My girlfriend and I are heading to Oahu for a friends wedding in July. After the wedding we are planning on visiting another island, either Maui or Kauai, but we're not sure which one. We are in our late 20's and we know Maui will have a better nightlife. However, we would also like to see a rainforest, snorkel, and spend time relaxing on the beach - away from an abndance of tourists. Any suggestions would be welcomed, thanks.

Love em both, but I think Maui has much better snorkling and the road to Hana is part rainforest. Don't waste your time and money on Molokini....off shore is just if not much better snorkling imho.

never been to Kauai but we LOVE maui. We visited for the 3rd time last spring. It offers a little bit of everything. You know that you are not alone...but we never felt overwhelmed with other tourists. We highly recommend staying at Kaanapali Beach Hotel. Great snorkeling right at the hotel and beautiful grounds.

We have been to both, and they are both wonderful destinations, but if I have to pick for what you are looking for, I would say Maui.

We love Kauai. Many great restaurants and things to do. Traditional Hawaiian luaus are plentiful on the island. Kauai has near-perfect temperatures and a lush, tropical climate. You can kayak, hike to waterfalls, and see the sugar cane fields. The Na Pali coast is stunning and is accessible only by helicopter tour or boat tour. Waimea Canyon, the largest canyon in the Pacific, truly is as beautiful as the Grand Canyon. We really enjoy the beaches and totally relax there. Happy Exploring!

I just posted a question exactly like this! Glad I found this thread!

FH and I are thinking of one of these islands for our honeymoon. This thread helps!

Same reply as on Ellephant.
Kauai for sure! I just finished 9 days in Kauai with my parents, husband, brother and his fiance and we all loved it. Tonnes of snorkelling (we stayed in Poipu and would recommend staying there, though it's about 25 minutes to Lihue to the closest grocery store, etc). We rented a 2 bedroom suite the first night through Suite Paradise and it was great, then rented a house (Woodard) which was perfect through Grantham Resorts. The best snorkelling is on Lawai Rd in Poipu (free) and Ke'e Beach near Princeville - also free. My husband and I did a dive with Fathom Five and would recommend that for divers.
Kauai is fairly non-developed, although there is a Costco, Walmart, Home Depot, etc - but slow paced, relaxing. We did a snorkel trip up the Na Pali coast (a must even if you don't snorkel to see this beautiful coastline) and a helicopter trip aswell, both recommended.
(Don't go to the Smith Family Luau unless you're 65 or older)
I'm in Maui now with just my parents and husband, our second day - we're looking forward to the Road to Hana and bought a 'tour it yourself' CD from Boss Frogs ($10) instead of paying $80 a person to go with a tour. Maui is really overdeveloped, lots of traffic and people and now we wish we'd spent the extra 5 days in Kauai - but this is our first trip to Hawaii, so we had to come to Maui.
I would go to Kauai again for sure, Maui I would skip in the future.

Hope that helps!
Dana

Maui

Road to Hana & Haleakala are really nice.

Lots of info:

www.mauihawaii.org Nice site of Maui Jon

www.visitmaui.com Free brochure

www.kauaidiscovery.com Free brochure

www.kauai-hawaii.com

This thread is mostly for Oahu, but there are a lot of websites good for all islands:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...1&tid=34812564

I've lived both on Maui and Kauai. If you want to see some of the most beautiful beaches in the world and spend the day there, hike the Napali coast and just relax, (there is NO nightlife to speak of)I think Kauai is the most beautiful on the NORTH shore, Hanalei, Princeville, Kilauea area. Kauai is the oldest and has the longest beaches and on the north shore, tall, carggy mountains with waterfalls next to the beach, something like I picture Tahiti to look. The beaches do not have big resorts/hotels on them. Summer is also the best time to go because on that side of island the ocean is calm and warm and great for swimming. In the winter, often you can only surf there since the waves are so big and the ocean rough. I never did find good food on Kauai.
Maui, I like the south shore, Wailea because I think it has the best beaches, and is in my opinion second in beauty. But there's lots more to do there, a polynesian show in Lahainia, and snorkling and sailing tours (the islands are especially beautiful when seen from the ocean) and much more nightlife. For rainforest you can drive to Hana. As for tourists there are plenty on both islands but I've never found the beaches too crowded. Altho n Maui there is often big hotels on the beaches. The food is better.
Each island has a very different personality.....
Serena

Wowie! It's got to be Maui!

2 great islands, I would go for the best deal. Kauai is more laid back and we thought the restaurants were better.

You could always do what we did too - split your time between the two. Did the drive today north of Kapalua and enjoyed it on Maui.
I would do Maui first, not as pretty as Kauai and disappointing after Kauai, but if you did it first it would be fine. I'm coming from Toronto, so it sure beats the snow, just doesn't beat Kauai.
The island jumper is only 35 minutes and $100 and I could recommend both islands after my day today. Great snorkelling off the beaten path between mile markers 32 and 33 on Hwy 30 north of Kapalua (you walk through a rain forest type path to the water, it's not a marked beach but the coral is colourful and I saw fish I've never seen before - and I've been snorkelling and diving in Cozumel, Roatan, Kauai, and Costa Rica) - and the drive to Wailuku (where the state highway ends and they say not to drive or your rental is void) is an amazing drive, 1 lane only with little 'pull outs' so that the cars coming the other way can pass - and great food at Giovanni's Pizza in Wailuku - I had an amazing Philly Beef Sandwich).
Good luck choosing. I'm 30 - we don't look for the nightlife on holidays, so I'm sure Maui is better for that.