Planning help for honeymoon - likely Maui and the big island of Hawaii
May 30th, 2014, 05:29 PM
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Hi,
I went on my honeymoon to Oahu and Hawaii. We spent 3 days in Oahu, and then 7 days exploring the Big Island. I enjoyed it a lot, since there is so much to explore. However, it is important to note that there are few swimable beaches. So if a nice beach is important to you, you need to do some research on what hotels have an actual nice/swimable beach (Prince Hotel, Mauna Kea Hotel, maybe others...) We stayed at The Royal Kona Resort in Kona, and I was somewhat disappointed, since you cannot swim at the beach. I did enjoy all the outings we did: we hiked in the volcano park in the daytime and at night, saw waterfalls, went snorkeling, visited Hilo and beaches in the Kohala coast.
Since then, I have been to Maui, Kauai and Molokai, and I still like Hawaii because there is so much to do.
Thanks
Alexandra
I went on my honeymoon to Oahu and Hawaii. We spent 3 days in Oahu, and then 7 days exploring the Big Island. I enjoyed it a lot, since there is so much to explore. However, it is important to note that there are few swimable beaches. So if a nice beach is important to you, you need to do some research on what hotels have an actual nice/swimable beach (Prince Hotel, Mauna Kea Hotel, maybe others...) We stayed at The Royal Kona Resort in Kona, and I was somewhat disappointed, since you cannot swim at the beach. I did enjoy all the outings we did: we hiked in the volcano park in the daytime and at night, saw waterfalls, went snorkeling, visited Hilo and beaches in the Kohala coast.
Since then, I have been to Maui, Kauai and Molokai, and I still like Hawaii because there is so much to do.
Thanks
Alexandra
Jul 7th, 2014, 07:58 PM
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Hawaii is indeed a good place for lovers especially for honeymooners like you! I would say it's a good choice of place. Choose The Big Island, been there and I'm already in love with the place. In fact, planning to have a property soon in this place. Well, hopefully...Good luck and stay in love!
Jul 8th, 2014, 08:54 AM
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I think Maui and the Big Island are fantastic choices. We live in the NYC area and we take the nonstop flight from JFK to HNL and then an inter-island flight to Maui/BigIsland, all on Hawaiian air. In fact, I just booked our trip to Kauai next February with Hawaiian air and can't wait!
We were just in Maui in Oct/Nov 2013 and stayed at the new Andaz Wailea. It is luxurious, eco-friendly and modern. I used points to stay but the going rate can be had as low as 350 if you don't need an ocean view. You can view my trip report with links/pics here
http://sulynnchen.com/travelblog/?page_id=545
We have also stayed at the Marriott Wailea, Ritz Carlton Kapalua, and the Honua Kai. All were great with Honua Kai offering more condo type accomodations (but also a lot more families and kids, if that concerns you). The Ritz Carlton was probably the most secluded/romantic of the lot. However our favorite is still the Andaz.
Two of my sisters and countless friends have honeymooned on Maui. They recommend the Four Seasons but it is pricey. You can find some deals on Whatahotel.com which isn't exactly cheap but it will include somce extras such as upgrades and free breakfast which in the long run will save a lot as hotel resort food is $$!
Something slightly more mid-priced is the Sheraton at Blackrock. I have nothing but nice things to say about this place even though I have not personally stayed there as their customer service was great and I love the beach fronting the hotel. I was not a hotel guest but lost my sunglasses on property and they bent over backwards to retreive them for me and were so sweet about it.
Another resort I've been wanting to try is the Fairmont in Wailea as it is all suite accomodation and they just recently built a new pool. Looks amazing too!
On maui our restaurant recommendations for splurge meals are Merriman's and Mama's Fish House, great sushi can be had for cheap at Paradise Sushi in Kihei, casual fun meals at Monkeypod Kitchen, and of course try a shave ice from Ululani's or Local Boys.
