Tips on Hawaii

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

I was wondering what the difference between the north, and the south was. I was going to do some reading later.

Now I can envision the north side. What's the south side like?

The south side is drier. Quite beautiful as you may imagine. All the hi-end hotel chains are in the Poipu area. So there is development and nice restaurants. You are closer to Waimea Canyon <the Grand Canyon of the Pacific> the blowing holes, snorkle ships to Napali Coastline, Sunset Beach and the coffee plantations. When we went to Polihale Beach there was a harbor or monk seal in the swimming area with us!

The north side is less developed. Rainier so more rainbows, hiking, kyaking or canoeing and I think we spent most of our time snorkeling at Ke'e Beach. The town of Hanalie is small but quaint.

We stayed in Kapaa which although in the middle of the eastern coast was a hike to either. I'm thinking Lihue is closer but not much closer to the south.

Of course our trip was some time ago and you will get more recent and much more expert opinions.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

Great now we wanted to do a week on BI and a week on Maui in 2009. and now you are saying the island I've already been and loved to is your fave <I think the north side is highly reminiscent of St John USVI>

So now I need 3 weeks on Hawaii in 2009. In order would be Maui, BI then the Garden Isle.

You need at least 3-4 weeks to do Hawaii right. 7-nights in Maui, 7-nights in Kauai, 7-nights on the Big Island, 3 nights in Molokai, 4-nights in Oahu.

If you did that, you'd only need to go once every 5 years.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

I was wondering what the difference between the north, and the south was. I was going to do some reading later.

Now I can envision the north side. What's the south side like?

The Hawaiian Islands have several micro climates due to the prevailing tradewinds. The tradewinds come from the Northeast and act as the air conditioning of the islands. It's what keeps us nice and cool most of the time.

The "wet" side of each island is known as the windward side of the island. It is where the clouds drop their rain. As a result, the leeward side of the islands are drier and sometimes so dry that you get desert conditions. That's why we have Waimea Canyons, the Grand Canyon of Hawaii on the same island that we have the wettest spot on earth on Mt. Waialeale.

Personally, I prefer the Poipu area mostly because it is closer to the things we like to do. Princeville is a great place to spend a day or two. It's a good 45-60 minute drive between Poipu and Princeville depending on the traffic in Kapaa.

The one issue with Princeville is it is pretty much on the far end of the island. Think of the main road in Kauai as being like a horseshoe. Princeville is near the end of one side of the horseshoe. So, you end up doing a lot of driving if you want to see more than just the North Shore area.

[4ARedOctober Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close 4ARedOctober]

You should really move all this Hawaii info to the Hawaii forum....good stuff.

We like to go to one island at a time 10 days minimum and three weeks if possible. I would choose the BI and Kauai before Maui. While we liked Maui we feel there are more gems and better beaches on the BI.

The beaches on the Kohala Coast (including Hapuna) on the BI are the best that we have found for all around beach activities. They have extensive sand reefs with minimal shore break and drop off so they are safer for the kids. They have multiple breaks so the kids can easily catch waves on their own closer to shore while the older kids/adults can catch the larger waves a bit further out. Every time we have gone there has been at least some fun surf and it lasts most of the day. It does not get nearly as blown out like what we experienced in Maui. And if you want to snorkel you can swim out to the rockier points or just go snorkeling to many wonderful sites all around the BI.

Edited to add that when on the BI we like to stay in different places....minimum one week in Kona area....one in the Waikoloa area.....and if possible one of these days we want to spend a few nights near the volcano or in the Hilo area. Then when we are in a particular zone we plan our activities to stay within that area (or half of the island) and that makes the driving and traffic less of an issue.

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

Edited to add that when on the BI we like to stay in different places....minimum one week in Kona area....one in the Waikoloa area.....and if possible one of these days we want to spend a few nights near the volcano or in the Hilo area. Then when we are in a particular zone we plan our activities to stay within that area (or half of the island) and that makes the driving and traffic less of an issue.

I agree. That's pretty much what we do each time we visit. This year we started with two nights in Volcano Village, then a week in Kona (Kona Coast) and right now we're in Waikoloa Village (Paniolo Greens).