Not Vegas Related: Hawaii experts needed!

Re: Not Vegas Related: Hawaii experts needed!

• kiraregnier member

  

  September 2013

  We are going to Hawaii for our Honeymoon as well! We are going to Maui for 6 days then heading over to the Big Island of Hawaii for 6 days to see the active volcano. I have never been before but Kauai was on our list as well. We decided to just stick with 2 Islands this time around

  When will you be there? Sorry I can't help you with the recommendations but I could always give you some pointers after we come back. We will be there from October 17-29.

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• rachel1837 member

  

  September 2013

  We're going to Hawaii for our honeymoon also. We are doing Oahu (FI has never been & wants to see the North Shore & Pearl Harbor) & Kauai. I've been to Oahu, Hawaii (the big island) & Maui. Maui was by far my favorite. Beautiful beaches, lots to see & do, the road to Hana is amazing. great hikes (if thats your thing). I like staying in Kihei. It's right next to Wailea (& all the fancy beaches & resorts) but without having to spend a ton. Lahaina is where all the cruise ships come in, so it's the touristy spot.
  
  On the big island I preferred the Kona side to the Hilo side, it's a little quieter. Although a lot of the beaches are not the nice white sand but more volcanic rock because of the active volcano.
  
  I'm from San Diego & Oahu reminds me a lot of home, but with way better beaches. Very touristy in Waikiki, which is where the vast majority of hotels are. but if you travel away from waikiki there is some beautiful stuff.
  
  We chose kauai because we heard it is a little more relaxed & that is what we are looking for.
  
  Whichever island you choose, I highly recommend picking up the corresponding "Hawaii Revealed" guide book. I've used that on every Hawaiian vacation & have done stuff other people didn't even know existed.
  

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• AllyIdo member

  

  September 2013

  Thanks so much for the awesome advice!
  

  

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• SD210 member

  

  September 2013

  I just got back from my honeymoon in Hawaii.  We spent 8 days on the Big Island, then 4 days in Oahu.  On the Big Island, we rented a condo in the Mauna Lani Terrace though South Kohala Management (we like to have a kitchen when we go on vacation, as my husband loves to cook breakfast and likes to sleep in, so we often miss hotel breakfasts!)  The Terrace is part of the larger Mauna Lani Resort area, which includes a golf course, the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel, and several other condo areas.  It's located on the Kona side, about a 20 minute ride north of the Kona airport.  The beach was about a 7 minute walk from our condo, but it was a scenic walk through these nice paths around these cool fish ponds.  The beach had a cool "beach club" where you could rent snorkel gear, and there was a nice restaurant there for drinks and lunch. 

  If you go to the Big Island, I would highly recommend you rent a car, as it is easy and fun to explore the whole island, including some nice beaches and amazing State Parks (beaches, waterfalls, etc.)  Our favorite beach was Hapuna State Park Beach, which was a 5 minute ride up the street, plenty of parking, bathrooms, etc.  I found the State Parks on the Big Island to be very well maintained.  We drove around the entire island.  We spent one night down in Volcano, so we could see the Volcano State Park at night.  It was really cool - - you can see the glow from the crater very easily from the Jagger Museum in the park.  We went back during the next day to explore the park, which was pretty cool.  When we stayed down in Volcano, we stayed at the Volcano Village Lodge, which was a very cool B&B. 

  I'm happy to share more details about our itinerary on the Big Island if anyone wants - - we explored the whole island, ate at some great restaurants, etc.

  As for Oahu, we stayed at a little hotel called the New Otami Kaihama Beach Hotel, which is closer to Diamond Head.  It was a on Sans Souci Beach, and you can see all of Waikiki from the hotel.  It was MUCH quieter than Waikiki, which is very busy, but you can walk down the beach to Waikiki in about 15 minutes.  It wasn't the fanciest hotel (we only stayed there 3 nights), but we got a really good price on an Ocean Front room which had a cool patio overlooking the ocean, and it was a corner room so you also had a great down the beach to Waikiki (very pretty all lit up at night).  We liked the peace and quiet for our honeymoon.  We explored a lot of the hotels down in Waikiki.  I think I were to go back, I'd stay at the Royal Hawaiian or the Moana Surfrider, which are both cool old historic hotels. 

  On Oahu, we did Pearl Harbor (the USS Arizona memorial), and we went up to the North Shore to explore.  It was pretty cool. 

  I'm hoping to go back some day to explore Maui.  I know we'll be back to Honolulu because my husband's brother lives there, so that is cool.  The only thing that sucks is the flight back to the east coast (we took the 9 hour direct from Honolulu to JFK in NYC - - longest. flight. ever.)  Anyway, regardless of the island, I am sure you'll have an amazing time. Definitely check out TripAdvisor.com for hotel reviews and their message boards are great too.

   

  

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• 0Jilly0 member

  

  September 2013

  I lived on Oahu so I'm definitely a fan of that island. With Oahu you can get a city feel and an island feel at the same time. There's excellent shopping at Ala Moana shopping mall as well as shopping in Waikiki on Kalakauaua street. Waikiki is definitely full of tourists but the hotels are great ( I recommend the Sheraton Waikiki or royal Hawaiian ) and the beaches are calmer than on the other side of the island. The north shore is fun to visit cute shops and waimea beach is cool, just don't swim out far because of the strong current! Hiking Diamond head is fun and not difficult ( I've seen women in pumps hiking it lol) As for Maui I've only visited once. Ka'anapali is so fun! Great beach area and the hotels are nice as well!! I don't like to do the touristy stuff when I travel, I mainly hit the beaches and try to find the best local food on island!! I have many food recommendations for both Maui and Oahu if you choose them. I would recommend picking one island for your trip so you can get a feel for what it's like!! Island life is much slower and relaxed so be prepared for that ( it can irritate some people) the max speed on the freeway is 55 and they have a posted minimum speed of 35 lol i hope that gives you some insight to island style life!!!! I can't wait to hear what you choose to do!!!!

  

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