Which Hawaii Island to visit first

Me and my wife are planning to vacation to Hawaii. We have never been there before. We are wanting some advice from experienced travelers on what Island to visit for our first time. Below are specifics and what we are looking for:

We are staying 8-9 days and nights.

We are looking for a hotel, resort, hut, or cabin with a magnificent view

We are looking to relax but to also have things to see and do if we want to plan a day of activity.

We are looking for a place with nice top quality restaurants to choose from.

We are not beach bums but would love to spend a couple of days on the beach and some time exploring water falls, volcanos, etc.

Can someone please tell me what island and what place is best for the above mentioned.

Thanks so much

Steve

Which Hawaii Island to visit first

I recommend that you buy or read (library or store) ';No Worries Hawai%26#39;i'; or ';Hawai%26#39;i for Dummies'; and get an idea of what each island has to offer.

Also take a look in the HAWAII forum at the many previous topics on ';which island for my first trip.'; You are in the Big Island forum, and this kind of question is best put in the Hawai%26#39;i forum, for the whole island chain.

Each island is very different. On all but Kaua%26#39;i, the waterfalls and beaches are not close to each other. All have some sort of fine dining, but ';top'; is another matter. There is only a volcano on the Big Island, but it may not be your best choice.

You need to say your nightly budget for lodgings and what month you are coming, because of seasonal weather, and because you will get all sorts of rec%26#39;s to stay at the best places, which is fine if that%26#39;s in your budget, but not useful if it isn%26#39;t.

Which Hawaii Island to visit first

PS. I recommend No Worries Hawaii highly because it is organized unlike other guide books, as a way to pick your destination. Most books tell you how to get around the destination already picked.

It allows you to choose types of activities that matter to you, and then it will rate each island for you specifically for your choices, AND it will point you to a description of where you%26#39;ll find that activity on the island, with photos. It will be money well spent.

http://www.gohawaii.com/

This is a good website to use. The islands are listed across the top, and they will mail you information as well.

Figure your nightly accomodations budget ... with 8-9 nights, it%26#39;s best to stay on one island, but your could break your trip up 5 nights and 4 nights and see two islands.

Having read through your list, start with Maui. It has some of the beauty of Hawaii and Kauai and the trapping of civilization of Oahu without the total overpopulation.

Having been to all the islands. My list is:

Isle of Hawaii

Kauai

Maui

Oahu

However, I like snorkeling, hiking and Kona Village so I have a definite bias.

Maui has everything good to great but nothing is the best, if that make sense (although beaches could be argued). The food is great but not as good as Oahu. There are many beautiful hikes but not as good as Kauai. There is a beautiful volcano but not of the quality of the BI.

Just plan on exploring them all. Each is wonderfully different and worth the time to visit, so you really can%26#39;t go wrong.

Bill

Kama is right suggest you post to overll Hawaii board.

Suggest you consider more than one island. We go in June for 6th trip and never have been on only one island. Though when we do it will be Kauai.

However i think wb is right with only one I would suggest Maui for first timer. Would be my 3rd choice after Kauai and BI, but that is me.

We went to Maui first 10 plus years ago and island hopped, so got a taste of all, but island hopping does not work very well anymore.

If you do visit two islands suggest you pick two that have direct flights. such as Maui and BI. Flying into Honolulu and back out takes most of a day

Regarding more than one island. iff you do it carefully you can fly Maui to Kauai through HNL and never get off the plane, that does not take as long.

StefeandMissy: Well here%26#39;s my logic.

I%26#39;m not a big fan of island hopping w/ your time frame, you%26#39;ll burn up a full day picking up and moving.

-Oahu is nice but way to crowded (especially Honolulu, not paradise).

-Haven%26#39;t been to Maui yet but I%26#39;ve been told west end is allot like southern California (not paradise).

-Kauai is most like what people think, nice beaches, lush forests, water falls, plenty of water activities, less commercial (but I%26#39;ve been there already).

-Big Island is only place w/ current volcanic activity (but no gaurantee, cold be dormant when you arrive). Has allot of same things as Kauai but much bigger.

-Maybe Lanai or Molakai if you really want to get away from the hords.

Also, consider time of year for specific locations.

For example Princeville in North Kauai is can be very rainy/windy in winter months. Or another example Kona on Big Island is way sunnier than Hilo area (usually).

Here%26#39;s another good site to give you the overall view of the islands

http://www.alternative-hawaii.com/index.html

Happy Island Hunting, TheodoreJay

Most people visiting Hawaii visit Oahu first. If they come for more than a week than they usually include Maui too. Kauai is the third on the list followed by the Big Island. Molokai is for the hardcore visitor who already visited the other islands. Lanai is more like a long weekend destination aka catering to the ultra rich.

Posts on this or any other Island forum are also on the ';overall Hawaii'; forum.

tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g28932-i36-Hawaii.…