jkurtiak

Hi
We will be going on our honeymoon next Oct. and we are kicking around the idea of Hawaii for 2 weeks.
Which islands should we spend our time?
We would like to have a luxury resort for the 1st week, and then maybe a condo rental for the second to cut down on cost.
Looking for snorkeling, swimming, nice pool area, spa facilities.
I am sure there are millions of posts that go into great detail about Hawaii, but where would you want to spend your honeymoom?
This due to our jobs this will probably be our only chance to take a 2 week vacation in our lifetime.......
Thanks
JK

sail10

Go to Oahu for 3 nights,Maui for 7 nights, and Kauai for 4 nights. And you will have most of it covered.Now the big island ( hawaii) is great but hard to do all in 14 days. Oahu stay in the aston pacific beach hotel( across from the beach breakfast included. Maui stay at the sheraton or grand wailia or hyatt regency of (four seasons $$$$$). Kauai stay in princeville or lihue area hotel. nick

turn_it_on

Just one thought: as we have done in the past, it's better to do the condo the first week and the luxury resort the last week...going from a Ritz-Carlton to a condo is kind of a let down. You'll have something awesome to look forward to if you do it this way.

love
kristin

Postal

If you do spend seven days in Maui, you can spare one of them to fly to the Big Island for the day. There are many packages for round trip flights and rental cars; two can do it for about $225. It's less than an hour to the Big Island and you'll be able to see the major things in a long day. It's really worth it.

jkurtiak

With doing 3 islands in 2 weeks what are the transfers like? will we spend alot of time in airports? What do they cost?
Neither one really likes to fly so this could be a huge deal breaker for us....
But if its worth it we could suck it up!
Thanks for the info
JK

Doug

I personally would only do 2 islands in a 2 week period of time b/c if you did 3, you'd be losing about 1/2 day for each interisland flight. Your 14 day honeymoon is now down to 13 days.

Also, it sounds like the last thing you want to be doing on your "only chance to take a 2 week vacation in our lifetime" is to be sitting in airports, rental car agencies, packing/unpacking, etc.

Just a thought......

stevecat

I agree with Doug, three islands will only eat up valuable time. Interisland journeys take a lot longer than before thanks to increased airport security and major reductions in flight schedules by the two airlines that service the flights. Most flights are near capacity, so unlike in the past, if you arrive early at the aiport you cannot just hop on the next available flight. Add to that checking out of your hotel room (packing up), returning the rental car, then repeating the two procedures in reverse at each new destination, and you can easily see how much time is lost. Interisland flights end around 7pm by the way, so you can't take a late night departure to save valuable daytime travel.

SAB

If I had to pick just two islands--it would be Kauai and the Big Island.

islandmom

I would pick Maui and the Big Island for a honeymoon.

Doug

And to round out the trifecta, I would (and did) pick Maui and Kauai.

JohnD

My wife and I have visited Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island in less than 2 weeks and did not find the short interisland flights to be that time consuming. Suggest you spend 5 days each on Maui& Kauai, and the remainder on the Big Island. Enjoy your Honeymoon!

JohnD

Reply to jkurtiak Q#2: www.expedia.com website is showing one way interland flights between OGG (Maui) to LIH (Kauai) for $80-90 and also LIH to KOA (Big Island). If you have frequent flyer miles, we have previously redeemed Northwest & Continental miles through Hawaiian Airlines, usually need 5000 to 10,000 miles to get an interisland ticket. Also, if you are booking any of your hotel or condo through a hawaiian travel agency, you may be able to get cheaper interisland airfares.

Marci_77

Jkurtiak, I could have written your post when we were planning our honeymoon for October of 01. It was our first guilt free vacation in 3 years.

We spent time on Kauai and Maui but flew out of Oahu so we stayed there on the back end 2 nights, but it was 3 fulls days b/c of an evening flight home.

