Curious: Opinions of each island? (Hilo, Kapaa: rental car, rental, movies)

[Surfer-Girl]

I'm just curious of what everyone's opinion is of the islands. I'm sure you guys get tired of questions like these, but since it's not for advice, I thought maybe it'd be a little different...?

Anyway, in your opinion, which island do you this is best for:

1. Outdoor activities
2. Shopping
3. Restaurants (especially one of a kind, unique ones)
4. Tourism (maybe not so much for residents...)
5. Natural beauty
6. Water sports
7. Peaceful-ness
8. Which island has the best mix of everything?
9. And which do you think is the overall best island?


I'm just curious. Thanks in advance for giving your opinion!

[HankDfrmSD]

1

Originally Posted by surfer-girl

anyway, in your opinion, which island do you this is best for:

1. Outdoor activities unless you ask specific activities - any and all islands.
2. Shopping oahu
3. Restaurants (especially one of a kind, unique ones) oahu
4. Tourism (maybe not so much for residents...) kauai - the "old" hawaii, though the numbers say maui.
5. Natural beauty kauai
6. Water sports big island
7. Peaceful-ness kauai
8. Which island has the best mix of everything? oahu
9. And which do you think is the overall best island? oahu

[sadie123]

Originally Posted by Surfer-Girl

I'm just curious of what everyone's opinion is of the islands. I'm sure you guys get tired of questions like these, but since it's not for advice, I thought maybe it'd be a little different...?

Anyway, in your opinion, which island do you this is best for:

1. Outdoor activities
2. Shopping
3. Restaurants (especially one of a kind, unique ones)
4. Tourism (maybe not so much for residents...)
5. Natural beauty
6. Water sports
7. Peaceful-ness
8. Which island has the best mix of everything?
9. And which do you think is the overall best island?


I'm just curious. Thanks in advance for giving your opinion!

*************************************

My husband and I have visited; Maui, Oahu, Kauai, Molokai and Hawaii (some islands many times). After much research we have chosen Hawaii for our eventual home.

Oahu- Lots of things to see and do. Lots of shopping and tourist activities as well as natural beauty and hiking. Too expensive and crowded for us. But we look forward to visiting a time or two every year.

Maui-Awesomely beautiful. Many great places to visit and see. Great beaches and hikes. Again, too expensive for us to afford to live. We want at least an acre to live on and this is very rare in Maui.

Molokai-My personal favorite, but it feels very local and I got the opinion it would be very difficult for us to become part of the community. I would visit again whenever possible.

Kauai-How can you not love this island? This is a great island for nature lovers, not so much for shoppers. I plan to visit often, but I need to live on the wet side and again it is priced out of our range.

Hawaii-Our choice. Everything we need is here. Beaches are rare, but that is not something that bothers us. We like the wet side, Hilo or Puna area. It is beautiful but rustic. We shop for need, not for fun. We don't go to movies or need much in the way of entertainment. You need to be pretty self sufficient to thrive here. This is perfect for us and fits into our price range. It is not for everyone.

I hope this helps!

[Tiger Beer]

Oahu- My favorite, as I like cities. I like Chinatown/downtown, I like Ala Moana Mall, I love Waikiki. I like all the mixtures of different kinds of people. I like the density and tall buildings scattered about on the mountainside. I like that I see all the Japanese tourists and Japanese-Hawaiians here more than I see them on other islands.

Maui- Most beautiful. This is where a lot of money from the mainland is pouring into. Incredibly expensive. Feels like being on a '90210' set. Very beautiful, but I think trying to live there would be like trying to live in Malibu. I can certainly see visiting there again, but I wouldn't personally try to live there, not that I could afford to anyways.

Kauai-Rural feel. The main road goes around the periphery of the island, and just chocked with traffic. I wonder what the future would be like for Kauai. As not that many jobs, seems like mostly tourists in rental cars and traffic jams just from that. I could see an argument for a train that just goes around the island to alleviate all of that heavy tourist rental car traffic jam stuff. I'm not advocating more 'stuff' on the islands like a train there, but I equally didn't like being constantly stuck in seemingly traffic jams of just plain tourists almost constantly either. Seemed like there could be some better system of moving people around, as they were all basically clogging up the roads going to the same places anyways.

Hawaii - Most affordable. Largest with most variation. Still not many jobs at all much like Kauai and Maui would have very few jobs to offer. But at least the Big Island has 'Hilo' which comes in as Hawaii's second largest city, even though by U.S. standards, it's little more than just a large town. Lots of rain, and potential volcano concerns, which I suppose both bring the prices down. The more affordable Hilo side with rain, doesn't fit the sunny beachy image that most people see as Hawaii though. But, Hilo does have that little thing called 'character' to it. It also doesn't feel so touristy either.

[newUHprof]

Originally Posted by Surfer-Girl

Anyway, in your opinion, which island do you this is best for:

1. Outdoor activities
2. Shopping
3. Restaurants (especially one of a kind, unique ones)
4. Tourism (maybe not so much for residents...)
5. Natural beauty
6. Water sports
7. Peaceful-ness
8. Which island has the best mix of everything?
9. And which do you think is the overall best island?

