My husband and I are taking our two boys ages 16 and 10, along with my sister and neice(5) to Hawaii this Feb and not quite sure which island has the best to offer. We enjoy lounging on beaches, snorkeling and learning about other cultures. We would prefer to rent a home or condo near or on a beach. Any suggestions???

There is a lot more to do on Oahu than either Hawaii (Big Island) or Maui. So keep that as an option also.

You can look for lodging for any of the islands on these sites:

www.hawaii-hotels.com Scroll to the bottom and where it says VISIT, click on Maui condos or whichever island you want to check.

www.vrbo.com Under the map, click on the island that you want to check.

www.bookit.com

www.hawaii.com

Is this your first trip to Hawaii?

If yes, I'd say Maui. I recommend it because I think it is the most like the Hawaii you see in the movies. And it is a very easy island to plan your hotel, itinerary, and activities.

I most enjoy Oahu myself and stay in Honolulu/Waikiki which is not what most people have for a vision of Hawaii. I've been researching Big Island for a future family trip and am finding the planning much more of a challenge than I did for either Maui or Oahu.

I'd say Kauai and Molokai are most like the Hawaii people see in movies.

Maui has a good mix of developed resorts and undeveloped areas, but it's not the best choice to explore Hawaiian history and culture. For that, the Big Island or Oahu would be much better choices.

You mention renting a home or condo on the beach. The BI has very few of these, while Oahu, Maui and Kauai have many.

The Hawaii "people see in the movies" was probably filmed on the Big island. Given the age of your kids and depending on what might keep THEM happy, I think you'd be better off on Oahu...unless they enjoy seeing a bunch of folks playing golf and looking at the same pictures of Wayland dolphins over and over and over...

Seriously, though, there is plenty to do on most of the islands but Oahu offers the most VARIETY of things to do and also has some excellent beaches.

Thanks for all the info! The kids want to swim with the dolphins and see a volcano, so I think the big island would be best. What do you suggest?

There's the crater at Haleakala (Maui) which is spectacular. But if an active live volcano is on order than I believe Big Island is your only choice.

We went to Maui with a day trip to Oahu in Feb. 2003. We stayed at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel. The weather was not accomdendating. It rained 4 of the 7 days. We packed for "tropical" weather and ended upat Wal-Mart for jeans and a sweater. We were not impressed with Hawaii and thought the beaches/water was terrible compared to the Caribbean/Mexico. We are also used to AI properties, so spending an additional $1,600 on top of air and hotel for food/drinks was not good.

We did several things in Maui including; The Old Laniha (sp?) luau, The Road to Hana, Maui Ocean Center, Whale Watching cruise, the Reef Dancer Semi-Sub, Warren and Annabelle's dinner theater, shopping, and driving around the Island. I believe their are alot of things to do in Maui for kids. Juste aware of the expense.

The day trip to Ouha was to see the Pearl Harbor exhibit, USS Missouri and Wakiki Beach. There is an aquarium there and the Polynesia center also, but we ran out of time.

www.101thingstodo.com has good info on things to see and do on all the Islands.