My husband and I are going to Hawaii in July 2006 to celebrate our 25th anniversary (so no kids on this trip!) We've been to Maui twice, Kauai twice, Oahu for a couple of days (stayed at the Marriott Ko'Olina). We've never been to the Big Island.

We leave Atlanta and spend 1 night in Los Angeles, and then we have 11 nights in Hawaii.

The original plan was:
3 nights Waikiki (Marriott Waikiki - free with points - already reserved but can change)
1 night Big Island - near volcano (not sure where)
7 nights Big Island - Fairmont Orchid (got a rate of $329/night and 5th night free - already reserved but can change)

So, now we're sort of re-thinking our plan, because my husband thinks that 7 nights might be too long to stay at the Orchid. We'd like to stay at least 5 nights there, because the 5th night is free.

New options:

2 nights in Waikiki (Marriott - free)
2 or 3 nights on North shore of Oahu (I've been looking at cabins/houses at vrbo.com).
1 or 2 nights volcano side of Big Island
5 nights at Fairmont Orchid

or
2 or 3 nights Waikiki (Marriott)
2 or 3 nights North shore of Oahu
6 nights at Fairmont Orchid on Big Island (taking day trip to volcano)

We are in our early 40's; don't care about nightlife; like to walk; like to hike; like to snorkel; like photography; like 'nature' activities. If we stayed on North Shore of Oahu, we'd like to walk around small towns, snorkel, sightsee. On Big Island we want to snorkel, hike, sightsee, see the volcano, and to be pampered at the Fairmont Orchid.

We've never stayed in Waikiki, and we thought it would be neat to stay there a couple of nights.

QUESTIONS:
1. Which plan sounds best to you, and why?
2. If we stay on Oahu's north shore, where is a good place to stay?

Thanks so much for your help.

I'd go for your first revised plan - I've never done it but I've heard it's pretty cool to be up near the volcano at night so that might be fun. Of course get pampered at the Orchid and the Waikiki Marriott is a nice place and close to everything.

Keep checking with vrbo.com for a rental at North Shore, or try Red Week.com - they have them too. The North Shore is such a different place from waikiki - you'll love it.

I'm planning my 1st Big Island trip for June.I get the feeling you need 3 days to really explore VNP,and more time to explore the Big Island and it really is,area wise big.I think I'd stay with 7 nights on the BI.Then again,I just hate packing/unpacking.BTW,Delta has new one stop service via Salt Lake.I think you leave ATL at 0800 and arrive Kona at 344pm.

Viewing lava flows at VNP is done by driving to the coast and hiking as far as the rangers allow to watch. We were pretty far away. There is no hotel nearby that you can view flows at night. It can be dangerous to hike out there at night since some of the flows are brittle and unstable.

Snorkeling on the Kona Coast is not particularly good. Many places have no beaches, just very rough lava flows. I was not impressed by the undersea life on the Big Island (nothing like the Caribbean.) My spouse disagrees, and liked the snorkeling. Wear strong sun protection on your back.

However, we loved the Big Island. I visited Oahu a couple times and was unimpressed. The BI has mountains, rainforest, waterfalls, volcanoes, coffee plantations, quirky villages, ranches, flora of all kinds, very nice restaurants of all types. It is a very easy and interesting place to visit by car. You can strike out on day trips from your hotel (which is what we did) and can drive around the entire island in a day, if you really want to. I felt it represented the "real" Hawaii.

11 days wow....nice.

Moving from hotel to hotel and flying eats up time, but if you are willing then that is fine.

Might consider doing the north shore stay with visit(s) to Waikiki.

Would spend 2 nights on the Volcano side (either at Volcano, or Hilo (Hilo only 40 minutes away from VNP.) this give you a couple chances to see the lava/volcano ((it does rain in Hawaii...poss. not the time you are going or something else could come up.)). There is plenty to see on that side to fill up 2+ days.

Then do your time at the Orchid.

"Hawaii...it's all good"

Hi Samsaf,

How about spending 2 nights at this place on the BI? Looks gorgeous and unique. It gets great reviews.

http://www.waianuhea.com/index.html

It is near the Waipio Valley so you could explore that area from there.

I'm jealous.

-Bill

Thanks, everybody, for your suggestions. Jamq, that place looks gorgeous! I'm not sure if it's too far away from the volcano, though.

Okay, here's another thought: What about this plan --

4 nights Molokai (never been there -- condo rates are awesome)
then fly to Big Island
2 nights somewhere near volcano
5 nights Fairmont Orchid
--------------------

What do you think about Molokai? Have any of you ever been there?

