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HAppy Holidays - we are planning a vacation in the spring to Hawaii and am trying to figure out which island we should go to - it appears that Maui with Lahania is more to our liking...
We are looking for quiet beaches, small villages, non-tourist
Those of you who have been to Hawaii - what did you like? where did you stay? where would you recommend?
thanks for the help...
We visited Oahu, the Big Island, and Kauai.
I enjoyed all of them.
I think if I had to choose one, I'd go with the Big Island (Hawaii.)
There is a lot to the island. We visited both the rainier Hilo side (we stayed in a beautiful rainforest B&B) as well as the drier Kona side.
Volcanoes National Park was simply breathtaking--watching hot lava is certainly not an everyday experience.
However, Kauai, the Garden Island, is also gorgeous and mostly unspoiled.
Maybe you could do what we did and visit more than one island?
It sure is hard to choose, and they are not that far away from each other.
We went to Oahu last year and it was GORGEOUS!! By far the most beautiful place on earth! We stayed in Kaaawa which was on the opposite side of Waikiki and closer to the North Shore. It was very nice and alot more quite than Waikiki and Honolulu. We saw Pearl Harbor, snorkled at Hanauma Bay (awesome), the Polynesian Cultural Center, Dole Pineapple Plantation, North Shore (30 ft waves while we were there) and a ton of other stuff. We hope to go back in the future but I'm hoping to go to the big island since I want to see a volcano and I want to experience other islands as well. We spent one week on Oahu and were constantly busy trying to do so many things. I wish we would have had more time to lay on the beach and enjoy it. Oahu is quite busy and is the most populated so if you are looking for something less hectic I'd say check out one of the other islands. Either way, Hawaii is PARADISE!
I've been living on Oahu since June, and I've spent some time on the big island, Kauai and Maui.
If you're looking for a quiet, tropical beach vacation, I would definitely suggest kauai. It hasn't quite been overrun by tourists yet, has beautiful beaches and is definitely laid back and gorgeous overall. Maui is certainly beautiful, but many beaches are crowded as it has become almost more touristy than Oahu! The Big Island is incredible also, but not quite as impressive in terms of beaches (still some nice spots, though, it's all relative).
Hope this helps, let me know if you have any specific questions. Some excellent guidebooks to get are the "revealed' series...
HAppy Holidays - we are planning a vacation in the spring to Hawaii and am trying to figure out which island we should go to - it appears that Maui with Lahania is more to our liking...
We are looking for quiet beaches, small villages, non-tourist
Those of you who have been to Hawaii - what did you like? where did you stay? where would you recommend?
thanks for the help...
My husband and I spend 2 wonderful weeks in Maui...and LOVED IT!
Hawaii was way to touristy and built up for us.....Kauai a bit to laid back and "lazy".
I am glad we had decided to go with Maui, because it was the perfect balance, and what we were looking for.
We went hiking, snorkeling, took the road to "haina", went horseback riding, helicopter ride over the mountains, waterfalls, visited to the Black Sand Beach, Lahaina, Waileha Shops, The Grand Weilea Hotel and Resort, Whalers Village in Kaanapali, went to the "7 Pools"......and did so much more.....
We stayed at the Hyatt Regency directly in Lahaina (Which I can highly recommend!!!)
Service/ rooms/ hotel were impeccable!
For a night out for dinner, this is the place to go (has one of the best seafood and steaks we have ever eaten!):
Mama's Fish House
Kuau Cove
Maui
(808) 579- 8488 www.Mamasfishhouse.com
I've only been to Oahu. I loved it but it was really touristy (if you get to the northern part of the island, it isn't too bad, but waikki beach reminded me of being on Michigan Avenue in Chicago....). I would recommend the island as a whole, but not if you don't want touristy. From other people I know, the Big Island is also super touristy, with Maui being slightly less touristy than Oahu and Kuai being the less touristy of all. Next time, I'm skipping the big island and Oahu and going for probably Kuai or Maui (they are both suppose to be gorgeous). I agree with movingback. I've heard that Maui has the best balance.
Maui or Kuai. Every other place is too commercialized/touristy. Kuai is the most laidback of all the islands if you're looking for peace and quiet along with spectacular beauty.
I've only been to Oahu, but it has everything from the ever popular and touristy Waikiki to quieter and imo much better destinations like Kailua Beach.
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def kauai