We stayed at the Grand Wailea in Maui. Total luxury. We did the same thing you're describing and splurged here, and saved by renting a villa in Kauai. We stayed at www.hideawaycove.com It was great! We would definately recommend both. We were disappointed in Oahu--we hadn't expected it to be SO commerical. Think SouthBeach x20.
I wouldn't suggested trying to do more island than this. You want to be able to get familiar with an area and repacking all that stuff stinks. Fooling with the flights and worst car rental situations EVER take up a lot of time.
My best suggestion would be to buy the books Ultimate Kauai and Maui Revealed from WizardPub.com They are written by locals and we never made any decision with out consulting the book. They never steered us wrong.
Additionally, we really enjoyed Maui and Kauai. Maui we got pampered at the resort and enjoyed the beach, and drove over to Lahina for browsing and shopping. Kauai we did first, and although we thought we would be more relaxed we were always on the go. We found more opportunties for nature activies, hiking, snorkling, kayaking, etc. And I'm not a nature girl! Anyway it was great. Thanks for letting me relive my vacation
Have fun, and congrats on your upcoming marriage.

iceeu2

I would pick Maui and Kauai

Do a condo on Maui and the Hyatt or Princeville Resort on Kauai.

If you want to do a luau, do it on Maui also. Take your helicopter tour on Kauai. Be ready to just kick back and hang loose once you get to Kauai.

Best wishes. You will LOVE Hawaii, and trust me you will start saving to go back again real soon!! You will think of all kinds of special reasons to go over and over and over!!

jkurtiak

Thank you all for your input. I have seen many hotel names again and again and they all seem awesome. Since its been raining in the NE of the USA for weeks Its nice to even look at the pictures.
My main concern with Hawaii is that it is TOO touristy. My 1st choice where tiny islands in the Caribbean but its hurrican season and I dont want to gamble. I just dont want to feel like we have no privacy and sit in traffic and lines to go everywhere.

thanks again for all your help and good wishes
JK

dmb

I would enjoy your honeymoon together relaxing on one island. That way you don't have to worry about packing again and traveling to the airport. 2 wks. in Maui (my favorite island) would be my choice as it has been 5 times. I would not spend 2 wks. trying to see everything, remember to relax and enjoy where you are. We liked Kauai and if you want more privacy I believe Kauai offers that. You can lose yourself in a resort on the B.I. and never even see the island itself. A week there just touched the surface. Once you go to the Hawaiian Islands, you will find a way to get back - it's a definite addiction.

DB

JohnD

I am also from the northeast and find the Carribean (Bahamas, Cancun) to be TOO Touristy, but not Hawaii! Suggest you visit the Big Island, Kauai, Maui, Oahu, listed in terms of decreased tourist feel.

jkurtiak

Just to clarify I wasnt thinking Bahamas or Cancun, I am also considering
St. John's, Tortola and Virgin Gorda.
But the weather scares me. And Hawaii seems to be cheaper which shocks the heck out of me!
We do want to be able to do things while on vacation for maybe 1/2 the day and then find a chair or a raft and just relax. I am leaning towards Maui and Kauai they seem to fit what we are looking for.
Thanks again
JK

MMN

We went to Kauai (5 days), then Maui (5 days), then Oahu (1 day) on our honeymoon. Kauai was our favorite as it was the least commercial and, we thought, the most romantic. Oahu was a big city and Maui was pretty commercialized - still beautiful, but more crowded than Kauai.
If I were doing my honeymoon again I would do Kauai and the Big Island. (My girlfriend went to all 4 islands and the Big Island was their favorite.)
If you have to fly in our out of Oahu, then spend 1 or 2 nights there to get the flavor.

cnmiranda

Hi JK, The most remote islands are Mokokai & Lanai(prob too desolate for your 1st visit) followed by the BI & Lanai, and the most development in Maui and Oahu. Personally I prefer the BI & Lanai, Maui is too crowded for me but other realitives visit Maui exclusively. Have you considered priceline if you do decide on Maui? My SIL decided to stay in a condo last year to cut down on costs and it ended up being very expensive anyways. Food costs are high and they really missed out on the maid services. They paid $135/nt in Wailea a block from the beach in a more desolate area. With Priceline you can get the Hyatt for $140/nt on the beach with all the perks. 3* hotes are around $75 in Kaanapali and right on the beach. Hope I didn't thoroughly confuse you! Aston Kaanapali Shores are condos right on the beach (sometimes on PL, stayed there several years ago), offer good facilities and location for the $$. I would definitely splurge on Kauai or BI, the Hyatt is gorgeous w/ a great pool but I would only visit in off summer mos and it is really crowded w/ families. All the resorts on the BI are great. Good luck.