I'm planning the honeymoon and we've decided on Hawaii since we'll be getting married outside of Portland.

Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone has some input on the islands and which they'd recommend. I've been told by a few people to avoid O'ahu. Went to Maui when I was 13, and still remember alot and certainly wouldn't mind going back.

I live on Maui, and it is considered the best for weddings/honeymoons but it really depends on what kind of vacation you want. If you want nightlife and shopping, Maui isn't for you. If you want the best beaches and lots of outdoor activities then Maui would be high on my list. If you want seclusion and get away from all the crowds, then go for Kauai.

Nightlife isn't very high on our list, although the shopping(don't tell the future wife) is not either.

Well then don't tell her about the Ala Moana Mall on Oahu. It used to be the world's largest outdoor mall until a few years ago.

I cant imagine avoiding Oahu, it has a lot to offer and is a great place to see. I agree with aero though, Most people I know went to Kauai or Maui.

Oahu is the most touristy and busy
Kauai is very laid back
Maui is a great blend of the two

Big Island has it all but is tough to do in one trip unless you have a lot of time.

Kauai is by far my favorite of the islands.

So what are some of the details/activities about Kauai that you enjoyed?

And thanks for all the input so far!

Ke'e Beach (at the end of the road on the north side of the island) is great for snorkling, and awesome sunsets. The hike up the Kalalau Trail on the Na Pali coast is amazing, even if you only go the fist 2 miles from the start of the trail to Hanakapiai Beach. I've also done the 2 mile hike inland from there to Hanakapiai Falls. Incredible. There are also really good raft/boat tours of the Na Pali coast, and kayaking in the Hanelei river is alot of fun. Hanelei is a nice little town with lots of good food. Princeville has two great golf courses.

Waimea Canyon on the west side of the island is absolutely gorgeous. There are numerous hiking trails that aren't the least bit strenuous and provide some amazing views.

Went to a luau in Kapa'a that was some of the best food I've ever had.

Those are just some of the things I like to do on Kauai. I have spent most of my time on the north side of the island-Princeville/Hanelei-but the rest of the island is just as much fun.

Very good friend of mine:

http://www.hawaii-aloha.com/abby/

We use her once a year and seems to beat any price we can ever find on air, car or hotel and sometimes excursions. I highly recommend giving her a call. Her services are free and she makes planning your honeymoon stress-free. She lives on Oahu and only does Hawaii vacations.

[This message has been edited by Vero143 (edited 4/21/2009 7:22p).]

keep the info coming guys. i'm probably honeymooning out there too and have to decide.

is it completely pointless to do any island hopping? or is it realistic?

we're not the types to sit back in our rooms all day sipping on drinks. we'll have our relaxing days, but probably want to go out, explore, and sight see 2 out of 3 days...

by the way, how does hawaii stack up with fiji or tahiti for those of you who have been to both?

Hawaii has a lot more to do IMO. Those places have things you can do, but they are more resort oriented and it is more relaxing than getting out and about. Hawaii allows you to travel the whole island with a plethora of options for any kind of traveler.

I would not island hop unless you are there for at least 8 days, but it is realistic and is done quite a bit. To me, you would be rushed to pack/repack and get to the airport so much, that you would lose a lot of time on your visit. Just me though....

If you must see multiple islands, there is always the cruise option. My parents take it twice a year and love it.

[This message has been edited by Vero143 (edited 4/21/2009 7:21p).]

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is it completely pointless to do any island hopping? or is it realistic?

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It's not pointless but I agree that you should spend 4-5 days per island. Each island has it's own character and only staying there for a couple days wouldn't let you truly soak up the atmosphere (they call it the "aloha spirit" ).

That being said, if you want to spend most of you time on an outer island (Maui, Molokai, Kauai, Lanai, Big Island), you can do day trips to Oahu pretty easily. Flights from Maui to Oahu start around 6am and run til 10-11pm. So if you really wanted to see Pearl Harbor but stay on Maui, you could do get up early and be over on Oahu inside of an hour. That way you leave all your bags in your hotel, arrive at the airport about 20 minutes before departure, walk on the plane, and just take a camera and a day pack. The flight schedule to/from the Big Island is pretty decent as well but from Kauai it seems to be a little less frequent.

