<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by travelbug:
I'm planning to surprise my boyfriend with a trip to Hawaii on his birthday next month. I was thinking about a 7 day trip sometime in October or November. Problem is, I really have no idea what island or coast to go to and everything I keep reading here has my head spinning :-)
We're in our late 20's and are mainly interested in seeing volcanos, lava flow, the black beaches I've heard about, swimming with the dolphins, romance, beautiful beaches/scenery and not too touristy. I'm not asking for too much, am I? LOL. 
From reading posts, I think it's leaning towards Kauai or the Big Island. For both of those islands, what are the best coasts and areas to stay on?
I have to pinpoint a location before I can start researching packages :-)
Thanks in advance for your help!</font>
Travelbug,
No... you're not asking too much, and I say that because you can get all of what you've asked for on the Big Island (aka the island of Hawai'i). The Big Island's Kilauea has been erupting since January of 83, and is the only in the islands that is active. Black beaches are also on the Big Island, there are a few. Do a google search for Big Island Black Beaches and you'll pull up some pictures of it and locations.
If you are staying on the Big Island and want to swim with Dolphins, you should stay at the Hilton Waikoloa Village
http://www.hiltonwaikoloavillage.com/
It's a great hotel, large hotel. Do a search on this Hawaii board for the hotel and you'll find a lot of prior posts regarding it. There are also various other resorts available on the Kohala Coast/Waikoloa area (including: The Fairmont Orchid at Mauna Lani, Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, The Mauna Lani Bay Hotel And Bungalows, Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, The Mauna Lani Bay Hotel And Bungalows, Mauna Lani Point, and others).
There are not as many tourist attractions on the Big Island. You will need a car to get around, however, because if you stay on the Kohala Coast (which is all the 4+ star hotels are located), the sights can be pretty far (which is why we call it the Big Island). Kilauea Volcano can be a two hour drive (but worth it) from the hotel. Make sure you get a map of the Big Island when renting a car... which you usually do.
There are two major "cities" on the Big Island. Kona, which is closest to the Kohala Coast/Waikoloa area, and Hilo, a sleep town on the other side of the island but closest to Kilauea. As a former resident of Hilo, I can honestly say that there is not much to see there except for the ono (delicious) candies at Big Island Candies... Akaka Falls is nice too.
The Big Island would provide you with the not-so-touristy aspect of Hawai'i, like Maui and Oahu can be. Kauai is a beautiful island as well, but if you want the volcano, you won't be able to get it there. Have you considered visiting multiple islands? If you have FF miles to spare with AA, CO, NW, UA, you can fly roundtrip on Hawaiian or Aloha Airlines for 5K.
You might want to take a direct flight from the mainland to the Kailua-Kona Airport (KOA), which would help you avoid the connection in Honolulu (HNL). Hawaiian Air, American Air and United have direct flights from SFO and LAX.
Here are some links about the Big Island that may help you:
Big Island webcams:
http://www.gohawaii.com/VacationPlan...Do/webcams.asp
Big Island from the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau:
http://www.gohawaii.com/vacationplanninghawaii/
General Big Island Info:
http://www.bigisland.com/
Well I hope this helps. Enjoy the island that you end up staying on, and please feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions. But one more thing... just don't take any rocks from the Big Island... any kama'aina (local) will explain why...
Aloha
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Aloha! Hailing from paradise.
www.gohawaii.com