Where To Go In Hawaii?

[By-Tor]

I will probably never travel to Hawaii...too depressing.

I would want to see Pearl Harbor so bad that I would most likely go first thing and never leave the whole trip.

[sublime]

i hear the beaches are nice

[prohornblower]

There are basically 4 main islands that you'd want to see, The Big Island, Maui, Oahu, and Kaui.

I think you should do two islands in one trip and 2 on a later trip. I was there last year and we stayed at Oahu and Maui.

Oahu has more of an indigenous feel to it. Older vibe. More urban. Maui is more resort-ish. Golf-coursey. I personally preferred Oahu, but it seems like most people like Maui.

On Oahu, you can visit North Shore, see giant sea turtles, visit Waimei Bay beach, go to the arboretum across the street and swim under a natural waterfall. you can check out the Dole pineapple plantation. That was pretty effin cool. Pearl Harbor obv. Downtown Honolulu. I recommend driving up the highway along the Eastern seaboard of Oahu. Just gorgeous. The Polynesian center is also on this island.

On Maui, we visited Lahaina which is a town with shop-lined streets. We took a submarine trip from that coast. We rode a bike down a mountain which was freaking awesome. Also, they have a giant aquarium on this island. You may want to drive around the island, and stop in Hana. It is like a 6-8 hour drive IIRC, but very neat.

I have not been to Kaui or the Big Island, but I know the Big Island has Kila Wea (sp?) volcano on it. And Kaui is supposed to be very desolate.

It was very strange getting off the plane in Honolulu, and looking around feeling like I was in Vietnam, but seeing Papa Johns and Blockbuster's. Oahu has a very Asian vibe to it. maui feels more like a mediterranean island. With Papa Johns.

[Glo]

So, like after living on Oahu for 10 years, my favorite part of Hawaii was going on "Around the Island" Trips. We'd start at 9am hop in a car and work our way all around the island hitting various beaches. If you can, I highly suggest renting a car for a day or two and try to make your way around to atleast the North Shore.

Waikiki is definately a tourist trap. I lived on the West Coast (the ghetto of Hawaii, you see alot of it in Dog, The Bounty Hunter). But the beaches were almost always empty, until you hit Makaha. Makaha is a big surf spot, not very Hauli friendly. My favorite spots were on the North Shore. Big waves, lush greenery, beautiful beaches, but very crowded with locals. Avoid pissing the locals off at all costs.

A great beach on the west coast, should you muster up the guts to travel there is a beach called Pokai Bay. Family atmosphere, water is calm (there's a sea wall to protect the beach), great for the kids.

Sorry, I've never been to the other islands [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img], but I hear if you like a laid back atmosphere Kauai is your best bet. I hear it's also the most beautiful island.

[Knockwurst]

It's been awhile, probably fifteen years and I'm sure a lot has changed, but like others have suggested going to two islands is nice.

I went to Kauai and the big island. Kaui is amazingly beautiful the napali cliffs are some of the most spectacular scenery you'll ever see. A post suggested hiking the cliffs, which I'm sure is great and the helicopter ride along the cliffs is supposed to be amazing. We went for a boat ride and went snorkeling along the cliffs which was great as well. Kaui also has Waimea (sp) Canyon which is an incredible rain forest. We looked at it from the top of the canyon, but the real ticket is to take the day hike down into the canyon.

As for the big island, as someone suggested, rent a car and make the drive on the highway that circles the island. You'll go through something like 4 or 5 climate zones and it will take you to some of the island's largest volocanos.

I've heard Maui is also amazing. As long as you stay away from the huge tourist areas like Wakeiki, you can't go wrong.

Have fun.

[Hopey]

[ QUOTE ]
http://www.nps.gov/hale/

It's awesome. We rented a car and drove to the top of this volcano. Beautiful views and a cool experience driving above the cloud layers. You literally drive through a cloud and pop out above them. Pretty surreal to be looking down on the clouds as you are driving.

[/ QUOTE ]

We did the same thing. It's an awesome view. The only thing I recommend doing is wearing warm clothes and bringing a jacket. I wore shorts and a t-shirt and nearly froze to death at the top. It was 90 degrees at the bottom of the mountain and about 50 degrees at the top.

Also, the Hana highway is a must-drive.

Both of these things are on Maui.

[M2d]

a lot depends on what you like and what you want to do. if you're looking to score with some chicks you'll never see again, drink all night, and party all trip, you'll have different destinations than someone who wants to do the nature thing. most people who've answered so far have seen one side or another of Hawaii, but probably not all aspects. let me know what you'd like to get out of your trip and i can make some suggestions.

[Blarg]

Waikiki is a tourist trap. Honolulu is one of the biggest cities in the U.S., so while it has its charms, you're in little danger of "going native" while there. You are in danger of buying really crappy overpriced trinkets and having your wallet stolen if you leave it on the beach when you go swimming.

Oahu does have some great things about it, though. The bamboo forest in Manoa is incredible. You can walk up and down the criss-crossing treetrunks of the living and fallen trees. It's like swimming on land in a way -- you can move in what feels more like three dimensions than as a point along a single horizontal plane, like usual.

James Michener said the Pali lookout was the most beautiful spot in the world. It really is pretty awesome. It gets some great strong winds sometimes, and you can see huge swaths of the island through it. It's a small dip at the top of some mountains that lets you see two ways, and forces the wind into itself like a tunnel. You can walk around even higher than the lookout itself, which can be at least as cool.

My favorite spot on earth is the Volcano House on, umm...Moana Kea I guess it was. Moana Loa is the bigger volcano. Anyway, there's a giant log burning fireplace, and not far away is the volcano itself, still steaming and bubbling sometimes. You feel like you're on another planet, because lava as it dries can look smooth and shiny like reflective glass, or like a sponge, or drippy, or every kind of texture you can think of, plus an astonishing number of different blacks, silvers, and grays, depending on how it dries and what minerals it has in it. When you think of the incredible power and heat that created those now still and silent wonders, sometimes tortured, sometimes beautiful, the world seems like a pretty incredible, beautiful, and very strange place. You'll never forget going there.

[Reef]

I know Oahu extremely well and Maui decently well. Where exactly are you going?