My fiancee and I will be on our honeymoon in October of this year and we're looking for some advice. We're traveling from NY and are thinking of combining a trip to California and Hawaii. My fiancee loves beaches and sunbathing, and while I like beaches, I'd like to include some sightseeing as well. We'd have about 12-14 days in all to travel. Any thoughts: (1) diving the trip between California and Hawaii; (2) on spots to visit in both locations? Feel free to share alternative ideas as well! Thanks!

Try San Fran in California for 3 days. And then a non-stop flight to Kahului, Maui. (Non-Stop is nice, I live in Portland, OR and we just recently got non-stop to Kahului and those pesky stopovers in Honolulu were horrible). In San Fran: Giants game, Point Reyes, Sausulito, Chinatown, etc. In Maui: Stay at the Grand Wailea Resort & Spa if your pockets are deep, if not, stay at the Embassy Suites Ka'anapali. Even though it is cheaper it is a great hotel. both have a private beach.
PS- DO NOT MISS THIS- In 1999 we went on a helicopter ride over Maui, it was the best adventure ive every had in my life. We used Sunshine Helicopters, though there are many different companies.
CONGRATS ON YOUR MARRIAGE!

Forget California. Spend a week on Maui and a week of Kauai. You'll be back for every anniversary!

Thanks for the advice. After doing some research, we're leaning toward cutting out CA altogether since it will be a little cool there in October. Any recommendations of hotels to stay at while spending two weeks in Hawaii?

We have only been to Maui and Kauai, but
would definitely recommend both islands.
Thought Grand Wailea was a bit "Las Vegas" for us, although great pools for
kids. We stayed next door at the Four
Seasons, and couldn't have been more pampered. It was lovely. On Kauai, stay
at the Hyatt. Beautiful grounds. If we
went there again, would probably split our time between south side of the island (the Hyatt) and the north side, staying at the Princeville. Buy the books "Ultimate Kauai" and "Maui Revealed." They'll provide a wealth of
information. We honeymooned in California in October (San Francisco,
wine country, Monterey, Carmel, Big Sur), and it was actually the nicest weather I've ever had in CA.

Actually the weather in S.F. in October can be some of the best of the year. Fog is gone, and it can be downright warm. Having said that I would bag S.F. and come back for a later trip to include more of Northern California. In Hawaii my choices would be Maui and Kauai. A week on each would be great, or go to one island only and split up your itme between two distinct areas on that particular island.I would stay at Kapalua Bay Hotel and Hotel Hana Maui on Maui. In Kauai I would stay at the Hyatt Regency in Poipu. Although I have not stayed there and cannot reccomend them, the Secret Beach Hideaway cottages on Kauai are supposed to be a honeymooners dream. Everyones's taste and budget is different and you will find hotels and activities to suit yours for sure. There are many good guidebooks out there including the "revealed" books, but I like the Lonely Planet series a lot too. Have fun.

I too love the beach, but on our honeymoon in October in Hawaii in 2001 I doubt we spent more than 4 out of 15 days lounging at the beach or pool.

There is plenty to do in Hawaii. We stayed in Kauai and Maui. We thought we'd be more active in Maui and restful in Kauai but the reverse was true. We stayed at the Grand Wailea mentioned above and just loved it. We didn't find kids to be a problem at all! We really look advantage of all that the resort had to offer which is why I think we weren't as active.
In Kauai we rented a villa /house from www.hideawaycove.com It was nice to have two different experiences (villa and resort) Plus we saved a lot of money staying at the villa.
We also stayed a few nights in Oahu because that is where we flew home from.
I very, very strongly checking out www.wizardpub.com for the BEST travel books on the islands.

I'd go for Maui. We love it there. I've stayed at Aston Papekea resort. Beautiful condo resort. I like the Condo thing instead of hotel because you can cook for breakfast while watching the sunrises. Make sure to get an oceanview 1 bedroom room. You'll have the living room, bedroom & kitchen. Plus they have barbecue grills onsite. People use them nightly. Grills go fast by 5:30.
Congrats on your wedding... I'm jealous, I'd love to go back to Maui.

I agree with skipping CA, unless you'd like to just spend a day or two there. I'm from Los Angeles and can vouch the weather is pretty nice here in October (usually warm)--but I think you're better off spending more time in Hawaii.

We did three islands on our 14-day honeymoon: The Big Island (my absolute favorite), Maui, and Lanai. If you like, do a search for my trip report .

I would recommend the Big Island highly as a honeymoon destination for the following reasons:

1. It's beautiful. The resorts are the best in the state. I think they are better than the resorts in even Maui or Kauai! Any hotel on the Kohala Coast will make your jaw drop. We stayed at the Mauna Lani (which was exquisite), but I hear the Four Seasons is particularly mindblowing--one of the highest-rated Four Seasons in the world!

2. It's not that crowded. There are plenty of tourists, sure, but nowhere near the crowds you get on other islands.

3. There are so many things to do! The east side of the B.I. is even better than the road to Hana! (Seriously!) Volcanoes National Park is amazing! If you love to hike, bike, swim, dive, etc...this is the place.

For your second island, I'd choose Maui...we stayed at the Grand Wailea and weren't that enamored of it. It was nice but we preferred the Four Seasons. That would be my first choice.

If you decide on Kauai, I can recommend the Hyatt--we stayed there and it was lovely. The south side is sunnier than the north side. If you don't mind a little haze, the north side has the Princeville Hotel, which is ultra-luxe and beautiful.

You might want to spend six days on the B.I., six days on Maui, and two on Oahu--there's a lot to see in Oahu. It's crowded and "city-like" in Waikiki, but we kind of enjoy that . And the island is lovely once you drive out of the city.