18/19-night Honeymoon in Hawaii. Where to visit? (Hilo, Kailua: car rental, appointed)

[Deeman804]

Hi everyone! I'm fortunate enough to have the flexibility of having 18-19 nights to have a honeymoon but I am really having a hard time finalizing my plans. I saw another thread where the itinerary is highly detailed...not I. I want to relax, but at the same time I want to do enough activities that I won't have regrets after the trip.

About me, I love anything involving water! I like being active and I like soaking in beautiful scenery (even if I have to hike to see it). About her, she is a girly girl for sure. Shopping, lounging at the beach, nice dinners and light activity like zip-lining and canoeing/kayaking is the most activity she would want to do (especially if I can pull the extra weight, haha).

So far this is what I have planned:
Flight to Maui (booked) - the first 4 days will pretty much involve us being on the beach and spa to relax
7 nights in a resort (booked)
------proposed----
Big Island
4 nights in Hilo
3/4 nights in Kona
Oahu
4 nights in Waikiki

Things to take into account, I have enough of airline miles for the island hops, so they aren't too bad for me. I have to fly back from Oahu and want to spend at least 2+ days in seeing the touristy stuff.

Questions:
Should I check out another island instead of the Big Island?
Is it a waste to stay 18 days only on Maui and Oahu? Is the Big Island a must-see?
Can I stay on one side of the island and day trip to Kona or vice versa for Volcano? What would you recommend to other honeymooners.
Are there too many transfers?
What would you recommend?

[whtviper1]

You may get a better perspective by checking out the travel sites like fodors.com or the others - and also see reviews on tripadvisor, that might help give you some options specific to traveling to Hawaii......

[davephan]

We stayed a week on Maui, a week on the Big Island, and two days in Waikiki. It all depends on what kind of vacation you are looking for. Do you like to hang out all day on the beech, drive around to check out the islands, take in touristy activities? It sounds like you enjoy resorts. Another option is to rent a house or condo. We rented a house on Maui at 1,800 feet and a condo on the Big Island at 1,000 feet with VRBO. We drove around the island from where we were staying. If you don't like driving a lot, then maybe it's better to stay in different areas. It's cooler and less humid when you're in the highlands. Driving on Maui and the Big Island isn't bad at all. Sometimes the traffic can get a little heavy on Maui, but nothing compared to rush hour in large cities. When driving around the Big Island, bring beech gear, shorts, t-shirts, and a heavy set of clothes and a jacket or wind breaker. The climate changes drastically depending on where you are. Take an umbrella with you especially when visiting Hilo. We went in a rainy season. It didn't rain much when we were in Hilo, except one day it rained very hard for 20 minutes, then it stopped and the sun came out and it was nice again. We hunkered down in the farmer's market during the rain. The Volcano National Park had a nasty cold breeze when we visited, while other parts of the island were nice and warm.

We spent a little more and took jets between the islands. You can take prop airliners and save some money, but not much money compared to the total budget for your vacation. I would not recommend a day trip to the Big Island. You need at least a week on the Big Island. Car rentals cost more on Maui than the Big Island. Do not select the very cheapest car rental. We selected Advantage on Maui, and that was a huge mistake. We drove around a beat up junker, not quite a Cheech and Chong car, but beat up and dented on all four sides and a damaged interior. We could have changed to a different car at Advantage that was even more beat up! In retrospect, I should have returned to the airport to find a more professional car rental company that doesn't have a fleet of junker rentals.

There's a lot to see on the Big Island. If you want to see the telescopes, book very early, maybe before your vacation. I was told that was the number one attraction tour on the Big Island. It was already booked up a week when we arrived, so we couldn't go. The rental companies told us we could drive on any paved roads. I found that the roads on the Big Island were in better condition than on Maui. We didn't rent a car on Oahu since we were there for only 2 days. On the Big Island, the Daniel K. Inouye Highway Saddle Road, otherwise known as highway 200 is the quickest way to drive between Kona and Hilo, it's a beautiful road. On Maui, the Road to Hana is a must. Start early in the morning on a day when rain isn't likely. Have lunch in Hana, and return before dark. Otherwise driving on the windy road might be stressful in the rain at night. You probably can't drive the whole perimeter of Maui since the road becomes too narrow and scarey. Those narrow one lane road with no guard rails on the edge of cliffs would be very dangerous at night in the rain. On Maui, the Iao Valley State Park is a must see for your honeymoon.

What do you like in a vacation and dislike? Waikiki is very densely populated. In my opinion, it was too crowded with wall to wall people. Thousands of people were on the beech. On the Big Island, we found beaches that had only a few people to a couple dozen people were spread out in a large area.

Do you prefer to go to restaurants all the time or do you prefer to cook you own meals. I get very tired of eating at restaurants all the time. So, renting a house or condo worked out well for us. At the end of the day after exploring the island, we felt like we were returning home, rather than returning to the tiny hotel room. We had more space than being crammed into one tiny hotel room. We budgeted about $1K a week for the rentals. Some rentals are much more expensive. When you drop much below $100 a night, the rentals start looking marginal. The $1K per week price point was a good compromise for very nice, clean and comfortable places to stay.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Deeman804

Hi everyone! I'm fortunate enough to have the flexibility of having 18-19 nights to have a honeymoon but I am really having a hard time finalizing my plans. I saw another thread where the itinerary is highly detailed...not I. I want to relax, but at the same time I want to do enough activities that I won't have regrets after the trip.

