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Hello, I'm looking to travel to Hawaii for Spring Break next year with my wife for our wedding anniversary. I plan on using my award points to book a free flight and I'm looking for recommendations on which island to visit. I've read through the Honeymoon in Hawaii thread for ideas so I'm hoping for updated thoughts. I think we're choosing between Maui and Hawaii because we'd like to explore the island and do a lot of snorkeling. We'd also like to sample the local cuisine so a decent food scene would be nice, but not mandatory. Due to funding, I would prefer NOT island hopping. I'm looking to spend about $1000 for five days/four nights, which is flexible depending on what I can save with lodging. Thanks in advance!
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Oct 7, 2017 00:32
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| # ? May 3, 2024 07:05 |
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Look into boats what take you to spots where the sea turtles are. I *think* this was on Maui but I was very young. Anyway there were hundreds of turtles and it was awesome. Don't get seasick.
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Oct 7, 2017 03:45
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I've been to Maui twice and to the Big Island twice. The snorkeling on Maui is very similar to that on the Big Island, you would miss very little by picking one island over the other. What I liked about Maui is that it was a smaller island, so I spent less time in the car driving to the locations. On the Big Island, I had to break up the trip into two different locations, South Kona and Puako Bay. Lovely places, but if you prefer to just stay at one location while still being able to visit everything with a reasonable car drive, I'd pick Maui. I also saw more turtles on Maui than on the Big Island. The trick to enjoying snorkeling is to go out early. That's when the water is calm and the visibility is good. I was consistently in the water by 7:30am, and I frequently had the entire beach to myself. I did all* snorkeling straight from the shore on both islands. Some required serious swimming, while others required hiking in exposed areas. But there are plenty of excellent snorkeling spots that are right next to a parking lot. Of course these spots fill up more rapidly. *I only did one snorkeling trip from a boat (Molokini) and it was a bit overhyped. Yes, the visibility there was amazing, but in terms of coral and fish, I saw nothing that I didn't see from the shore. On the other hand, it was not very expensive.
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Oct 8, 2017 22:03
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Are the manta rays more visible on the Big Island as opposed to Maui? My wife was astonished by how close those guys can get to you.
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Oct 9, 2017 01:48
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DTaeKim posted:Are the manta rays more visible on the Big Island as opposed to Maui? My wife was astonished by how close those guys can get to you. I think Big Island, but I've never seen them, so I can't confirm.
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Oct 9, 2017 01:58
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DTaeKim posted:Are the manta rays more visible on the Big Island as opposed to Maui? My wife was astonished by how close those guys can get to you. I have no actual basis for comparison but the manta snorkel I did on the Big Island was basically "maximum" close. Like before you get in the water (5 minutes from dock) they said not to put your hands perpendicular to your floating body because touching a manta ray is bad for the ray (messes with their skin). I got to look down the gullet of one. Supposedly the scuba stuff gets even more ridiculous because they're around you, but I think I got a lifetime of manta ray for my $90. Since I posted in the Honeymoon thread I went back to Big Island yet again so my wife could have a shot at poking lava with a stick. She did not get to poke lava, but she did take a boat ride right up to where it dumps into the ocean, and liked it a lot. I did not go because my back is susceptible to damage and the boat operators (and later my wife) were very clear that the boat ride would gently caress your back or unborn baby or old man bones. We also did a tour out onto the lava field with a local operator, he knew good places to look, had a lot of info about the field, and was able to drive a bit more of the way into the zone than the other people on bikes (we then biked). We were the only two people (odd time of year) and he seemed really apologetic that we didn't see lava up close, but we had a good time, he brought snacks, etc so I thought it was worth it. Given your short time I would suggest Maui. The size of the Big Island can't be discounted, and can eat up a lot of fun time with driving. I wouldn't focus much on food but I don't know what your background is. As a Californian I consider the high end to be mostly CA cuisine with more fish/citrus. It's fine, but aside from more availability of certain fruit and maybe poke I don't consider it to be particularly different. Lots of fried food. Maybe I've been missing something though, in which case by all means correct me because I'm going to Maui in December. Does the $1k need to cover rooms/car? Or is that 1k just for doing fun stuff?
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Oct 9, 2017 04:10
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Yeah, when I did a Manta Ray snorkel on the big island the rays would literally come up to inches away from where we were floating; I kept sucking my stomach in to make sure I wouldn't accidentally touch them.
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Oct 9, 2017 04:48
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It was $1k for food and fun stuff. Though if my wife could find a solid property for cheap, we could increase that budget. I had about $2k pegged for everything except airfare. Now it looks like we'll plan for Hawaii in 2018 as opposed to Spring Break. When would be the best time to visit? We kind of have to work around school so it limits spring and fall dates.
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Oct 11, 2017 22:49
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DTaeKim posted:It was $1k for food and fun stuff. Though if my wife could find a solid property for cheap, we could increase that budget. I had about $2k pegged for everything except airfare. If snorkeling is important to your visit, try to avoid the wet season between Nov and Mar. Rain = murkier water = crappier visibility. I typically go between May and September - less rain and less wind, good for snorkeling. If you go to the Big Island, the only date that is bad for a visit is when the Iron Man competition is going on. Check online for the 2018 dates. As far as I know, the event shuts down traffic on the entire island (slight exaggeration, but you get the idea).
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Oct 13, 2017 04:49
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How is Hawaii during the summer months?
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Oct 29, 2017 00:16
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How is Hawaii when going alone? Also is the Taxi/Uber/Lift coverage enough to get around the Big Island without renting a car?
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Jan 22, 2018 20:07
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Lysandus posted:How is Hawaii when going alone? If you're trying to do anything besides get between Hilo and Kona, then no, rent a car. (I've never been, but asked a friend who grew up there and still spends a lot of time there.)
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Jan 23, 2018 14:49
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Currently planning my honeymoon on Maui and Kauai. I’ve been looking into stuff like hikes and snorkeling, but are there other cool things we should check out on either island? For context, we’ll be there early June for 10 days, with 5 on Maui, 4 on Kauai, and 1 more night back on Maui before heading home. So far one suggestion I received was to visit a pineapple farm. Anyone got any good ones?
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Jan 24, 2018 16:47
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| # ? May 3, 2024 07:05 |
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DTaeKim posted:Are the manta rays more visible on the Big Island as opposed to Maui? My wife was astonished by how close those guys can get to you. The manta ray night diving/snorkeling is not really a thing on Maui, so if you really want to do that you'll have to go to the Big Island. It's possible to see them during the day on either island, but you have to get super lucky. As I mentioned in the honeymoon thread, we really enjoyed the night snorkel and I'm glad it was recommended. Lots of them showed up and did flips right in front of us, so close that a couple of them flipped right into me.
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Feb 1, 2018 01:39
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