In all our travels, neither my finace' or I have ever been to Hawaii. I've heard from multiple people that the Four Seasons north shore is a must. Beyond that I have no idea! We are adventurous people and love to hike, run long distance, snorkle, SCUBA, you name it! Tell me what your favorite places and activities are so we can get planning!

TIA!

How many days do you plan on being there?

No Four Seasons on the north shore, or Oahu, for that matter.

That said, if you just stay at the Four Seasons hotels while in Hawaii, you will be doing well.

Four Seasons Hualalai on the Big Island is fantastic. Best hotel in the islands.

On Kauai, we stayed at the Grand Hyatt. Very nice, but also going to likely have many families. Princeville may be a little more adult-oriented.

For Maui, we have only stayed at Kaanapali. It is a busy part of the island, with just about every hotel brand on the beach and lots of food/drinks/shopping. The Four Seasons in Wailea is supposed to be very nice.

One option you may consider is Lanai. It is slow, with only a few hotels on it, but they are very nice. We stayed at the Four Seasons Manele Bay and enjoyed it a great deal. Excellent golf and you can take a boat over to Maui, if you choose.

We stayed at 4 hotels in Hawaii.
Mauna Lani on the big island was the best.
We also stayed at the four seasons on Maui.
It was great but mauna Lani wins by a landslide

Don't go big resort, you'll ruin what Hawaii is all about.

We just did 10 days on Maui/Kauai in October. Haven’t been to the Big Island so I can’t help you there.
We stayed in the Kapalua Villas on Maui which were AWESOME. We loved having a condo with lots of room and a full kitchen/big balconies. You also have access to all of the Ritz Carlton amenities. Check out the condo listings on VBRO.
While on Maui we did the road to Hana (this was definitely worth doing, buy the guidebook and do some of the hikes off of it. We found some secluded waterfalls and the black sand beaches and lava tube caves were also really cool.)
We did the drive around the West part of the island which I probably liked more than the Road to Hana. It was much more rugged and wild and less people. We did lots of hiking around the blow hole.
Took the Ocean Riders snorkel tour. This was ok.
Old Lahaina Luau was ok. I guess if you have to do a Luau just to say you did one I would recommend it but I will never do it again.

Stayed in Poipu in Kauai. It was nice but would rather have stayed in Princeville.
We did a helicopter tour which I definitely recommend(we booked Blue Hawaiian and was really happy with them).
We hiked Waimea Canyon. You see all of this on the helicopter tour. We wish we would have spent the day doing something else.
We spent a day hiking the NaPali coast. Did the hike from Haena to Kee Beach then up to the waterfall. It was around 4 miles each way. This hike was one of our favorite things we did on the whole trip.
Eat at the Eastside in Kapaa. It was our favorite meal the whole trip. Laid back and great food.

[This message has been edited by turk (edited 1/11/2011 11:10a).]

The Kea Lani on Maui is great. I have stayed there a few times.

On Kauai you cant stay anywhere but the Princeville. It is fantastic.

Agree with previous posts on Kauai. My recommendation is that you do the helicopter first day if you can. That will show you what an incredible island you are on and set the tone. IMO, no reason to head south of the airport depending on how long you stay. Stay on the North side of the Island. Great snorkelling up there as well.

Go to Mama's in Maui. Top 5 meals I ever had. Also drink a coconut porter for maui brewing co.

I got dive certified just for that trip and it was the best thing I ever did. No dive since has come anywhere close. Used Lahaina Divers in Lahaina. They were great. It was unreal. Diving is a must. Take sea sickness pills! It's choppy. Everyone on our boat was yaking except the crew. It was so bad people were jumping off the boat and getting geared up in the water.

If you want to snorkel Maui one great area is in front of the Black Rock Sheraton. There is a cliff (that you can also jump off of) and some very good snorkelling around that cliff. Fed a huge turtle that hangs out over there. They have a show at dusk with a diver and torches, etc Also there is good shopping down the beach and lots of restaurants.

Did I mention go to Mama's Fish House?

Lots to do in both places.

Have fun!

just got back a few weeks ago from our honeymoon in oahu and kauai. we got an awesome rec. from a friend of mine who stayed in a house on kauai. it was AWESOME. hot tub, outdoor shower, steamer shower that can fit like ten people, 1900 sq ft all to you, outdoor lanai with bed, on 3 acres. you can have chef come in and cook dinner, massage in house, and you have everything you need for the beach.

we stayed in kilauea, on northern end close to princeville. i recommend north shore as well.

on top of helicopter ride we did a zipline tour and atv tour- both were awesome. check out kauai backcountry adventures and kipu ranch adventures.

These are all great suggestions!! I will look into them, keep em coming

If you are really that adventurous you won't run out of activities on any of the islands. Moving around from island to island means you won't get the full flavor of each island and they are different.

Now moving location on the island is a good idea. I normally do a VRBO (vacation rental by owner) type of place on on side of an island for several days and then a different one on the opposite side. Cuts down on driving and you can go grocery shopping for breakfast/lunch stuff and then cook your own dinners or go out to eat depending on your preferences.

MrsHouston98 - do you have a link to the house you used?

My wife and I are trying to get a head start on our 5th year anniversary vacation (a little over a year away).

She's always wanted to go to Hawaii so I figured year 5 is a good time.

Thanks!

quote:

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If you want to snorkel Maui one great area is in front of the Black Rock Sheraton. There is a cliff (that you can also jump off of) and some very good snorkelling around that cliff.

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On the swim back, be sure to swim far out away from the rock before heading back towards the sheraton's beach. There is an extreme current whipping around the rock. That was one of the few times I have been on the verge of panic in my life.

MrsHouston98 will you please post a link of the house rental. My wife and I are also planning a return trip and that sounds awesome!

We stayed in Ka'anapoli in Maui last summer. Lots of fun stuff to do in that area like snorkeling and hiking. My fav was definitely the helicopter ride. I did learn that Hawaii is different for everyone depeding on what you like to do. We tried som places friends told us about and didnt really enjoy it but had a blast doing tons of other things that we knew we liked to do. I advise you to get a book and do some detailed investigation on places to make sure you get the full experience. Old Lahaina Luau was pretty good also. Enjoy your trip!

dit: also you might want to think about places that might be closed since the tsunami hit and forced many businesses to close. One of my fav restaurants in Lahaina was Cheeseburger in Paradise and I saw pictures after the tsunami and it was really bad off.

[This message has been edited by ag_03_aj (edited 4/29/2011 2:33p).]

i am not aware of anything in Maui being closed due to the "tsunami".

That said, shame on you if you go out of your way to eat at Cheeseburger in Paradise.

Haha! It wasn't out of our way since we decided to go through the shops in Lahaina. And I agree I wouldnt go out of your way to eat there, but it wasnt a bad place to eat and had a great view. Also just a few shops down there is an amazing shaved ice place.

I thought Cheeseburger in Paradise was on a 2nd floor? Maybe I am confusing them with another hamburger joint. It was a pretty good burger if I am thinking of the right place. Bubba Gumps in Lahaina is on the water, they had several feet of water inside, but no significant structural damage (opened back up within a few days).


[This message has been edited by SJEAg (edited 5/1/2011 6:59p).]