Help Needed: Honeymoon in Hawaii

[Loosh]

Hey guys, thought I would ask for your input as my fiance and I are planning our honeymoon in hawaii. Anyhelp on the following questions would be great. Looking to spend about 1500 per person for trip and accommodations.

Where to go in Hawaii?
Which hotel packages should be considered (remember only spending around 3k for the two)?
What to see and do outside of R&R?

Thanx guys

[Stranger]

I just went in January. We paid around $5000 for rooms, flight, and rental car. This also included a flight from Oahu to Kauai. Our travel agent arranged everything, so I don't know much about deals.

You have to see Oahu. It's the most populated island. If you go here you have to see Pearl Harbour. You can tour the Uss Arizona Memorial and the Uss Missouri. Definitly a must see. Also go and climb Diamondhead. Its a hour long uphill walk but the view is worth it. We stayed at Wikiki Beach. Its a nice area with lots of things to see. We never made it up to the north side of Oahu but if you have time go to the north shore and the polyneasian culture center.

If you want a quieter holiday Kauai is nice, but its a lot less lively than Oahu. Everything seems to shut down around suppertime. Where as on Wikiki (my spellings terrible) all the stores on the strip by the beach are open till 11:00 and theres lots of pubs and restaurants.

Hope this helped. Enjoy your trip.

[Calgary Flames]

I love Oahu personally, and all the pics of seen of Maui look amazingly overated. If I were to go somewhere romantic i'd go to Kauai. The Garden Island.

Really though, I can't see you not liking any of the Islands but if you want a combo of metropolitan, beaches, lush greenery Oahu has it all. Its the only Island i've visted to date, my bro is getting married next month in Maui so i'll have to get his input on the island but from the Google info I got, it looks boring.

On Oahu, make sure you go up to the Nu'uanu Pali Lookout. Take the Pali Highway north. The best view i've ever seen.

Here's downtown Honolulu



Here's an amazing pic I took on the windward (North) shore



You really can't go wrong with Hawaii though, any of the islands. Just ask Kipper who's been God since coming back from there. lol

I went on a Air Canada Vactions thing. Stayed at the Miramar Waikiki lots of cool stuff to do around there.

Here's one of the Eastern side of the Island past Diamond head

[Cube Inmate]

Sorry to post without offering advice, but instead I have a request: wherever you go, please bring back some scenic pictures and post them here!! I was just dreaming about my next vacation (which might well be for the reason you're going) and I'd love to see some more of Hawaii from a non-"Tourism Commision" perspective.

[Loosh]

Thanx for the input guys. Great pix Jordan. And I will try to remember the posting of my pics Cube.

[JBR]

If you are on Oahu, rent a car and take a day to drive around the island. There are some great spots along the way.

[Calgary Flames]

Originally Posted by JBR

If you are on Oahu, rent a car and take a day to drive around the island. There are some great spots along the way.

Yes indeed. Also rent one of thise extremely dangerous buggy cars that go like 40 mph tops and drive it all the way from Waikiki to the inside of diamond head. But make sure you've got 2 people on it! Otherwise death is inevitable. lol

I had to lean in and out so we could make a turn properly. Fun times!

And yes, if you go to Oahu. It'd be an absolute crime if you didn't see the entire Island. The north shore is amazingly nice.

[g_railed]

Oahu also has really good bus service. If you are good at planning you can take a city bus any where on the island. it will even take you to the north shore which takes about an hour, not much longer than it takes to drive yourself.

There are also shuttle services offered by most hotels that will take you anywhere you need to go.

[Lanny_MacDonald]

Originally Posted by Loosh

Hey guys, thought I would ask for your input as my fiance and I are planning our honeymoon in hawaii. Anyhelp on the following questions would be great. Looking to spend about 1500 per person for trip and accommodations.

Where to go in Hawaii?
Which hotel packages should be considered (remember only spending around 3k for the two)?
What to see and do outside of R&R?

Thanx guys

My personal recommendation... stay away from Oahu. Tourist trap! Go to Kauai. Unspoiled and really laid back. Its a place where you and your new wife can start your lives together quietly and in a tropical paradise. I think you get a much better bang for your buck in Kauai too. More free stuff to do to. For someone on a budget, Kauai is the answer. Not going to be as lively as some of the other islands, but unless you expect your honeymoon to be a series of bar hopping experiences, Kauai is the place to go. Stay in Princeville and spend a bunch of time around Hanelei. You'll love it.

[g_railed]

Yeah Oahu can be a tourist trap, and i would agree that its not the best place to go if you want a quiet romantic vacation. I believe Honolulu is the 10th largest city in the U.S. making Oahu a busy little island.

Oahu is basically a good time island, lots of partying and things to do. Maui is supposed to be the opposite lots of seniors and not much to do. The other islands are generally less busy, which may be what you are looking for.

Also if you want to keep costs down try looking for time shares on ebay.

[North East Goon]

I activated every sweat gland in my entire body with that hike up diamondhead. Bring water if you do this!

[Buff]

Originally Posted by Cube Inmate

Sorry to post without offering advice, but instead I have a request: wherever you go, please bring back some scenic pictures and post them here!! I was just dreaming about my next vacation (which might well be for the reason you're going) and I'd love to see some more of Hawaii from a non-"Tourism Commision" perspective.

Here are pictures from September 2004. Stayed in Waikiki for two nights and on Kauai for 6 or 7.

http://members.shaw.ca/buffsplace/luau.htm

This was an unfinished version of the site. Some pics don't load. I'm not a great photographer but I think I got some good pics.

