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New Jersey
kellybee83
member
Hawaiian Honeymoon
in New Jersey
Has anyone went or is anyone going to Hawaii on their honeymoon? I posted on the honeymoon board, but I wanted to post here since you ladies have been so helpful so far!
FI and I are pretty sure we're going to Hawii for our honeymoon. (Tahiti/Bora Bora and Fiji are other other places we've been considering) We're planning on going to two islands, and doing a week at each. Good friends of ours went to three islands and said it was too much. For me the drawback about Hawaii is because there are too many islands to choose from! Right now we're thinking Maui and either Kauai or Kona(on the big island). We've heard negative things about both Honolulu and Waikiki, so I think we're eliminating Oahu (even though I'm a dork and love history/was a political science major so I would really like to go to Pearl Harbor). We were pretty set on Maui, but FI's good friend said one of their other friends didn't like it, so he just emailed her to ask why. We definitely want to relax (good beaches!), but would also like great restaurants, and a little nightlife.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
FI and I are pretty sure we're going to Hawii for our honeymoon. (Tahiti/Bora Bora and Fiji are other other places we've been considering) We're planning on going to two islands, and doing a week at each. Good friends of ours went to three islands and said it was too much. For me the drawback about Hawaii is because there are too many islands to choose from! Right now we're thinking Maui and either Kauai or Kona(on the big island). We've heard negative things about both Honolulu and Waikiki, so I think we're eliminating Oahu (even though I'm a dork and love history/was a political science major so I would really like to go to Pearl Harbor). We were pretty set on Maui, but FI's good friend said one of their other friends didn't like it, so he just emailed her to ask why. We definitely want to relax (good beaches!), but would also like great restaurants, and a little nightlife.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Hawaiian Honeymoon
We are doing 3 nights in Oahu, and 5 in the other 2.
You could always do a day trip to Oahu for pearl harbor.
Everyone has different opinions on if they will like something or not, you can't really judge based on your friends opinions.
Do research on what types of activities you would like to do and see which island fits better. We really wanted to see the volcano but we are visiting the big island and a day trip would be to much flying.
Here is my photo album I made from the trip complete with descriptions, you can pick and choose the things you want to do.
http://www.mypublisher.com/bookshelf/friendbook
Book ID: S2704746 Password: 2742571
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[QUOTE]We actually didn't like Maui too much. I mean don't get me wrong, it is beautiful, but there isn't that much to do on Maui. If you are the type of people to just sit on the beach all day, then it might be good. We rented a car and drove around most of the island, that was a lot of fun. But at night the island pretty much shuts down. We were there for 4th of July and everything stopped at 10pm, and that was a late night. The locals make it pretty clear that they don't want you there. It was just an all around bad experience. We ended up cutting our trip there short and went to Vegas instead. We heard afterwards (from the same people that told us to go to Maui) that we should have gone to Honolulu and Kwuai (sp?) I don't think I will ever go to Hawaii again. But that was just our experience.
Posted by felicia220[/QUOTE]
I guess if your idea of of things to do is nightlife and nad clubbing, then I agree.
There is a ton of do in Hawaii, we didn't sit on the beach at all and 6 days wasn't even enough.
Haleakala Sunrise
Road to Hana (this is at least an entire day if not more)
Drive around the north part of the island
Nakalele blow Hole
Ho'okapika Beach (Awesome Windsurfing)
Wailea
Black Sand Beach
Snorkeling
Ziplining
Lahania Town
The list goes on and on.....
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Kona on the Big Island is a lot of resorts. The weather is super dry making it ideal for the resorts there. The landscape (lava rock) makes it feel like your on the moon, i.e. not tons of foliage. This comes at the opposite extreme of the east side where there is a lot of rainfall and waterfalls.
Kauai is my parents' favorite island. Great for hiking, beaching, but limited nightlife. The views are fantastic though which is why so many movies are filmed there
The main places to see in Oahu are The North Shore, Waikiki, Pearl Harbor. You should definitely go to Hanauma Bay for snorkeling. You can do all these in 2 days.
