We'll be first time visitors to HI & have 9 nites in 02/04. We can't decide if we should spend all 9 nites on Maui & do a fly&drive to Oahu & to the BI. Or split the trip between the 3 islands. But I'm worried we'll spend more time checking in & out of hotels & running to airports than relaxing & seeing what we want to see. On Oahu mainly just want to see Pearl Harbor attractions & on BI mainly just Volcano Nat'l Park. Your thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated!!

My preference is to always stay on one island during our stay, but since this is your first trip, you will probably enjoy checking out another (3 islands in 9 days is way too much - you won't be able to relax). I would pick the BI over Oahu. Pearl Harbor is interesting to visit, but then you are stuck on that island. Too commercial for me. I would do Maui for half the time and then visit the BI for the remainder of your trip. Have fun!

I love all of Hawaii and think every first-time visitor should see Waikiki. It is very beautiful, and that is why it is crowded. Unless you are totally stressed out and looking for pure relaxation, do spend a few days on Oahu.

I get so steamed when people talk about Oahu as being "so commercial". Wakiki/Honolulu is, of course, but there is so much more of the island than the one city. We visited Oahu for our first (and so far, only) Hawaiian vacation in '01 and LOVED it. We stayed on the North Shore - low-key, affordable, lovely, friendly, uncrowded.....I could go on for way too long! And the windward shore: just like I imagine Tahiti must look like. Georgous! We visited a LOT of beaches on our visit, and if we saw 10 people on any beach, that was crowded. And such a diversity of beaches - all different, all (basically) deserted. And we really enjoyed having the option of doing the "city thing" - we took a couple of day trips to the city to see the scene, etc. (45 min. away from about anywhere on the island.....).

Just don't discount Oahu based on the "too commercial" argument - the people who say this must not have taken the time to see ANY of the rest of the island.....

I firmly agree you should spend some time on Oahu. I lived there for three years and vacationed on all the other major islands many times but Oahu remains my favorite. It has a little of everything, for everyone. Three islands in nine days is way too much; I would spend five on Maui and four on Oahu.

Thanks for all your responses!! Now to narrow it down to Oahu or BI! Decisions, decisions decisions......

I vote for flying from the mainland to HNL (Oahu) connecting to Maui (e.g. for 4-5 days), interisland flight to Big Island for 2-3 days to check out the active volcano, and on last morning take the earliest flight from (OGG or KOA)to HNL, rent a car & do Pearl Harbor/Arizona and/or drive around the island, flying out that evening back to the mainland.

I agree that three islands would be too much - I'd suggest Oahu and Maui. Oahu has so many things to see and do, as does Maui it would be a shame to miss them. Don't believe it when people tell you Oahu is too busy or too commercial - it is busy and commercial in some areas, but there is so much more to the island than that, and all of it can be yours to see and experience by getting out of Honolulu and exploring the island. In my opinion the BI would not be the best choice for your second island, instead you could get the best of all worlds by taking a day trip over there from either Oahu or Maui. This summer some friends of mine took a day trip to BI for the volcano tour and it worked out great for them. They left in the early a.m. and flew to the BI, took an all day tour and returned that night to Oahu.