1. Big Island
2. Oahu
3. Oahu
4. Oahu / Big Island (tie)
5. Kauai
6. Maui
7. Molokai
8. Oahu
9. Best for what? For living, Oahu. For visiting? Big Island. But really I love them all a lot!

[Mar0]

Originally Posted by Surfer-Girl

I'm just curious of what everyone's opinion is of the islands. I'm sure you guys get tired of questions like these, but since it's not for advice, I thought maybe it'd be a little different...?

Anyway, in your opinion, which island do you this is best for:

1. Outdoor activities kauai for hiking...followed by BI
2. Shopping oahu
3. Restaurants (especially one of a kind, unique ones) i think all of the islands really...i think oahu has the best variety but you can find unique, locally owned restaurants on all islands
4. Tourism (maybe not so much for residents...) maui and oahu
5. Natural beauty kauai
6. Water sports well BI has the best fishing...
7. Peaceful-ness i havent been but maybe lanai or molokai? theres not much there!
8. Which island has the best mix of everything? it depends- oahu has a good mix of urban life and hawaiian history..but its too busy for me. i love kauai but a lot of people say it is too slow and rural. therefore, maui would probably be the best in the middle, mix of everything.
9. And which do you think is the overall best island? obv kauai!

i havent been to lanai or molokai so i cant really put input in ab them!

[Mar0]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Kauai-Rural feel. The main road goes around the periphery of the island, and just chocked with traffic. I wonder what the future would be like for Kauai. As not that many jobs, seems like mostly tourists in rental cars and traffic jams just from that. I could see an argument for a train that just goes around the island to alleviate all of that heavy tourist rental car traffic jam stuff. I'm not advocating more 'stuff' on the islands like a train there, but I equally didn't like being constantly stuck in seemingly traffic jams of just plain tourists almost constantly either. Seemed like there could be some better system of moving people around, as they were all basically clogging up the roads going to the same places anyways.

did you visit recently? kauai currently has a road renovation project taking place in lihue thats really making for bad traffic, but in general traffic isnt really all that bad for it to be mentioned as such a major concern. interestingly, i think oahu traffic is deplorable!

one of my coworkers always brings up his dream of bringing a train to kauai. so glad to hear that theres another person who agrees with him!

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by Mar0

did you visit recently? kauai currently has a road renovation project taking place in lihue thats really making for bad traffic, but in general traffic isnt really all that bad for it to be mentioned as such a major concern. interestingly, i think oahu traffic is deplorable!

one of my coworkers always brings up his dream of bringing a train to kauai. so glad to hear that theres another person who agrees with him!

It's been awhile since I've been there.

Oahu at least has a ton of roads everywhere, and lots of people going to completely different places.

Kauai it seems everyone follows the road along the beach in one direction or the other, without so much variation from that main road. Most of which are just constant tourists pulling off the side of the road everywhere. That's only going to get a lot worse.

If not a train, maybe a series of beautiful trolleys? Just something to move people around who are all doing the same thing anyways. I think they'd enjoy looking at things from the trolleys anyways, as opposed to 100s of drivers all slowly and dangerously trying to look at the ocean while behind the wheel.

[MickeyE]

Originally Posted by Mar0

did you visit recently? kauai currently has a road renovation project taking place in lihue thats really making for bad traffic, but in general traffic isnt really all that bad for it to be mentioned as such a major concern. interestingly, i think oahu traffic is deplorable!

one of my coworkers always brings up his dream of bringing a train to kauai. so glad to hear that theres another person who agrees with him!

Might be useful to join the Yahoo group hawaiian_railways : Railroads of Hawaii . May be able to generate some interest there and get some good info there.

Mickey

[KauaiHiker]

Re: Trains on Kaua'i

As with many places on the mainland, Kaua'i used to have trains, but they got replaced by the car culture. Difference was that the trains were for the sugar plantations, but the tracks went along the coast and to the mills that were close to town. There are a couple still running for the tourists and local entheusiasts. But most of the right-of-ways are gone now: in Kapaa, they converted it to a multi-use path (walking biking), other bridges were converted to road bridges, etc.

In any case, I don't think trains are the solution for Kaua'i. It's too rural, too spread out. Sure lots of people going to and from Lihue and Kapaa every day, but the downtown business areas are small, so the potential ridership is low. Similarly, a train for tourists wouldn't work because points-of-interest are all spread out from the main corridor, and tourists just want to go on their own time, not deal with an hourly schedule.

In addition, because the right-of-ways have been converted, a train would involve massive infrastructure, new bridges, earth cuts, and parking lots. Fortunately, we don't have to worry about the environmental impact because there is no money to ever get a train going.

However, the Kaua'i bus has expanded late night hours now, which makes it more convenient for some, including some visitors. I know an elderly couple who own timeshares at the Marriott in Lihue and come every year without a car. They go for walks and take day trips to both Hanalei and Waimea, and now they can stay out for dinner. But they still can't get to Haena or Koke'e, 2 of the prettiest destinations. Of course, the bus can get stuck in traffic, but with a few key road improvements, and more bus ridership, that could change.