Hawaii - Talk to me like I'm 5

emeejeeayen · October 2012

I spend all of my vacation time traveling back to San Francisco from the east coast to visit my mom, so I have traveled to other places very little. Given that, can someone give me a rundown of Hawaii options? My FI and I are thinking about it for our honeymoon, but we know very little about the different islands. I'd like to have opportunities to take gorgeous photos, so I would be into light hiking. FI would like to not have to leave the hotel if we don't have to (so restaurant on site, I guess?). We would probably go for 6 nights leaving from SF.

Thanks!!

Summer2011Bride · October 2012

I would try GoHawaii.com. That's the site we used to decide the island we wanted to visit. We did Oahu and loved it but we wanted a mixture of relaxation, outdoor activities, shopping and nightlife. If you stay in the Waikiki area it is busy and like a city, but we found it the best mix of both worlds. There's also the option of visiting two islands on your trip (though not sure if you'd want to do that only staying 6 nights).

if you want more info on Oahu, let me know. i don't know a ton about the other islands but I have heard time and time again that Kauai is amazing.

fallbride1109 · October 2012

We did Maui and we loved it. We thought it was a nice mix of beauty and relaxation but still with things to do. We stayed at the Ritz Carlton which was very secluded and had great restaurants both onsite and within walking distance. I have pics in my bio.

anssett · October 2012

Are there other activities you know you want? The Big Island has the active volcano. It's the biggest and has a lot of diversity. Maui is plenty big and has amazing hiking/snorkeling/diving/beaches/etc. Kauai is more intimate and secluded (from what I've heard. Haven't been ther). I did a trip to Maui but was a bit sad flying to the volcano was such an expensive time suck we didn't do it. Next time.

Reading up on the specifics of each island will help you pick. Good luck. I'm sure it'll be great.

Summer2011Bride · October 2012

Yeah I ditto the Revealed books--forgot to mention those. They are excellent!

Other online sources I used were Trip Advisor (check out the forums for the islands because often times locals or repeat travelers will post on them with invaluable advice. I can't tell you how helpful they were to us as we planned a CA trip last summer), Fodor's and Frommer's. All good guides and some have websites as well.

emeejeeayen · October 2012

I'm really not even sure what we'd want to do. My FI can get into moods where he just wants to sit in the hotel room and do nothing, so that would be a total waste in Hawaii. He does LOVE water, so I'm hoping there's no way for him to dislike it. Snorkeling sounds interesting, but I'm not even sure what's involved. I'm not sure I'm into volcano visits. We definitely don't care about nightlife. The GoHawaii website is great! Thanks all!

hz80408 · November 2012

I agree with your 2nd post OP; if your FI wouldn't want to leave the room, then why spend all of the money to go to HI? You're better off going to an all-inclusive in Mexico.

emeejeeayen · November 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_hawaii-talk-to-me-like-im-5?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:cf7c0f93-1318-49e2-bac9-daca2b8e33a9Post:d4e62f85-8226-4cee-a2cb-4b28b68e6abe">Re: Hawaii - Talk to me like I'm 5</a>:
[QUOTE]I agree with your 2nd post OP; if your FI wouldn't want to leave the room, then why spend all of the money to go to HI? You're better off going to an all-inclusive in Mexico.
Posted by hz80408[/QUOTE]

<div>Hahaha, I would never get him to Mexico. </div>

emeejeeayen · November 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_hawaii-talk-to-me-like-im-5?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:cf7c0f93-1318-49e2-bac9-daca2b8e33a9Post:1e02b5af-07a2-4445-aa9e-c2bb01822ba3">Re: Hawaii - Talk to me like I'm 5</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Hawaii - Talk to me like I'm 5 : My FI is saying this, but i know we both would go crazy after not doing anything for too long. Maybe an AI in the Caribbean if your FI doesn't want Mexico? I'm not a Mexico fan either, so i get that.
Posted by laurelrenee1[/QUOTE]