[This message has been edited by aero96 (edited 4/21/2009 8:41p).]

[This message has been edited by aero96 (edited 4/21/2009 8:42p).]

right, i'm thinking 8-10 days (depending on work schedule of course) for it to be worthwhile

and part of that is b/c i'm afraid being on one island, we might get a little bored after day 6...

for example, last year, we went from tampa to orlando to daytona (quick day trips to st. augustine and cape canaveral) and back to orlando and tampa

granted, FL is a small state and it was over 14 days...but it shows that we get a little restless

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granted, FL is a small state and it was over 14 days...but it shows that we get a little restless

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Well the islands are very small and if you get restless in Florida you might get "island fever" inside a day here... There are so many outdoor activities here in Hawaii that take at least half to three quarters of a day to get done that I don't see how you could spend only a couple days per island.

For instance, driving the road to Hana on Maui takes a full day. If you do the big hike up to the Waimoku falls through the bamboo forest at the end, you'll get back to civilization after dark and be pretty much exhausted.

If you really want to experience the real Hawaii (that is outside the resorts), it will require you getting wet, dirty, sweaty, and/or tired. If all you do is stay by the pool at the resort or go to the manicured beach at the resort, then sure you'll get bored. The best hike on Maui is the "Commando Hike" which requires swimming, rock climbing, and cliff diving to complete....

If you can do 10 days, then I would split that up on Maui and Kauai (go big or go home!). Maybe a day on Oahu if you really wanted to see Pearl Harbor and something else.

On Kauai, you could easily fill the time without getting bored.

-NaPali coast
-Waimea Canyon hiking
-kayaking one of the 3 rivers
-Coffee Plantation
-tons of snorkelling
-diving

You really need to be honest with yourself about what you want out of it. We loved Kauai but 4 nights was too much. There is absolutely nothing to do at night. Very boring. If I went back, I would never go south of the airport. Our travel agent put us south and it paled in comparison (beauty) to the north shore. Blech.

A helicopter ride on Kauai is a must.

when I am in Hawaii, does not matter the island, I do absolutely nothing at night. I go to bed very early and rise very early. Hawaii, imo, is to be enjoyed in daylight hours.

I can go out when I get home. That is one of the reasons why I love Kauai. I usually wake up before the sun rises and doing things the entire day. When the sun goes down, I have a few drinks, but I am dead and go almost straight to be to start it all over again.

Aero/Vero, thanks for the help. i'm bookmarking this for future reference.

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We loved Kauai but 4 nights was too much. There is absolutely nothing to do at night. Very boring.

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And there is my fear. I really don't plan on going as active as we usually are on trips...we'll really need to wind down after the wedding. But our style of activity is usually exploration, sight-seeing, AND some partying/dancing. Nightlife is something we require for at least 1 out of 3 nights.

I think I'll look into a dual island trip. 5 days on each (with a bunch of options depending on our moods) would be great.

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You really need to be honest with yourself about what you want out of it. We loved Kauai but 4 nights was too much. There is absolutely nothing to do at night. Very boring. If I went back, I would never go south of the airport. Our travel agent put us south and it paled in comparison (beauty) to the north shore. Blech.

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I agree completely. That's why I always ask people what they are after when visiting Hawaii. If you want seclusion then Kauai is the place to go. Maui probably has the best mix of things to do.

CMH, you think I'm old and can't do both?

Seriously, 5 days on both should be good. If you want some relaxation after the wedding, consider Kauai first. Plus it seems like you are actually outside of the U.S. Once you get to Maui, you'll be ready and even relieved to see the Krispy Kreme and Costco outside the airport. haha

Worth

Usually I do not change watch and I get up at normal time at home. So if you want to do both, either we do not wake up at the same time or you do not party like I do.

Dude,
There are like 4,000 threads about honeymoons in Hawaii. Dont be so lazy.