Kauai is sort of a sleepy island and doesn't really have a nightlife - unless you stay near all the other resorts in Poipu. We were there for a week and went to a different beach each day. Definitely try to go to Polihale and Waimea Canyon. We stayed at the Aqua Resort in Lihue which is halfway between the North Shore and Waimea so nothing was too far away. Plus, in Lihue you are close the airport and all the shops.
For the Big Island - Volcano National Park was amazing but it's closer to Hilo and unfortunately the hotels in the area are very old. We stayed in Kona where all the resorts were and did a lot of driving - it's about 2 1/2 hours away. We stayed at the Outrigger in Kailua which has a turtle pond and is next door to a beach.
I'm happy to give you a rundown of all the places we went to. I have a lot of family in Hawaii so they gave me a list of all the local places to hit up.
We got great rates for hotels by booking directly with them and doing packages that included the rental car.
we're then spending 5 days in Kauai and 5 days in Maui. in Kauai, we're staying at the Koa Kea resort. again, it's a smaller resort and it's NOT kid friendly which is hard to come by in Hawaii. not that i don't like kids, but we wanted to have a quiet and romantic honeymoon. definitely check those resorts out. links to their websites are below. i'd also recommend calling them because the websites don't give their best rate. when we called we got free breakfast and 5th night free in our hotels that they didn't have listed on the site. Royal Hawaiian gave us a better rate than AAA. even the travel agent we were talking with didn't offer that, so we definitely got the best value just by calling the hotels directly.
http://www.royal-hawaiian.com/
http://www.koakea.com/
[QUOTE]we're just doing 2 days in Oahu. we're leaving at 1pm (our time) and getting there at 6pm (their time) so the first day is pretty much just getting settled and getting some rest from the travel. then on the 2nd day we're going to Pearl Harbor. we're staying at the Royal Hawaiian. if you love history, i'd strongly suggest staying there. it was built in the 1920's and has been fully restored. it served as sleeping quarters for the navy in WWII. my grandfather was in the navy in WWII so it was really important for me to visit Oahu and this particular hotel. the hotel is gorgeous and has a small resort/boutique hotel feel rather than the huge sky rises often seen in Oahu. we're then spending 5 days in Kauai and 5 days in Maui. in Kauai, we're staying at the Koa Kea resort. again, it's a smaller resort and it's NOT kid friendly which is hard to come by in Hawaii. not that i don't like kids, but we wanted to have a quiet and romantic honeymoon. definitely check those resorts out. links to their websites are below. i'd also recommend calling them because the websites don't give their best rate. when we called we got free breakfast and 5th night free in our hotels that they didn't have listed on the site. Royal Hawaiian gave us a better rate than AAA. even the travel agent we were talking with didn't offer that, so we definitely got the best value just by calling the hotels directly. <a href="http://www.royal-hawaiian.com/" rel='nofollow'>http://www.royal-hawaiian.com/</a> <a href="http://www.koakea.com/" rel='nofollow'>http://www.koakea.com/</a>
Posted by kristinashley83[/QUOTE]
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</div><div>We are doing the same thing as you basically. Flying into Honolulu our flight gets in at 5 on Friday and we will stay there until Sunday, so we have a full day to do Pearl Harbor and such. That was the only thing we wanted to do in oahu.</div><div>Then flying to Kauai staying there a week, then flying to Maui and staying there for 6 more nights. </div>
Any suggestions on hotels, restaurants, sites to see, excursions, etc, would be fabulous! I'd like to do the Road to Hana, go zip lining, attend a luau (I've some are great and others are a waste of money), relax on the best beaches, and eat lots of good food!
Also, has anyone done, or is anyone planning on doing a helicopter tour? FI loves helicopters (I've gotten him flying lessons as presents a few times) and I would love to surprise him. I have a feeling it could cost an arm and a leg, and I really don't want to spend that.
User- While we probably won't keep as busy as you and your wife did (I definitely plan on spending a good amount of time laying on the beach with a fruity island concoction in hand), I don't want to miss the best/most beautiful places on the islands. Which were your favorites? How was the Road to Hana, and where did you stop along the way? I've heard there's really cool waterfalls, and some cute little places to eat. Was the Haleakala Sunrise worth getting up at 3am for?
Thanks in advance!