Hawaii - best place to stay

teresaq

Active Member
ok guys. those that have been or those who live there -- which is the best island to stay on. my faimily is planning a summer vacation there.
 

sharkboy13

Active Member
two things, u live in FLA and ur going to hawaii? seems pointless, second i would imagine the place thats slightly less populated would be best as it wont be like carlights and street lights at 4 in the morning
 

teresaq

Active Member
well, we have never been, lots to do in hawaii, we dont go to the beach here, love vegas so lights wont bother us, it will be in the high 90s in june here, and like 75 in hawaii. we like nature and history.
 

hot883

Active Member
Originally Posted by Sharkboy13
two things, u live in FLA and ur going to hawaii? seems pointless, second i would imagine the place thats slightly less populated would be best as it wont be like carlights and street lights at 4 in the morning
You obviously never been there to make a statement like that.
 

hot883

Active Member
Originally Posted by TeresaQ
ok guys. those that have been or those who live there -- which is the best island to stay on. my faimily is planning a summer vacation there.
I love the Big Island the best. Just because of the volcano and 2 hrs. later you can be snorkleing etc.
Maui is also very nice, but I am partial to the B.I. I lived a total of 10.5 yrs. in Hawaii. Barry
 

tx reef

Active Member
I am looking for somewhere nice to go on vacation this summer.
What kind of cost are you looking at with plane tickets, hotels, etc....
 

team2jndd

Active Member
Originally Posted by hot883
I love the Big Island the best. Just because of the volcano and 2 hrs. later you can be snorkleing etc.
Maui is also very nice, but I am partial to the B.I. I lived a total of 10.5 yrs. in Hawaii. Barry
so jealous.
 

teresaq

Active Member
TX reef. There are 5 of us, so our cost will be a little high. my husbnd is looking into airfare and hotels. he found a good deal from vegas to hawaii so now he is looking into fla to vegas. (we got airfaire for about 200 last yr)
 

teresaq

Active Member
Hot-any particular place on the big island? my son is 11 and wants to go to pearl harbor, so thats a must do and of course the volcano and some tide pools
 

hot883

Active Member
Originally Posted by TeresaQ
Hot-any particular place on the big island?
Kona
Volcano drive
South Point (furthest southern point in all of U.S.)
Of course I went wild boar hunting with my local friends too in the rain forest.
Went deep sea fishing as well.
Oahu is the place to stay if you are into partying, touristy crap.
 

npage

Member
The Big Island is great. I would recommend to stay on the Kona side as opposed to the Hilo side. Hilo is very industrial.
If you're looking for something more secluded and tropical, do Kaua'i . Its Beautiful, and a lot less populated than the other main islands.
Where ever you do decide to go definitely pick up the Ultimate Guidebook's for that island from Andrew Doughty & Harriett Friedman.
We had our honeymoon on Kaua'i and their book pointed out secluded beaches unknown to many tourist and recommend some great restaurants off the beaten path.
And if you do any snorking, the fish love frozen peas. :happyfish
 

hot883

Active Member
Originally Posted by NPage
The Big Island is great. I would recommend to stay on the Kona side as opposed to the Hilo side. Hilo is very industrial.
If you're looking for something more secluded and tropical, do Kaua'i . Its Beautiful, and a lot less populated than the other main islands.
Where ever you do decide to go definitely pick up the Ultimate Guidebook's for that island from Andrew Doughty & Harriett Friedman.
We had our honeymoon on Kaua'i and their book pointed out secluded beaches unknown to many tourist and recommend some great restaurants off the beaten path.
And if you do any snorking, the fish love frozen peas. :happyfish
Great pointers. Mahalo
 

catawaba

Active Member
TeresaQ---Southwest airlines is quite reasonable from Las Vegas to Hawaii--Might want to check them out--depending on where you are in FL, you may be able to use them the entire way...
Just a thought....
Hope you have a good time!
 

