Hawaii vacation question

[egeiger]

Hey y'all!  We are starting to plan a Hawaiian vacation for my birthday.  We are eastern time zone, so I only have 8 days (assuming #9 for recovery vs actively flying home). 

Would you recommend staying on one island or island hopping?  It is our first time, and we may not return for a very long time, so trying to balance how much we can do and still enjoy it without feeling rushed.

Things we have talked about:  seeing the volcano flow, Pearl Harbor, a pineapple plantation tour, beaches, snorkeling, a luau.....


Thanks for any input!  I appreciate it!



ETA: Looking at mid October, but can be flexible about timing if that isn't a great time to go.

[dutchgirl678]

I would go to the Big Island. You have so many things to do there (except Pearl Harbor).

[goldengirlz]

We’re on the West Coast but we did two islands in eight days on our first trip and it was the right itinerary for us.

We flew into Honolulu late on day 1, then spent two more full days exploring Oahu. On day four, we flew to Maui. That gave us three full days (days 5-7) to explore there with the eighth day being a travel day.

The Big Island is the only one I haven’t been to, and I believe it’s the only one with an active volcano (though you can hike inactive volcanoes like Haleakala on other islands.)

You can’t really go wrong — it’s all amazing. But I don’t think you’d regret doing two islands (I wouldn’t recommend more than that though!)

[MDmomof2]

I've done 7 days from the East Coast (1 island) and 10 days from the East Coast (2 islands) and would definitely recommend 2. I've been to the Big Island (7 days, 1 island) and Maui and Kauai (split on the 10 day trip). If you fly back to Oahu in the morning you will have all day on that island and we rented a car and did Pearl Harbor and drove around the beaches before our 9 pm flight - most flights back leave at night so consider that.

[ESF]

Mar 26, 2019 12:34:07 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

We’re on the West Coast but we did two islands in eight days on our first trip and it was the right itinerary for us.

We flew into Honolulu late on day 1, then spent two more full days exploring Oahu. On day four, we flew to Maui. That gave us three full days (days 5-7) to explore there with the eighth day being a travel day.

The Big Island is the only one I haven’t been to, and I believe it’s the only one with an active volcano (though you can hike inactive volcanoes like Haleakala on other islands.)

You can’t really go wrong — it’s all amazing. But I don’t think you’d regret doing two islands (I wouldn’t recommend more than that though!)

This would be my suggestion, but for the lack of active volcanos.

Go to Oahu and do the main tourist sites, like Pearl Harbor and the Dole tour.

Then go to Maui for the luau and snorkeling and more beach time.

On Maui, you can do a day trip to Lanai for snorkeling, so that would allow you to hit three islands.  I've done the Trilogy tour, which I'd highly recommend and would say it's worth doing even if you are just there for three days. It's good snorkeling with minimal crowds, plus a beautiful boat ride. You could then spend one day seeing Haleakala in the morning and hitting whatever beach you want in the afternoon, and on the third day,  the road to Hana or just more beach time.

[sandandsea]

Have you considered the cruise? We did that our first time and liked seeing all the islands. We’ve been back to Oahu and Maui separately. The big island was our favorite.

[Deleted]

I liked the Big Island the least. I wanted nice beaches plus waterfalls and such. I love Maui and Kauai for those reasons. For that amount of time, I'd do two islands but also prioritize what's the most important to you and go from there.

[egeiger]

Mar 27, 2019 10:48:54 GMT -5 sandandsea said:

Have you considered the cruise? We did that our first time and liked seeing all the islands. We’ve been back to Oahu and Maui separately. The big island was our favorite.

We are cruising Alaska this summer so planning a land vacation next. But it’s not out of the question, either.

[egeiger]

I can tell that the good news is...there are no bad choices. Thanks for all your input!!

[expatjen]

I grew up in Hawaii and visit 2-3 times a year. For first timers, I definitely recommend 2 islands for that amount of time available. You could do Oahu (for pearl harbour and the dole plantation - pineapples) for 3-4 days and then go to one of the outer islands (personal faves are the big island and Kauai) for the rest of your time. The volcano isn’t active at the moment, but you never know when another fissure or eruption may occur. The big island is the only island that has such a varied landscape.
Kauai is awesome for pure relaxation. let me know if you want specific restaurant recs!