Aloha,

My husband and I have been to Oahu once and Maui 5 times. We thought it best to check out Kauai and the Big Island on this trip and give Maui a rest from our company.

I have been reading the posts and so many of you are very knowledgeable about all of the islands. We would love any suggestions you can give us on where to stay on Kauai and if it would be best to travel overnight to the Big Island or reserve a few more days to sightsee or just focus on Kauai for this trip.

We are planning our next trip in Nov. for 13 days. This will be our first trip with our 15-month-old son (21 months in Nov.). We love the outdoors and would like to hike, snorkel, explore and drive around just taking in the scenery. A beachfront condo or view of the ocean would be nice. We prefer condos to hotels so we can make/pack breakfast and lunches.

Would a day trip or overnight trip to the Big Island work to see the volcanoes or is it best to reserve more time?

Thanks for all your help fellow Hawaii lovers.

DB

I would not try to do the big island as a day trip, or a single overnight trip. Both the big island and kauai are great and you need at least a week on each one. If you want to really see Volcano National Park, you need to spend at least two nights minimum at the Volcano. We went to the big island for the first time in December and stayed 5 nights in Kona and 2 at the volcano. We had a great time, but it was not enough time to do everything we wanted to do.

Am I the only one who did NOT like the Big Island? We were there for 3 nights for our honeymoon, and frankly, we were ready to leave. Don't get me wrong - there were beautiful parts to this island, and we enjoyed our trip to Volcanoes National Park. But we just did not find the scenery and atmosphere of the Big Island to be that appealing. We were very disappointed after spending 8 amazing nights on Maui.

Don't feel bad Lori. On our honeymoon we stayed first on Oahu and then on Kauai. We were in our 20's and had never been to Hawaii. I think the first impression is the one that stays with you and you want to continue with it on your first visit. We loved Oahu, though others here do not, and thought Kauai was so boring. Now years later we've been to all the islands and we love Kauai.

Being on your honeymoon on Maui would be great and I could see how the BI would be so different you'd be disappointed. Maybe one day you'll be like us and look back on the BI with different eyes.

We hated our Kauai accomodations after our great hotel on Oahu. The BI has some beautiful hotels but it's important where you stay.

Lori, I agree with you and I understand why. The hotel side of the island is very dry and unattractive, whereas the opposite coast, the Hamakua coast, is very lush and green (but no hotels)! However, I do agree that if you stay at one of the 5-star hotels, it can be a much more pleasant experience as MOST of the scenery on the island really is quite nice!

You should love a visit to Kauai if you love the outdoors, hiking etc. Kauai has some of the best hiking anywhere - especially the Kalalau Trail, Waimea Canyon area and Pihea / Alakai Swamp Trail. Awesome beauty! Some of Hawaii's best beaches are scattered along Kauai's shores. If I were doing Kauai and the Big Island in 13 days, I would stay 7 nights on Kauai and 6 on BI, with 3 nights in Hilo / Volcano area and 3 in Kohala / Kona area. It is a big island, with worthy sites more spread out than on Kauai, so more driving is involved. Splitting your nights on both sides helps avoid excessive driving. On Kauai, the best place in November would be the Poipu area, though my favorite area is Hanalei / Princeville. The northern coast is the most beautiful, but it takes rain to keep it that way, which in November you may see more of than during the summer.

I can really relate! We had been to Maui four times and other than flying into and out of Honolulu, this is the only other island we'd experienced. We returned from Kauai in April and LOVED it. I seriously doubt if we'll ever return to Kauai but we already have a flight booked to return to Kauai in October! Sometimes it's good to venture out, we all find it easy to get stagnant thinking we've found a good thing and looking no further. Just one more opinion.

oops...just reread my posting and it makes no sense. I meant to say we may never return to Maui after visiting Kauai last month! Ron

Hi, Ron

My husband and I will be visiting both Maui and Kauai, and are trying to decide how long to stay on each island. I would appreciate it if you would answer a few questions regarding Kauai:

Where did you stay? Why did you love it more than Maui? Which Kauai experiences would you say shouldn't be missed?

Thanks for your help.

Our trip to the Big Island was a hit simply because of the property we stayed at...the Hilton Waikoloa Village...I know that they have condos right out front that looked pretty nice and almost the same name..research Waikiloa....other than that property, the island itself was the least favoured of the 4 we had been to. In Kauai, we stayed at both the Hyatt on the south side and the Princeville on the north...both properties are fabulous but a trip to the north side is an absolute must if you decide not to stay there(Princeville).

Thank you all for your posts they are very helpful. We will look forward to our trip in Nov. especially the hiking in Kauai - thanks Ken for the hiking tips.

To Ron, I am happy to hear we are not the only people that continue to go back to a good thing. So hard when you have limited time away from work to try a new place when you know you love it on Maui. We are anxious to try Kauai as we have heard so many wonderful things about the island.

DB