Hawaii Honeymoon help - Islands/Spots/To Dos?

Ladeda123

Hi, 

My fiance and I are thinking of a honeymoon in Hawaii this January. We are looking to do about ten days, possibly more. People have recommended Kauai and Maui are the two islands for us to visit. I would love for people's feedback on what areas/hotels to stay at (adult only preferred), how long you think we should spend on each island, restaurants/bars ,must sees/must dos.  Do you think those are the two best islands?

Thanks!!

redheadbride15

We're planning on Hawaii too! The best island to visit really depends on what your interests are. Do you want to sit on a beach? stay at a 5 star all-inclusive resort? go surfing? hiking? snorkeling? see an active volcano? want nightlife?

We're going to Kauai and the Big Island, mostly for hiking/backpacking, volcanoes, and fewer people.

daria24

My two favorite islands are Kauai and the Big Island, I think there's more variation between those two islands that Kauai/Maui. Plus if you go to the Big Island you can see an active volcano. 

Resorts in Hawaii really aren't adult-only. Some have adult-only pool areas. If you really want to have no kids around, you'll have to stay at a b&b/guest house-many will not allow children until 13. 

Must-Dos on Kauai:

-Boat tour of the Napali coast-most stop for snorkeling at some point

-Hike the first two miles of the Napali coast-it's not too strenuous (but does depend on recent rainfall, if it's been heavy, the going will be tougher)

-Waimea canyon is beautiful but it is close to the wettest spot on earth-so visibility may be poor. 

-Over 3/4 of Kauai is inaccessible on foot/car-the only way to see it is from the air! So a helicopter tour would be amazing. I didn't get to do it because my H is too afraid. 

We stayed in Waimea, which is on the west side where NO ONE stays. It was great because it was very peaceful, but it was inconvenient. There aren't a lot of restaurants and getting to the North Shore takes a while. I think Poipu, which is the southern end, is nice because there are still a lot of amenities without being as touristy as the North Shore. The North Shore does have the best beaches. BUT it depends on the time of year-in the winter the North Shore is pretty much unswimmable because the waves come in. The south shore is always calm, barring tropical storms. 

Must-Dos on Maui

-Road to Hana-we left at 6am from Kaanapali-it's a beast to get up that early but it is worth it to have the road to yourself, plus the pull off areas are empty. Get the Hawaii Revealed books to see which spots are best. We drove around the south end of the island, rather than turning around. Best decision ever

-Haleakala-we went for sunset instead of sunrise. Hike at least part of the Sliding Sands trail-it's like no other place on earth. 

-Rent snorkeling equipment for your entire stay, it's about $25-30 and there are so many great snorkeling places right off the beach. Any time you hit the beach, bring it with you! The best is at the black rock on Kaanapali.

-the Old Lahaina Luau is as close to an authentic Hawaiian cultural experience that you will get-most other luaus include fire knife and other non-Hawaiian traditions. The dancing and music is 100% Hawaiian. 

I don't recommend staying in Kaanapali. It's not my cup of tea, I would rather have stayed in South Maui around Kihei. It's less crowded & touristy, while still having the amenities and great beaches you want. Kaanapali does have a great beach though. 

CMGragain

redheadbride15 said:

We're planning on Hawaii too! The best island to visit really depends on what your interests are. Do you want to sit on a beach? stay at a 5 star all-inclusive resort? go surfing? hiking? snorkeling? see an active volcano? want nightlife?

We're going to Kauai and the Big Island, mostly for hiking/backpacking, volcanoes, and fewer people.

Sorry, but there are no all-inclusive resorts in Hawaii or anywhere else in the USA. 

You might consider the Norwegian cruise that takes you to all the main islands.

redheadbride15

Haha, I don't even know what an "all-inclusive resort" really means, as I've never considered staying at one. I was just striking up discussion. Personally, I'm more of a tent/cabin/cheap motel room kinda gal.

JoanE2012

redheadbride15 said:

Haha, I don't even know what an "all-inclusive resort" really means, as I've never considered staying at one. I was just striking up discussion. Personally, I'm more of a tent/cabin/cheap motel room kinda gal.

An all inclusive means that generally everything on the resort is included....room, food, drinks, some activities.

Each of the Hawaiiian islands is different....you'll need to read up on each to see which suits you best.  We just went to Hawaii last month.  We stayed one full day in Oahu (really just to see Pearl Harbor).  We'd never go back there again....we didn't care for it.

We loved Maui.  We stayed in Kaanapali (I know @daria24 didn't recommend it), but we really enjoyed it!  We loved walking down to Whaler's Village for dinner a couple times and browsing the shops, and Lahaina was only a few minutes drive away.  In fairness, we didn't really research other areas enough, so perhaps we would've enjoyed other parts.

We can't wait to go back again (hopefully soon!) and this time split our time between Kauai and the Big Island.

CMGragain

NOTHING is cheap in Hawaii!!!!  What is your budget?

Ladeda123

THank you so much for the great information.

daria24 what would you suggest for Big Island activities? 

Coming from NY, what do you suggest would be best travel path? Where to fly into and which islands to do first?

