Hawaii for a Honeymoon:
 

I am looking for some advice and will try to give as much detail as I can.

We are planning our honeymoon for Oct 2, 2006. We have about 12-14 days for our trip. We have heard Hawaii is paradise but have mixed feelings as the water does not look as beautiful as the Caribbean and the flight is VERY long from NYC/Philly. We have also heard that it is VERY expensive. Being that this is our honeymoon we do have a larger budget but still want to keep things in control. Yet we have as I said before heard tht Hawaii is paradise. We are considering Honolulu for 2 days so my fiance can go to Pearl Harbor and then off to Maui and Kauai for relaxation. Being that the flight is very long we thought a stop over in CA might be a good option. Any advice would be helpful. Just to let you know our other option is Italy.

Thanks,
Robyn

We are going to Hawaii as well for 14 days in September. We decided to do this rather than the Caribbean b/c:
1 - Hurricane Season in the Caribbean
2 - It's much easier to get to the Caribbean so we'll just "pop in" for a week at another time whereas going to Hawaii really requires 2 week (in my mind) and a larger budget (HM $$).
3 - We've been to Italy b4 and plan to go back several times...we really wanted to go to a "once in a lifetime" place for our HM...

BTW - We are from the NE too so considering the flight was tough but we figure it's worth it if we stay away long enough!! : )

Good luck and happy planning! (And congrats!)

The water in Maui is absolutly gorgous.
Very, very blue and beautiful.
On Oahu, Honolulu is just another big city, but the North Shore is very beautiful and Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial are worth the visit.
I love Maui. It's very beautiful. I would suggest you stay in Kaanapali, Napili, Kapalua or Wailea.

Ehhh, I don't know if Hawaii is all that much more expensive than any other getaway destination. There is enough variety in lodging/restaurants that you can easily find something to suit your budget.

Oh, btw the water IS quite beautiful! And we really enjoy Honolulu and Oahu--just rent a car so you can drive out of the city to see the sights.

Oahu is the best island. Lots to do there. Oahu is not "just a big city". Honolulu is and Waikiki is part of Oahu. The rest of the island is nice. Stay on Oahu for more than 2 days.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34696831

www.mauihawaii.org

www.visitmaui.com

www.bigisland.org

www.kauaidiscovery.com

www.kauai-hawaii.com

Hawaii does not have to be all that expensive ... there are accommodations for every income level there. I don't agree that Honolulu is just another big city; it's a big city that happens to have one of the world's most beautiful beaches attached to it! :-) If I had 14 days/nights, I would split it about equally between the three islands of Oahu, Kauai and Maui as they are all wonderful. I wouldn't stop over in California; it would take time away from Hawaii!!! Maybe you could save Italy for a future anniversary! Happy planning ... ((r))

There are plenty of things to do in Hawaii on every island. Don't stay on Oahu for just two days so your husband can go to Pearl. I'm not saying stay longer; that's up to you. I am saying there are many, many other things to do besides Pearl Harbor.
Kauai is a great island and less crowded. It's half an hour from Honolulu by plane. There are a million things to do there.
Wherever you go, Hawaii can make you run. By that, I mean that there are so many things to do that you can always be "on the way" to one activity or another. Make sure that you have some time to just do nothing (whatever you like), whether it's sitting on the beach, shopping, whatever.
BTW -- I always stop over in Los Angeles. It really breaks the trip up well. If you can get in early, you can have a night out in LA and dinner, then fly over to Hawaii early the next morning. If you leave at 8 am, you can be in HI by 11 or so.

Robyn,

My wife and I got married 6 years ago on the Big Island. We were lucky enough to have 15 nights, so we spent five each on Hawaii, Maui, Kauai. We went back on our fifth anniversary where we stayed on Oahu for a few nights to see Pearl Harbor (we were sorry we missed it our first trip) Maui and Lanai. All the islands have something different to offer. Maui and Kauai are our favorites. The flights to Oahu are only a few hours longer than to Italy from Newark. We the first time we flew Delta Newark to Atlanta then directly to Honalulu, about 11.5 hours. The second time Continental offered a direct flight which took about 9.5 hours. I have found that I would rather flight straight there, instead of staying a night on the west coast for a lay over. I perfer waking up some place tropical and although it is a long day, I find traveling west is always easier to catch up on sleep than it is traveling east over that distance.

It is expensive, but for hotels if you are a Starwoods member, www.starwoodhotels.com (about $50 dollars a year?) you can find deals of 30, sometimes 50% off Sheraton, Westins and other great hotels. For a four night stay you could save $400-700 dollars.

