suze

California and Hawaii are two of my favorite states. Can't go wrong with either!!

Waikiki may well be too busy for what you want, it's the busiest little urban area in all of the islands. I posted the hotel only to show you can find an oasis and 'old-school' type charm even in the heart of a city.

Each island has so much to offer and each is very different from the other. You really can't talk about "Hawaii" imo, each island even has different "sides" with different weather. Big Island, Kauai, Maui, Oahu, and don't forget the little ones like Lanai and Moloakai. The Hawaiian Islands are incredibly diverse.

HG001London

Suze, yeah you're right....i probably do need to treat the islands as separate destinations themselves and pick which one is for us. I'l get there in the end....

thanks everyone for your help, really appreciate it all- genuinely!

Bed time here in london! thanks again

suze

g'night London (it's sunny late afternoon here in Seattle)

Tomsd

Suze - are you enjoying your three months of sun up there?

suze

Seattle has great weather. I'm not supposed to post that on an internet travel forum though.

sf7307

Yeah, I've been in Seattle a number of times and only once has it rained!

carolyn

Google the New Otani Hotel on Oahu and look at the photos. It is at the south end of Waikiki, through Kapiolani Park and away from the main drag, and just looking at their open-air dining room set up for a meal and overlooking the ocean makes me weak in the knees. It's close enough to walk to other restaurants, and if you rent a car and drive around Oahu you will find all the quiet, scenic beauty you could ever want. Plus, all U.S. citizens should see Pearl Harbor and Punchbowl National Cemetery. At least think about spending a few days on Oahu and then moving on if you like.

carolyn

P.S. The prettiest site to Google the New Otani is Hau Tree Lanai at New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel.

HG001London

suze, is it bad that my only real knowledge of seattle is watching the real word years and years ago-made me really want to live there though

carolyn, thanks for your help, will definitely look into to Oahu too

nanabee

HG London,

I hope you don't pass up consideration of Oahu because of misconceptions. Oahu is really a wonderful Hawaiian experience. It is beautiful - and has a variety of real Hawaiian life from shopping, nightlife, to the North Shore which is like being in the countryside.

Oahu has some of the best beaches as well. The best snorkeling is in Hanauama Bay right. There is so much history as well - Bishop Museum, Iolani Palace, WWII USS Arizona Memorial, etc.

Kauai is also a lovely island with a tropical Hawaiian feel.

For me Maui, and even the Big Island to a certain degree are too mainland. By that I mean many from the Mainland of the US relocate here and I always feel like I am in southern California when in Maui.

suze

Not the first time I've read it said, but I just don't get the Maui = southern California comparison. And yes I grew up in Los Angeles/Venice/Santa Monica. Maui is nothing like that.

HG001London

nanabee, thanks for you message. Don't worry we are still very much in the dreaming stage so definitely open to all places. Admittedly we are a little swung towards the smaller places simply as they are smaller and will give us a better chance to see and experience them to the full.

I get what you mean though, we would definitely want to feel like we were on vacation (although for us southern california would be a vacation- ) but i totally get what you mean.

I think maybe i need to get a guidebook. I like the idea of countryside. For us a ideal hawaiian holiday would be a quiet one, staying somewhere small but where we get to go to the beach, have picnics, go walking, go snorkelling visit waterfalls if we can and if the evenings if possible walk to one or two places for a quiet dinner and walk back on the beach, drive through beautiful scenary. (Maybe rents bikes).

We don't really need a lot of shops nearby but the history would be of interest to make a day out of visiting places so we get a feel for its history and how it came to what it is. I think my trouble has been finding a nice small hotel somewhere close to a pretty beach without too much build up stuff around. I.e we really trying to avoid something like this

http://www.best-beaches.com/us/hawai...waiian-beaches

but if possible find some small hotel/B&B to stay where we could walk to beach and maybe one restaurant and felt more like something like this

http://www.minkler-photo-gallery.com...of-hawaii.html

I'm sure there are plenty of places, i just need to research a bit more

martym

Here's a place we stayed right on Hanalei Bay--the photos are accurate--walk across the lawn to the beach. http://www.aloha.net/~seek/ So you are correct, these kind of places to exist in the Hawaiian islands and I'm sure you'll find some that appeal to you when the time comes.

