Well next year will be 25 years of of wedding bliss for us. I am thinking of a trip to Hawaii to celibrate for this New Jersey couple.

Problem is I never been to the islands and want ideas on how to see them. I would definately like to see the volcanos (Geologist Nerd Here) and the memorial. What others sites do you recommend?

Are tour packages worth it to see many of the islands? Someone told me that there is a cruise line that visits many islands. Has anyone done this?

What do you guys recommend?

Thanks

 

The Hawaiian Islands are a great place to vacation!

It is a long haul from New Jersey, and everything is very expensive when you are there, but as long as can deal with those things, you and the Mrs. will love it.

I've only stayed on Maui and Kuai. Maui has a volcano and a good mix of natural beauty and people related activities. Kuai has less night life and restaurants, but has the 'Grand Canyon of the Pacific' which will also appeal to your geology nerd side.

From Maui, you can take a sailboat over to Lanai. The Marine Preserve there has the best snorkeling I've ever done.

Never been to the Big Island, but I hear its great. Would love to go there sometime, too.

IMO, if you are there for 2 weeks or less, I would just go to the 1 or 2 islands that appeal to you the most. Get to know those, and not try to jump around too much.

 

I've been twice -- once to O'ahu and another time to Maui.

O'ahu was a complete waste as far as I'm concerned. Honolulu is just like any other big American city and I would never go back there unless someone gave me the trip for free.

Maui was awesome -- great scenery, a nice mix of urban and rural landscape, plenty of outdoor activities balanced with some decent shopping and night life in the towns. If you go to Maui I would recommend making the trip up to Hana and staying a night at the Hotel Hana. Great scenery on the way up there and first class accomodations for a special occasion like an anniversary.

 

been there years ago... like the privious post, stay away from oahu and honolulu, very touristy

maui is doable nice scenery and touristy, but the big island of Hawaii is where its at, pristine and very limited in tourist, kind of primitive compared to other islands

hope this helps

 

Oahu is cool if you leave Waikiki and travel. Must have a car.

Big Island (Hawaii) is big and cool. You can go from the desert on the west side to the wettest place on earth, Hilo on the east side. They have all kinds of beaches, black and green sand, active volcanoes, you can swim with big *** turtles, catch a buzz and watch the sun set. The problems with Hawaii is the cost, everything is expensive and that when you vacation ends you have to go back home.

 

My wife and I used to go to Hawaii every year for our anniversary, until she developed some health issues. It's our favorite vacation place. Oahu is our favorite island, so we used to stay there, and take day trips to visit the other islands. Here are a few photos:

 

 

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I've been to Hawaii and it's a really nice place. The only thing I didn't like was the flight. WAY to long. LOL I have some pics of when I went. I stayed at wikiki beach and I was surprised to see how small the beach was. From the street to the water the sand must of only been about 25ft across. Very small, but long.

Here's some pics













It was an awesome trip. If you can afford it go. If you want to see alot of hawaii, take a cruise. They have plenty that cruises around the island so you can see all the different islands


James

 

I'm not sure what type of vacation you're looking for, but if you're looking for something other than laying around a resort, I'd suggest heading to the Big Island - easily spend a week exploring around the island, including the volcanoes. (you can always catch the Arizona Memorial when you fly in/depart from Honolulu if you don't fly into Kona direct on the big island)

On the east side of the big island in Hilo, I'd highly recommend Dolphin Bay hotel - small place with lots of local flavor - owners are volcano enthusiasts - will help you plan to see things way of the beaten track (we actually hiked out onto the lava fields at dusk stepping over red hot flowing lava underneath and seeing where it goes into the ocean)

Here's a link with other local things on the east side:

http://www.dolphinbayhotel.com/cgi-b...26R1r1ooiSOEC8