Maui/Big Island tour

almiller78

We would like to go to Maui and the Big Island for our honeymoon for about 9 days.  Any ideas for must see/do for an active couple?  How easy is it to transfer between the islands?

tinydancer842

Pick up the Big Island Revealed & Maui Revealed & just pick out a diff activity each day -- the only things we booked in advance were snorkeling trips, sunset sail & surfing lessons. All you have to do is hop on a plane to get to the other island -- we left around the time we had to check out from the first hotel & arrived in time to check into the next hotel

jemmini6

I was just on the Big Island about a month ago and it's my favorite island so far.  We went to Oahu and Maui last year and I have to say, switching islands isn't that great if you don't have a lot of time (we were only there 6 days), but 9 definitely sounds doable. 

The Big Island and Maui are right next to each other, so it should only be about a 10 min flight.  Security should be a breeze too for inter-island flights.  Although, the planes are smaller, which means their carry-on size is smaller too.  We had to check our carry-on luggage which was $10.

I agree with the "Revealed" books.  Not only is there tips on what to do, but a lot of interesting facts and history about the islands too.  We went mostly for diving, so we booked that in advance and did that for about 4 days.  We took one day to drive around the island (saw Akaka Falls, Hilo, Volcanoes National Park, Punalu'u black sand beach, etc).  I've heard the sunset on Mauna Kea is spectacular, but we just didn't have the time to do it.  Other than that, we went snorkling a few places (Two-Step at Place of Refuge was nice) and walked around the downtown area of Kona (Ali'i Drive).

kaesha

I love the Revealed Books too!

Their website:

http://wizardpub.com

My favourite things on the Big Island:

Big Island Candies (Hilo) - the coconut brownies are INSANE
Hilo Farmer's Market
Mauna Kea Stargzaing Tour (seriously, once in a lifetime activity): http://www.maunakea.com/

Maui:

Kapalua Beach, Honolua Bay (snorkeling)
Maui Eco Tours - Kayaking/Snorkeling
Goofy Foot Surf School (surfing Lahaina)
Roy's (eating)
Sansei (sushi)

calvinknight03

Hello!
I just got back last Friday from my honeymoon in Hawaii. We were there for 10 days and split our time between Maui, Big Island, and Oahu. Each island is different and Maui was my favorite.
As for tours...On Maui, we did the Road to Hana tour with Polynesian Adventures. We didn't care for the tour or the Road to Hana, really. The tour took the whole day. We should have driven it ourselves or not gone at all. We got some neat waterfall pics and other landscape pics though. It was just kind of boring.
We also did a sunset cruise, it was okay. The food was good but the "cruise" didn't go far from land. The sunset was beautiful though.
We also did the Haleakala sunrise tour through Polynesian Adventures. We really liked this one. They drive you up to the summit at 10,000 feet at 3:00 in the morning. It's freezing but the sunrise is gorgeous. After the sunrises, you can wander around and get some great photos of the craters and mountains. This was one of our favorites.
The plane to trip to the Big Island is no big deal. It takes less than an hour.
Our tours on the Big Island consisted of:
A helicopter ride through Paradise Helicopters. This was really fun! The pilot was great. He flys you and five other people around the island, through the valleys, volcanoes, mountains, waterfalls, and over the ocean. It was really cool.
We also took a stargazing tour on the Mauna Kea summit through Hawaii Forest & Trail. This was really cool also! We loved this one! They drive you up to the summit, which is 13,000 feet. It's really cold (they give you jackets and gloves), and it's hard to breathe but the sunset is gorgeous. And then when it gets dark, our tour guide, Derek, took us on a stargazing tour with a large telescope. I've never seen so many stars! It was awesome!
We also took a ride on a submarine through Atlantis Submarines. Really cool. Got to see a shipwreck.
Then we went snorkeling at night for manta rays. We saw three huge ones and they come right up to you. Really Cool. The company was called Fairwind.
We also drove to Volcanoes National Park. We did that on our own. It was neat to go in the lava tubes and see the lava flowing in the volcano.
So that's what we did on those two islands. As you can see, we did a lot of activities. We figured that we probably wouldn't be able to go back so we tried to do as much as we could.
Good luck with your planning! I know you'll have so much fun!!! It was the trip of a lifetime for me! Let me know if you have any questions.

benmel31

Yes, get the "Revealed" books!  They were great and worth it.  I found they were cheapest on amazon.  We went to Ohau and the Big Island.  We stayed in Volcano Village in a gorgeous B&B and spent 3 days exploring the national park and Hilo.  We stayed 4 days in Kona.  

We used our book to explore all over.  We did not do a guided tour to Mauna Kea, but we did drive up ourselves and watch the sunset.  Don't forget your sweatshirts like we did!  It is worth the scary drive up the mountain if you are a confident driver!  We did book some tours.  We did a snorkeling tour with Captain Zodiac.  They were awesome.  We also did ziplining with Big Island Eco Adventures.  I recommend everyone we went through.

Let me know if you have questions!  I planned our entire trip myself and it was amazing.  I got compliments from DH, he couldn't believe how amazing everything was!