Planning a Spring Break '05 trip w/my wife and two teenage boys and thus, I have limited time to "just DO" Hawaii - after years of waiting to redeem FF Miles - I finally decided just to pay the tab and 'get there".

Sooo...given 8 days in the Islands - which two should I choose?

Maui has been a dream spot for us - conversationally...forever...Big Island has the Volcano Nat'l Park and it looks like there is a a lot to see...

But, will I be remiss not venturing to Oahu? (I've heard Waikiki is very commercial and run-down in spots)

Any advice from the veterans out there?

cw

Big Island is GREAT! I just returned last month. Your sons will definitely love the volcano! We took our time driving around the island, did plenty of exploring, and stayed at B&Bs along the way. We also did a flightseeing tour around the island, which was really neat, too. I hope I am able to go back again.

I went to Oahu for the day, and I have no desire to ever go back to Honolulu and/or Waikiki. It was very commercialized and like being in a big city, except one with a beach nearby. Maybe sometime, I'd like to go up to the North Shore...but definitely not back to the city! All I really wanted to see was Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona, and I did that.

Thanks for the response! Were the B&B's pretty reasonable price-wise?

How much time did it take you to get to the Volcano national Park?

cw

Maui is everything you desire ... purchase Maui Revealed and read all about it, and then book!!! There are tons of discussions here about hotels, restaurants, Hana, best beaches to snorkle, surfing, you name it. And there is a volcano to hike on, horses to ride, hang-gliding, helicopter flights, water falls, great beaches, good shopping, boat trips, just lots of fun.

Aloha Chris,

Tough question... personally w/ 8 days, I would hit Maui and stay put... but that's just the way we like to travel.

Is it likely that you'll ever be back to Hawaii? If so, visit them one at a time and really experience the heck out of all of them... there's so much to do and so much diversity on each island.

We've been to BI, Maui, Kauai, and O'ahu and love each of them uniquely... never would spend less than 7 days on each... investigate... search old threads... check out guide books from the library... research like crazy and you'll figure it out for yourself.

With this kind of question, you'll get a miriad of answers...

Happy planning! ><

Wow. Lots of different input. I think it depends on the kind of thing you like to do. We've been to Maui, Oahu, Kauai, and BI. Would only go back kto Kauai and BI- rest of it is a bit too commercial. I would however, highly recommend flying through Oahu and spending enough time to see Pearl Harbor. It is fabulous- a wonderful memorial. We like to hike, snorkel, and see the sights- seeing the lava flow on the BI was awesome- taking a catamaran trip up the coast of Kauai was equally great. We'e not much on nightlife, shopping, or bright lights- so we prefer those two islands. Good luck!
Jan

We went to Maui and The Big Island with our 14 and 16 year old daughters last year.. We also cashed in on our FF miles for both the flight there and the interisland flight...We spent a total of 10 days (flight delays caused us to get in later than expected...so we didn't arrive in Maui until 8pm, about 1-2 in the Morning NY time. With that we spent 6 nites on Maui and 3 on the Big Island and wish we had more . I'd do 5 on Maui and 3 on the Big Island. We stayed in the Wailea section of Maui(upscale and close to some amazing off shore snorkeling spots),for 5 nites and Kaanapali for 1. Kaanapali has more action and activity,which the boys may enjoy more(u don't say their ages), but there are about ten resorts one right after another here(not Miami like at all, but it depends on what you like). The girls took surfing lessons in Lahaina-tiny waves- and had a blast, we did a luau, the road to hana all the way around the whole island(found some unique spots in Maui Revealed-a must have), hiked to some very unique snorkeling spots, watched the july 4th fireworks and lounged- a little. Due to the time difference the girls were able to wake up early and we could take advantage of the best time to snorkel , etc. As for the Big Island --we flew in to Hilo, stayed in a hotel overnite(rain interferred with National park visit) next day , early to rise to beat the crowds and we were rewarded with an experience of a lifetime---this took up most of the day and our energy(when we were there it was over a three hour round trip hike to the flow---but it was worth every step). Then we drove onto the Kohala coast. We went on a hard hulled raft trip---snorkeled in two amazing spots(and we've done lots of snorkeling) that were easy enough for the girls and filled with tremendous plant and fish life- and then explored sea caves. We used a place called Sea Quest I think---Hawaii REvealed...Any questions just ask