Time on Oahu vs. Maui
 

Any quick general comments on if one should lean towards Oahu or Maui? I have about six days reserved on Oahu and 4 days in Maui. Should it be less or more. I am not necessarilly a super 'nature boy', prefer nice (calm) beaches. Thx.

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[This message has been edited by jk5598224 (edited 12-09-2002).]

It is a personal choice. It sounds like you have never been there before. Thus, Oahu may be ok for 6 days. Many people see Oahu once or twice and tend to go to Maui, Kauai, or the big island thereafter.

Oahu is great for people watching on Waikiki Beach and the International Marketplace!!! The Royal Hawaiian Hotel is fabulous for at least a few days. It is well worth seeing the Pearl Harbor memorials for the USS Arizona and the Missouri. The big waves on the north shore are cool. Punchbowl cemetery is interesting and gives a great view of the city.

BUT Maui is hard to beat for relaxation, beach bumin', and golfing. Scuba diving and mere snorkiling are very good. There are many excellent resorts on the north and south portions of the west side of the island. Lahaina is a touristy area worth seeing. Seeing Haleakala is fantastic at sunrise on a clear day, and is well worth it later in the day too. The slow drive to Hana is great for some, and a bore to others. The boat ride to and from Lanai [and maybe a night or two there] is fun.

What else are you interested in?

I agree for the most part. On our first trip we had four days in Oahu and 5 in Maui. Not being a swimmer and someone who gets bored easily, I found five days on Maui too long. On our second trip I took a full week in Oahu. If you've never been there, you will want to do the Arizona Memorial, The Polynesian Cultural Center which is a full day affair, the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, Day cruises, dinner cruises, there's a great show called the Society of Seven at the Outrigger across from the International Marketplace you will love, there's tons to see and do there. Maui, on the other hand, is more for watersports and R & R. Great restaurants on both islands. One other thing: on Oahu you pretty much won't need a car as public transportation is great and all the tour companies pick you up at your hotel. On maui, you will probably want a rental car to get around. In any case, Have a great trip.

[This message has been edited by Marysunshine (edited 12-09-2002).]

Very good mix of time IMO. My wife and I really like Honolulu, it is quite a unique city. We're headed to HI this spring and are sad that our trip this year will not include Oahu.

Don't forget to visit the Flyertalk Dining forum for good dining suggestions on both islands. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif

Spend the time on Oahu. In fact, make sure you go to Kailua Beach State Park in Kailua and Lanikai Beach about a 5 minute walk to the south of Kailua Beach. These are great beaches - not crowded. There are little or no waves at these beaches becuase of a barrier reef off shore. They are on the Winward side of the island. Take Hwy 61 (Pali Highway) from H-1 into Kailua and follow Kailua Road to the Park. Or just follow the bikinis to the beach. Enjoy!

I would normally agree with the comments so far, but, at the risk sounding like a broken record (CD?), the lava viewing is so good right now at the Kilauea volcano, I'd skip Maui altogether and head to the Big Island instead. I've been plotting how I can get back there since my fantastic visit in October

Inter-Island flights are quite cheap and to "pop over" to the Big Island just to hike/tour Volcano National Park for a day is quite feasible. Fly into Hilo on the Big Island and drive to VNP. Stay at some lodging at the craeter so that you can see the lava at night, sleep, then drive back to Hilo to catch an AM flight back to your destination.

But seeing as you are self described "not necessarilly a super 'nature boy', maybe VNP would be overkill for you.

Although Inter-island flights are still relatively inexpensive, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to simply "pop" over to another island without prior planning.
There was a lengthy aritcal in the HNL advertiser over the weekend on how much more difficult this is to do now. With the recent airline reorganization of the Hawaiian airlines, there are also fewer nonstop flights between the islands so the process takes longer as most flights between "neighbor" islands now mostly connect through HNL. I guess I just want to emphasise that you should now plan ahead!

That's exactly correct. I tried to arrange a pop-over one day trip to the big island from Lihue last Thursday, but the logistics just wouldn't work. (Long story, but unless I was able to catch an early flight over, it just wouldn't work out.) Go to Honolulu and back? Probably no problem, but the flight schedule to the Big Island was sparse, with long layover times in Honolulu for the most part.

-David


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I would spend 2 days on Oahu and the rest of your time split between Hana and rest of the island.

You could consider using the popover strategy from Oahu. But I think the you should only call it the popover strategy if it is a day trip and you return to your original hotel at night.

If you do want to see the volcano at night, you should do an overnight on the Big Island on your way to Maui from Oahu or on your way from Oahu to Maui.

Another strategy is to skip the Big Island for this trip. Kilauea has been erupting continuously since 1983. If you intend to go back to Hawaii, take in the Kilauea by staying on the Big Island for an extended period of time on your next trip.