Kuai for 3 nights, Maui for 4 nights would you change this?
 

We are flying into hawaii on a sunday and want to go directly to kuaii that night. Haven't looked in to how to travel from one island to the next and would appreciate some advice. We will stay in Kuaii (3 nights) until wednessday July 4 and then move to mauii where we will stay for 4 nights. Is this enough time in each place to actually enjoy them or should we just stay in one place the whole 7 nights? And if we stay in one place should we scratch kuaii and mauii and go to the BI? Thank you so much for helping.

I'd be inclined to pick one island and spend the entire time there -- I just think it is nice to settle in someplace and really relax and embrace the island lifestyle. Which island you to choose depends on what your interests -- there are lots of trip reports to read detailing experiences on each of the islands.

Check out the schedules for Hawaiian and Aloha. It's pretty easy to island hop on either of these airlines without an advance reservation.

Another cheap option is Go! Airlines. www.iflygo.com

FYI, to help you when doing a search, the islands are spelled
<b>Kauai</b> and <b>Maui.</b>

Thank you for you responses. We will only have 2 full days in Kauai...is this pointless? I really want to see both maui and kauai, but only have 7 days:( Will it be worth it?

You will love Hawaii no matter which island you choose, so since you only have 7 nights, my advice would be to choose 1 island. You lose a lot of valuable beach and island time checking out of your hotel, returning your car, flying to the next island, getting another car, checking in again.

Our first trip we spent 10 nights on Maui. Our second trip we spent 5 nights on Maui and 9 nights on Kauai. Both were fantastic trips.

Would I do this trip? No. But if you trully want to experience both islands, go for it!! I would suggest moderate lodging since you will hardly be there, if your true intent is to experience the islands. If that is your intent accept the fact that this will be a whirlwind trip. Otherwise pick one island and hang and relax and explore at a more leisurly place and leave understanding the nature of one island rather than a glimpse of two.

No wrong choices!

We visited Kauai last June for 10 days and were glad we chose to stay on just one island. Even with that amount of time, we never ran out of things to do. The north shore is quite different from the south shore, and both are well worth exploring. As another post mentioned, since you've only got one week, you don't want to waste valuable time messing around with checking in and out, packing/unpacking, etc. If you stay on just one island, you'll get to explore not just the main highlights, but also the less crowded landmarks, those interesting hole-in-the-wall eateries, and you'll spend more time out of your car. Why don't you take the money you would've spent on inter-island flights and spend it on something really cool like a helicopter flight?

Because we had plenty of time in Kauai, we relaxed for most of one day, enjoying &quot;Taste of Kauai&quot;, an annual event where some of the islands' best chefs get together to create interesting dishes for sampling. If we'd had less time on the island, we would've skipped such a big commitment of our time. BTW, if anyone is going to be in Kauai when it's on, it's well-worth the money and was some of the tastiest food (as well as wine and beer) we had the whole time we were on the island.

We haven't visited Maui yet (we're going to both Kauai and Maui for two weeks next month), so I can't recommend one over the other. If you love shopping and nightlife, Kauai probably isn't your best bet; however, if you love the outdoors and activities like snorkeling right off the beach, hiking to hidden waterwalls, or surfing some pretty good waves, Kauai will keep you plenty busy.

Good luck with your decision, and have fun!

I would pick any ONE island with only 7 days. For me I like Oahu, while others prefer Maui, or Kauai, or Big Island. Just a matter of personal taste.

But I would HATE to have to pick up and hike back to the airport after barely 3 days somewhere.

I would stay in one place the &quot;whole 7 nights&quot; myself.

Ok, so I got my hubby to add on to the trip, not by much but it will give us 9 days total and now I'm thinking 4 nights in each place. How long does it take to transfer from Kauai to Maui?

I agree with other posts, do one island with only 7 days. We spent 9 days in Kauai, which was perfect for us. The last day we were able to re-visit our favorite place on the island, Koke'e State Park with amazing views of the Na Pali Coast and great hikes. Otherwise, we were doing something new (and stuff I wouldn't want to skip) every day.

I guess it just depends on what you value more--exploring one island more thoroughly or seeing the diversity between islands.

Are you honeymooning? If so, stay on Kauai for five nights. What would be fun, would be to fly into Oahu if you can't get a direct flight), catch a connecting to Kauai for five nights and then fly into HNL for the last two nights. You could explore that island, Waikiki, Pearl Harbor etc. and then fly out of HNL - home. It would be a perfect way to see two islands and make the best of island transfers. Kauai is wonderfully romantic and Oahu is anything and everything you make of it. You name it, it's there. The Big Island is lovely but to us, it's like landing on Mars. We're on Maui all the time and have been to most of the islands...speak from experience.

You can't go wrong.
BUT.
Back in 1999, my employers took me to Maui and Kuai. On Maui, we stayed in a normal condo residence. Maui is neat for whales, ocean drive past Ritz Carton (west side), volcano, neat neat neat. Kuai on the other hand was extremely, garden-like. Heaven. We stayed in a humongous wooden home that overlooked 5 acres and a Buddist retreat. (we could see the Buddist Monks moving their little cows through the gates) The water was amazing, the flora/fauna breathtaking. Now that I think about it, yes, pick one island.

Your first day is recovering from flying. Your second day is getting out and about fully dressed. The third day, you lose a shirt or shorts, and by the 3rd day, afternoon, you'll be fully acclimated to lay around in your suits and trunks. We had 10 days. You have 7. Pick one island. Go back for more later. ( I know its hard to choose)

yes do both, 4 nights each !! you will love both islands !

as all 4 major islands are non-stop connected to US west coast, you can transfer only one time between the two, so you can save some time ! Fly in to one and out from the other !!

Hey mcwedding, we will be in Kauai at the same time! We did 2 islands our last trip to Hawaii - 5 days in Maui and 4 in Big Island. Even though the time felt short, I am glad we did both. Hawaiian, Aloha &amp; Go have pretty good inter-island fares. Aloha's fares are slightly discounted if you sign up for their frequent flyer club.
Which airline will you be flying from the mainland?

If you haven't selected your airline yet, Alaska Airlines just (5/31/07 announced new service to Hawaii (Oahu &amp; Kauai) beginning in October.

They have a great introductory sale &lt;http://www.alaskaair.com/as/www2/Pro...i_Sale.asp&gt; but tickets must be purchased by June 2, 2007. Not much time to grab one of these low fares fares.