I'm thinking 5 nights would be long enough to get the flavor of the island but not long enough to get bored.

matnikstym

trippin~5 nights is pushing it for molokai, 4 tops then do another island.

MelissaHI

Just type in "Which island" and you might pull up a few threads to help you along.....

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...1&tid=34816826

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...1&tid=34822993

November is part of hurricane season, but there's no guarantees you'll experience one. For that matter, there's no guarantees that it won't rain! I'm here in Honolulu and it's been raining a lot the last two days....and this is July. Weather is up to Mother Nature. Generally, the weather should be cool and nice.

Wally434

Thanks, everyone for your comments. Yes, this was a serious post. Having never ventured west of LA before, (we are from Toronto), I didn't know where to start. You have given me some excellent websites to look at.

When I said we weren't interested in lots of beach, I meant spending all day soaking up the sun. We would rather be touring around, seeing the sites, including beautiful beaches.