Which island to visit in Hawaii?
 

My wife and I are planning a trip to Hawaii this fall (don't have exact date, but either September or November). I haven't been there in 20 years and my wife has never gone. I'm confused trying to pick an island to stay at? Based on your experiences, which island would you suggest we stay at? We don't do much shopping or night clubbing. Looking for a relaxing stay with nice beaches, good food, and some natural sightseeing.

i went and it was ok. i was in my partying mode so i stopped by at waikiki. total partytown, senior frogs and u get to walk down their "robson" street. beaches are a bit a hig and a miss and u have to rent a moped to get everywhere. busing from airpot to hotel is 2.50 but takes an hour, but a cab takes 30 min and only 35.

I went to Maui and it was ok also. I'm scuba diving so that's all good but if you don't have a gf to go with (u have a wife so that's ok), you'll be bored as hell.

Flying to maui was like 100 bucks so it was ok. depending what you want to do. FYI, you'll see so many japanese people there it's crazy.

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My first iron chef restaurant.. damn it was expensive…
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Wtf.. turtles become butterflies?
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Yes little Johnny, this is how volcanos are formed..ur mom blows out lava.

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Dove some wreck .. meh.
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It was ok.. after a while, they all look the same, but we did see turtles.
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I’ll upload the video soon.
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My buddy kept cock blocking my shots
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His fooking bubbles.
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HUGE… size of a huge dining table.
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It’s big ***** that’s what she said
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Meh.. urchin.
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Some nudibranch: sea slugs…. This was the side of a jellybean
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This was a bitch to take a picture of… SIZE of a grain of RICE>>>> falkkk meeee

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Road to Hanna… some water fall… 61 KM.. but 360+ turns and single lines… took 3 hrs to see this shit…
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7 sacred pool or some crap. We weren’t even allowed to go into the water that day…


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Always prettier on vacation.

The Big Island! Possibly the most diverse natural scenery you can find on the globe in such a small area. Active volcano you can stand on the rim, lava flows you can walk on, black/green/white sand beaches, live colorful coral, snow at the peak where the observatory is, cliffs with amazing views, winding roads that are a dream to drive, rainforest, sampling food at the various coffee/nut/fruit plantations, ... write I want to go back now!

awesome pictures!

i can go to oahu every single time, has everything I want in a place, food, shopping, sightseeing and some good beaches

Oahu is a great island too of you get out of waikiki. North shore is surfers paradise, pipeline beach the swells hit 30 feet! Breakneck beach on the other side is fantastic to body board. There is a bird sanctuary on an island you can sea kayak to just off one of the longest beaches I've ever seen! Tons of plantations to visit, pearl harbor of that interests you, diamond head, the zoo, rainforests, the polynesian center, ... Oahu is fantastic too yet most people just hang in honolulu and miss all the cool stuff.

last time I was there we rented a cabin on the north shore across from pipeline beach for a steal. We'd buy fresh food from the market our even the side of the road (ago tuna for cheap!) and bbq at the cabin or on the beach. Everyday we'd pick a different beach to visit cause they are all within a few hours driving.

I love hawaii...and will be doing more trips there.

I would go to Oahu first and stay in the Waikiki area. Lots of stuff to do....a seven day trip can keep you occupied from the start to the end. The Waikiki area is pretty much very Americanized, and very upbeat. Make sure to rent a car and take a one day trip out to the north shore....But at the same time with all the things to do, I would love to get that out of the way before your next trip to Hawaii which could be the Big Island, Maui,...etc. etc.

The other places are beautiful and less things to do....so you'll be able to make most of your relaxation time.

So... For first timers go to Oahu? I am starting to do some research. There are so many airports and I am getting so confused as to which airport code I should use in searches.

I am just looking at expedia for flights and hotels. Any others? It's either going to be 2 or 4 people.
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So I have done some initial research, I should have 9 days of actual Hawaii time.

YVR to HNL - Wakiki resort for 3 days
HNL to Maui - Ka'anapali resort for 3 days (it's cheaper, how come Makena is SO expensive?)
Maui to Kona -Kona Resort for 3 days
This plan with flights should be about $1500 per person.

I'm planning to use priceline for the resorts. Westjet flying there Aug 27 - Sept 5 is $560. Should I book the in between island flights now? or are they easy to get?

What is the difference between resort and 4* hotel?

OR

Should I just buy a 4* hotel vacation package for 9 days in Wakiki for $1300 and call it a trip?

thanks!!

Now this is just my opinion...but id call 1900 in Waikiki a trip. I honestly think 3 days is too short in Waikiki. See, if i wanted to check out EVERYTHING a country in Europe has to offer, my intention would be to check out everything because i probably may never go back again.

This, however, is Hawaii. Its still North America yet it feels like another country. Airfares are getting cheaper as well as hotel deals. Im pretty sure you've got a lot of energy for travel down the road so going back to Hawaii years after will be a pleasantry. Hawaii can be an inexpensive trip if planned properly...just like going to Vegas.

