Hawaii

I know many have been so tell me, what are the good islands to go to? We want to go for a week next year (May), but we actually have to plan now. I don't want to island hop a lot and could careless about Waikiki. I definitely want to go to Pearl Harbor so where should we be looking?

Re: Hawaii

We did 6 nights in the Maui Four Seasons and 6 nights in Lanai Four Seasons. We then spent the day in Waikiki so we could see Pearl Harbor before we departed back to NY. I would really think about going for longer than a week. The flight is really long! I have traveled a lot of places and while I liked Hawaii, it really didn't compare to other places I have been.

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i agree about trying to go for more than a week... the flight there is long and with the time difference, the first day or so you feel a little out of it from jet lag. plus, even if you just go from one island to another, you loose almost 1/2 a day on the interisland flights.
we went last summer for 10 days- we stayed 5 days on the big island, and 5 days on Kauai. we loved both islands. we're not into the really touristy/city areas, so we knew waikiki would be out... the big island was fun. theres volcanos national park which was very cool, and the kona coffee farms are there which you can tour. it was a lot of driving though because its the biggest island.... we basicaly just got a guidebook and spent everyday driving around, exploring the island.
kauai is absolutely beautiful! not built up or touristy.... just a neat place to relax. it looks more like what you think of when you think of hawaii. we did a cruise on the na pali coast, hiked in the waimea canyon.. and again just drove around exploring.

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We went to Kauai, Big Island, and Maui.

We loved Maui - it has something for everyone. If you def want Pearl Harbor, then you have to go go Oahu.

We were only in the Big Island 2 days, but if we ever do it again, we will probably stay on the big island for a week at one of the big resorts (Hyatt or Marriott) and go back to Maui for a week.

It depends on what you want to do and what you want to see - if you give us some more ideas, we could help you more.

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I can only comment on Maui and Kauaii because that is where we went. IMO Maui has something for everyone - it is beautiful and your visit there can be as upbeat or quiet as you want. I found Kauaii to be much more quiet but stunningly beautiful. There is so much natural beauty to see there during the day but pretty much zilch else to do and definitely nothing at night. HTH

Re: Hawaii

Unfortunately it will only be for a week so that's what we're limited to. I know we can do day trips to other islands so we'll consider that. My cousin told me that Waikiki is toursity so we could careless about that. We want to be able to relax on the beach and do activities like kayaking, surfing, snorkeling etc.

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we went to Kauai and Maui for our HM.
we loved kauai!

Re: Hawaii

I would probably pick Maui if you are only going for a week and don't really want to island hop. We went there and Kauai on our honeymoon and loved them both.

A week is tough in Hawaii since it is such a long trip. Maybe if you could fly into or out of Oahu so you can do Pearl Harbor then.

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I would agree Maui if you only have 1 week.

Kauai is beautiful - a lot of nature, but less restaurants, tours, activities, etc. More of a place to just go and relax. It is the "newest" of the islands so its beaches are a little smaller - still amazing though.

Big Island - oldest island and therefore very very nice beaches, fun for volcano and has a lot of other things to do. But largest island so there is a lot of driving.

Maui - best of all worlds - amazing beaches, less driving than big island since its a smaller island. Tons of great restaurants (all prices), and a million activities. There is hiking, snorkeling, kayacking, etc. Also, has a great luau - Old Lahania Luau which I highly recommend. This island has a great "Hawaiian vacation feel"

Oahu - didn't go so can't comment, but it is the busiest island and Honolulu is a big city

Check out this website for tour information, we used it and saved some money. It also gives you an idea of what is available where. http://www.tombarefoot.com/

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I used to live on Kauai and in Waikiki...and you're right...no need to visit there...but the North Shore is amazing

I would DEFINITELY visit Kauai and visit the Big Island. Kona is one of my favorite places ever

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The Pearl Harbor Memorial is on the Island of Oahu.

I went and stayed at The Hilton Hawaiin Village -- LOVED IT!

http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/HNLHVHH-Hilton-Hawaiian-Village-Beach-Resort-Spa-Hawaii/index.do

I really could not rave enough about this hotel -- it was fantastic. That said, we rented a car so we could explore the island. If you're not planning on doing that you may want something on the main strip.