Also check out Palm Cliffs House on the Big Island--though it is not on a beach, I have always thought it is just beautiful http://www.palmscliffhouse.com/

Tomsd

Cute place martym. Just keep digging and digging London Lass to find your "perfect" place - which I think is part of the fun.

Now what is your California plan again?

HG001London

heyTom

yeah agree...i love digging i am totally obsessed with travel-

Pretty much san diego up to san francisco via, laguna beach,santa Barbara,paso robles,carmel/big sure, caligosta. Super excited

NoCaliGal

HG
I too an excited for your California trip. ive enjoyed watching you refine it.
For your Hawaii planning, I recommend a series of guidebooks by the same Hawaii resident--

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr...drew%20Doughty

There is one book each for The Big Island (i.e., Hawaii), Maui, and Oahu. The advice within them is priceless and filled with tips galore. I have been to all 3 islands, and each one was quite enjoyable, so don't get petrified by making a choice. I enjoyed the Big Island for the vast variety of different attractions. The live flow lava fields is not to be missed, especially at night! There are hot parts, cool parts, rainy parts, and "voggy" parts --volcano smog. Some of the other things we enjoyed was a van tour of the Waipio Valley, where a river feeds into the sea, taro fields are cultivated, and a tsunami inundated the whole area in the 30s. We also drove through the volcanic park to Hilo, a rather sleepy town on the rainforest side.
We rented a condo on the Kona Kailua coast overlooking a turtle lagoon. Not very expensive either. I think I found it on vrbo. It wa so close to the water that they had to change out the electrical plugs often, as they would rust out.
Maui had good snorkeling up in the northwest side in the Marine Preserve , a wonderful view over to Lanai, which is a rather small secluded island, and wonderful sailing trips out to crescent shaped island of Molokini. You can go on an old sailing ship from Lahaina town. The more southern west side is much drier and hotter, and has more high rises and resorts. If you stay in the Napili or Honokawaii areas, it will be less crowded, and a little cooler. It rains a bit every evening. Plenty of small resorts on the beach there too.
Oahu was a quite varied place. It has its traffic jams, but if you get out of the city of Waikiki, a lively place, you can find lots of quieter activities. Also it has the Polynesian Cultural Center , a large park, if you have not experienced the music and dance of the Pacific Islanders at all.
If I were you, I'd pick 2 islands, rent a car in each, and stay in a B&B or self-catering condo. The flights between islands cost about $60. You can fly into Oahu which would be where the majority of people come first, or, if you book early, you can find flights from L.A. Or Oakland or SF directly to Maui (OGG), or Kailua-Kona (KOA) on the Big Island. It's only about a 5 hr flight from the West Coast.
See you there one day... We could be out there getting sunburned with all the other Anglo Saxons and Celts.

NoCaliGal

P.S. I stayed with my 4 person family at one of TomSD's links, the Napili Sunset on Maui near Napili Beach. It is not swanky, but it has its own beach, was close to places you could eat, and if you get a spot on one of the buildings fronting the ocean, you'll be pleased. It also had a small pool, Barbeques, and good parking. Out of the tourist fray of Kaanapali Beach. The condos were rather inexpensive for Hawaii. Some are privately rented, some are rented through the bldg management. Read vrbo to find the right one.

HG001London

Hi nocaligirl

thanks so much- those books look excellent, and i wouldn't of known about them from the typical bookstore so thanks. Yeamy maybe doing 2 islands would be a good idea. Ooh see now im so tempted to try and get another week of work and tag on to end of california honeymon but im guessing that might be a no Yeah, would be more than happy to have a car.

Its weird how sometimes places u imagine are totally different. I watched a documentary about the girl that went missing in hawaii and i remember being so surprised at how much traffic and built up city like scape there was. Have no idea where about't it was in Hawaii but did remind e that Hawaii is just like any other state and there will always be traffic to get through somewhere!

Thanks for all the food for thought, it all looks very nice

HG001London

Lanikai Beach, Oahu looks pretty lovely i must say!!

Tomsd

Lanikai has a gorgeous beach and we stayed at a nice B & B there for a couple nights. Very quiet and laid back, and you can go into Kailua for dinner, etc.

And good for you Nocaligirl. Love the Napili Sunset. "Old Hawaii" style.