We've set our sights on Hawaii for our 10 year anniversary in 2016. Our anniversary is in September, so that'd be ideal, but not necessary.
I'm really not sure where we should go though!
-would love to see whales -not big on hiking, but would be ok with it if the views/destination were spectacular -don't need a "city" experience -would love to see a volcano -snorkeling would be nice -we'd be beach bums for a lot of time, eating and drinking -ideally we wouldn't rent a car, but if it's necessary we could
September is a great time to go! It's still warm, not too rainy, and the water will probably still be calm. Plus there are fewer people so it's less crowded and you're more likely to find good deals.
-would love to see whales Unless you go at the very end of the month you'd probably be too early for whales, and even then it would just be luck to see the earliest bunch.
-not big on hiking, but would be ok with it if the views/destination were spectacular All the views in Hawaii are beautiful! You can see gorgeous scenery without hiking.
-don't need a "city" experience Honolulu is really the only city, although I wouldn't discount it entirely. The food and culture are both fantastic, and the shopping is amazing.
-would love to see a volcano The only active volcano is on the Big Island. Conditions are constantly changing, though, so it's impossible to know how easy/difficult it would be to see flowing lava.
-snorkeling would be nice There's decent snorkeling on all of the islands.
-we'd be beach bums for a lot of time, eating and drinking All the islands have good beaches.
-ideally we wouldn't rent a car, but if it's necessary we could Is there a reason for this? You will absolutely need a car everywhere but Oahu, and even then you'd be missing out not having one for at least part of the time.
So if a volcano is a must, then that's the BI. But it is truly large and involves a lot of driving. Depending on how much time you have you could do 2 islands, but keep in mind it does eat up at least a half a day to move (if not more). Personally I really like the BI and I think it and Oahu make a great combo, but that's just me.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. Mark Twain
Agree that BI is where you'll want to go if you want to see a live volcano. There's great snorkeling there. Also agree that if you want to see whales, you should go in the winter. We were there last month and it was spectacular. We saw whales breaching from our patio every morning, and had one swim right under our boat. They're everywhere. You'll want a car for sure...preferably a 4-wheel drive to see some of the best parts of the island.
BI is not as much of a "resort" island as some of the others, though. There are some resorts, but not a lot. BI and Maui are very easy to do for a 2-island trip, though, if you do want more of a resort feel in addition to the volcano - that's what we did. You can take a commuter plane so you don't need to go through TSA or get to the airport early. We got to the airport on the BI at 4:30p and were to our resort on Maui before 7pm.
How long do you want to go for? How many islands do you want to do?
Whale watching is primarily a winter activity. We were there in January and saw a number of whales and also Hawaiian spinner dolphins. We saw them off Kauai, but I'm sure other islands would also be suitable.
We hiked more in Kauai than the Big Island, although you can go to the lookout points to see the Na Pali coast (or go by boat) and you can drive to the lookouts on Waimea Canyon Drive to avoid hiking.
The only active volcano is on the Big Island, but if activity isn't important to you you can always explore Haleakala on Maui. Kauai is not much for volcanoes; it is the oldest island in the chain. There was very little actively flowing lava when we went, but 2016 is a ways off so it's hard to guess how active it'd be when you are going. All the active flow was on private land, so you had to take a helicopter tour to see it.
You can snorkel on pretty much any island. Summer is a better time for that. We got some snorkeling in on both the Big Island and Kauai in Jan, but we were limited in where we could snorkel, because seas were rough on the north coasts and the east coast of Kauai.
The beach bum thing I can't relate so well to; we did not do a lot of that! We sat on the beach maybe 3 days in our entire 2 weeks. Beach bumming is harder to do on the Big Island because it is the youngest and has the least sand beaches. Kauai has a lot more sandy beach.
I would recommend checking out the series of books called "[The Big Island/Oahu/Maui/Kauai] Revealed" and see which island(s) strike your fancy.
Thanks for all the responses! I really don't think there's a reason I didn't want a car, just another thing to worry about I guess? No big deal really.
I'd think 5-6 nights is probably what we could do. Our babysitting options are limited and even that may be too much for my mom.
I guess whales aren't a bigger priority than warm weather. We could always see them on a trip to Alaska or Seattle or something.
I'd do Maui. Like other said, BI has the active volcano but it's not close enough to the beach and other things to do both in 5-6 days. You definitely need a car on BI, everything is a drive.
On Maui, you don't get the active volcano but you can do Haleakala through a tour. We did a tour where they picked us up at the hotel, watched the sunrise over Haleakala, and then biked ride down the mountain. Freezing cold on top but breathtaking ride, one of my favorite days there.
We had a car and I would recommend it, but you can get on without if you stay at a resort and prebook tours and transportation. The beaches and scenery in Maui were beautiful.
I'd do Maui. Like other said, BI has the active volcano but it's not close enough to the beach and other things to do both in 5-6 days. You definitely need a car on BI, everything is a drive.
On Maui, you don't get the active volcano but you can do Haleakala through a tour. We did a tour where they picked us up at the hotel, watched the sunrise over Haleakala, and then biked ride down the mountain. Freezing cold on top but breathtaking ride, one of my favorite days there.
We had a car and I would recommend it, but you can get on without if you stay at a resort and prebook tours and transportation. The beaches and scenery in Maui were beautiful.
I lived on the big island for 8 years and I'd say you can easily do the volcano, and beaches and waipio valley and waterfalls in 5-6 days. I'd plan on spending 2 in hilo, to take care of the volcano, waterfalls, and kaumana caves. Then i'd head to kona on the north route, stop in hamakua to see waipio valley, get malasada's then stop in waimea either for the night or dinner. Then the other 3-4 days in kona, or kohala and at the beaches and resorts. I am partial though because i LOVE the big island. I would also agree with everyone that a car is necessary.