Preliminary trip planning, Hawaii 2016
 

Hi! I'm considering going to Hawaii next year. So note that this is very, very tentative and I apologize for the vagueness. Just a few questions so I have more of an idea of what direction to take my research in.

Most likely travel times (due to various people's schedules): Mid-late March and early July. MAYBE early September, but something always seems to come up! Which one would you recommend and why?

I'm thinking this will be an adult only trip, and not one of our longer jaunts. I want to stick to one island, because I'm thinking it'll be for 5-7 days max. Lodging is up in the air for now because until I know who is going, I won't know budget, so that's not important right now. I've never been to Hawaii- consider me a blank slate!

What is important: I'm trying to pick an island. Every one looks interesting, so I'm tryin to narrow it down.

1. I really dislike driving on vacation. Are car rentals a necessity on all of the islands? I could rent a car, but I'd like to avoid it. I know Oahu has a bus system, and if it can get me most places, I'd probably pick Oahu for that reason. What's the transportation situation on the other islands?

2. Interests: I enjoy swimming, and I'd love to try snorkeling, so that's probably at the top of my wish list. I also like to hike. I enjoy unique food, history, culture. Local museums are my Mecca;) Companions will probably be interested in more adventurous excursions or kitsch-y sites, and I'll probably be in trouble if there is no shopping at all. So that also has me leaning towards Oahu. But Kauai and Maui are also being tossed around. We're all pretty active- not resort people. About half of the usual suspects like quaint beach towns, and the other half prefer the city. Is it worth breaking up the week into two locations to satisfy both? Is that possible on Oahu? If so, what would you recommend as the second location (Waikiki being the first).


The trouble is, no one is particularly attached to any one place. I'd probably be happy with anywhere that has snorkeling and good food- the only thing on Oahu that really is of interest to me is Pearl Harbor. (I'm not even sure I'm going for Hawaii next year, I'm thinking NYC or DC for museums and others are talking about Banff.) But a warm beach in March sounds really, really tempting:)

So any suggestions to help me narrow it down would be fantastic! Anything you'd consider can't misses?
Thanks!

The "Dummies" series has a quick read and a quiz to help you find 'your' island: "Hawaii For Dummies".

Most flights to Hawaii are long and expensive. It's not worth it for me to stay less than a week. Day One will blur as your body adjusts to the time change. No departure day is a full day either. Any transit between islands will consume nearly half a day, door to door.

If you have one week, you'd stay on one island; Ten nights could be enough to stay on two (perhaps unevenly divided), but I'd prefer at least a week per island, and longer to stay both sides of Big Island.

In winter, avoid staying north on Kauai, Oahu, and to some extent, Maui. September is HOT -- worst on southernmost Big Island, especially if the volcano is active (vog). Christmas to April 1 is not the best weather, but is one of the more expensive times to visit. Hawaii is busy and expensive whenever mainland school are on holiday. May is generally nice throughout the islands, but is not the 'off season' it was before the Baby Boomers started retiring. Early December is still the least expensive time to visit -- between American Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

We used to escape winter weather at home for 2 - 4 weeks, staying at Poipu, Kauai; Waikiki, Oahu; Kohala Coast, Big Island of Hawaii; and several places on Maui. We now stay longer -- in South Maui.


Whale Season is Jan. - Mar. and best observed from Maui and Big Island.

I think your whole group would enjoy Honolulu -- plus touring for a day or two along Oahu's pretty east and north shores. Put your driving worries aside -- not a concern anywhere in the islands outside of Honolulu's horrible traffc. *I* would stay 3-4 nights Waikiki to see the historic and city sights, then spend a week on a second island. Kauai and Big Island offer a greater contrast; Parts of Maui are more developed the others, and much less so than Honolulu.

You can glimpse highlights of Kauai, Maui and Big Island aboard the NCL cruise that departs Honolulu every Saturday afternoon. It's not a deluxe cruise, but the only sane way to see so much in a week! It can be a 'sampler', to see which island calls you back for a longer stay.

If you want any of the most popular seasons, remember to book a rental car and lodgings EARLY. People book winter dates a year in advance.

"...remember to book a rental car..."

Which is to say, yes, unless you're staying in Waikiki/Honolulu, you will need a car.

As for choice of Island, from what you wrote, I think Maui's the best fit, as it has something for everyone in your group. Plus, if you go in March, you'll see whales, which everyone would probably enjoy. But when you go might partly depend on which island you choose, particularly if it's Kaua'i, where the spectacular north shore is glorious in summer months, but less so during winter.

Other considerations:
Best snorkeling is along the Kohala Coast of the Big Island;
Best beach town (IMO anyway) is Hanalei on Kaua'i;
Best shopping outside of Honolulu is on Maui;
Best luaus are Feast at Lele and Old Lahaina on Maui;
Most exotic and tropical IMO, Kaua'i.

To vacation without a car in Hawaii, Oahu is your pick. Waikiki/Honolulu also offers the widest assortment of reasonably priced places to stay. YOu can go to Iolani Place, Bishop Museum, Foster Botanical Gardens, Doris Duke ShangriLa Estate &Honolulu Academy of the Arts. Oahu works beautiful in a short time frame like you mention (5-7 days).

There are oodles of outdoor and adventure stuff too, but I'm not much help with those. Shopping is everywhere.

Definitely NOT two locations with only 5-7 days. Stay right in Waikiki (city) let the country-loving-folks do day trips to "quaint towns". Someone will need to rent a car.

I agree with picking only one of the smaller islands, for Big Island you want 8-10 nights. You would need a car everywhere outside of Waikiki. Everyone has their personal favorite island, mine happens to be Kauai but they are all good. September is a great time to visit.

Why I suggest Oahu is because of not wanting to rent a car, and because it has the most variety in lodging choices.

Thanks, everyone. Suze- I was leaning towards Oahu because of the variety of lodging choices anyway, so good to have that confirmed.

Hoping Hawaii may happen another year; really thinking I'd rather go to DC or Philadelphia next year for museums;) reading trip reports have given me the east coast bug again, and I thought that Chicago last summer had squashed it for the next few years...

Since I live on the West coast, I do not have the day of "fuzziness" due to the time change so 5 day trip to Hawaii is easily doable for me and we do it regularly. Not sure how it will be for those coming a long distance with many time zones crossed. As indicated Oahu is the only island you DO NOT need a car in fact i wouldn't recommend it as the traffic is terrible. They have lots of public transportation available. Waikiki area is lots of shopping but the other sides are more tropical and low key.Finally made it to Ala Moana beach Park on my last short trip. Road a bike there (a little scary riding in all that traffic, however) What a great beach and so much quieter and nicer than Waikiki. You can take the bus there as well. Enjoy