Honeymoon in Hawaii

[akw94]

Hi everyone

My FI would like to honeymoon in Hawaii so I have been doing a little research. I am certainly not opposed to it. I have never been so don''t know much specific info. about the various islands.
Have any of you been? Would you recommend a specific island or specific things to do? Is travelling among the islands easy, would you recommend going to more than one?
Most importantly, did you have a good time?
I''m very excited about the possibility of going there, actually the possibility of going anywhere sounds fantastic! I''m excited!!

 

[ImpatientOne]

Hi Dixie! My fiance and I will be married and honeymoon on the island of Kauai in March. This past August/Sept we spent a week in Oahu and I have to say that was most romantic vacation I have ever been on. It was nothing fancy, but being in a tropical paradise with the one you love is wonderful! We chose Kauai this time as I have a timeshare there already and neither of us have been there before.

Personally, I don''t think you can go wrong whichever island you choose!

 

[musey]

I just got back from Hawai''i a couple of days ago!

Travelling between islands is very easy. Flying between each one will never take you more than two hours (from check-in to reclaiming your baggage-the flights themselves are all about 30 minutes), and the fares are relatively cheap (you''d probably either be on go! airlines or IslandAir).

If you have to choose only one island, I would highly recommend Mau''i. It has the best of both worlds: Lahaina is a nightlife center with lots of shopping, restaurants, bars and nightclubs. On the other hand, Hana (including the famous "road to Hana") is a secluded haven for hikers/nature-lovers. There are beautiful swimming/sunbathing/snorkeling beaches all over the island. If you do go to Mau''i, you HAVE to go to the Old Lahaina Luau. This was one of my favorite island experiences!

If you want an even more secluded island atmosphere, Kaua''i is one of the less-visited but still very accesible islands. The scenery is gorgeous (many movies have been filmed here) and the hiking/snorkeling doesn''t get any better (so I hear).

If you want a more "resorty" populated atmosphere, Oahu is the way to go. This island is best if you invest in a tour guide written by locals, so you can find the "hidden" treasures that only they know about (not just Waikiki, etc.).

Do I sound like a travel agent yet? haha! I just can''t get over the beauty of the islands, I''ve been away from them for only two days and I''m already aching to go back!

 

[akw94]

ImpatientOne, your week in Oahu sounds wonderful. I have a cousin who lives there so I''m hoping she can give me some info. too. Were there things to do there? I really want a little of activity and relaxation. I know I can''t sit still for too long so I wouldn''t want someplace too barren, on the other hand, I am not into a heavy touristy, resort-like atmosphere and we don''t do the bar/night club scene much.

Musey, that''s great to know that travelling among the islands is easy. Would you recommend going to more than one? Hana sounds wonderful and someplace I''d definitely like to visit. Thanks for the tip about the Luau! I am definitely going to look into Kauai more b/c it sounds better and better the more I hear about it.
How many islands did you visit? How long did you stay? What was your favorite island? Sorry for all the questions!

Thanks ladies!

 

[San Diego Bride]

we went to hawaii for our honeymoon and had a great time. while every island has its pluses and minuses, i don''t think you can go wrong. it''s hawaii after all. if we had had a longer honeymoon we definitely would have gone to more than one island. with only 5 days we decided to go to maui. it was a great choice for us. we went snorkeling every day and did a fair amount of hiking and exploring the island. it was a good combination for us. oahu seems to have a better/more active night life and kauai is more secluded/romantic. i don''t know much about the other islands.

i would highly recommend the "revealed" series of books for hawaii. there is one for each island, "maui revealed", "oahu revealed", etc. they are blue. we thought they were great. we sat at barnes and noble one weekend with all of them and ultimately decided on maui. we bought "maui revealed" and found it invaluable during our stay. even the locals referred to it as "the blue bible" while we were there.

good luck deciding.

 

[ImpatientOne]

I understand, Musey! I never had any desire to go to Hawaii, but last summer when my then bf asked me to join him, I jumped at the opportunity. I've been to several spots in the Caribbean, but Hawaii was by far more beautiful in my opinion! Something about those turquois waters, black rocks, sandy beaches and palm trees! I've been wanting to go back ever since!

As for Oahu, we drove all over the island and hit a lot of breathtaking beaches. We also drove through the area where Jurassica Park was filmed - very pretty. We stayed in Waikkiki which is pretty touristy, but the little place we stayed was great. It was very low-key and not very fancy, but it was just what we neede for a romantic getaway on a budget!

