First timers to Hawaii - need advice in specific areas
 

Hello friends - We are a couple in late 20s who are (first timers to Hawaii) planning a trip to Hawaii in the last week of Nov for 1 week. I want to pamper my wife (within reasonable budget) as it is our marriage anniversary and I want her to have pleasant memories of this trip for a long time.
We (live in NC) are planning to fly on 25th Nov so that we can deal with the jet lag on 26th and can enjoy well on 27th (marriage anniversary). I would love to take my wife to an unforgettable dinner or spend a great evening with her on 27th in honolulu. We plan to be in HNL for 2 days and then leave to Maui for remaining trip.
We don't want to hurry up or rush into too many things in a short span of time and we want to take things slow.
I need advice from you folks in the following areas:
1) Dinner/ romantic ideas in HNL that would not break the purse.
2) Country style (don't like high rise hotels) in a calm/serene landscape in Maui...not sure if I can find something like this in HNL for 2 days. I heard HNL is city like.
3) Romantic things to do or ideas in Mauii.
4) Any other personal experiences that you want to share that might help us.

Our limitations: Both of us cannot swim !! :( I guess most of water activities need to be ruled out?

Bottom line is we both want to relax after long and busy months without a break and I want her to remember this vacation.

Also -- I read in this forum that Kauii is more greener and forest like than Mauii. What are few things that I would miss if I go to Mauii and not Kauii? I appreciate your thoughts/inputs. Thanks for your help.

Are your flights scheduled yet? For one week, I'd recommend one island, not two. Especially, because you said that a main purpose of the trip will be to relax. Hawaii is a great place for relaxation, so it's a good choice. However, moving to another island means packing, checking out, getting to the airport, flying, getting from the airport, checking in, and unpacking, which equals at least half a day and most of the daylight of that day. Believe me, that will not be a relaxing day and 15% or so of your vacation will have been stressful. For the first time, for one week, for relaxation, choose one island.

The debate between which island is best has been debated here many, many times. So, check out some other threads. Whichever you choose, you'll have a great time celebrating.

At that time of year you're more likely to miss rain in Kauai by going to Maui - but there's my Maui bias for you :D

For romantic ideas you could do a sunset cruise or just walking on the beach (which is my idea of romance). Not swimming certainly limits your options when on a tropical island, but when you have such a short time and just want to relax I'd say taking it slow and not trying to jam a lot of sightseeing in would be the best way to spend time.

Thank you nyc425 and nishimark.
Tickets are not booked yet.. Would book in 4-5 days. Pl feel free to throw in suggestions. I also want to know if there are any cottage like accomodations in Mauii. Just don't feel like going to a high rise hotel.

Are there any decent travel agencies that I can count on for a good advice? I talked to AAA vacations and didn't quite like the service I got.

You should consider picking up copies of Maui Revealed and Oahu Revealed. If those are the 2 islands that you are considering they are also offer books for all of the Hawaiian Islands.They are a very good source for the information that you are looking for about planning your trip, hotels, B&B' and things to see and do.

Check out www.vrbo.com

The regular posters in this forum can probably give you more info but here's a couple of thoughts.

I've been to Hawaii three times with friends: Oahu, Maui/Oahu, and Kauai. Just to set expectations, Hawaii is not just beaches and tropical lush forest. Honolulu is a bustling metropolis. There are Costco's on most of the islands. Different island have more development/commercial than others.
IMO (based on my limited experience) Kauai is probably the type of island people envision when they think about Hawaii. I generally liked the beaches and trails the most on Kauai.

If you want to splurge a bit, you can do a "commercial" luau that a hotel offers or a standalone like Old Lahaina Luau in Maui. Be aware that the shows are typically a mix of the Polynesian culture of the region vs just Hawaiian. I went to the Old Lahaina Luau and liked it but it was pricey even tho it was all you can eat with a large & nice variety and all you can drink. My wife on a separate trip went to the Polynesian Cultural Centre on Oahu and didn't think it was that hot.

I generally use Frommers for travel anywhere but Europe but also recommend the "Island Revealed" series. We bought the Kauai version and thought it had better when comparing it to Frommers Hawaii one we bought for a previous trip.

I also recommend vrbo. We've also used Craigslist.

I'm not much of a swimmer myself but you can pick up a cheap snorkeling set on the island from Costco, Walmart, etc and the guidebooks list a few places to snorkel that are shallow enough that you can stand yet deep enough you won't scratch the heck out of your chest. Pretty fun seeing the tropical fish.

Pretty standard romantic thing on Maui is watch the sun rise on Haleakala.
There are also pineapple wineries that you can visit.

I'd also do one island if you want to relax. Losing half a day or more to interisland travel/check in new hotel just isn't worth it IMO.

I also recommend those Revealed books. Pick whichever island you're interested in, and then get the Revealed book for it. Totally worth the small investment. Search online for Borders coupons if you don't have time to order them online. I've gotten a few other Hawaii travel books, but the Revealed ones were the best by far.

Sunrise on Maui at the volcano requires you to (usually) leave your hotel/condo at like 3am in the morning. It's also freezing cold so you need to specially pack cold weather clothes that you'll only use for that event. Not sure if it's worth it. Sunset at a beach is just as romantic IMO and a lot easier to get to (from my balcony at my condo on our last trip).

I like Honolulu. Sure it's like a big city, but there's lots to do. You can get some tropical paradise feel outside Honolulu in other parts of Oahu. For a first timer, Oahu is my recommendation.

Second place would be Kuaui. Never been there, but it's the favorite for quite a few of my friends. They've shown me pics. That's the tropical paradise lots of people imagine Hawaii to be. Not much to do event wise, but if you want to relax, frolic on the beach, or check out beautiful nature, it's the place to go.

Maui, while it's often billed as a cross btw the hustle and bustle of Oahu and the serene beauty of Kuaui, is more like the worst of both islands instead of the best IMO. Not much "city" our "touristy" stuff there, and what's there is quite poor compared to Oahu. The nature scenery isn't anywhere close to being as beautiful as Kuaui.

Hawaii, the Big Island, looks like it has more "stuff" to do based on my research, but everyone I've talked to, including a person who grew up there, has it last on their list of islands to see.

Kauai is certainly good for relaxing but there is quite a bit of "adventure" if you want it (kayaking, ziplining, hiking, helicopter, horseback riding, snorkeling, tubing, surfing, boarding, etc.).

Yeah, I didn't make myself clear. I meant things like the Polynesian Cultural Center, Aquarium, Pineapple Farm, err... developed, touristy things. Along with the fancy restaurants, luaus, etc. Your choices for those things are pretty limited on Kauai.

From my perspective I would definitely say skip the Polynesian Cultural Center. It is expensive and does not do justice to the cultures it tries to portray.

You float in saltwater, so there's not much swimming required. Time to get swimming lessons. There's no real excuse for an adult to not know how to do some basic swimming.

For a "cottage" feel, I think the Hana area of Maui would be a good choice. My husband and I rented a beautiful renovated sugar cabin with a lovely view of wild fields and ocean. National park is a 30 minute drive-- but it is an amazingly lovely drive and the park has a lot of non-ocean choices (like hiking a bamboo forest trail).