I am planning a trip to Hawaii next March and will definitely be spending two full days in Oahu but I have the remaining 11 days to split between two islands. Originally I wanted to go to all three: B.I., Maui and Kaui. But after reading alot of the posts I really don't want to be running around to much. Right now I am leaning towards five nights on B.I. and 6 nights on Maui and skippiing Kaui all together. Do you experienced Hawaii travelers feel I am making the right choice by eliminating Kaui instead of the B.I. We like to see the sites as well as relax on the beach or at the pool. We don't want to spend the entire time on the B.I. site seeing we want to relax as well. SO before I book any hotels I want the opinions of the experts on this site. Thanks

Definitely kauai and maui. Kauai is the most stunning place on earth. It is perfect to explore beaches as well as the rainforest/waterfalls/napali coast. There is a reason why that island has been filmed in over 50 movies...breathtaking beauty.

Then go to Maui to relax, unwind, and enjoy great meals at great resorts.

You can read my recent trip reports if that helps.

Can't really say which Islands you should visit. But....I usually build my itenary and length of stay around the sites I want to visit....

Personally it took me 4 visits to the islands before I visited Maui. Been there several times since, each to do/see something specific...i.e.Road to Hana...bike ride down Haleakala.

It's really hard to do it all in one trip. Do your homework, and it will all fall into place. Like it has been mentioned here before....you basically lose a day traveling between islands, so plan accordingly.

Marshall,

Since you asked, I would recommend, first of all, that you spend at least three nights on Oahu. The North Shore is gorgeous, so you need one day to see it. There is so much to see and do around Waikiki/Honolulu, so much history and beauty, and people really miss out when they rush through to the other islands, thinking Oahu is *just Waikiki.*

I LOVE all the islands. In your case, I would do the Big Island, along with Maui or Kauai, because the Big Island is very different from the others. However you choose, you can't go wrong but you will have more variety with the above choices. I would do 3/5/5 on those three islands, and I think that would be just right! Have a wonderful trip, wherever you end up!

It's impossible to give you a definitive answer, based on what you've outlined. One can sightsee and relax on a beach or pool on any of the Hawaiian islands. For an 11-day vacation, keeping the itinerary limited to two islands is a very good idea. But beyond that, you'll need to figure out exactly what you'd like to see and do with your time, other than relaxing.

What other activities are you interested in? What sites do you want to see? Etc.

The best "away from it all" experiences are on the BI and Kauai. Maui is more upscale, more expensive, and other than East Maui/Hana is fairly developed. Kauai is incredibly beautiful but also receives a lot more rain than the BI or Maui. The BI has the widest range of activities and environments, and is the only choice for live volcano viewing (and possibly skiing!).

We're doing the same type of trip for our honeymoon in Aug...The first 2 nights in Oahu to see Pearl Harbor/Waikiki, 4 nights on the BI to see the Volcano/other sites, and 7 nights on Maui to relax at the end so we don't feel like we did too much running around! Kauai sounded beautiful, but I voted for Maui and the BI because of the things there I was interested in seeing.

I knew this would happen. I am now more frustrated than ever. Everytime I hear about kaui I want to see it more and more and everytime I here about the B.I. it sounds like something I need to see as well. Maybe I should skip Maui and do Kaui and the B.I. but everyone I know goes to Maui and loves it. Maybe I should go back to my original plans and do all four of the islands. I arrive in Oahu on Friday night. I would stay in Oahu until early monday morning and head to Kaui for Four nights. Leave kaui on Friday morning early and head to the B.I. for Friday night through Sunday night and then head out to Maui early Monday morning and stay until Friday. So that gives me three nights(and two full days) in Oahu, four nights(4 full days) in Kaui, 3 nights in the B.I.(3full days) and 4 nights(4 full days) on Maui. Does that sound like two much. Our travel days will be Monday early from Oahu to Kaui, Friday early from Kaui to the B.I. and Monday early from the B.I. to Maui. Then on Friday morning we will leave maui to go home. If I have a night flight out of honolulu on friday night about 10 PM what time will I have to leave maui. Will I have most of the day there to still site see or relax. And what about the days when I fly interisland. How long should it take to go between the islands. If I took a 9am flight what time do you think I would arrive at the hotels(By noon?) The more I plan this trip the more confusing it becomes and the more frustrating. Everyone askes me what I want out of this trip. I want to see everything and do everything and relax at the same time. i know this is an impossibility so I will have to give up something. I just don't know what. I must sound like a crazy individual. I just get obsessive when planning these trips but so far my trip to australia two years ago was fantastic and it was made possible by all the people on these sites. Did I get to see everything in Australia. No I had to give up seeing Melbourne( but I survived).So now I must decide what to give up in Hawaii. Thankyou all for putting up with my rambling. Hope to hear back from you soon. Bruce

I'm an obsessive nut as well, so you're in good company if I do say so myself. OK, here's the plan: Maui and Kauai this time; Big Island - spending some time on both the Kona side and the volcano side - next time.