<div>His ideal is Bora Bora because apparently in an alternate universe we are incredibly wealthy. </div>

anssett · November 2012

If you REALLY just want to stay in a hotel or on the beach, have you considered Southern CA? It's close, cheap flights, MUCH less cost overall, and still beautiful.

emeejeeayen · November 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_hawaii-talk-to-me-like-im-5?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:cf7c0f93-1318-49e2-bac9-daca2b8e33a9Post:8165e720-74dc-44b0-919b-c1d06b96f19f">Re: Hawaii - Talk to me like I'm 5</a>:
[QUOTE]If you REALLY just want to stay in a hotel or on the beach, have you considered Southern CA? It's close, cheap flights, MUCH less cost overall, and still beautiful.
Posted by anssett[/QUOTE]

<div>I think if we were to do that we would just spend a week in Napa or something. Which we might do and then do a more ~tropical "honeymoon" later on. </div>

mcda04 · November 2012

We went to Oahu for our "honeymoon" i call it a family trip since we took our two kids. Because we were taking small children we chose Oahu. We stayed at the Aston Waiki Beach which is literally across the street from the beach. It was awesome since they have a bar and grill at the hotel. I do recommend renting a car though since waiting for the shuttles seemed to be chaotic. We went to north shore, pearl harbor, museum, hanauma bay, lots of walking and sightseeing. We got to swim with HUGE turtles at Hanauma bay. Oh Waimea Bay is beautiful. lots of flowers and gardens. The last few days there, we took our kids to the zoo and sealife park. Very small, nothing compared to our local San Diego parks but they were still really nice. Oh and you have to go to a Luau.

mcda04 · November 2012

oh and let me add that we purchased our tickets through Priceline and got a MAJOR deal. like less than $700 per person for room and RT airfare.

AllyV14 · November 2012

I've been going to Hawaii constantly for my whole life because my grandmother adores it.

The big island offers the best snorkeling. The water is super clear. The Hilton Wiakoloa Village is the most incredible resort, with their own snorkeling lagoon. There might be a honeymoon package that you could afford. If not, it's not the only place on the island.

Kauai is my personal favorite. It's very quiet. There's a building law that prevents anything over 3 or 4 stories or so to be built, so no matter where you are on the island it offers a beautiful view. Kauai has great hiking to, but it's the rainiest island. Be prepared to get at least a light drizzle most days.

Maui has a little bit of everything. You'll cover all your bases there.

Ohau is my personal least favorite, because it feels so much like a city. The snorkeling is cloudy, and that's one of my favorite activities.

No matter where you go, get on a snorkeling "cruise." They'll take you out away from all the people and the beaches. You'll get the clearest snorkeling ever, because there's so much less people to kick up the sand. They'll probably take you to a part that's actually too deep to stand. Take an underwater camera on this trip, you won't regret it. The whole trip would be a couple hours, and some even include a meal.

And go hiking in the rainforests.

Hope you enjoy your trip!!

GossamerBride10 · November 2012

I took a cruise to Hawaii when I was a bit younger and there were tons of couples celebrating their honeymoon! It's a great way to explore more than one island, and you can sign up for tons of fun excursions. I saw a botanical garden and went on a crazy impromptu hike through some incredible scenery, snorkeled off the big island, enjoyed kona coffee and learned how it's made, etc. Plus, there's such a sense of community built on the ship, you can have tons of fun there, too- particularly at the bar!

Kmueller272 · November 2012

We went to Big Island and Maui in June for the first time and here's my takeway. Big Island involves a lot of driving if you want to get out of the hotel. We completely underestimated how big the island actually is. We spent 5 nights on Big Island and 4 nights on Maui and in hindsight now I would've done one or the other to fully enjoy them. Big Island is also fairly "mars landscape" for a lot of the island (northwest to southeast" which can be really dull driving around in once you've gotten over the "OMG it's cold lava" factor.

Maui was great and everything is much closer, so I would recommend that for a shorter trip. Big Island was great but the driving was a bit annoying.
Next time we go I want to go to Kauai as it's the most "untouched" of the bigger islands.

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