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Travel HAWAII?

We're going to Hawaii in May, we want to stay in Maui for 4-5 nights (which is the best place, west/central, north or south Maui?). Then flight out to other islands either the Big Island or Kauai for 2-3 days and flight back to Honolulu and stays for a week before flight back to Australia. It’s our honeymoon but we’re on a budget so any recommendations for accommodations, tours/what to do would be great.

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  1. i live in hawaii but have only been to maui once when i was 16 (im 23 now). we spent most of our time on the west side and traveled to the island of lanai via ferry boat. the west side is very very touristy so you may find it to your liking or not depending on personal preference. maui has to be the most touristy destination in hawaii so if you get tired of the sameness, travel to the east which show cases more of the local culture. visit http://www.virtualtourist.com for more specific information. i love that website. if you budget travel like i do, you'll find that VT will help in your search. while hawaii isn't a cheap place to visit and traveling around is dependant on you renting a car, you can still maintain a safe budget. the best way to do hawaii is to avoid those package tours. who wants to spend time with a bunch of stuffy people and have your time dictated by a guide? you can get around just fine with a rental or bus service in oahu. for every other island, i strongly recommend renting a car as public transit is almost non-existent. i live on the big island and you really need it here. if you have a guide book and know what you want to do, then do it with your group or alone. it can be a lot cheaper plus you're on your own time. avoid package tours!
  2. I haven't been to Maui but i've been to both Oahu (the island Honolulu is on) and The big Island three times each. (Now that the flights are as cheap for us to travel from australia to hawaii instead of bali and stuff! Thank you Jetstar!!) Anyway, the big island is beautiful and it is very quiet so it would be perfect for your honeymoon. There are good tours to the volcanoes national park which is breathtaking, but be aware that you will not see lava flow. If you want to see lava flow, you need to go on a helicopter ride which i haven't done as it is expensive. You'd probably only need 2 nights here, thats enough time to see the volcanoes, petroglyohs etc. I usually stay at the Royal Kona, its pretty cheap, not real flash, but clean and comfortable. Back at Honolulu, a good place to stay is the Ohana West. that is cheap and really central to everything, the Ohana East is also in a good spot, just across the road, but the people that work there are pretty rude. In Honolulu, the cheapest way to travel is by bus. For example, on a tour we paid over $40US to visit Pearl Harbor. On our second trip there, we went back again and found we could get a bus for $2 - return!!! WHich we did and then entry to Pearl Harbor itself is free!! You can also get a $2 bus over to the North Shore beaches which takes a while and you have to change buses, but is good and way cheaper than going on a tour, although there won't be big surf there when you are. Go for a walk up to the diamond head lookout, at the end of Waikiki beach - it's free and beautiful. I don't really think you need to hire a car at all on Oahu. Most of us Aussie's don't mind a bit of a walk and some public transport - i most definitely prefer it over the stress of driving on the other side of the road!! I mean, you could budget a circle island tour into your holiday anyway, which takes you around the whole island, and then just do cheap things the other days. Speaking from experience though, when you're on your honeymoon you don't necessarly want to be on the go everyday anyway. There is loads more to do, i just can't think of it off the top of my head!! If you'd like to ask me anything specific, feel free to email me.
  3. All of the hotels are pretty expensive on Maui & the Big Island. For Maui, Wailea, in the south has very expensive hotels - 5 star resorts (If you do happen to splurge here.. stay at the Grand Wailea). Kaanapali, near Lahaina up north is a little cheaper than that... you may find something decent there. There are some cheap hotels in the Kihei area. If you're not willing to spend so much on a hotel or resort, condos are a really good option. They're pretty popular on the outer islands, and they can be really nice. They're spread out all over Maui. On the Big Island, I went to a lot of hotels, and I actually found that the Royal Kona Resort has the best Ocean Front view compared to all the other hotels I looked at (including 4-5 stars). Get a corner suite. I believe its like a 3 star hotel, but the view was wonderful. Otherwise, the Sheraton Keauhou, Outrigger Keauhou is fine... or again, you could probably find a nice condo... I stayed at the Outrigger Waikoloa Villas - was very nice. The really expensive hotels are located in Waikoloa area.. Hilton Waikoloa Village (which is very popular), Fairmont Orchid, & Mauna Lani. They're all very beautiful hotels... I preferred the Mauna Lani out of all of them, but these are very expensive. When you're on the Big Island, look into the tours by Hawaii Forest & Trail - they have a great tour called Mauna Kea Summit & Stars.. it was a once in a lifetime event. So beautiful, and I have never seen so many stars in my life. Kauai - I believe the further up north you get, the more expensive it is. Up north is Princeville, which is a beautiful part of the island.. they have some really nice condos up in the Princeville area overlooking the ocean. Poipu, towards the south has some decent priced hotels/condos & they're not bad. For Kauai, I would just recommend to rent a car and tour the island yourself... visit Waimea Canyon and look at the Kalalau lookout. Get a kayak company to take you up the Wailua river and hike to a waterfall... it's great. On oahu, there are a lot of decent priced hotels. Ohana West is great, as someone else already mentioned. I used to stay there all the time. Ask for a corner room - theyre larger, and some offer a separate living area. Any of the Ohana hotels or Outrigger hotels are good actually and they are meant to be affordable.
  4. Wow, what a dream Hawaiian vacation! I would rent a condo on Oahu for that last week, to save money and have lots of room to spread out. check out vrbo.com for that. The other 3-4 nights stuff, you probably can't do a condo. I would go to the Big Island rather than Kauai. Having been on Maui, it will just be more small island-greenery. The big island has the live volcano to see, some really strange moonscape areas that are cool, and a lot more spread out ground you can cover in a day. It has the greenery, too, in the north and over on the Hilo side. Kauai is pretty, but I found it to be boring after the 2nd day with the commute backup in town, the sidewalks closed at sundown and the manicured roadsides that look so perfect due to the cleanup after that last huge hurricane. Looks like a movie set rather than a jungle paradise.
  5. Kehei, Maui...stay at the Kamaole Sands condos...go to VRBO (vacation rental by owner) and find a condo you like and rent directly through the owner..it is very reasonable...this place is so beautiful
  6. I would go to kawai it is not populated at all,rent a jeep and go up the mountain for some awsome veiws and pictures.Then there is a beach on the west side that takes 20 minutes by jeep on a rough trail that is fun and when you get there i beleive you have the option of nude......have fun
  7. Going to Hawaii myself.....good answers Have a great time !!!
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