Which Island(s)?

Probably the largest dilemma (and I use that word lightly) about going to Hawaii is choosing which islands to visit on your trip.  If you have a few weeks or more, you could probably see them all, but most Americans take vacations in 1-2 week increments (sad, right?). We had nine nights to spend in paradise, and decided to split that time between two of the eight major islands. Eight?  So says Wikipedia!  Most people are familiar with Oahu (home of state capital Honolulu & Pearl Harbor); The Big Island of Hawaii; Maui; and Kauai.  There are also some smaller neighboring islands like Molokai, Lanai, and Ni’ihau (never heard of Ni’ihau?  I bet if you’re an experienced SCUBA diver you have).

Even though the islands are fairly close and some are just a ferryride away from others, each land mass is very unique and even has its own nickname (i.e. Kauai is the garden isle, Molokai is the friendly isle, etc).  Depending on what you’d like to get out of your trip to Hawaii, there’s something for you.  Actually, you just can’t go wrong – even if you picked the islands out of a hat you’d still have a great vacation.

So how did we choose?  We asked around!  We received dozens of recommendations from friends (Hanalei! Snorkeling at Black Rock! Road to Hana! Ka’Napali! Na Pali Coast!), and we researched online in the TripAdvisor message boards (well, james did that). We ultimately decided the whales and water sports in Maui and landscapes of Kauai would be our priorities.

We stopped in Maui first for whales, and then Kauai for mind-blowing landscapes.

After deciding which islands we’d visit, we promptly bought the Maui Revealed and Kauai Revealed guidebooks – sworn upon by almost everyone “in the know.”  This series of books is written by locals and gives you tips you won’t find in Frommer’s or Lonely Planet (but I bought that one too, just in case).  The Revealed books got us in a little bit of trouble, but what’s a vacation without a little bit of near death experience surprise?

Oh, you want to hear THAT story?  Well, I’m still recovering.

Tags: choosing hawaiian islands, hawaii, hawaiian islands, kauai, kauai revealed, maui, maui revealed