f14peter

Member
Yet one more vote for the BI, and the Kona district in particular!
Very laid back, tremendous beaches (especially those only reachable through hiking and/or 4-wheel drive vehicles), the volcano, the observatory, Waipio Valley several impressive historical sites, and the snorkeling . . . rivalled only by a few place in/near Maui.
I suggest renting a decent SUV and going to Makalewena Beach . . . un-freakin'-believable! A very long beach of powdery white sand, and because access is somewhat limited, very few people. We went on a weekday and there were probably a dozen or so other people there, and this is a huge beach!
Sadly, one of the best spots on the whole island is now under limited access due to the recent earthquakes . . . the area near the Captain Cook monument at Kealakekua Bay. Used to be that you could kayak over and spend the day . . . now there's no being on the land. Snorkel tour boats or kayaking without landing are about your only options. Hoping it changes by the time of our next visit, our kayak trip was our most favorite thing of all.
If you want a party atmosphere, sure go to Honolulu . . . if you want a taste of real Hawaii, the Big Island is the choice.
I've been, am going again in October . . . shoot, I even bought into a time-share.
As for airfare, don't forget to check the airlines themselves. Through United's vacation link, their airfare plus rental car blew anything Orbitz or Travellocity had . . . just for airfare.
And if you do any snorking, the fish love frozen peas.
Unfortunately, this is the one thing I would have to advise against, feeding the fish. Sure, one could argue that the fish are already so conditioned to it that it won't make any difference, but it is contrary to what responsible tourism is about . . . the fish quickly learn to rely upon humans as part of their food supply, and it creates very unnatural behavor. Besides, there's so much to see under water that there's no need to artificially attract them, you'll be dodging and mingling with the fish just as if you were one of them.
 

fedukeford

Active Member
Ive only been to 2 islands, the big island and Oahu (spelling?) i liked the big island a lot better, the beaches were a little nicer.
feduke
 

threed240

Member
Well if you like history then Oahu is the place. You can jump from island to island, by plane or boat each day. I went about 10 years ago and I stayed at the Outrigger on Waikiki beach. Its only a few minutes from Pearl harbor. On Oahu their are all kinds of things to do. Waikiki is very public, but there are several beaches that are just a short drive away. You can actually drive into an extinct volcano on the south side of the Island. Its called Diamond head. I hope to be returning there soon and I would like to see the big island. Maui is mainly hotels, or condos. Have fun!
 

threed240

Member
One more thing. I caught wind that they may be shutting down the Pearl Harbor ferry to the Arizona. The sunken ship is deteriorating very badly, and they are afraid of disturbing it. You may want to make an effort to see it while you can. Its something to see! There could be a hundred people on the bridge over it, and you can hear a pin drop...
 

skyman

Member
I go every Feburary been doing this for seven years. If you are taking children than go to Oahu. Not much for children to do on the other islands expect the beaches. Get a reservation at least two weeks in advance to Duke's. Best place in the World to make a skydive is on the North Shore by Dillingham barracks. This is a dream job for instructors of skydiving so the dropzone gets their pick of the crop, in other words they have some of the best instructors in the world. While on the North Shore there are several local beaches (not crowded). One thing that I don't get is the elaporate hotels in Hawaii. I don't spend 12 hours on an airplane to stay in my hotel what a waste of money. One other thing children ten and over can be taught to scuba dive out and it is much cheaper than on the mainland (competition). My suggestion stay in a 2 or 3 star hotel and spend the extra money on activities and stay away from the main stream resturants (Outback, Hardrock, Espn Cafe, Planet Hollywood) why go eat at one of these places when they are on the main land. Oh yea one more thing, don't eat meat out there it is terrible eat the fresh fish. They say the easiest job in Hawaii is being a weather man. low in the mid 70's high in the mid 80's 365 days a year. I almost forgot put the kids in coach and you and your husband in first class. Now I am getting excited (I leave in three weeks from Saturday)
 

tx reef

Active Member
Do you need to rent a car while staying there (Big Island - Kona)? Is it really worth the extra money?
 
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