My fiance and I are planning to honeymoon in Hawaii in November 1999. We will be there for 17 nights. We want to spend 7 nights in Maui (Four Seasons), 5 in Lanai (Manele Bay) and 5 in Kauai (Princeville.) Should we skip Lanai and got to Big Island? Or can we see Big Island during a day trip? We do not want to do more than 3 islands since we think that so much "hopping" will take away from the "relaxing" part of a vacation. We are not looking for exciting nightlife, just a relaxing and romantic honeymoon. Any suggestions?

I've never been to Lanai but I can tell you about my day trip to the Big Island last year. We flew into Hilo, drove north up the coast to go hiking in Waipio Valley (somewhat remote, very beautiful valley and black sand beach) and ate lunch. Then we drove up to the north shore, stopped at a beach to shower and headed to Kona to watch the sunset. This only gave us time to eat fast food, we had to cancel our dinner reservations to catch the last flight to Oahu. Hawaii is so big with so much to see that to take a day trip will not totally do it justice. You could spend hours at Volcanos NP. If you do a day trip, try not to see too much. Pick the southern or northern route and stop at one or two sites. Any more than that you will lose the feel of your relaxing vacation.

Katia

Have been to all Islands you mentioned, and to answer your question..
I would spend the 5 days on the Big Island, and take the day trip to lanai.
Theres just too much to see and do on the Big Island. Outside of the two hotels on lanai, there isnt much but sage brush,..VERY dry..We took the trilogy sail out of lahaina to lanai and had a wonderful day..but 5 days, I would go nuts!!..

Aloha from Oahu:

I'm a local who has vacationed on all of those islands, most recently on Lanai with my wife. I think 2 - 3 days on Lanai is sufficient unless you're heavily into golf, horseback riding and trap shooting. Manele Bay is a beach resort, Koele is a hunting lodge. Both are accessible by free shuttle. Koele has high tea every afternoon with a cocktail reception with the hotel's manager at least once during your stay. Both hotels are beautifully decorated with asian antiques and the staff is top notch. Both offer fine dining. Plan to have several meals in downtown Lanai City. Very casual and much more affordable. Koele is a nice place to just hang out around the fireplace or veranda, Manele has a great beach. 5 days seem a bit too long on Kauai. By pinching 2 days from Kauai and 2 days from Lanai would give you a nice 4 day stay on the Big Island. The Big Island has such a diverse mix of climates. I wouldn't give up either island. The west side of the island (Kona/Waikoloa, etc.) has more upscale resorts. Hilo is a sleepy town and the hotels are okay. The volcano might even be active when you arrive. Hope you both have a great honeymoon and on behalf of the state of Hawaii, mahalo (thank you) for picking our state

My wife and I just got back from 7 days on the Big Island. We loved it. But it is a BIG island. We racked up 1100 miles on our rental car during the week. It can't really be appreciated in one day. There is great snorkeling on the west side of the island, and the Place of Refuge is very interesting. Beautiful beaches on the north west side (Hapuna Beach is ranked in the top 10 most beautiful beaches in the world). Waipio valley on the north east side is beautiful and is best appreciated on horseback or with a day long hike. Kilauea volcano is on the south side and not to be missed, but you can catch a helicopter in Hilo. As you can see, there's a lot to see all over the island.