First timers to Hawaii

We have flights to Honolulu from Australia in March 2007 for 15 nights. We are confused and don%26#39;t know what to do first or whether to tackle 2 islands or whether time constraints are too great. The volcanoes fascinate us, we want to see pearl harbour, love white sandy beaches, love markets and outlet shopping. Want to experience culture re dance and food, helicopter flight sounds great to see the scenery. But HELP where do we start. We have no accomodation booked as yet.

There is so much information we are confused.

First timers to Hawaii

Hi there, I am in the same situation. I am assuming you got the cheap Jetstar fares as well ???

I have spent a fair bit of time on these forums and reading the Insider Pages but are still terribly confused.

I only have 7 nights and was thinking of a NCL cruise, but the departing flight leaves too early in the morning for that.

So to ask the question that gets asked in here ever few weeks!

What to do for 7 nights, we are a young couple in our mid 20%26#39;s. Would love a nice beach, not too busy basically as above

Cheers :) and like the first poster, there is sooo much information

First timers to Hawaii

Two islands are very doable in 15 days (for the other poster, I would just do one if all you have is 7 days).

The volcano is on the Big Island and there are great helicotper tours of it.

All the islands have great beaches so any island will do for that (not really white, more like beige but you can also choose red, green and black sand).

For markets, shopping, culture I would say Oahu. Since you are flying into Honolulu you can either begin there or end there.

Pearl Harbor is in Oahu.

Any island offers scenery so no worry there.

We have never been to Oahu except to pass through their airport but I did grow up on Hawaii-Five-0 and the Brady Bunch. So I would also want to visit the Polynesian Cultural Center and go on many hikes. The big island can seem a little bit isolated but Kiluauea is very cool, or hot and is a great place to visit. I am not sure whether I would stay there a week though. The nicer beaches for swimming and snorkeling are on the west side. Maui would be a second choice or I guess third choice. Haleakala is not an active volcano but has its own wonderful features. Maui has the awsome beaches almost everywhere and lots of shopping.

Definately visit Oahu. You will find shopping, Pearl Harbor, the famous North Shore, several lovely white sandy beaches and some fun shopping as well. Oahu is the home of Honolulu, a large metro area city. If it were me, I would stay in Oahu first. It%26#39;s faster paced. The Waikiki area and Honolulu are crowded but fun to hang out in. The North Shore and East side of the island are less populated but definately worth exploring. The Poly Center, which some one else mentioned, is worth exploreing as well.

Then I would move onto another island with a slower pace to catch your breath and **relax**.

I am doing this in June of 2007. I will be going to Oahu for 5 nights followed by a week in Maui. I have been to Oahu several times and loved it so much that I refused to visit any of the other islands. But this time, I was persuaded to branch out to discover a different flavor of the Hawaiian style. I know, having visited Oahu, that 5-7 days is perfect, but anymore there can be overwhelming~so moving on for a slower paced island is perfect.

All the suggestions sound good. I love Maui and the Big Island, but it sounds as if the original poster would really enjoy Oahu.

Just a note - I personally wouldn%26#39;t do a cruise. You miss so much of the islands. For the 7 day person - pick an island and explore!!

kylujomo,

Pick up the Maui Revealed book and try mauiinfosource.com as well as this site. TONS of information between the 3. I agree that 15 nights is adequate time for at least 2 islands.