Visiting Hawaii for First Time - Maui or Oahu? (Honolulu: rental car, rental)

[cameron6590]

Hello,

Thanks for all this great info. On gagahawaii, saw pictures of beaches and liked Kau Bay Beach the most...Ok will go to Hapuna Beach instead or do both...

And yes, well would fly to Kona since I am a Marriott member & could redeem a night there...and well Mariott is near that side of the island. But now that you mention is i may stay in the town of Volcano - any particular B&B you can recommend?

Also currently we have a car & hotel (Mariott) booked for 3 days on the BI but those can be cancelled at any time for no charges. I was wondering how easy it is to fly from island to island - meaning buying tickets same day as flying isn't a hassle or too expensive is it?

Thanks again.









Now you guys are making me add more days to my trip!

[AlohaHuey]

To me, the only real way to visit Hawaii is to see Oahu plus one of the other islands. Each island is so different. Visit both if you can.

[Orangeish]

Didn't want to make a new thread since I basically have the exact same question as the OP, but we are having a very hard time deciding between Maui or Oahu. This is for our honeymoon and we only have 7 days there. We plan on just doing one island. Most people we talk to that have been to Hawaii are really pushing us towards Maui, but I feel strongly towards Oahu. People use the words "built up" when it comes to Oahu, they make it sound like Long Island or something lol.

Any other people want to chime in?

[benice66]

I love Maui best. When I landed there, I said to our guide, Now this looks like Hawaii!! He said, "Everybody says that."

[eureka1]

Honolulu is one of the most exciting , historic and walkable cities in the world,once you get away from Waikiki. But if you just want to relax on the beach, any island will do Have fun!

[whynot?]

Originally Posted by Orangeish

Didn't want to make a new thread since I basically have the exact same question as the OP, but we are having a very hard time deciding between Maui or Oahu. This is for our honeymoon and we only have 7 days there. We plan on just doing one island. Most people we talk to that have been to Hawaii are really pushing us towards Maui, but I feel strongly towards Oahu. People use the words "built up" when it comes to Oahu, they make it sound like Long Island or something lol.

Any other people want to chime in?

Honolulu is not "built up" like Long Island, but it is only slightly smaller than Miami and it is slightly larger than Minneapolis, so it is quite "built up." It's a great destination if you want to be in a city or have one close by. Or if you really love "nightlife."

There are no cities on Maui, only towns. And it's laid back and there is less retail and there are fewer restaurants and very few clubs spread over the island. And things tend to close early. So it really depends upon what kind of atmosphere you enjoy and the kinds of activities you enjoy and want to be near.

I strongly suggest you scroll down to post #8 in this thread, where newUHprof has kindly reposted HankDfromSD's link to an engine that helps you decide which island might suit you best.

Congratulations on your marriage and best of luck.

[cameron6590]

Go with Oahu if you feel srongly about it. I've been reading a lot on Lanikai & Kailua both great places to stay in. And as whynot stated your close enough to a city if you wanted to visit it.

[Orangeish]

Thanks for the info guys! After additional research we did settle on Maui, but plan on spending a day in Oahu as well. 222 days to go, the countdown has begun...Wooooooooo!

[Galactastica]

if it is your first time to Hawai'i, with the time alotted (or anything 10 days or under), i would suggest sticking to one island. on that same note, i always suggest anyone, when visiting for the first time, to see one of the 3 islands, removing O'ahu. Unless you are going for nightlife and resort relaxation, the other 3 islands offer everything that O'ahu does, but loads on top. I'm not dissing O'ahu at all, I have just seen that the other three are magical in a way that strikes people to the heart, where people who only go to O'ahu usually don't.

My Aunt, as an example, has been to O'ahu once a year for the last 7 years, but never any other island. When she came to visit me on the Big Island, her and her husband kept saying "I didn't know Hawai'i could be like this." That about sums it up for me. I personally could only enjoy O'ahu after seeing all the other islands, at least once. I just feel that must of us, originally from the mainland, are from places where people are everywhere, cars and buildings blot the landscape-therefore the other islands are much more of an escape and other-wordly than O'ahu will ever be for me. It's beautiful and has its very own personality, but cars and 80% of the islands population is not what I would want to see on my very first Hawaiian vacation. but that's all preference! if you want to see the fabled city and war memorials, O'ahu may be your speed. it's all about researching what's on each island and deciding what meets your needs.

It's true, if you try, you will never run out of things on any island. personally, i find that Big Island and Kaua'i always seem to have more variety and sights, things to do than O'ahu and Mau'i. If you still want to see O'ahu but another island as well, i would suggest flopping your trip: instead of 8 days on O'ahu and 3 on BI, flip it to 8 days on BI and 3 on O'ahu. I've just seen more first timers leave with watering mouths from Kaua'i, Maui and BI than I have O'ahu.

About Kua bay, it's only a few minutes north of Kailua-Kona. It's easy to find and access, but it does close right after sunset. It's fairly popular, but far less than almost any beach on O'ahu. It's not my favorite, but is quite nice, though a little small. great for boogie-boarding and wonderful sunsets. My favorite part is watching Haleakala in the distance turn pink and sillouetted while the solar telescope on top shines in the light like a big reflector! Hapuna is a beautiful beach, but there are many less crowded, more awesome beaches. Hapuna is very, very crowded, i would suggest the bumpy drive to Kehaka Kai beach park then the short but beautiful walk to Makalawena from there. It's my favorite, most beautiful beach on the BI. or you can just drive there if you rent a 4WD.

[Rembrantx]

My wife and I spent our honeymoon last year in Maui. We were there around the second week of May, and the weather was low to mid 80's all day everyday. Well unless you go higher up in elevation towards Haleakala National park, and then the temperature drops drastically around 10,000 ft above sea level.
We stayed at the Grand Wailea resort, and it was a top notch place. Pricey though, but hey it was our honeymoon. We spent a week there and tried to do as much as we could like:
-scubba diving at the grand wailea resort, you don't have to know how
swim, they put your through a class.
-we tried the maui dive shop scubba diving also but didn't like it as
much.
-did a helicopter tour
-made the drive to hana, it was ok. Would've been better if the road
to the seven sacred pools was open at the time.
-went all the way up to Haleakala national park.
All in all we felt we barely had time to see all there was in Maui. Either way you can't go wrong with Hawaii.