Maui has the best beaches. The nicest being on the Kaanapali coast, no trade winds to cause rough water in the afternoons and beautiful sunsets. The Sheraton there is abolutely beautiful. The islands are loaded with small beaches, some which are pretty secluded, and they have a lot to offer other than beaches if you like to explore, which we do. It truely is a paradise.

Unfortunately we have never been to Italy so I cannot give you a comparison. We are planning a trip there this year but I do not think that will not help.

Good luck, and as travel plans are always a hard decision just keep posting your questions. We use this site for input when ever we travel and it has helped a lot.

Robyn,

One item I forgot to mention is the weather. We were married in October, so needless to say that is the only time we were there. Each time it was hot during the day and sometimes cool at night, usually depending on what part of the Island you are on. The Kaanaplai coast is always hot (85-90 F)since they are not affected by tradewinds.

The first time we were there we had a couple days were it rained for part of the day. The second time we were there we had rain for about 2-3 hours one day, that was it.

Hope this is helpful.

Hawaii can be as expensive or inexpensive as YOU want it to be. If you're going to be staying at all the 5-star hotels and eating at all the fancy schmancy restaurants, then of course, it's going to be expensive! It's all up to YOU! I think Hawaii is one of THE most inexpensive places to go to!

I've been to both, and they are VERY different places! But, both have their charms and both are spcial in their own ways.

October is very high hurricane season in the Caribbean, and with the NOAA warnings about increased hurricane activity for a few years, I wouldn't chance going there and ruining your honeymoon.

Yes, Hawaii can be expensive. However, as others have said, there ae more budget accommodations and restaurants around; you just have to look for them. Not everyone can afford to stay at the Four Seasons and eat at Roy's. For my trip, I stayed in B&Bs and ate at more moderate places, and I still had a wonderful time.

DO take the time to visit Pearl Harbor and the USS Missouri. Every American should do this! It will only take about half a day, though. I did it on a day trip (flew over from Big Island) and that was plenty of time for me. If your fiancee is into history, go by the Punchbowl Cemetery, too. Very moving!

Honestly, a stop in CA would probably be more tiring. It would be better to just go ahead and get to your hotel and THEN relax! (If you insist, do an en-route overnight in San Francisco or LA.)

Italy would be REALLY tempting....;-)

Check out Kauai for sure..GREAT GREAT beaches, especially the NORTH SHORE...check out www.800hawaii.com
we use them all the time and if you call them, tell them you were referred by fordors'..they are really helpful (George is the owner)..

Ajaq, during the whole month of September, you will be able to enjoy the Aloha Festivals. I don't have the whole schedule yet, but there are a couple of Ho'olauleas (big block parties with local entertainment, to simplify it), a huge floral parade, concerts, cultural demonstrations, and more. One of the big new events is a ukulele contest at Aloha Tower Marketplace on Sept 17.

Robyn, October is the tail end of the Aloha Festivals but you will still be able to catch a good portion of it.

Go to www.alohafestivals.com and keep checking back as they need to update the site. (Yes, they're trying to get an intern!)

Anyway, I say this because all you have to do is buy a ribbon and you'll get free (or discounted?) admission to ALL the events. Just another way you can save while enjoying what Hawaii has to offer. And it's a statewide event!

Re the possible stop over in California: I don't think it's a good idea. If you're coming from the NJ/PA/NY area, the likelihood of your traveling to California in the near future is more likely than your going back to Hawaii because CA's closer and less expensive to get to. Why would you waste your precious Hawaii vacation time in California, when you'll possibly go to CA in the near future? Save your Hawaii time for Hawaii.

If you fly out of Newark on Continental, they have non-stop service to HNL. The flight takes 10 hours.

Hawaii is no more expensive than going to dinner or a show in NYC. And as you probably know, there are wide ranges of prices on both of those things.

You can do it. Go to Hawaii :))
((S))((*))

Suggestions:
oahu: stay in waikiki for 2 days/1night to see pearl harbor (need to get there very early) and hike diamond head -at night walk waikiki beach

maui: stay in the kaanapali area---i feel it is the best location to access a lot of different activities--like a 15 min. drive to lahaina (restaraunts, luaus, etc.)it is a beautiful beach and good shopping!

kuaui: poipu area--again great location
i snorkeled in kuaui and maui and the water is clear and beautiful!

maui was my absolute favorite--i felt there was more to do there than kuaui---

if you can get a direct flight-go for it!
i couldn't so we stopped in dallas and then headed for and hour or so and then flew to oahu-
if i were to go back again--i would go to the BI since i didn't get to see it!
you will love this trip! and like others have said--you can do it on almost any budget!