Hawaii recommendations

[07icanam]

So after many trips to Mexico the wife wants to take the family to Hawaii next winter, probably late March or April as both boys are busy with hockey throughout the winter.

I have never been and the wife was there as a kid so we are newbies and any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. We would probably go for two weeks, boys would be 14 and 11 next year. Open to hotel or VRBO, we are just not sure what island to stay at and what accommodations would be best.

TIA!!

[Smokinyotes]

I have only been to Kauai and loved it. Any place along poi pou beach is great. Way more expensive than Mexico.

[antmai]

You will get a ton of deserving advice here. I do not think that you could lose on your ultimate decision but something to consider…what would you value most from your vacation. Each island seems to offer something a little different from the others.

[Grizzly Adams1]

Most expensive place I ever visited, went kind of reluctantly after I swore I'd never go there. Equivalent of our 4 l milk jug, 10. US., which converts to about 13. Cdn. Basically you need a car to get around and post covid rates are criminal, as are accommodation. Son's mother in law had a house rented in Honolu, so that was taken care of. Very touristy and I'm not a beach person, but hiking Diamond Head and visiting Pearl Harbor were my go to. Pearl harbor and the associated museums are worth 2 days to see properly. Surprised to find the island is overrun with cats, feral chickens and mongoose, just about everything you see is an invasive species.

I flew to Hilo for 4 days , inter island flights are cheap and short, 148. US return to Honolulu. Much more congenial place, I had a car rented and driving was not difficult, speed limits are low and little traffic on the roads. I reserved and paid for a smaller car, when I got there all they had was a brand new Camaro with 19 miles on it, quite a change from my pick up.

Object was to see the volcanoes primarily, I went to Volcanoes National Park and hiked to the bottom of the caldera and a couple of other places, but it rained off and on all the time I was there so not as much as I planned. Did see some turtles on the beach outside Hilo though.

Would I go again ? Not to Honolulu, the Big Island maybe, if the volcano was erupting which it does quite regularly. Waikiki and the other beaches on Oahu are vastly over rated, lots of other places in the world I'd rather go to. Brother in Law was on Maui at the same time, not impressed but said now he can tell people he's been to Hawaii .

Grizz

[vinny]

Kauai. Super laid back, easy to get around, a never ending supply of beaches to check out, some busy, some you have the place to yourself. Rent a vehicle. If it’s rainy on one side of the island, head for the other side. Small enough to get to the other side in no time.

[tbiddy]

We’ve been to Honolulu and Maui. Stayed on the North Shore in Honolulu once. Wouldn’t go back. Way too busy for my liking. Loved Maui. Been 2x but it’s gotten crazy expensive. AirBnB we used to pay $125/night USD about 5yrs ago got sold and goes for $400/night now. Car rentals have doubled. Think the wife looked and it was going to cost over $2k for 2 weeks. And you need a car. We didn’t find groceries crazy expensive. And with an AirBnB we cooked the majority of meals at home. They had a gorgeous outdoor kitchen. Bought lots at Costco and topped up at Safeway. The cheapest part of Hawaii right now is getting there. Can usually find flight deals for under $500 if keep your eyes open.

We are currently in the Bahamas and now that’s expensive. Direct flight from Calgary was cheap. Everything else is $$$$ but it’s gorgeous here and I’m not looking at snow!

[Stubb]

It’s expensive for sure but I’d rather go to Maui every other year than Mexico every year.

[Roderek]

I have been to Kuai, Big Island and Oahu. Have not yet been to Maui, every time I look there prices seem to be just about double any other island.

Kuai was my favorite island, I would not go back to Oahu, watching a surf competition on the North shore was pretty cool though.

There isn't a tonne of things to do on the islands, you can find a few nice hikes and a few nice waterfalls, snorkeling etc, but 2 weeks on one island, unless you are comfortable spending 4 to 5 days just laying on the beach.

For two weeks I would recommend island hopping for sure.

Highlights-
Kuai https://www.kauai.com/kauai-tours/ka...bing-adventure and Waimea canyon hikes.

Ohau - Surf Competition and Diamond head sunrise hike.

Big island (Kona) - https://www.viator.com/tours/Big-Isl...el/d669-8571P1 don't remember what company we use, we had booked the trip through a travel agent so we had the choice of a tour to be included, we picked this manta ray one. Honestly not something I would have just said hey lets go do this. but out of the choices it seemed the best. It was absolutely incredible! I highly recommend doing it. They have 5-8 foot wing span and come right up to the light board you are holding onto. It really is insane.

[Taiga]

Love Maui but prices right now are insane, frankly not even close to worth it for those prices.

We spent 3 weeks in South Texas recently (San Antonia Hill Country, Woodlands, Corpus Christi) loved it, great weather, happy people, good ocean.

[skain11]

We have only been once, took our late teen kids to Kona a few years ago, landed the day after the big volcano blow on the Hilo side of the island. Loved Kona, laid back vibe and great snorkeling, we also can recommend the manta ray night dive. Also a close second vote for Cabo.