We spent 10 days on Kauai last August and never got bored, for what its worth. Then again, we were not after nightlife, we were more interested in the outdoors and exploring the island.

Also, Im serious about contacting my friend. She would be a great asset in helping you plan this and also saving you some money.

Vero knows his stuff.

Abby is awesome at helping you plana trip. im working with her right now!

Just sent Abby an email

Let's see what she can come up with

Be a doll and tell her I referred you.

I have to agree that Kauai is very peaceful and laid back. It was everything that I pictured Hawaii to be.

When we went a few years ago, we arrived in Oahu in the afternoon, and spent 3 nights there. It is very busy with lots to do and see. Among the activities we did were, surf lessons http://www.hawaiianfire.com, swimming with sharks near Northshorehttp://www.hawaiisharkencounters.com/, and shopping. Due to a screw up with our scheduling of the surf lessons, we missed out on a trip to Pearl Harbor. I will warn you that there is some controversy regarding the shark thing. The state is has laws against chumming the water for sharks, and they are claiming that their boundary reaches 12 miles out because it's between islands, while the operator is claiming it reaches 3 miles out per some other federal laws. The operator takes the tours out 3 miles, which is where the controversy lies.

After our 3rd night there, we took the earliest flight we could get and went to Kauai, and stayed 2 nights there, although because we arrived so early, and the flight back home was at 9pm, we effectively got 4 days on the island.
We stayed at the Princeville resort which was great, but expensive. Like Kyle_98 said, Princeville, and Hanalei are great. I really enjoyed the small towns throughout the island. The northside is much more lush and green, while a greater percentage of the population lives on the south and east side.
The activities we did on Kauai were, Luau, surf lessons in Hanalei, Helicopter tour, lots of driving around checking out the scenery and waterfalls, some shopping.

The things I wish we would have been able to do were, Pearl Harbor, take the boat tour to the Na'Pali Coast, see Waimea Canyon up close (we saw the last 2 from the helicopter at least).

I'd also like to be able to visit Maui and the Big Island as well.

All it takes is money.

I did, vero

even looked up how to spell your last name on Facebook

well, Abby and I sent two emails back and forth (I should have just called her) over the last week so I decided to go ahead and book on expedia

used the vacation package flight+hotel+car which worked out great

If I had bought the exact one-stop flight I wanted separately I would have paid $1054 per ticket.

With the package the tickets were $873 a person and that includes 10 days of rental car (which I can change) and 1 night in a hotel

I've been to every island. I have family on every island. I never have to pay for a place to stay on every island. So I can tell you that for a honeymoon, you will not go wrong with Maui. Just make it a two weeker and you can island hop if you need to to see the other sites.

i cant believe that Kona has not been mentioned yet.

Stay at the Mauna Lani resort. It is extremely private and romantic. Drive on the highway going north until you cant anymore. Then get out and hike down the valley to the black sand beaches.

also do the helicopter tour to the volcano.

We just returned Sunday from our Honeymoon to Maui! Amazing, we loved it! We did the snorkel trip to the Crater with Aqua Adventures (it was great personal trip with only 2 other couples with us). Stayed at the Hyatt in Kaanapali, which is a beautiful resort..but if you want more exclusive I suggust somewhere else on the island. But it was amazing. Oh, and if you do go to Maui, unless you have a couple weeks there...I dont suggest doing the entire Road to Hana. Granted, it was beautiful....it was still 6 hours in a car that we can never get back..we would have rather stayed on the beach during that time, but were intrigued because EVERYONE said it was a must do.
Anywho, have fun! I am ready to go back already.

[This message has been edited by aggieamber05 (edited 4/27/2010 3:46p).]

This is a good place to say that we are going to Oahu- 2 nights and Kauai-6 nights for our honeymoon.

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it was still 6 hours in a car that we can never get back..

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Too bad I wasn't your tour guide. The trip to Hana is an all day affair but it is one of the most beautiful adventures you can take if you know what to do along the way. Hana is not about the drive but the destination...