I am looking for advise. My wife and I are planning on visiting HI next summer from the East Coast and have not been there before. We expect to be using points and miles and are currently thinking of staying in Maui for 4 nites, Kauai for 4 nights and maybe Oahu for 2 nights but are seeking help.

1. How many nites would you recommend?
2. What order of visiting the islands is best?
3. Is it worthwhile to visit Oahu...other than Pearl Harbor?

How many nights do you have? Three islands is a lot in just 10 days.

If you can fly into Oahu and out of Maui, or vice versa, this will keep you from having to fly back to Honolulu to go home.

Oahu is wonderful! If Dusty56438 doesn't reply here, look for his name in an Oahu thread, he has TONS of advice.

You might want to do 5 nights in Maui...take a look at this...it is a great deal

http://www.mauiembassy.com/minivac/specials/promo/

2 nights in Oahu doesn't leave you very much day time to do things...if you do it as first leg of trip...you will get in late day and be tired, have the next full day and then on the next day be headed off to another island in a.m.

We are doing 5 nights in Maui, then 3 nights on BI and ending with 5 nights on Oahu. We are doing a timeshare presentation on Oahu at the Marriott and got a great deal. I figured it was worth 90 minutes of time for the deal we got.

I have a google notebook that has lots of info in it. Feel free to look at it.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/postrep...0&tid=34856569

Hope this helps...
Debi

Sorry that other link wasn't to my google notebook...this is:

http://tinyurl.com/nyvq2

Debi

For 10 days I would not try to do more than 2 islands.

Yes, I definitely think Oahu is worth a visit. But then I like all the historical stuff in downtown Honolulu too (Bishop Museum, Iolani Palace, Chinatown, etc.)

You might want to do a search, but here are some things to enjoy on Oahu.

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...1&tid=34515901

Oahu is the best island. Lots to see & do there. You ought to stay 1/2 the time on Oahu & 1/2 on either Maui or Kauai. Maui would be my choice.

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...1&tid=34812564

Also:

www.mauihawaii.org

www.visitmaui.com Free brochure

www.bigisland.org Free brochure

www.kauaidiscovery.com Free brochure

www.kauai-hawaii.com

Lots of Maui links on this one:

http://www.johann-sandra.com/hawaii/maui/index.htm

Our first vist to Hawaii was 10 days.
6 on Kauai, 3 on Molokai and 2 on Oahu.


It was too rushed but your 4-4-2 does sound do-able.
If it is your first and maybe only trip you DEF have to stop on Oahu for PH, Nor Shore, Waikiki and Melissa!

I'd do Kauai last so you can come back a bit mo' relaxed.

Oh, yes!! I agree w/Kal. I forgot that I always advise people coming from big cities (esp the east coast) to land on Oahu first to detox and adjust, THEN go on to a neighbor island for extra relaxation. Just in case you go into culture shock.

I agree it's doable however maybe a little hectic. We've done a couple of fly drives that way we got an idea what and where we want the next trip. I also agree with doing Oahu first than deeper relaxation on the other island.

I'd try to squeak a little more time in if you can, especially since you're coming from the east coast. With ten days I'd do only two islands. 3 or 4 nights on Oahu and 6 or 7 on Kauai. There is plenty to see and do on Oahu.

I personally don't like to island hop, but if you had 12 to 14 days, you could do 3 islands much more comfortably. It seems like a real shame to only have 3 full days in Kauai in any scenario.

-Bill

Just got back from Oahu and LOVED it! The beaches on the windward side and north shore are beautiful, and there's a ton of unreal scenery and fun hikes.

karameli,

Are you going to do a trip report? Please...

-Bill

I agree on the no more than two islands in ten days. We did two in eight days with four on each Oahu and Maui in 2002, and that felt rushed.

Hi Bill, I've been working on it...I'll get my butt in gear and actually finish it tonight!

Yummmmm...a trip report covered in karameli.

Many have suggested doing Oahu first so you can go home from a more low key island. I've always felt the exact opposite, after chilling on Kauai, Molokai, Big I etc, I alwasy found Oahu got you a little faster paced so when you get home it isn't such a culture shock.

BTW, my first trip to Hawaii was 10 days similar to your plan. It was OK, a little rushed, but if that's all you can squeeze in, go for it. The following year we went back for 19 days, that was perfect. If this is your "trip of a life time" maybe you want to consider just doing the two islands that appeal to you the most. If you think you'll get back to Hawaii, your itinerary is a good overview to see what you want to do more of the next time.

Whatever you do, it's hard to go wrong.

Actually, 123go, that's not a bad idea either. I didn't think about how it felt to go from Hawaii back to the mainland and what a shock that must be after relaxing! OR, here's a third option. Start your trip on Oahu, go to another island, and end your trip on Oahu. A decompression chamber of sorts. ha ha!