Hawaii Island Hopping?

MrsLiggett7

We will be staying on Maui for the entirety of our 7 day honeymoon. Lahaina has a daily ferry from Lahaina to Lanai and Molokai from what I have read but nowhere can I find information on how to get to the other islands. We'd be okay with just exploring Maui, but neither of us has ever been to Hawai and we wouldn't mind seeing some other Hawaiian sites like Pearl Harbor and Kilauea and whatnot.

I know you can take commuter flight from island to island but do you need those tickets in advance? How much does it cost for something like that?

Magdala9

It only took an hour to fly from the Big Island to Maui.  We used Hawaiian air.  While they are very fussy about baggage (allow plenty of time to get your baggage through TSA), the trip itself felt like a commuter train. 

RYLZ

We've been to Hawaii 3 times in the past year alone and are big fans of island-hopping.  However, with only 7 days, and on your first trip there, it might seem hectic.  But if you really want to do it, I would recommend flying into one island (say Maui) then on day 4 taking a flight to Hilo (Big Island), stay there for 3 days then head home out of Hilo airport. If you purchase tickets ahead of time, and also happen to get a sale, we've never paid more than $55 for intra-island flights.

Personally, Molokai is my favorite Hawaiian island but it's not for every everyone.  It's the least commercial and is not really set up as a tourist destination.  We've spent endless days on deserted beaches there and made great local friends but it's not the place to go if you want a resort-type atmosphere.

The Big Island would be a great balance to your first few days on Maui.  Between the volcano, the black sand beaches, horseback riding in ancient valleys, hiking to Papakolea (the green sand beach), soaking in geo-thermal pools and a trip up to the Mauna Kea Observatory, there's no end of stuff to do.  I highly recommend the Bali Cottage (http://www.thebalicottage.com/) at Kehena Beach if you're interested in staying on the Hilo side.  Very affordable, very romantic, comes with a private jacuzzi and you can arrange breakfast served at your cottage.

If big resort is more your style, then I would suggest the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel.

PS  Last time we were there, the ferry was no longer operating between Maui and Molokai.