We were looking for really nice comfortable hotel by the water/nice pool since I know there will be days we don't feel like doing much besides having a drink by the water

CMGragain

That is going to be a very long flight!  You should fly into Honalulu, and take a small plane to the islands of your choice.  You might want to spend the night/day in Honalulu in a budget hotel before going on to your vacation spot.

jenna8984

I was just looking into going, I ended up booking Europe instead. But my travel agent (my mom lol) had put together a package that flew from Boston to Phoenix to Kauai. It was 6 hours then 6 hours so I actually don't find that too terrible of a flight at all. And you don't have to connect through Honolulu. She had told me that Honolulu is definitely a city, so you wouldn't get the "relaxing" secluded beach atmosphere there. If you're looking more for that, then you'd want Kauai or Maui. By the way, that package she had for me included a rental car and 6 nights hotel for $2,900 which I think is very reasonable. 

marionp17

We are going to Kauai and Maui for our honeymoon in January.  We are flying direct NYC JFK to Honolulu with Hawaiian Airlines then from Honolulu to Maui (and later Kauai to Maui, and then the flight home Kauai to Honolulu to NYC - again direct).  We used hotwire to book our hotel in Maui.  Then we are going to Kauai and have got a Hyatt card so we have two free nights to stay at the Hyatt and have been collecting points - the Hyatt there looks awesome and is supposed to have a great beach.  I did a lot of research/asking around and it seems like these are the two islands people said were their favorites.  We are doing snorkeling, a helicopter ride, ziplining, the Road to Hana, a luai in Maui and Nepali Coast in Kauai (as well as massages and a lot of beach time!).  Hope this helps!

Ladeda123

thank you all for all the tips.... @marionp17   thats our route too! we were thinking of kauai first...any specific reason you did maui first?  

daria24

We flew direct from JFK to Honolulu, and then from Honolulu to Kauai. The planes are actually full sized. Yes the direct flight was long, but a layover in LA just means more time you spend traveling. I wanted to get it over with.

We flew to Kauai first because it's the smallest of the major islands, so there's less driving to do. And as laid back as Hawaii is in general, Kauai is the most laid back! We didn't stay at the Hyatt there, but the location is awesome and the beach is good (though at certain times of the year/day the sand basically disappears, the water goes right up to the vegetation line).

On the Big Island there is sooooo much to do. There's Kilauea, which is the active volcano. So, depending on the flow, you can see lava, sometimes very close (when we were there we could only see the caldera at night, but other times you can basically walk right up to the flow). There are so many incredible beaches that are off the beaten path-one of only 2 green sand beaches in the world. Plus about 6 black sand beaches. Waipio Valley has incredible scenery-you can hike it or take an ATV. The air tour of the north coast is stunning-so many thousand foot plus water falls. Also the Big Island has the clearest water for snorkeling-the Captain Cook monument is the main spot. We took a Zodiac tour that took us to Captain Cook, plus two other spots. The Big Island, to me, is a very active/adventure location. If you want to relax, it might not be the best spot because you will want to check so many things out.

atlastmrsg

I love the Kahala if you end up on Oahu.  Really quiet, simple elegance with amazing lunch/brunch each day.  If you go out driving, surfing, or just to lay out at Kailua, they can pack up a lunch.  

As much as I like surfing and hanging out on Oahu, I've heard Maui is a lot more honeymoon-like.  When I'm there, it's to see friends on base, not to get as much quiet time.  Although winter surfing on the north shore is quite fun if you're into an active honeymoon!  You can climb Diamond Head in the morning, then surf all afternoon.  So there are things to do on Oahu, other than historical things, if you do end up there for part of your trip.

Eat lots of poke, too.

OliveOilsMom

H & I are going to Big Island, Maui, and Kauai in 3 weeks!  We are starting in Maui, then doing Big Island, and Kauai.  We are doing that route because that is when our timeshare had dates available for us to stay.  We are flying from Philly to Seattle, having an over night layover, then going to Maui in the morning. 

Of the 3, we have never been to the Big Island and are very much looking forward to it!  This is some of the things we have planned:
Maui - Road to Hana (yes, drive all the way around!), sunrise at Haleakala, drive around the West Maui mountains, and downtown Lahaina.

Kauai - Tubing Adventure from Kauai Outback Adventures, Captain Andy's dinner cruise, Waimea Canyon drive, a luau, and chocolate tour at Steelgrass farms.

As PP said, rent snorkeling equipment for the week.  Snorkel Bob's allowed you to take your rental equipment to other islands and return it where ever you are before you go back to the main land.  Have shaved ice where ever you can!  Make sure you try some of the tropical flavors too. 

dolewhipper

Fi and I are doing Big Island in March. Our flights are from Miami to Pheonix to Kona. Just a little over 13 hours total.

We chose BI because I had already gone to Oahu and Kauai and Fi wanted to go somewhere I haven't been as well as see the lava (he's like a kid in the candy store with the lava thing). I feel like BI has a great balance of nature and city, and will be cheaper than Maui. They have the whale watching and night manta ray snorkel. We only have 7 days so figured staying on the one island and getting a good feel for it would be better than breaking up the trip.