My parents are watching the kids and I have free tickets to Maui or Honolulu. I want to surprise my huband for his 50th birthday and make up for the honeymoon we missed 6 plus years ago. Romantic - beautiful beach required - quiet - nice but not costin us an arm and a leg. Maybe with a kitchen so we could have breakfast on the lanai? Any suggestions? We are planning on April.

You probably want Maui. Honolulu is more action, more excitement, more things to see and do. Maui is more quiet.

Aloha erinnq,

I'm partial to O'ahu... check out keikibeach.com... north shore... quiet spot, simple, beachfront on one of the most beautiful beaches you can imagine... the shelling here is great... a hammock for every unit, too. Just because you're flying into Honolulu doesn't mean you have to stay there...

O'ahu has some of the most beautiful beaches you'll find, plus a miriad of activities all over the island... a small enough island to explore without making you feel like you've been in the car "forever".

Ke Iki BB units have full kitchens, and is not far from Haleiwa for fun shops, restaurants and of course, shave ice! Surfer atmosphere and very laid back.

You'll need a car for island exploring, and if you do a search for Oahu, you'll find tons of great suggestions from previous posters.

Happy planning and Mele Kalikimaka!

BTW erinnq,

If you are more specific in your title as to where you are inquiring about, ie. (Honolulu or Maui?) you may get more responses... just a suggestion.

Maui would be my choice between these two. Have you considered Kauai as well?

Maui is definetely the one. You can get good price for hotels/resorts through Priceline. Check www.biddingfortravel.com first.

I'd choose Maui as well. We are going to Oahu next year so I can't comment yet!! We stayed on Kaanapali Beach at Aston Kaanapali Villas, and it was great!!

What a nice surprise. When are you going?
Go to Oahu. Rent a cottage/rental on the North Shore or in the Lanikai/Kailua Beach area. You can drive into Honolulu and visit and have a romantic dinner at the Halekulani.
-Bill

Bill and makai1-

Yes! This sounds great! My husband just suggested cottage/beach bungalow - can anyone recommend any? Or web sites? North shore or the other two you mentioned...drives to different beaches and Honolulu for excitement maybe once or twice...Thank YOU! PS Great beach is number one!

Aloha erinnq,

We love the beach at Ke Iki for the shelling... actually it is one 7 mile long stretch of beach that includes Ke Iki, Pipeline, Sunset and many more names that I'm uneducated about...

For home & cottage rentals try www.sandsea.com and teamrealestate.com

I always google search an area for lodging, so you just need to find something that looks good to you.

Purchase the book by Richard Sullivan,
"Driving and Discovering Hawaii, O'ahu"... it has a wealth of information, beautiful photos, great maps... it will get your taste buds going, and it helps you to determine some of the things you'd like to do.

How fun!! Happy planning

ps. Thought you might like to read our trip report about O'ahu... they're fun to read when you're planning... it's long... just to warn you http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...1&tid=34492836

erinnq,
Here are a couple of links for places to stay on Oahu.
http://www.lanikaibb.com/
http://www.idealvacationrentals.com/oahu.htm
http://www.cyberrentals.com/HI/BlackOAHU.html
http://www.hawaiianbeachrentals.com/...y109.htm#image
Happy Planning.
-Bill

erinq,
Noticed you other posts on the Europe, Caribbean and Latin American boards. Have you decided on a location?
-Bill

Bill -
I am still torn between Oahu North shore and Italy. Diverse. I'm a Gemini. My husband is leaning toward Hawaii because the exchange rate is so poor in Europe right now. He also keeps talking about Swept Away on 7 mile beach in Negril. We went there for 3 days the spring before we got married and loved it. I guess it his birthday so he gets to decide...

PS Can you suggest any specific cottage/rentals on the North Shore? thx.

Go to www.hawaii4less for great condo/car bargains. We usually stay in Honokowai/Kahana area as most are older condos-oceanfront. We usually take our bottle of wine and watch the sunset at Napili Kai resort.

erinq,
Diverse is good!
I found those links in doing research for a future trip and have not stayed at any of them yet.
Have fun deciding.
-Bill