My wife surprised me for my 50th..off to Hawaii! Suggestions?
 

My wife just surprised me with a two week trip in March for my 50th. She even went around me to my boss to schedule the PTO. My boss filled my calendar with some BS meetings so I woiuldnt book other things. I'm very excited. We are looking at diving with Mantas, a whale watching tour and Molokini snorkeling. Any other suggestions?

One thing I'm looking for... A few years ago, my wife downloaded an awesome app for Arches and Canyonlands NP's that, along with GPS, provided great narration as you drove through the parks. Has anyone seen anything similar for Kona, Maui or the Big Island?

That's a lovely gift!

What islands will you be visiting (sounds like the Big Island and Maui) and for how many days on each? What are your interests and what do you like to do while on vacation?

Thanks! We will be on Big Island 4 nights, Maui 5 nights, Kauai 4 nights. I'm going to do a Manta dive with Honu Divers on the Big Island. Other than that, we are looking at snorkeling at Molokini, whale watching trip at Maui. Planning on renting a car at each place so we can drive around. So, we are looking for driving ideas-for sightseeing. Local food recommendations. Any undersea ideas. Appreciate your input.

My wife likes the Shaka Maui app. I live here so didn’t really think I would care, but even I liked it.

Plenty to do on each island, but it depends on what you gravitate towards, and if this is a first trip or the 100th. With some background on what you like I can offer some ideas.

I have heard the Gypsy Guides apps are very good also. I am going to buy the Kauai one for sure as we have a rental car there for two days. Maybe the Big Island one as well. I leave in 15 days!

There's a few threads from the archives that I suggest you review to levelset; feel free to ask any specific follow-up questions in them or here.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawa...ng-thread.html
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawa...ii-thread.html
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawa...15-onward.html
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawa...do-thread.html
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawa...ig-island.html
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawa...4-forward.html
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawa...do-thread.html
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawa...ts-thread.html
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawa...ts-thread.html
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawa...ts-thread.html
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawa...-i-thread.html

Excellent. Thank you!

If you have a rental car and luggage, then split up when you arrive at the airport. One of you gets luggage and other gets rental car. It’ll save you time.

Also I go to maui annually and love it so much that I’m happy to do the same stuff every year with a couple added new adventures.

The main feature of the Big Island is the volcano, and I think some of the attractions that were closed after the 2018 eruption events have reopened. So a trip to the National Park, maybe with a night at a B&B in Volcano Village would be on top of my list. On Kauai, one of the key attractions is the Kalalau trail and Ke'e Beach. This is so popular that on our last two visits to Kauai we were not able to find parking. The road was closed for some time in 2018 after heavy rains, and now they have a shuttle service that is required for access. Reservations can be made about a month ahead, and I think they go very fast, this is where you can do that:

https://kauainsshuttle.com/

My condolences over the loss of what should have been a very happy experience for you.

He went and had a great time early in March according to his posts in Marriott forum.

Well....a little of both of the last posts. Our trip was scheduled March 2-16. The last 4-5 days really were a bit dominated by what was happening on the east coast. However, things were quite calm in Hawaii. We decided to rent a condo on Oahu for a third week. I could work remotely and see if things calmed down. We know how that went. Mid week, things started to unwind in Hawaii. Closures everywhere. We left Wed and got home Thursday.

However, the time in Kona, Kauai and Maui was fantastic. Whales, turtles, seals, mantas. Geology, geography. Absolutely loved it. So much-we are going back for my 51st!!!