When it came time to plan our honeymoon, my dear fiance is actually the one that wanted to go back to Hawaii, knowing how much I love it there!

Dixie, I have heard that Kauai is the most scenic of the islands, but my only point of reference is Ouahu, so I don't really know. I think Kauai is more lush than the others, but that also means more rain.

I don't remember when you are planning on getting married, but if you search the web you can have brochures sent out to you that will give you a lot of good info on what to see and do on the various islands. or do like Novia suggested and go to the library or bookstore to do some research.

Happy planning!!!

 

[diamondfan]

Wailea, the dry side of Maui, is nice. I have stayed at the Four Seasons there. The Hana Ranch is supposed to be great, winding long road there, with a lot of scenic spots. I also heard Manele Bay and the Lodge at Koele (spelling?) on the island of Lanai are nice, but more secluded and less to do. Those are both Four Seasons resorts. I ahve also stayed at the Mauna Kea and the Mana Lani on the big island. There are lots of things to do all over Hawaii, from horsebackriding and snorkeling to hiking and beach going...just depends how active you want to be...I think it is nice to island hop so you experience as much as you can. I love Hawaii. There is also a neat resort, I think on the big island, where you stay in thatched huts and there is not a lot of technology, it is very rustic...I would just avoid those huge hotels with hundreds and hundreds of rooms and conventions...there is such great stuff there that I would bypass that stuff.

 

[musey]

Date: 1/9/2007 10:18:16 PM
Author: dixie94
Musey, that's great to know that travelling among the islands is easy. Would you recommend going to more than one? Hana sounds wonderful and someplace I'd definitely like to visit. Thanks for the tip about the Luau! I am definitely going to look into Kauai more b/c it sounds better and better the more I hear about it.

How many islands did you visit? How long did you stay? What was your favorite island? Sorry for all the questions!

I'd definitely recommend going to more than one. The cost for those flights (if it is within your budget) is worth it. Especially because, in most cases, it is far cheaper to fly into Honolulu (Oahu) than any of the other islands, and I think anyone would be missing out if they only visited Oahu (though it is absolutely beautiful in its own right).

We visited Oahu (4 nights), Maui (5 nights) and Kauai (2 nights), that's why those were the only ones I wrote about. From what I understand, those are the "must see" islands. 2 days on Kauai was more than enough for my taste (maybe because it was at the end of the trip, though), but I would have loved even more time on both Oahu and Maui. The road to Hana is famous for being winding and loooong... I would even recommend driving up there one day, staying over, then driving back the next. There is just so much to see, that you wouldn't want to rush yourselves! We drove back in the dark, this was not the best idea!

Date: 1/9/2007 10:25:57 PM
Author: novia
i would highly recommend the 'revealed' series of books for hawaii. there is one for each island, 'maui revealed', 'oahu revealed', etc. they are blue. we thought they were great. we sat at barnes and noble one weekend with all of them and ultimately decided on maui. we bought 'maui revealed' and found it invaluable during our stay. even the locals referred to it as 'the blue bible' while we were there.

I second this!! We also used the "revealed" books during our stay. The restaurant sections are a little outdated, but that will be true of any book more than a year old! (Best to stick with the internet for dining suggestions.)

 

[njc]

A third vote for using the "Revealed" book series to pick where to visit as well as to use on the trip. It was our tourguide for our honeymoon and took us to places we never would have found (Kiholo Bay, Hawaii was my fav find!), and let us do things on our own, we would have had to pay big $$$ for! Never ran into a problem of the dining info being outdated though and I even got my books from the library, and there werent always the current version! Everywhere we went was FABuLOUS. Also ask the locals where to go... while standing in line at the Wal-mart in Lihue, I asked the cashier a good place to get lunch... she directed us to this fish market/lunch spot. It was nothing to look at, but we ended up eating their twice it was so freakin good!

If you search Hawaii, there are tons of threads, there is even one I did on our trip.

We did 2 weeks split between Maui (5 nights), Hawaii (2 nights) and Kauai (6 nights). If you have the time, i recommend it. I loved getting to know all the islands and each have their own cool qualities. We stayed at the Fairmount Kea Lani on Maui

, the Hapuna Prince on Hawaii

and the Sheraton Pui'pu Beach on Kauai (it was okay).

 

[njc]

Oh, and one of my friends is going to Kauai in June and they are going to stay at the Outrigger Kihuana Planatation. Looks nice.

