first trip to Hawaii

My husband and I are planning a 25th anniversary and Hawaii is one of our strong considerations except we don%26#39;t know where to begin. What are the best Islands to visit? Where to stay? How to make the most out of the $ we have to spend? Any all-inclusives in the Hawaiian islands? Looking for quality but also value as we are not wealthy people--just people trying to get the most out of a hard earned special vacation.

Any suggestions would be most welcome.

first trip to Hawaii

Well, here are some real basics.

If you want to see Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial, then you need to go to Oahu.

If you want to see an active Volcano, then you need to go to the Island of Hawaii (the Big Island).

If you like waterfalls, then all of the islands have them. I haven%26#39;t been to Hawaii yet (I leave June 15th), so maybe other can comment on the best islands for waterfalls. My impression is that Maui and the Big Island have nice waterfalls.

What are you interested in? Beaches, resorts, waterfalls, natural beauty?

first trip to Hawaii

I usually recommend Maui if someone wants to visit Hawaii but are not sure about which island. Some people don%26#39;t like Oahu because it%26#39;s too crowded, don%26#39;t like Kauai because there%26#39;s not enough to do, or don%26#39;t like Big Island because it doesn%26#39;t look as tropical and beachy as they expect, but Maui is like Sara Lee. Nobody doesn%26#39;t like it. On the down side it does tend to be a little more expensive than the other islands, but if you%26#39;re willing to hunt for bargains, stay in a condo instead of a fancy resort, eat in sometimes, Maui can be affordable too.

No all-inclusive places in the state of Hawaii, as far as I know.

P.S. CONGRATS on 25 years of marriage! We%26#39;re coming up on our first anniversary in July. What%26#39;s your adice for a long (and hopefully happy!) marriage?

Yes congratulations on 25 years!

My wife and I are celebrating 20 years.

My advice: don%26#39;t be afraid to say ';I%26#39;m sorry';!

Congrats on your 25th anniversary! I am going on my 26th!! I would say Oahu is your best bet, I have been to Oahu 5 times, and have enjoyed the island. I have never been to any of the other islands, so I am prejudiced!! There is more to do on Oahu, especially Waikiki Beach for all your shopping needs!!

As far as hotels go, my #1 choice is the Pacific Beach Hotel. I have stayed at that one 3 times, the #2 is the Waikiki Beach Marriot Resort (but that was very expensive), #3 the Radisson Prince Kuhio (but I wouldn%26#39;t reccomend that one, I just didn%26#39;t care for it). You can still get the Breakfast Buffet at Pacific Beach, but at the other two, it is a $75.00 food and beverage credit per room. And we thought the 75.00 food credit would really go far, we had that at the Marriott and it lasted just 2 days for the two of us!! So I would highly recommend Pacific Beach, or maybe you can try Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach and go to Duke%26#39;s for breakfast.

I hope I have been some help to you!

Happy Anniversary, and many more!

Aloha, Gloria

Thanks everyone for your responses. It will help us a lot in our planning. Thank you also for your congratulations on our 25th. I can hardly believe that 25 years has gone by! To the %26#39;newly weds%26#39;--1 year --- All I can say is it%26#39;s a lot of work, faith, and not taking yourselves that seriously. I agree that saying you%26#39;re sorry is a really, really really important thing. You will find yourselves needing this one but making up is really fun!! Happy traveling to all!!!!!!

We just visited for our 15th! We chose Oahu - $$ considerations were important to us too. We felt that it was the best choice for our money -many more hotels to choose from and can choose to stay in Waikiki or rent a car and venture out to see the rest - we did both and loved having the option to do either. Can%26#39;t imagine a bad choice in any of the islands though!

Places2Go - I just got back from my first Hawaii trip (to celebrated a belated 25th...it%26#39;s now 28...we just haven%26#39;t had time!). We decided to spend 5 days on Oahu and 5 on Maui. I loved our choices! People say there%26#39;s not much to do in Oahu but we were so happy. We don%26#39;t generally like crowded places, but we found it to be quite nice, and not overwhelming at all. After 5 days there, we switched gears to something more laid-back in Maui. Part of my reasoning for choosing these two islands for our 1st trip was that I could get direct mainland flights to the Maui and HNL airports using my frequent flyer miles. One day I%26#39;ll get around to doing my trip report.

One more thing....just like poster above, we stayed at Waikiki Marriott and were really happy with choice.

I think we are at the point where the decision will be either eat well and do more things by staying in mid price, 3 star hotel or stay in luxury hotel and not eat well and do less. Frankly, it%26#39;s kind of a no-brainer. We looked into some well-known hotels and they were $500 to $600[or more] per night. If you go to Hawaii, I would imagine most people go to see the islands and NOT the hotel rooms. Would be nice to do it up though!!!!I really appreciate the feedback. This site is really a great thing. Thanks again everyone. Keep the ideas coming!!!

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