[Buff]

Originally Posted by Lanny_MacDonald

My personal recommendation... stay away from Oahu. Tourist trap! Go to Kauai. Unspoiled and really laid back. Its a place where you and your new wife can start your lives together quietly and in a tropical paradise. I think you get a much better bang for your buck in Kauai too. More free stuff to do to. For someone on a budget, Kauai is the answer. Not going to be as lively as some of the other islands, but unless you expect your honeymoon to be a series of bar hopping experiences, Kauai is the place to go. Stay in Princeville and spend a bunch of time around Hanelei. You'll love it.

I concur with Lanny. Princeville was an awesome place to stay. I know you're on a budget so you can't stay there, but go check out Princeville Hotel. We went there in search of a restaurant and decided that we couldn't even afford to give ourselves a free tour of the hotel.

Do some snorkelling while you're there. You can rent Snorkel gear from Snorkel Bob's for something like $10-$20 for an entire week.

Your expectation to spend $1500 per person for trip and accomodations may be asking a bit much. I think we spent over $2k per person and our accomadations were payed for.

Do what you can to make the trip though. Definitely worth it. Hawaii is my favorite place on earth. It took me a year to stop dreaming about returning (on a daily basis).

[FurnaceFace]

Can only really answer if you specify the type of trip you're looking for. I suspect it's more enjoying quality time so Lanny's recommendation makes the most sense.

We spent a couple weeks on "The Big Island" and had a good time. We like more laid back vacations than filling every second with activity and every night with finding a new bar so it fit our style better. Lots of things to see and do on the island.

Big draw is the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and active Kilauea which depending on how it's flowing might be pretty spectacular. Even without a great lava flow, the park is pretty impressive and the power of the volcano and lava can been seen all over the southern part of the island. It's pretty interesting hiking across the middle of a crater which in 1959 was a lava lake!

The west coast or Kona side is littered with resorts and bars if you really want this. We spent a week on the east coast, which has easier access to the volcano and a week on the west coast. Made for a good change of pace. The island is also pretty inexpensive and less touristy than the bigger draws of Maui and Oahu.

[OldSam]

Maui is my favourite island. You can get a nice condo in Kihei for decent rates and they have three of the best beaches in Hawaii right there. Must see in Maui - volcano, road to Hana (black beaches, amazing water, rainforest on the drive there), the north shore, the surfer beach just south of the airport, Lahaina.

Kauai just had a dam break lately and I hear some of the places on the northeast side of the island are not in good shape. Beautiful island.

Oahu I'd love to go again. A huge city in paradise.

The Big Island - Volcanoes National Park is incredible.

[return to the red]

Originally Posted by Loosh

Hey guys, thought I would ask for your input as my fiance and I are planning our honeymoon in hawaii. Anyhelp on the following questions would be great. Looking to spend about 1500 per person for trip and accommodations.

Where to go in Hawaii?
Which hotel packages should be considered (remember only spending around 3k for the two)?
What to see and do outside of R&R?

Thanx guys

Funny you should mention this because I have just booked MY honeymoon there in September. My Fiance is a big history buff so Honolulu was a no brainer for us. I wish it was like Cuba or the Dominican where we could stay all inclusive so no go.

What we ended up booking is right on Wai Ki Ki (sp) beach and is the outrigger shore (I think) it is a Studio with Kitchenette so that we can make breakfast and lunch and save some money that way plus it looks pretty nice and is fairly reasonable for where you are staying (we were looking at the Hawaiian Hilton Village $$$)

http://www.outrigger.com/hotels_detail.aspx?hotel=42

Flights cost us our airmiles but if paying will be about 600 per person

[greatbigC]

We went to Maui last September and had a great time. As mentioned above, the road to Hana is beautiful althought I didn't find the town itself all that spectacular. The volcano is good and Lahaina is a great time. I personally didn't care much for Kihei but they do have nice beaches and it's probably a little cheaper. I would say after the condo, rental car and food we came in at about $6000 however I'm told we should have bought a Treasure Chest book for Maui and could have saved a bundle.

[Buff]

Originally Posted by return to the red

Flights cost us our airmiles but if paying will be about 600 per person

Yikes! When I went in Sept.2004 it was just about double that!

Forgot that we flew to Kauai from Oahu so that will add to the cost, but it looks to be a bit more expensive a couple years ago.

[fanforever1986]

Before you decide what island to go to you need to decide what you like in a vacation. The island of Oahu is the most American of any of the islands, Kawui has the best scenary...maui gives you heat and desert, and the Big island is where you can find real Hawaiian culture.

My favorite is the big island, and more specifically the Wiakoloa Village, just north of Kona. Im pretty sure this is the largest resort on the island. It gives you everything you'd want in a beaching vacation but also lets you do all the tourist things such as sightsee and...GOLF! Dont miss captin cook's monument, which is only accessable by a snorkeling tour(just ask any activity centre once your there). Also, Wiakoloa village offers the kings shops...a great place to spend the evening with shopping and resturants....great night life.

No one really has discovered the big island yet, and therefore its the most undeveloped of all the islands, which is a major positive as it lets you see what the hawaii of past was like. The big island has the richest history of any island(unless you include pearl harbour, which is extremely over rated in my opinion).

[Buff]

Originally Posted by fanforever1986

The big island has the richest history of any island(unless you include pearl harbour, which is extremely over rated in my opinion).