Honeymoon on Oahu and the Main Island

lizm336

I finally narrowed it down to two islands, we're going to stay on the Big Island for a few days and then Oahu for a few more. I even figured out some activities that we might want to do, but I'm having a hard time figuring out where to start looking for hotels. We aren't sure what parts of the islands would be good.

Can someone who is familiar with these islands help me figure out what part of the islands to stay on based on what activities we might do?

For the Big Island we'll probably go to the Volcanoes National Park, Akaka Falls, explore Kailua Village and Hilo, Volcano Winery, Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantaion and the Macadamia Nut Factory.

When we're on Oahu I thought we would go to the Polynesian Cultural Center, explore downtown Honolulu, Waikiki, the North Shore, and Halw'iwa, go to Nu'uanu Pali lookout, Diamond Head, snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, Art Museum/Shangri La, and Pearl Harbor. Any suggestions for a luau besides the Polynesian Cultural Center, it looks pricey but I've heard good things.

Will we need to rent a car to get around or will the bus be able to get us to most of these places?

Any hotel suggestions would be great too! FI pictures us laying a private cabana on the beach relaxing, do hotels offer that

dianab0237

For Oahu they have circle van tours that can take you on a day trip around the island, visiting some neat spots in about 8 hours. I know the PCC has a huge bus that will pick you up at/near your hotel and they tour guides on the busses are pretty cool. They keep you entertained during the trip with trivia, facts and even teach you hula. We did a day trip to the PCC including the dinner and luau and it was awesome. I would def. recommend it as part of your itinerary. You could also rent a car if you don't want to be on anyone else's schedule, but I think the busses were fine plus they are usually included in the ticket price anyway.

For hotels in Oahu, it depends on what part of the island you want to stay. The Hilton Hawaiian Village is a nice Waikiki Hotel. The Kahala Resort is beautiful and sits on the south shore which offers a little more privacy than Waikiki but is only about a 20 min. drive to the city. Turtle Bay on the North Shore is even more private, but it's about an hour away from the city.

kaesha

On the Big Island, do a stargazing tour up Mauna Kea. Seriously, the experience has been one of the highlights of my life!

http://maunakea.com

sharkbitemiller

I know that you'll get a ton of responses but I'll give you my 2 cents (for what they are worth) considering as I visit both islands at least every year. I have done the hotel thing but then I discovered www.vrbo.com. Seriously....check them out! Considering that I feel like I'm a "local by heart", I tend to stay away from Waikiki. My best stay so far (in Oahu) has been renting out a little private residence (through VRBO) that was literally on Sunset Beach. It was not a 4 star resort by all means but the fact that I didn't feel like a tourist and we were literally 10 yards from the beach was all worth it! Personally, I would rent a car rather than taking a tour bus. You can drive the whole island (without stopping) in about 2 hours, which I would recommend doing. And I would have to agree with the PP...PCC has a pretty good luau.

On the Big Island, my parents own a timeshare and we have stayed at a few places. My favorite would be Kona Coast Resort. You can also check out the Hilton in Waikola Village, which is awesome but pricey. Again. I would check out VRBO. You'll also need a car for the Big Island as it's not as "touristy" as Oahu. You'll enjoy the volcano and the winery however the winery isn't a huge attraction. I did come home with 6 bottles of wine The drive to Kailua-Kona to the volcano will take you about 2 hours. Make sure that you dress in layers and wear good walking shoes if you decide to hike down to where the lava flows into the ocean. If you would like to do a luau on the BI, I would suggest the Royal Kona luau.

I hope this helps some.

erynhopekb

I live on Oahu and I'm just going to offer a little advice for snorkling. Hanauma Bay is really nice during high tide, but really shallow the rest of the time. Sadly, it's very crowded and closed for a week every month. 8 days after the full moon the jellyfish swarm this area and it is not safe to go in the water. Personal opinion, I prefer the snorkling at Kailua Bay. The southern streaches of the beach are much less crowded and you will often see turtles there. Instead of a streach of reef, this area hosts "knobs" of coral that are easy to swim between. Electric Beach is also a great area to snorkle in. This area is better reached by boat though and there are several companies that offer snorkling tours to this site. Agian this is a deeper area so you don't feel like you're dragging on the reef. I have photos from Electic Beach that I can post when I get home tonight.

sharkbitemiller

Oh...another good place to snorkle in Oahu is Shark's Cove. Don't let the name fool you. I went scuba diving there and LOVED IT!

jmteter

We were married on the Big Island in January - our reception was at the Royal Kona and my 2 BM's stayed there and LOVED their rooms and the service.  DH & I had a room there for the wedding night and it was fabulous.  The luau was good (would have been better if it hadn't been moved inside for wind...) - the food at the luau was superb.
You will DEFINITELY need a car on the Big Island.  The volcano park is a good day's trip from the Kona side - the island really is "big".  We visited the Hawaiian Vanilla Company while there - had a tasting lunch and got a short tour of the vanilla "plantation".  Really cool experience.  I wish we had time to tour the Parker Ranch - that northern part of the island is amazingly beautiful.  Also really wanted to do the Mauna Kea stargazing but just didn't have time...
Oahu, you will probably want a car as well, unless you just plan to stay in the Honolulu/Waikiki areas. 
I'm a little late to join in your conversation so hopefully you'll see this.  If you have any questions or want more information, send me an e-mail - jmteter@yahoo.com