11 nights in Hawaii - Maui and?
 

So going in June next year. Will have 11 nights in Hawaii. I'm definitely doing Maui. But trying to decide on the 2nd island? I had some interest in visiting Oahu for the Pearl Harbor Monument but since I'm more of a nature lover and try to avoid crowds at all cost, perhaps the Big Island or Kauai would be better. Big Island was sounding awesome because of Volcano National Park but given the incident earlier, and the closure of certain areas, that would be a disappointment. So I guess that leaves Kauai which seems to be more on the relaxing side.

I've got a Marriott cert I want to use for a Cat 6 property so I'm leaning toward 7 nights in Maui and 4 in Kauai. Anyone think that is a bad plan?

Probably a good plan to visit Kauai if you enjoy nature. The island is incredibly beautiful, and the Kauai Marriot Resort is a nice property to use a cert at. Here was our view at the end of the road in Kōke'e State Park, at Pu’u O Kila Lookout yesterday.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c0359a9605.jpg

That does look nice! I'm leaning toward using the cert at the Maui Wailea (7 nights) and then maybe use my Hyatt points for the Grand Hyatt Kauai for 4 nights. What do you think?

My vote is for Kauai. It is called the garden island for a reason.
If you have a lot of Marriott points, you might consider hotel Princeville on the north shore as it is about to leave the Marriott program.

The Grand Hyatt is a good choice too.

Wailea is a great choice! We live on Maui and Wailea is our 2nd favorite area. Beautiful and perfect. You'll love it

Another Kauai vote. Amazing hikes.

Oahu has some hidden and not so hidden gems for natural, but the traffic these days is maddening.

I think we've settled on just doing 11 nights in Maui. I thought about splitting it up between Maui and Kauai but I think it will be more relaxing just to stay in Maui. I'll hit Oahu and Kauai on the next trip, with most of the time spent in Kauai no doubt.

I think you'll like doing just one island, you lose a good portion of a day checking out of one hotel, getting to the airport, flying to the other island, then checking in again.

Go up to Haleakala Crater, plenty of hiking that you can do there! But keep in mind that you need to book a sunrise summit visit far in advance!

How far in advance do I need to book the sunrise summit? Is that something I need a guide or can I just do it on my own?

Here's the link:
https://www.nps.gov/hale/planyourvis...servations.htm
Or you can book it through a tour group which usually has a block of reservations. There are also bicycle tour groups for the way down if you're so inclined. But really, you do not need a guide to explore the park.

Since we decided to travel to Maui in the last minute, and didn't care to wake up at 3:00 am to get to the park, we decided to drive ourselves up for sunset, and were not disappointed. Well worth the drive!! Just be sure to put your car into low gear on the way down!

I would book it as soon as possible. We made reservations for a couple of days because we weren't entirely sure which day we'd actually be able to go.

You definitely don't need a guide, just get there early and drive to the top parking lot.

Make sure to bring warm cloths because it can be very cold.

100% worth doing and thats coming from someone who hates waking up early.

If you have a car just drive up there. Easy-squeezy. If you want to do the bike trip a couple months in advance should be fine. But, 5/6 days on Maui and the rest on the Big Island is my recommendation. We love both islands.