going to hawaii for 3 weeks

my husband and I have 3 weeks to go to Hawaii in May or June, what month is best? How do we decide how long to spend on specific islands?

going to hawaii for 3 weeks

Hello Neighbor.

May will probably be slightly less crowded than June (can you say school%26#39;s out?)

For a 3 week visit you can do justice to two islands. Which two you pick depends on what you want or like to do. Each island offers something unique to visitors.

A quick break down is:

Oahu - this is the most populated. It does offer Waikiki and shopping. Tons of nightlife.

Maui - next most crowded. Offers more exotic sightseeing. Has nightlife.

Kauai - very scenic, not too crowded, limited nightlife.

Big Island - Climates from tropical to snow covered. Very large, lots to see. Limited nightlife.

Molokai - Wonderful huge beaches, scenic, virtually no tourist activities, one resort, no nightlife to speak of.

Lanai - least crowded, 2 resorts one hotel. Almost no tourist activites. Nightlife limited to resorts.

Feel free to ask more questions and give us a hint at what you would like to see or do.

going to hawaii for 3 weeks

Thanks for the help, we don%26#39;t care about nightlife, scubadiving or surfing. We really enjoy relaxing, hiking enjoying the beaches and waterfalls. We want to see as much as we can. We plan on Kauai for sure, maybe 6 nights-if thats enough. Maui for several nights. The big island sounds great also, I would like to spend a few days there. Molokai sounds wonderful but expensive.

Actually Molokai is cheap since your lodging is very limited.

The Big Island is probably tops for exploring waterfalls and such plus it has the volcano park which takes a couple of days to see all the high points.

Kauai has the canyon and it is beautiful....a must see in my book.

Maui has the road to Hana where you canstop and explore to your hearts content.

So you have 3 weeks. You could do 3 islands if you are more interested in exploring than organized activities. You can even pop over to Molokai from Maui by ferry and explore for a day if you don%26#39;t want to over night it.

Hello Islandcat,

We just returned from 3 weeks ourselves. We split our time - 7 nights Maui, 10 Big Island %26amp; 4 Oahu.

The only thing we would change - go to Kaui instead of Oahu. We found Waikiki/Honolulu too commercialized %26amp; crowded. Northshore was great though.

I think Waikiki is for people who love nightlife %26amp; action. We are early 40%26#39;s, fairly active, love to hike - just to give you an idea of where my opinions are coming from.

Maui is incredible %26amp; an excellent mix of activity, beauty %26amp; great hiking. The beaches on Maui are spectacular. Wailea beaches were our favourites.

I just posted my trip review last night if you are interested. It is busier %26amp; more developed than Big Island but much less than Oahu. We thought 7 days was perfect mind you we were very sad to leave.

Big Island - we split our 10 days - 7 nights in Waikoloa %26amp; 3 nights in Hilo. We could have stayed longer. It is a much slower pace than Maui %26amp; we just loved Big Island. If you are going to spend 7 nights or more (easy to do) I highly recommend doing 2-3 in either Hilo or Volcano.

We saw 7 or 8 spectacular waterfalls in one day here on Hilo side. It was amazing!

I will be posting a detailed review either today or tomorrow on Big Island if you are interested.

10 nights was perfect but, again, we were very sad to leave. Do you see a trend here?

I wish I could tell you about Kaui but that will be next trip. (:

Hope this helps,

Chris

Thanks for the advice, I think I have narrowed it down to Kauai, Maui and, the Big Island. We need to fly into and out of Honolulu, so that takes up two days. I have heard from friends to spend the most time on Maui and the least on Kauai. Not sure about how much time to spend on the Big Island. If you have any sugestions on where to start and where to end the trip that would be great. We want to end it with relaxation, I figure at the end of the trip we will be more ready to crash. Also is it best to break up the stay at different hotels on each island?

Hey Islandcat,

I would start the Big Island by flying into Hilo %26amp; staying in either Hilo or Volcano.

We stayed at Emerald View B %26amp; B %26amp; just loved it. It is so private with a great backyard - a very scenic waterfall with a stream. Ken %26amp; Yoshi are the ultimate hosts with a great deal of knowledge of the island.

I would spend 2-3 nights as there is lots to do on this side - the volcano, south point, hilo town %26amp; the waterfalls tour. If you can time it try to do a Saturday as the Hilo Farmers Market is worth it. Ideal for souvenirs at the most reasonable prices of any island.

Then I would go to either the Waikoloa area (our favourite) or Keauhou area. Kailua-Kona is a nice city but very congested so I would avoid staying there.

Personally I would not spend less than 7 nights on Big Island. I think we only did 1/2 of what we planned in 10 days.

Chris

Flying into and out of Honolulu is not a problem, there are inter island flights just about hourly to the other islands, you can even check your bags though to where ever you go from Honolulu so all you have to do is get off the mainland flight and either walk or ride the shuttle tram over to the interisland terminal. You won%26#39;t be spending two days certainly coming and going.

As to how long and where? Well that really depends on your budget and interests.

I would probably begin on Kauai and stay maybe 5 days max.

I would then fly to Maui for 7 days.

Finish off the rest of your days on the big island. You can catch a flight from either Hilo or Kona to Honolulu for your flight back to Michigan.

The where to stay is a bit difficult without knowing what you are looking for, simple cheap condo to upscale resort.

I can tell you about a few of the places we have stayed on our various trips there.

Kauia, Embassy Suites Poipu. Poipu is the sunniest part of Kauai and has a very nice beach.

Maui, Embassy Suites or the Outrigger Napili. Both have nice beaches. The Embassy has breakfast and nightly cocktails included, The Outrigger is a bit more of a condo but very nice.

Big Island, Volcano House inside the park (right on the rim of the crater) or the Marriot Waikoloa. We have also stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa but prefer the Marriot since it has a beach.

At any rate, ask more questions, the folks on the board here love to talk about Hawaii.

We are looking for moderate hotels or bb about 150-190/night. At the moment we have 6 free nights to stay at any marriot chain hotel, so I am trying to decide which Island to use them on. That will probably be the nicest hotel of our trip, because the rooms seem to be going for around $300/night.

Hi Again islandcat,

For your 6 nights I%26#39;d consider using them in Maui as it seems to be the most expensive of the islands you are looking at I think.

We loved the Wailea Renaissance but the rooms are a little tired %26amp; it may not be there in June.

The Marriott next door is undergoing a massive renovation - don%26#39;t know if it will be done by May/June.

We liked the Wailea area the best but that is just our opinion. More laid back than Ka%26#39;anapali so guess it depends on you.

On Big Island you can get some deals with the Waikoloa Marriott - we really liked it as well. Now we got a kick-a@@ rate of $126 per night by finding it cheaper on hotels.com within 24 hours of booking on Marriott website. Marriott had to match %26amp; beat by 25%.

The Emerald View B%26amp;B in Hilo runs $135 per night %26amp; we just loved it.

-Chris

I would use the Marriott rewards at the Marriott Waikola. It is a wonderful place to end your vacation in my opinion.

div myspace