Marshall, let me pop back up here again. I feel the most similar islands are Oahu and Maui, in many respects, as far as the kind of experiences you'll have. (Except for wild, wacky, wonderful Waikiki, which you won't find anywhere else!) Oahu is so underrated as to what's outside Waikiki......... many travelers just don't realize the incredible beauty and the awesome beaches OUTSIDE Waikiki/Honolulu. NOW, nothing compares to the overall wild, lush, green beauty on Kauai; and the Big Island has so many unique areas, climates, sites. I would do Oahu/Kauai/B.I. for 3/5/5. We have never done more than three islands in 16 days...... but everybody has their own *busymeter*. Flying interisland, you usually can figure on getting into your next accommodation around noon, assuming you plan well ahead, reserve early morning flights, etc. Flight times can vary, depending if they stop over briefly in Honolulu, etc. Maui is wonderful, but they're ALL wonderful, and I'm sure you will go back, once you've gotten a good taste of the place!;-) Wherever you go, it will be beautiful and you will have a wonderful time, I'm sure.

Bruce, this is supposed to be a vacation, not a fire drill. Relax! You'll have a great time no matter which islands you go to. Also, you have almost a full year to plan the trip, so it's way too early to start stressing about it.

My own take on your situation is this:

-- Three days isn't enough time to really explore any of the three islands you have in mind, but especially the BI. Just that one island is 200 miles by 200 miles in size.

-- Don't discount the amount of time lost for inter-island travel. Between the hotel checkouts, check-ins, driving, rental car pickups and returns, airport check-ins, security etc etc you can count on losing the better part of a day for each flight. On a four-island excursion that's close to four lost days.

Limit your trip to one or two islands and RELAX. That's what a vacation is supposed to be about. If you can't cover everything the first time, the islands will still be there next time you go.

"If you have to ask...Go to Maui". :-"

Thankyou all for your help. I am not stressing but just want everything to be great. YOu are right though I will be back. And now hearing that the big island is 200 miles wide and I was told by three of my patients today not to miss Kaui then maybe I should do Kaui and Maui and skip the big island this time. that is the feeling I am getting from most responses. If I do go to Kaui and Maui I was told to stay at the Hyatt on both. As much as I have heard nice things about the Princeville Hotel I know I am not the kind of person to want to drive around looking for the sun and being that we will be there early march there is a pretty good chance that the side of Kaui that the Princeville is on will have rain. So I guess if Kaui and Maui are it I should probably make reservations at the Hyatt in Kaui and either the Hyatt or the F.S. in Maui. Thanks for you help. Any more thoughts from other fodorites would be appreciated. Bruce

My vote is for B.I. and Maui, very fun diverse trip.

I am not being argumentative or attacking this poster, but

"Between the hotel checkouts, check-ins, driving, rental car pickups and returns, airport check-ins, security etc etc you can count on losing the better part of a day for each flight. "

NO! I'm so tired of hearing this. I have done interisland travel many, many times and it does NOT take up half a day. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO--is book an early flight between islands. There will be less crowds at the airport and at the rental car places, you'll be in and out quickly.

The actual flight between most islands is less than an hour. You don't have to check in as early as you do flying a "regular" flight. Picking up and returning a rental car has never taken us longer than 30 mins, tops (except on Lanai--where they only have one company handling everything). Checking in and out of a hotel--that takes five minutes! DO NOT be scared of interisland travel...it's so easy and it's fun!

BTW--again--I didn't mean to sound harsh . I just hear people being afraid of interisland travel so often for the reason that it takes up too much time...and I feel so bummed that anyone might decide not to go island-hoppping because of this!

OK, it's all settled. (Ha!) It's so much fun planning other people's lives. Maui and Kauai. Save the Big Island for another trip unto itself. I think you would enjoy any of the resorts you named but you still have time to give that some thought. I'm really looking forward to my trip this summer. - Grand Wailea Maui and Hyatt Kauai. I enjoy polling my patients also! They are a great source of information and it helps me get to know them a little better.

Anyone who thinks that the Big Island is 200 miles by 200 miles (40,000 sq. miles)has never been to the Big Island.The entire coatsline is 266 miles long. The length OF THE ISLAND at its MAXIMUM point is 93 miles, the width at the MAXIMUM point is 76 miles, and the total area is 4028 sq. miles or about one tenth of 200 x 200.