Thanks very much.

I haven't been there, but search under Molokai as I've seen other posts about it on this board (maybe Frommers also). And there's a lot of info on their website: www.visitmolokai.com

don't you have to fly in thru Oahu?

My snorkeling experience on the BI was totally the opposite of Shorebrau's . We've snorkeled all over the Caribbean and the other Hawaiian islands and found the snorkeling on the BI to be the best ever, with great water clarity. True, the better snorkeling locations are not on good beaches. The nicer beaches are swimming beaches. However, we snorkeled at Kahaluu Beach, south of Kona and saw a great variety of fish and lots of turtles. We also snorkeled at Honaunau (near Place of Refuge) and again, lots of fish and turtles. We also took a snorkeling trip with SeaQuest, which went to Kealakekua Bay. The key to snorkeling from the beach is to go in the AM, as the waters get rougher and cloudier in the PM.
You will do a lot of driving on the BI, but I never got bored on the drives, as it's all so scenic, whether you are on the Hilo (wet and lush) side or the Kona (lava fields) side.

We took a day trip to Molokai from Maui just this past Dec. It was a spur of the moment thing, so I didn't have a chance to do any research on the island. I could have spent another day there, but 4 nights I think would be too long, unless you like very laid-back and remote.

We been to the Islands 9 times, and usually spend a week on Maui and a week on the BI, plus a day or two in Honolulu.

A couple of our favorite memories of the BI was a kayak trip across Kealakekua bay, and viewing the wild dolphins, very up close and personal. As instructed by the kayak rental shop personnel, we just kayaked to the middle of the bay and sat and waited. As if on que, the dolphins, particularly Spinners came right up to the kayak. Close enough to get decent pictures with a disposable underwater camera. Just an amazing sight. There is plenty of other sea life as well particularly near Cook's monument.

Also, a drive up Mauna Kea, to see the sunset from 14,000 feet followed by stargazing at the visitor center at 9,000 feet. They set up very powerful telescopes and you can see things in the cosmos that you cannot even imagine.

And the list goes on.

Thanks so much for all the replies. Part of the fun for me is deciding exactly where to go, what to do, etc., but I think I'm driving my husband crazy with all my different plans!

Here's what we discussed this morning:

4 nights Molokai (we think we'd like the very laid back atmosphere)
2 nights near volcano
5 nights at Fairmont Orchid (to be pampered at the end of the trip)

What do you think?

Sounds great, but I'm way too frugal to pay that much for a room. For two nights worth I could have a condo for a week for my family. But you want to be pampered so you'll get it there. Don't miss Hapuna Beach. Our absolute favorite for boogie boarding and sunset when we were there last February.

Well, that's one reason why we're thinking about staying 5 nights instead of 7 at the Fairmont -- we'd be paying for 4 nights with 1 free. We've never spent that much before, either, but we're really wanting something special for the last few nights. I am going to still look at other options, though.

Thanks very much.

Hi Samsaf: I have never been to Molokai, but having read many threads on this site and others, I'd be reluctant to stay there for four days. Because of its remoteness and lack of activities, you may find that two days would be enough. JMHO. Do a search on this board and check out Tripadvisor for info as well. Good luck.

Samsaf, I have researched Molokai, but haven't visited there. Have visited the four major islands five times, though. I think more than two nights on Molokai would be too many for me! I would spend two nights at Volcano Village at Kilauea Lodge, then the rest of the time at Fairmont Orchid or most of it there, plus a couple of nights on Oahu. But then, I'm one of those people who doesn't mind switching hotels/islands ... love to fly interisland as the views are beautiful! Do splurge at the Fairmont, if you really want to be pampered. (I splurge more in Hawaii than at any other destination! )

Happy planning!

I'm still guessing you'll need to arrive and depart from Oahu, that means you might need a night or two there? one at each end of your trip?

We're using frequent flier miles from Atlanta to Honolulu (that's the reason we're able to splurge at the Fairmont), but we really don't need to spend a night on Oahu at the beginning or the end.

I've checked flights, and we'd be able to fly into Honolulu, and then fly to Molokai that same day (we've done that a couple of times when flying to Kauai).

Our return flight from Honolulu to Atlanta is at about 6 p.m., so we'd have time that morning to fly from the Big Island to Honolulu.

The discussion at our house goes on...

thanks for clearing that up, in your situation no need to leave the Honolulu airport sounds like.