About me, I love anything involving water! I like being active and I like soaking in beautiful scenery (even if I have to hike to see it). About her, she is a girly girl for sure. Shopping, lounging at the beach, nice dinners and light activity like zip-lining and canoeing/kayaking is the most activity she would want to do (especially if I can pull the extra weight, haha).

Aloha,

The state tourism office has a nice guide online with photos and trip planner, that will help you get the overview of the various things to see and do in the islands. It's a good place to start. Hawaii's Official Tourism Site -- Travel Info for Your Hawaii Vacation

What dates are you planning to be here? There may be events on specific dates I might advise you to catch, or conversely, there are a few I might tell you to avoid. And for honeymoon planning I find it's always nice to know when the moon will be out.

As far as the Big Island, Hilo side, I have a strong recommendation that you plan to spend one of your nights at one of the many lovely B&Bs in Volcano. The reason being that viewing the glowing molten lava lake at Kileaua crater, and hiking around the park enjoying the flowers and wildlife during the day is one kind of unique Hawaiian experience. Then seeing it again late at night, after a nice dinner at one of the excellent local restaurants, perhaps, is another. Not only is the glow from the lava much brighter at night, but because it is at nearly 4,000' altitude the air is much thinner, so the stars are even sharper and brighter against the jet black sky than they are at sea level, and the Milky Way is absolutely breathtaking. Then afterwards it's nice to just be able to tumble into a romantic little B&B nearby than have to drive an hour back to Hilo. And in many of these places you can wake up in the morning to the gorgeous honeycreepers and other exotic tropical birds chattering about in the treetops. And on either the way in or the way out I'm sure the Akatsuka Orchid farm will blow her mind. Think that might be memorable for the two of you?

Saddle Road, across the center of the island is great for two things... it's the fastest trip between Hilo and Kailua-Kona, if you want a fast trip, and it's the way to get to the Mauna Kea Observatory Visitor Center, if either is something that interests you. If not, it's a pretty monotonous road and there's little reason to take it. The north route of the Belt Highway (Highway 19) along the Hamakua Coast and through Waimea/Kamuela (you may want to take a day there all by itself) takes a little longer but it is very scenic and interesting, with many fascinating places to stop and unforgettable scenery to see pretty much the whole way. The same is true of the south route of the Belt Highway (Highway 11), although the Ka'u half is sparsely populated (but with an excellent coffee farm and store near Pahala), but the black sand beach at Na'alehu, where the sea turtles come up to bask in the sun, and possibly the green sand beach at Southpoint are the kinds of places where lifetime memories are formed.

I can tell you much more about the Big Island once you've gotten a little general orientation under your belt, and to help with that, here's a post I wrote a while back about driving a circle tour around the Big Island.

https://www.city-data.com/forum/29950840-post34.html

[MauiPartTimer]

One bit of advice I always share, especially since you're arriving in Maui first (and assuming you're coming from the U.S. Mainland). When you arrive, your internal clock will be all screwed up and you'll awaken very early. Rather than get all pizzed off about it, it's a great chance to take advantage of the early rising and see two of the top three things to see on Maui; the sunrise from Haleakala and the Road to Hana. (The third thing is the humpback whales, but that depends on when you're going.)

Both of those adventures require getting up early, especially Haleakala, so do them at the beginning.

And related advice, we always recommend not adjusting completely to island time. If you start sleeping in late while there, you'll miss the best beach hours. Morning is when the water is calm and clear (great for snorkeling) and before the afternoon winds kick up.

As to your original question: I think 7 days in Maui, 7 days on the BI and then a couple days to see the touristy things on Oahu sounds perfect.

[hawaiian by heart]

@Deeman804

Ok i believe you should taylor your vacation to what you want to do and your values. Like if your main goal is to see nature? Every island has that but personally in my opinion kauai is the most green and gorgeous island for nature of the main islands because shes the oldest, but kauai has probably the least in nightlife or tourist attractions etc. So figure out what you like, because each island is unique in its own way.

[Ghengis]

I'd switch those days in Hilo for days on Kauai

[Deeman804]

Wow, thanks guys (men and women inclusive) for the advice. We will be traveling in early May. I just booked my return ticket so I guess I will be staying for 20 nights (insert fake disappointed face). I never really thought about staying the night in Volcano sounds very romantic.

As for what we like:
Touristy stuff (well she likes it, so I guess we like it now)
Beautiful Beaches
Massages/Spa
Shopping
Nature, but we don't like to get too dirty. We do on-path hikes, but no camping at all.

I would still welcome insider advice on the islands. This helps a lot to know what to visit. Though, I would like to getaway into the dense greenery of Kauai, I think she would like Big Island Volcano and towns better. You know what they say happy-wife, happy-life.

[nerdlette]

+1 on Kauai - It's my fave and I've heard over and over again from locals and visitors that's their fave neighboring island.

Then again, you're going on a honeymoon in Hawaii. You'll have a great time wherever you go.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

I live on the Big Island and it is definitely my favorite, but for a honeymoon I'd recommend Kauai. We actually took a five day vacation there earlier this year and loved it. The beaches are wide and go on for miles and there's a reason they call it the Garden Island. I'd recommend staying in Poipu for everything that you listed, plus you'll be close to the Waimea Canyon for gorgeous scenery that you can drive to. It's also an easy drive to the beautiful beaches on the north end of the island, including Secret Beach (Google it).