Hawaii trip- one or two islands?

[Dean]

I agree about the PCC and luaus. If you go to Maui, the Old Lahaina Luau is the best.

I'd agree that the OLL is the best but it's also dramatically more expensive than some of the others. It can easily be 2-3 times the cost of some of the others (which are often better than the ones on Oahu) depending on the situation. The other option on Maui not to miss is Warren and Annabelle's, funniest show I've even seen.

 

[lazer]

Good advice here on this thread. We have done 4-5 trips to Hawaii, and I would NEVER go to Hawaii for less than 2-3 weeks at a time or travel to less than 2-3-4 islands. We too consider Oahu our least favorite island, and never again will spend more than a couple of days there each trip. We favor The Big Island of Hawaii and Kauai, but everyone should see Maui at least once. If I were going for a "once in a lifetime" trip to Hawaii, I would spend about 4 days on Oahu, 5 each on The Big Island, and Maui, and if you have time, a couple of days more on Kauai (North side). Our absolute favorite is the Big island, and you haven't really been to Hawaii if you don't go see the active volcano there.

My thought too. We loved Kauai and highly recommend an expedition we did that included tubing at an old sugar plantation. It was amazing and a highlight of our trip. Oahu is worth seeing, but we won't go back (three days was long enough).

 

[Mazz519]

Going this July 7 nts Aulani, 7 nts Maui Marriott and 7 nts Kauai Marriott. Def do multiple islands

 

[TnTWalter]

16 days total; 3 islands; Oahu Kauai then Maui. It was cheaper to fly into or out of Maui then Kauai otherwise would have ended there. We will have to save BI for another trip.

We are doing the Hale Koa Luau on Oahu.

I was debating between Zip and Dip and Jungle Adventure at Princeville Ranch. It's hard to find info on the jungle adventure. Thanks.

The tubing on Kauai seems overpriced to me.

tripadvisor has a fairly active hawaii forum. But they steer away from too much island hopping...1 week per island is the majority rule.

 

[CrazyAboutWDW]

We love Maui! There is so much to see and do. It is beautiful. Marriott Maui Ocean Club is a really beautiful property in the Kaanapali Beach area, which is not far from Lahaina town. The Marriott is adjacent (connected by walkway along the water) to the Hyatt Regency where you can take in a great Luau Show and dinner. There is a lot you can do without even getting in your car. The walkway along the water goes quite a distance connecting many resorts and private condos, shops and restaurants. There are a lot of beach activities you can walk to including surfing, kayaking and more. We enjoyed Iao Valley State Park for beautiful hiking and views of iconic rock formations. Take a tour with a mountain bike company up to Haleakala Crater to see the sunrise at dawn and then enjoy a beautiful bike ride down the mountain roads - fun! There are also many scenic drives and some quiet beaches you can explore. We'll visit Maui again for sure. Enjoy your trip.

 

[jwwi]

I also agree that you should do more than one island. Aulani is beautiful, I did not stay there, but did visit and enjoyed the happy hour at the bar. It was so pretty, and that was on a rainy day.
We stayed in Waikiki for 3 nights, which worked for us. I am not sure I would need to go back to Oahu if I wasn't planning on staying at Aulani. The island is beautiful, but unfortunately we had rain and a flight delay that took away our first day completely.
We then moved to the Big Island, and loved our waterfront room at the Royal Kona Resort also for 3 nights. It is an older property, but the rooms were large, as were the balconies that over looked the surf. Loved hearing the waves crashing whenever we were in our room. It was also walkable to all the shops and restaurants. We did take a trip to Volcanoes National Park, and Hilo. It was a long day, but we then were able to enjoy a day at our resort just relaxing.
The end of our trip was spent on Maui. 7 nights at a condo in Wailea, it is much less crowded on this part of the Island. We enjoyed the beautiful beaches, the beach walk in front of the larger resorts and the laid back feeling that you get from staying in a condo. We were there in Feb so whale watching was also fun. I think we only ate dinner out 2 nights while we were staying in the condo.
This was planned as our one time trip to Hawaii, but of course now I would love to go back.

 

[Golden Rose]

I used to have family in Hawaii, so I went a lot growing up, and actually, went fairly often until I had kids. We just took the kids for their first trip last month, and DD3 was terrible on the flights, so we're not going back for at least a couple of years.

We loved Aulani.

We did all our Oahu sightseeing in a couple of days before we headed to Aulani, then spent five days there without leaving the resort (except to take DS to the ER and spend a day with him in the hospital, but that is another story). I would definitely plan on a minimum of 5 days relaxing at Aulani, and I would spend more time there if it was my only base for sightseeing on Oahu. You definitely want to go to the PCC for a day, and you really should drive over to north shore and grab a meal of fresh shrimp off the shrimp trucks and shave ice. (There is shave ice at Aulani, too, and it was good, but I'm not convinced it is the best on the island.) Since it is a first, and probably only, trip, you probably also want to go to Pearl Harbor, go by the Aloha stadium swap meet for some shopping, and visit (and possibly hike, depending on your group's stamina and interest) Diamond Head, and visit (and possibly snorkel) Hanuama Bay. I might also try to do a whale or dolphin watching boat ride or a submarine tour. The Atlantis submarine ride we did last month (just off Waikiki, so not as spectacular as some of those that can be done in other parts of the islands) turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip for both my DH and DS. We saw a huge number of variety of fish, 4 sea turtles, and 2 sharks.

We did not island hop this trip - since we were traveling with a 3 year old, we decided to hop to California on our way to and from Hawaii instead, to break up the flights. We have island hopped on almost all our previous trips. If this is a once in a lifetime trip, I might actually do a lot of hopping.

A couple of things you might consider, if your interest and budget allow -

1) One day to Kauai. Kauai is small, and you can actually hit many of the many scenic spots in a one day tour, and there are several groups you can book these through. It saves you the hassle of packing up and moving for just a night or two, but gives you a taste of the beauty and uniqueness of Kauai.

2) Several days on Maui with a snorkel tour to Lanai - my father and step-mother considered the day trip they did to Lanai the highlight of their trip. There is a ferry that you can take from Lahaina (in Maui), or you can book an excursion that includes the snorkeling.

3) A few days on the Big Island. Go to one of the black sand beaches, Volcanoes National Park, the visitor center at the Observatory, and the banyan trees, Rainbow and Akaka Falls, and the tropical botanic garden in the Hilo area. There is so much to do on the Big Island, and it is very different from the other islands.

No matter what you choose, you'll see a lot of beauty. You really can't go wrong.

There is a lot you can do and see in the amount of time you've allocated.