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I just went to Maui, Hawaii this past May. It was wonderful!!! I've been to Maui 3 times and fall in love with the island each time. FI and I actually took our e-pics there in May too. In my opinion Maui is the best island because it is not as overcrouded as other islands but not as desolate either. The Wailea area has some amazing resorts. We stayed at the Fairmont there in 2006 and greatly enjoyed it. It is one of the upperscale resorts in the area. This past May we stayed in Kaanipali. Another resorty area but nice too. I would recommend going on a snorkeling excursion to the Molokini Volcanic Crater and to see sea turtles. There are excursions that include both in a day on the ocean. There is just nothing like swimming with wild sea turtles and being a foot away from them, they are so majestic and free! While snokeling we also saw a mother whale and her calf, an eagle ray, and a reef shark (which freaked me out but he was really cool and swam right under hundreds of people not caring one bit at the bottom of the ocean.) Another great idea would be to take a helicopter ride around the island. I've never done this but always wanted to. It's quite pricey but you get to see so many sites that can't be reached by car. The shops at Wailea are great as well as in Lahaina town down the road from Kaanapoli, which has Bubba Gumps restaurant and the Hard Rock Cafe. From the airport Kaanapali is north and Wailea is south, both easy 20 minute drives. The island also has a volcano you can take tours up to see. Friends of mine have reccommended going to see the sunrise at the top. If you have any more questions about Maui please feel free to PM me and check out my e-pics in my gallery and/or bio! :) There are a few public beaches that are off the beaten path I can tell you about too, I justy need to look up their names... :)
OH! And the weather is perfection!!!! Mid to low 80s consistently :)
Thanks so much for the advice. I am a little nervous about driving in Hawaii. Is it easy enough to go on any organised trips anywhere? It is sounding as though Maui might be a strong contender to visit!
Ive been to the big island, kauai, and oahu. My personal favorite out of those is Kauai, mostly because I LOVE to snorkel and hike and there is a ton of that to do there. There is NO nightlife on kauai though and it is the most under developed island for sure. You must rent a car on Hawaii, or any island for the matter if you plan on site-seeing. Its really the most convenient way to get around. They do have organized trips, but you would need to hire a car to get to the places leave point which could be more costly than getting a rental car.
Also, feel free to PM me if you have any questions!
And yes this place is real!!! Soooo beautiful.
For what you're looking for, Oahu is your best bet. Great restaurants, shopping, nightlife as much or as little as you want it in the Honolulu area, but easy to escape to the scenic, relaxing, less-populated areas as well. Go to the eastside, all the way from Hawaii Kai/Hanauma bay, up to Kailua/Lanikai/Kaneohe. Continue on up to the north shore. Country, epic beaches, charming towns, doesn't get any better. This is where I live. If you're a bit more adventurous, head west to the leeward side and visit those beaches, Makaha is amazing. You might swim with some (wild) dolphins.
I would recommend renting a car, however, there is a...decent... public transportation system (The Bus, literally, that's what it's called). We have so many international tourists here that I can't imagine there are any special, prohibitive "rules" with the car rental companies.
As far as time of year, August is going to be less likely to rain on you, but overall, the weather doesn't change much. Summer is mid-to-high 80's, winter is mid-to-high 70's, there's a chance for rain year-round. Not a whole lot of difference from May to August.
agree with PP, oahu is the best al around island. i grew up on kauai and there is definitely no nightlife there. you will also definitely need a car no matter which island you go to. the weather is usually always in the 70s - 80s all year round.
We stayed on Oahu for part of our honeymoon. We hated it. I doubt I would ever vacation on that island. Waikiki is just too expensive and overly touristy. Half of the island is home to some very shady and unwelcoming natives, and had I not had family there, being in the neighborhood would have been a very BAD thing.
I would recommend Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island. Maui has decent nightlife, but not crazy like Oahu. Kauai is also very nice, but the bars close much sooner than Maui. The Big Island is awesome. We stayed leeside near Keahou Bay. It is very laid back, but there are resorts, bars, restaurants, and tourist shops too. It was like the best of both worlds! For sightseeing on the Big Island you don't need to rent a car. You can get a ride to your hotel from the airport, and places like Hawaii Forest and Trail will come pick you up from your hotel to take you on waterfall tours and volcano tours. We did rent a car while we were there, but we did not need it. If you are considering the Big Island and the Hawaii Forest and Trails tours, you might call or e-mail them to see which hotels/resorts they will pick you up from and to book your tour. There was plenty of hiking locally too, or we could have gone to see the Kona coffee fields, or just hang out on the beach.
If I was doing a second honeymoon, we would spend two weeks leeside on Hawai'i (the Big Island) for sure!
I agree with Sapphire, I was not a fan of Oahu...too touristy for me. But it does have some historical interests that would make it a good place to stay for a few days.
@MightySapphire: Whoah.... where did you go? I've lived here for 3 years and definitely wouldn't agree with that description...
@littlemissmango: We went into a neighborhood on the west side of the island. A friend of mine had his brother murdered and hung from a bridge in that neighborhood because he wasn't local. No joke. The people in that neighborhood don't like anyone who isn't an islander. Lucky I come from the [Removed] and [Removed] families! I was worried about my DH coming to my cousin's house with me.
Do you live near Waikiki/the east side? They mostly ignore people over there. And anyone in the tourist areas. But try going to a local neighborhood after dark, and there's trouble.
ETA-I removed my family names, sorry. Don't feel comfortable sharing that much.