 

[poptart]

Oh I LOVED Hawaii!!! I went with my mom when I was around 10 and we stayed at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. It''s GORGEOUS! I watched a show on Hawaii yesterday and they also suggested Kona Village on the Big Island. They are private huts with no radio or tv, and ALL the water gear is included in your room fee... like surf boards, snorkel equipment, etc. It''s probably quite expensive though. Make sure you hit the black sand beaches! We also went to Kuaui (sp?) to see the volcanos and the heiroglyphic caves. It''s just so gorgeous there. If you could try to hit all the islands that would be fun, but expensive. We didn''t go to Maui at all, but I hate cities anyway, so I was happy not to go. We also took a tour in the tropical forest on Hawaii. I can hardly wait to go back there! Have fun!

*M*

 

[firebirdgold]

We''re getting married at Kona Village in a couple of months!

I also forget when you''re getting married, but for two months out of the year it''s an adult only resort. If you''re on a bit of a budget that would be the best time to go because otherwise the less expensive huts apparently have a lot of kids running about. It''s also an all inclusive, so your meals are included in the price which makes it a pretty good deal imo.
KV is a bit pricey so we''re not staying there the whole time. (that and the fact that my parents are staying there the whole week!) We found a hotel that''s ok but well placed so we have a great ocean view and some swimming yet can still easily get to Kona town for dinner. (not paying hotel food prices will really help the budget!)

We picked the Big Island partly because of Kona Village and partly because it''s so diverse. The sunny side is very sunny and dry even in Winter. There''s some great protected snorkling. There''s an active volcano and lush rainforests. Plus there''s the massive observatory! But apparently it takes most of a day to do so we might not have enough time for it.

 

[njc]

***Sorry, temporary thread jack, but it is about Hawaii, and it maybe something you are interested in doing!***

Indie - We went to Mauna Kea (the observatory) and we did it on our own thanks to Revealed books. Not that it was hard, but they made really good suggestions. We didnt go all the way to the summit (thats what takes all day), but did go to the visitor center and hung out for several hours checking out the stars and listening to the Prof and GAs from the university. REALLY COOL. One of my favorite experiences of the trip!

There really isnt much at the summit you can do. Its all big science labs and telescopes that are not open to the public. They also recommend you hike up there (unless you want to kill your rental), and if you do, you need to stay at the visitor center for like 30-60 min so your body can adjust to the altitude.

The big road that cuts across the island and gets you to the road that takes you up is kinda nasty... very drive-able, but you need to take your time and be careful. Its paved, but its not banked, there are sharp drops and curves, occasional fog and in some spots only room for one car. It was quickly built during WWII and has never been improved to modern standards. Also, the road going up okay, its coming down that is bad and why they recommend a 4-wheel drive, which I cannot agree enough with. It would be SO easy for you to burn out the brakes! Our rental agreement said nothing about not being able to take the SUV (we had a trailblazer i think?) up there... just that we couldnt take it on unpaved roads.

We brought dinner with us, enjoyed the sun setting as we made our way up the volcano and enjoyed every minute of the stars coming to life. It really is a lifetime experience to see that. All the better if you are there around a new moon (less moonlight = more stars!). I''d say we left about 4ish and were back at the hotel no later than 11 (Hapuna Beach Prince).

PLEASE GO... YOU WONT REGRET IT ONE BIT!!! Here is their website!

 

[flopkins]

ok I hope not too much is repeated here cuz I didn''t read everyone else''s responses, but DH and I did Kauai and Oahu for our HM. We did 1 week in Kauai and 3 days in Waikiki... it was a nice contrast, Kauai is way quiet and not as crowded, we did a few gorgeous hikes to waterfalls, etc... and kayaking. We didn''t do much else, actually, just drove around the island and saw a bunch of the sights (used the Kauai revealed book too) I highly recommend the hyatt there, on southshore. Oh! we did a helicopter ride there. the most expensive one, where they land halfway thru and you get to swim in a little waterfall. SO fun.

in waikiki we stayed at the sheraton moana surfrider, it was very nice, also recomend that place. just did a lot of shopping there... massive amounts of ppl and shopping. we didn''t go inthe water there bc it was last spring, when there was the whole rain/sewage problem. but it was still gorgeous!!! we had dinner one night at the honuhonu.. restaurant at the top of the sheraton waikiki hotel, I think. Yummy and can''t be missed view - go just for a drink if you don''t want to eat there!