Has anybody ever been to Hawaii? Any recommendations? Which Island would recommend, The Big Island, Oahu, Maui, etc? All I want to do is site see, go to the beach, snorkel, maybe fish, experience some hawaiian culture. Maybe go out at night to a few clubs. Mostly laid back clubs not too rowdy or college crowd. I'm not into Surfing or extreme sports. I need a vacation! Please give me some advice.

jaimestarr79 said:

The Big Island can offer what you want, but I like the smaller areas. I like Maui cause you can go resort or get away up into the mountains.

Where did you stay in Maui? And did you have a direct flight into Maui or the big Island first?

jaimestarr79 said:

Let me look for a link...

The resort has a webcam on the beach you can check out.

Isn't it very expensive to travel and stay there?

It's just such and expensive trip. I just want to make sure I do it up right. At this point is seems hard to pick an island. Who knows if I will ever make it back to Hawaii again. I appreciate your help.

We spent 17 days in Hawaii a couple years ago. Here is what we did:

KAUAI - A small island. I *love* it. I would move there in a heartbeat, and would probably already live there if not for the schools (Hawaiian schools are not very good, not even the private ones). The island is a series of small towns, with about 5 - 10 miles between them. It's VERY unspoiled. There is no big city on it. It's called the Rainy Island and it will rain there many days, but always for a short time, and usually only a mist. GREAT golf courses (Princeville is one, and Tiger Woods has a course on the island). The food is out of this world. I cannot recommend Kauai highly enough.

MAUI - A great tourist destination. It's much more developed than Kauai - you'll find most of the major chain stores in the island. The hotels are beautiful and they know it. It's not cheap! The beaches are fantastic. Golf is superb. We stayed at the Westin, but you can't go wrong anywhere. If you're looking for the Hawaiian experience, this is probably the island for you. Major thumbs-up, especially if you like to shop. If you visit Maui and have a half-day to spare, take the bicycle ride down the volcano. You won't be sorry! (Gotta be 14 years or older, though. No kids )

OAHU - This is where Honolulu is located. This is a working city, so there are tourist parts and industrial parts. The hotels are everything you're seen on TV. We only had a day and a half here, so I'm not an expert on Oahu. BUT, if you visit this island, be sure to see Pearl Harbor and the Polynesian Village. The Village is an all-day and night trip, but it is VERY cool.

Hope this helps!

Here you go.

http://www.napilikai.com/

I fly to SF, then Hawaii, then Maui, but I have heard of direct flights out of Chicago now.

JustErin said:

Yea, it's worse now for Americans, but it would be a good time for Canadians!

Mars23 said:

Let's go then. My treat!

JustErin said:

I'm packed.

Mars23 said:

You better be...and better be packing large too. I don't give free trips out for nothing, you know.

RodeoSchro said:

I agree with your thoughts on Kauai. It's the absolute best. It still has a very Hawaiian feel to it. The town of Hanalei on the north shore is my idea of heaven on earth.

Ohahu is tourist infested and expensive but still nice. Maui is beautiful. The rest I'm not sure.

Yes, I've been (Honolulu). So long ago, my advice wouldn't be worth anything now.

I'm in Hawaii now. I work here. It's my 7th trip in 2 years. I stay a couple months at a time.

I've spent 6 of my trips on Kauai. It's really beautiful here, once you look past how dirty and run down most of the buildings are. It's not that bad actually, but when you look at the island itself, it's gorgeous.

The only other island I've ever been to is Oahu and it has its benefits (like access to things to do), but I prefer Kauai. It's really gorgeous here, if you're just looking to relax.

I wouldn't ever book a trip during Feb/March, as it's the rainy season. The North and East sides are gorgeous, but it rains over there on a daily basis, but not a lot if it isn't the rainy season.

I stay on the west side, where it almost never rains.

Things to see and do, off the top of my head: the Napali coast and Waimea Canyon, plus pretty much any beach on the island.

Maui and Oahu are nice to visit.

Oahu -Honolulu is very commercial. Take in the Polynesian Village, Mauna Loa Shopping Mall (it's open air ). Visit Pearl Harbour (tour), Punch Bowl cemetery. Travel around the island.

Maui - Lahaina is laid back but beautiful. There is this volcano you can drive up to the top, but start really early, it gets dark and there are no lights and it's only enough room for one vehicle.

Hawaii is laid back.

[hang loose edit]

One of my favorite things about this trip is that I've been taking 2 hour walks along the beach (which is a block from where I live), until the sun sets (probably the most amazing sunset in the entire world), and then turning around and coming home.

The most awesome part is that for the last 2 weeks or so, almost every night, I see several pods of whale spouts, and a lot of the time, they're breeching.

As much as I get irritated about being here (the job, the people, and the island in general) and for as many devastating complications it's introduced into my life, sometimes I can just sit back and enjoy what an incredible opportunity I've had being here. It really is an incredible place. And I never thought my life would have offered it to me. In retrospect, I would have turned it down, but hey, I'm here. I'm enjoying it for a change.