I've been to Waikiki and I loved it; it sounds like what you are looking for in terms of lots of stuff to do but still beautiful beaches to relax at.
I'm going to Maui and Kauai for the first time for my wedding and honeymoon - I hear they're more laid back. Kauai more so than Maui. I won't be able to give you a report before your wedding though!
@MightySapphire: Wow, sorry to hear about your friend's friend. That's crazy. The west side is *very* local, but for the most part, the whole, locals hating haoles stereotype is blown waaaay out of proportion. If you're respectful and don't act like you own the place, everyone's cool with everyone. Military people get way more shit from locals than tourists. (personal opinion: rightfully so, the government and military have stolen a TON of land from this island)
Honestly the island is so diverse, there are very few truly local (as in, native hawaiian) people here, so the prejudices don't hold much weight. There's only about 20% that have any local blood whatsoever, and not much at that.
I can't stand Waikiki though, definitely with you on that. I like it to visit every now and then, to go out and shop and stuff, but I mostly stay away. Town side is so far gone from *real* Hawaii that it's just irritating. And yeah, tons of tourists. I live on north shore. It's like being on an entirely different island. Very chill, awesome community, it's the best of what this island has to offer, IMO. Maybe you ought to come back so I can show it to you! :)
@littlemissmango: I love the North Shore! You're right, it's much better than Waikiki. I guess I should clarify I just really hate Waikiki. LOL. I stayed there for the second half of our honeymoon and it was so disappointing after spending the first half on Hawai'i.
I have stayed with friends up in North Shore though, and you're right. It is pretty chill there, much more representative of the culture.
It's probably a good idea to stay away from any "local" spots no matter where you vacation. People can be crazy territorial in tourist towns.
@MightySapphire: Oh good! I'm glad you at least experienced areas outside of Waikiki and random sketchy neighborhoods in waianae, lol!! North shore is where it's at. I'm super biased though, haha. I still haven't been to big island, but from what I hear, I'm sure I would love it too. Volcanoes spewing lava straight into the ocean?! I mean, come on. It doesn't get much more awesome than that!
@littlemissmango: You should check out the waterfalls near Kohala! There's actually a lot of amazing things to see on the Big Island and they are all hidden. Some are on private property that isn't even developed yet. You've got to check it out!
If you do end up in Waikiki, the Moana Surfrider is a great hotel. Really relaxing with great porches all around, beach, pool and wonderful Banyan tree out back.
Have fun!
Maui is amazing. We stayed in Ka'anapali, but for your needs, I'd suggest staying in Wailea. Beautiful beaches, more secluded (less touristy) than Ka'anapali, and plenty of things to do/see!
We honeymooned in Las Vegas, Hawaii (Oahu) and San Francisco in May this year, it was amazing! Also being from the UK, the weather was perfect in May. It would have been too hot for us in August.
We stayed here http://www.turtlebayresort.com/ on the North Shore of Oahu. By staying away from Waikiki we felt we had a taste of real Hawaii and didnt find it to be too touristy. We hired a jeep to travel round the island - driving is easy and we felt safe. We spent the week either relaxing by the beach/pool at our resort and visiting the nearby towns and beaches (Haleiwa, Waimea Bay, Sunset) and also took a day trip to Waikiki. The resort had plently to keep us entertained in the evenings and a variety of places to eat.
I would recommend the trip we did for our honeymoon to anyone. We travelled with Virgin holidays.
Hope that helps!
Literally JUST got back from Maui and had the time of my life! We stayed in Kaanapali and it was gorgeous. We had the luxury of the big resort but it still had a very Hawaiian feel. There is great snorkeling, wonderful drives (go to Hana and around the mountain), and great food everywhere you go.
We were in Kauai a little while back and it is gorgeous, too, but more natural. Don't get me wrong, I love it being natural but there seemed to be less to do unless you want to only snorkel, hike, and take helicopter rides. I love all of those things (maybe not the latter, lol) but for my honeymoon I wanted a tropical paradise with the luxuries that could come with it, and I got it on Maui.
PM me if you need any more info!!!
I am in love with Maui, having just spent my honeymoon there. Explore the island, it is beautiful and there are plenty of activities. You won't be bored!
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First of all i apologise if the questions in this post have been answered before as i see that there are several other posts relating to Hawaii honeymoons.
We marry in May but are still undecided as whether to honeymoon in May or in August. We will be travelling from the UK and plan a Vegas/Hawaii twin centre. My fiance and i have been in Vegas in August before and heat is not an issue for us. However, i must admit that we are both quite lacking in knowledge about Hawaii. Whilst we plan to read up more, i would like opinions a to whether it makes a difference travelling there in either May or August.
Another area where i would like advice is regarding the most appropriate island and resort in which to stay. We are a couple in our late 20s/early 30s. We like a reasonable atmosphere at night but are not the type to go out clubbing til all hours anymore! We also enjoy walking, swimming and enjoying nice scenery. Neither of us is particularly into water sports. We like to combine relaxing and being in the resort with some sightseeing and would like to see the "real" Hawaii and not just the commercialised areas. Any ideas?
Also, we are thinking about hiring a car, but i want to know if there are other reasonable ways of getting around? Neither myself nor my fiance are ovely confident drivers, though we are both competent! What, incidentally, are the rules regarding Europeans hiring cars in Hawaii?
I would appreciate any comments and advice that might help us to plan our much anticipated break! Thanks