As for the Big Island, I've been there twice and love it. There's so much to do and eat! A volcano visit is great and you're always guaranteed a turtle sighting at Punalu'u black sand beach. I'd stay on the Kona side probably at one of the nice resorts on the Kohala Coast. A bucket list pick of mine is the Four Seasons Hualalai, but since that is just out of my price range, I've always stayed in a condo at the Waikoloa resort called the Hali'i Kai. It's wonderful and some great rates can be found at VRBO.com. Just to note none of the condos I stayed in booked via VRBO had maid service but it wasn't an issue for us. Condos are great because you usually have a full kitchen and washer/dryer which is wonderful so you can pack light!
Some of our favorite places to eat on the Big Island are: Hawaiian Style Cafe and Big Island Grill for large breakfast platters, Roy's and Merriman's for fine dining, and Sansei sushi for some innoventive pacific rim food.
A car rental is a must on both Islands and most people have had luck with www.discounthawaiicarrental.com/. I splurged on a convertible for our first trip to Maui 5 years ago and we had a blast on the Road to Hana. Read about that here: http://sulynnchen.com/travelblog/?p=31
On the Big Island, people tend to like SUVs but I find them to be huge gas guzzlers, especially since there is SO much driving on the BI. An intermediate car will probably suffice.
Hope this helps.
Enjoy your honeymoon!!
We were just in Maui in Oct/Nov 2013 and stayed at the new Andaz Wailea. It is luxurious, eco-friendly and modern. I used points to stay but the going rate can be had as low as 350 if you don't need an ocean view. You can view my trip report with links/pics here
http://sulynnchen.com/travelblog/?page_id=545
We have also stayed at the Marriott Wailea, Ritz Carlton Kapalua, and the Honua Kai. All were great with Honua Kai offering more condo type accomodations (but also a lot more families and kids, if that concerns you). The Ritz Carlton was probably the most secluded/romantic of the lot. However our favorite is still the Andaz.
Two of my sisters and countless friends have honeymooned on Maui. They recommend the Four Seasons but it is pricey. You can find some deals on Whatahotel.com which isn't exactly cheap but it will include somce extras such as upgrades and free breakfast which in the long run will save a lot as hotel resort food is $$!
Something slightly more mid-priced is the Sheraton at Blackrock. I have nothing but nice things to say about this place even though I have not personally stayed there as their customer service was great and I love the beach fronting the hotel. I was not a hotel guest but lost my sunglasses on property and they bent over backwards to retreive them for me and were so sweet about it.
Another resort I've been wanting to try is the Fairmont in Wailea as it is all suite accomodation and they just recently built a new pool. Looks amazing too!
On maui our restaurant recommendations for splurge meals are Merriman's and Mama's Fish House, great sushi can be had for cheap at Paradise Sushi in Kihei, casual fun meals at Monkeypod Kitchen, and of course try a shave ice from Ululani's or Local Boys.
As for the Big Island, I've been there twice and love it. There's so much to do and eat! A volcano visit is great and you're always guaranteed a turtle sighting at Punalu'u black sand beach. I'd stay on the Kona side probably at one of the nice resorts on the Kohala Coast. A bucket list pick of mine is the Four Seasons Hualalai, but since that is just out of my price range, I've always stayed in a condo at the Waikoloa resort called the Hali'i Kai. It's wonderful and some great rates can be found at VRBO.com. Just to note none of the condos I stayed in booked via VRBO had maid service but it wasn't an issue for us. Condos are great because you usually have a full kitchen and washer/dryer which is wonderful so you can pack light!
Some of our favorite places to eat on the Big Island are: Hawaiian Style Cafe and Big Island Grill for large breakfast platters, Roy's and Merriman's for fine dining, and Sansei sushi for some innoventive pacific rim food.
A car rental is a must on both Islands and most people have had luck with www.discounthawaiicarrental.com/. I splurged on a convertible for our first trip to Maui 5 years ago and we had a blast on the Road to Hana. Read about that here: http://sulynnchen.com/travelblog/?p=31
On the Big Island, people tend to like SUVs but I find them to be huge gas guzzlers, especially since there is SO much driving on the BI. An intermediate car will probably suffice.
Hope this helps.
Enjoy your honeymoon!!
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azureashe
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