Which Islands to Visit? - 1st time to HI (incl.kids!)
 

Hi all

I'm sure threes like this have been posted before, but seeking insight/recommendations on which islands to visit for a first-time visit to HI. Family of 4, 2 kids (will be 8 and 4 - almost 5) at the time of travel August 2026. Envisioning 2 weeks, and plan to stay about a week on each of 2 islands.

We are coming from BOS. We are used to living in an urban atmosphere. Being close to things like activities and food is a consideration, but I am wondering if Oahu will be too urban to feel like a trip away from the norm.

We enjoy the finer things in life (good restaurants, beaches, some amount of luxury - within reason), but also really enjoy and appreciate nature and geology. Volcanoes, waterfalls, gardens, and black sand beaches are of particular interest. Reasonable hikes (considering the 4-5 year old.)

That's a jumping off point, I really hope to hear your experience and thoughts! Thanks in advance.

-AFRDRX

Which islands to visit? - 1st time to HI
 

Hello! I am planning my first trip to HI for my family of 4 (including 2 kids - 4 and 8 years old at the time of travel) for August 2026. Hoping to hear insight about which islands to visit. Coming from BOS and planning to visit 2 islands for 1-week each.

We live in an urban environment so wondering if Oahu may not feel different enough for us? That being said, having things close by like restaurants, coffee shops, activities, groceries etc is helpful.

We enjoy "the finer things in life" as well as nature, geology, etc. In addition to opportunities to relax in the beauty of HI, particular interests for our trip include beaches (including black sand), waterfalls, volcanoes, gardens/forests, or other sites of interest.

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

Welcome to the Fodors forums. Your two threads were merged.

Kauai is nicknamed the Garden Isle. It has lush tropical rainforests and cascading waterfalls. You can kayak the Wailua River, snorkel on Poipu Beach, hike the trails of Kokee State Park, or go ziplining above Kauai's lush valleys. It's where the classic film South Pacific (Bali Hai) was filmed.

I especially like the Big Island which is actually as big as the state of Connecticut because of the different climate areas and types of geography. One of the things about many of the islands except for the area around Honolulu is that there are two lane roads because of the volcanos and so it takes a fair amount of time to get anywhere. For the big island, I might recommend the Hilton Waikuloa as lovely property with much to do onsite and easy to get around to various destinations.

I enjoyed Oahu when I was there especially for the visit to Pearl Harbor which is so memorable and so moving. It might be a lot for the ages of your kids though. It's been awhile since I was there but I didn't have a feeling of Honolulu as an overpowering big city. One thing about Hawaii is that even small strip malls are beautifully fragrant and flowered.

Maui: beauty, great beaches, easy sandy walk-in snorkling, lots of areas with urban feel

Oahu: also beauty with a main city, lots of pedestrian stuff

Big Island: I would hesitate because of the iffy beaches, with young children, it's nice and green around Hilo but lots of industry and homelessness in this town also.

IMO: lots of crappy strip malls all over the state, I wouldn't idealize them as having special perks like flowers and nice smells except in the most resorty places

Rainy season in the winter affects choice of side of island. Personally I wouldn't trek all the way from the East Coast for a tropical beach, it's a lot farther than say Europe and the Caribbean and Mexico are close.

Adding to above: I have no resort experience so maybe the Big Island has a few with nice sandy bottomed beaches without rocks in/under the water close to shore (I'm skeptical).

I sat today next to a 60+ couple who had been only to the Big Island and loved it (they drove all the way around, every day! It's most of a day to drive around it). They thought that the back to back 5-1/2 hour flights were worth it, they were flying to DC from Kona connecting in Seattle.

A note: I resigned myself to having the eastbound Pacific crossing being overnight with all the unpleasantness that entails, especially for you with children. There didn't seem to be any daytime options that connected to flights east of the west coast. But there is an 8am Southwest flight Maui to Phoenix that could have gotten at least me home on 2 day flights, arriving 10:40 PM. There may be an option that works for you.

I would choose Maui - take a look at Napili Kai an extraordinary property.
I would also choose Kauai

and tom mn We are from Boston and have done the journey over two dozen times.

We did a Maui/Kauai years ago in our late 30's and thought that was a good combo/contrast. Based on your post, I'd think you would favor Maui (as we did).

Not sure if this is an option but the last time we went to Maui, we broke the trip up by spending the weekend in San Francisco as it also happened to be our anniversary. Picture perfect weather, nice meals but not sure I would want to do SF with young kids. It worked well for us - afternoon flight to San Francisco on a Friday afternoon, two full days in SF and Monday morning flight home to NY. Since then, Jet Blue has direct service between NY and Honolulu so if/when we go again, would likely do that. Last time we flew home from the Big Island, our red-eye departure was delayed and only made our connecting flight in SF by running through the airport.

we are staying on Kauia for the 3rd time -this time with 4 children and 7 adult s. We always find plenty to do there-lovely Beaches , tubing , sailing the coast, watching the turtles beaching and much more-So much to do