Option A sounds great as well...but if you ask me, theres no rush.
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Bump.....

I'm planning to head to Oahu in september for about 4 nights. Probably flying down with Alaska Air to Honolulu. But I haven't decided which hotel to stay at Waikiki, either Hyatt Regency hotel or the Hilton in Waikiki....

Can anybody recommennd shuttle buses from the airport to the hotel? I've read several reviews from VIP and also Diamond Travel, but have been negative ones...

you do not want to stay at the hilton hawaiian village, stayed there for my wedding and its far from the main strip on kapahulu, I stay at the outrigger reef now, much quieter then the other hotels yet still close enough to walk.

Contact Mark at hawaii23.com, he'll pick u up in a shuttle and only you, cheaper then a taxi and used him for both pickup and drop off from the airport, awesome guy! Gave him a day notice for my other friend and he arranged for a shuttle to drop them off.

Please make sure you hit up some okazu's and eat everything

Outrigger reef is super nice but also comes with a heavy price tag. I stayed at the Marriott which is a resort class hotel and it was very nice. For the first and last nights I cheaped out on the hotels and booked 3* ones. That was a very bad move.

Taxi to Waikiki is $50 one way. Shuttles are usually $8-10 per person.

Have fun!
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how is the club night life in Waikiki on the weekdays? Going in may

Just got back from 5 days in Waikiki and 5 days in Maui.

hawaii23.com worked awesome. A guy named Alex (Mark subs out to some taxis), was 5 minutes early picking us up from the airport. He drove a clean, newer Toyota Sienna. $23+tip is a steal to get to Waikiki. We were so impressed, we got our friends to use him on their way back to the airport. He was right on time for our trip back also.

Best shaved ice in Waikiki is in the weirdest of places. It's downstairs in the Waikiki Shopping Plaza, right when you go down the escalator from Kalakaua. It's a shave ice/sandwich shop called Ailana's. A family run shop but usually you'll find the son working - nice, friendly guy and he'll let you try different flavours. It's light, not compacted and a lot of the syrup is made w/ real fruit. Our fav was strawberry and haupia (coconut) w/ sweetened condensed milk ice cap.
Ailana Shave Ice Waikiki - Waikiki - Honolulu, HI

Awesome udon at Murukame Udon, just a block from Kalakaua, on Kuhio. Cut through Dukes Ln, beside the Holiday Inn and you're right there. There's usually a line outside but it moves quickly.
Marukame Udon - Waikiki - Honolulu, HI

Shrimp trucks on the North Shore. They're all pretty good. We liked Fumi's but you can't really go wrong w/ Giovanni's or Romy's either. While you're at Giovanni's (the big one), check out the BBQ'd corn stand, Filipino BBQ skewers and a bit off to the side but in the same lot, the orange Thai food truck had pretty good, authentic, pad thai.

If you're interested in tandem skydiving, I had a great experience at Skydive Hawaii on the North Shore. With online discounts, it was only $150. Of course, video and pics are available but they're fairly costly. I suggest going with a friend cause you might have to wait a while for other groups to go up. Shuttle service was free from Waikiki hotels. I got lucky and went up with a Russian skydiving team and ended up jumping at close to 19,000ft.
Skydive Hawaii - Hawaii's most exciting activity tandem skydiving in Honolulu Oahu Waikiki

Did u hit up opal thai in haleiwa?
Marukame is sweet I went there 3 times on my last trip.
Just too many good eats there, Mitsuken is always on my go to places.
Trying to plan my next trip there.

Flip, I just came back from Maui for a friend's wedding.
Where did you stay? I did 2 nights at the Hyatt in Lahina and 5 nights at the Marriott just outside of Kihei.

I wanted to but we were too stuffed after hitting up so many trucks. Mitsuken looks really good too, thanks.

We found a pretty good Korean place right by Marukame. I forgot the name (will post later) but if you cross Kuhio from there, it's in one of the entrances to the Intl Market, between Denny's and One Plus One. The only thing Google maps shows in that spot is Go Nuts Hawaii (it's a few steps from there).

My personal go to place is the Side Street Inn on Hopaka (5 minutes from Ala Moana). There's a newer one on Kapahulu Ave. (10 mins from the zoo) but it's too new/clean/bright and lacks character. Thanks, No Reservations.

edit.. Holy crap, we went to the luau at the Marriot in Wailea on Thursday (19th) and there was a wedding party there. You probably drove past us a bunch of times. We stayed at a friend's condo called Kihei Akahi, right across from Kamaole Beach II, beside Fred's and Moose McGillycuddy's (where we watched the games).

Judging by the places you stayed, I guess you hit the links?

Think the korean place you are referring to is miwakon?
Never been to side street inn, it was on my list years ago to go since it gets great reviews on yelp but, I dont think i could finish the kimchi fried rice by myself or any othe the other entrees(my wife is a small eater).
Did you get a chance to hit up the KCC farmers market..thats another thing I cannot miss whenever I go

No, just a little beach and mostly R&R for me. Allergies made my eyes all red and swollen so I didn't want to risk anything by going into the water (beach and pool).

19th we were at the Four Seasons for the wedding. :fullofwin:

My buddies rented a bunch of condos since there was 20 people at the wedding. I can't remember the name of the condo, but it was really close to you. :woot2:

I'll post up some of my Maui pics and Waikiki pics when I get home. Wife and I went to Waikiki in October last year.

Totally forgot about this thread! I ended up staying 1 week in Waikiki and 1 week in Maui (by Kaanapali Shores). Waikiki was meh...just like any other big city, but I got to check out Pearl Harbour which I always wanted to do. LOVED Maui. Was so relaxing and lots of great snorkelling. Will definitely be returning to Maui in the future. Will try to post up pics.

BDV, no to the market but we did go to the flea market at Aloha Stadium. It wraps all the way around and has a lot of fresh food stands. Also, prices are a lot cheaper than the Int'l Market for random tourist stuff and souvenirs. Although we drove, there's a shuttle that goes there from Waikiki.

As for Side Street, we usually get the fried rice w/ Portugese sausage, ribeye w/ mushrooms and Maui onions, steamed clams, spicy, boneless fried chicken, calamari and escargot. We always over order, over eat and have left overs for the next day (which is perfect if you go to Hanauma Bay, lol). The drinks are pretty strong so no need for me to order doubles.

Yeah, a lot of people don't like Maui cause it's "boring" and "everything is dead at night". I go to Waikiki to eat, shop, take in some sites and maybe hang out on the beach a few times. Maui is just super chill. We'd get up fairly early, eat, chill at the beach, maybe go snorkeling, hiking, go on a cool, scenic drive and just relax. There's also quite a few beautiful golf courses all over the island. I actually had a bit of a hard time slowing down to that pace the first time I went, til I allowed myself to chill out and put my phone (watch) and schedule away. Hell, even the speed limit is slow there, given the great condition of the highways.

When we went to Waikiki last year, we tried to take public transit everywhere. With it being 30+ C and air quality was very poor due to the smoking volcano on the big island, waiting for transit sucked.

I didn't enjoy the flea market when I was there. Everything was all fake or replicated items. It felt like walking around the Richmond night market but in Honolulu.

Pearl Harbor was fun, but you have to get there early or the lineups get pretty bad.

We used the Honolulu entertainment book when we were there. We used a half price coupon for a tour of the island which went pretty well. It took us all the way around the island and stopped at some interesting spots. Wish we could have spent a bit more time at the Dole pineapple plantation.

As for Maui, we really enjoyed the Yogurtland frozen yogurt. Tasted much better than what we have locally and a lot cheaper too.

We really enjoyed breakfast and happy hour at Sea House restaurant.

Another restaurant that we like was Coconut's Fish Cafe. The fish taco was very good.

Lastly, Eskimo Candy seafood is a small hole in the wall type place that is only open monday to friday 10:30am to 7pm.
Their ahi poke with wasabi mayo is very very good but since it is made fresh each day, they usually run out way before closing time.

I just booked a trip to Honolulu and Maui as well. Arriving in HNL(+7days) and Departing from OGG (+7days). My problem is, I haven't worked out completely how to get to OGG yet and was wondering if instead of a flight, if there's a boat that you guys have tried before in getting between the islands? I figure it might be more scenic than a plane ride.

I went through that ordeal before. There used to be a super ferry but the environmentalists got it scrapped. We've been using Hawaiiian Airlines to go from HON to OGG. IIRC it was $100-$110 and they charge $17 for a checked bag.

Make sure you start looking up deals on rental cars (for Maui) now. You can't get around there without a car. Just keep reserving at the lowest rate and if you find something cheaper, cancel it and make a new reservation.

I've had good experiences w/ Alamo. They're really cool about upgrading. Oddly enough, the best rate we got was for a standard car but none were available. I could've went premium (?) or SUV but didn't want to waste a bunch on fuel so just grabbed a Fiesta sedan and got more of a discount. It fit 3 big pieces of luggage in the trunk plus 1 big carry-on. It suited our needs just fine. Unless you plan on doing the road to Hana, a small car is suitable.

Take note of the recommendations on this thread, they'll help a lot when planning your itinerary.

They told us we couldn't take our rental car on the road to Hana because it was a rental car.

If you are a Costco member, there is a car rental link on the US Costco site that does all the price comparison for you. We ended up booking and cancelling 10 times before we settled on a mini suv @ $200 for the week that we were there.

When we were picking up the car, another guy was renting on the spot and was quoted $66 per day for the 3 weeks he was staying.