Hawaii Advice...Honeymoon...HELP ME

[Rob Battisti]

Dear Sherdoggers,

Currently in the midst of planning out my honeymoon for this upcoming June. We booked a hotel in Kauai for 5 nights and are staying in Maui for 4 nights.

Right now we have a hotel in Kauai but we have NO IDEA where to stay in Maui. Every hotel review says its either great or terrible.

I know some of you guys have been there before. Any advice or hotel recommendations you could send my way?

Also -- does anyone have any MUST DO activities while on the island?

Really looking for some once in a lifetime places or activities that I can't miss while I'm there.

Up for anything.

Thanks in advance!

 

[jmac98]

Good evening Rob.
First and foremost, congratulations.

I'm on my cell so please bare with spelling/grammatical errors.

We were in Hawaii a few years back, but actually stayed in a condo through a private booking. Almost like a time share only we only did it once. As such, I'm afraid I can't speak upon lodging with much confidence.

As for activities, the two things I loved doing and have always stuck with me are:
1) road to Hanna
2) sunrise mountain biking.


It's been 6 or 7 years since I went, but that Road to Hanna was really a beautiful experience and a great way to spend a day together. Driving along the mtn side on those undeveloped winding roads along cliffs, or single vehicle bridges, etc. Just crazy stuff.
We did it on our own, with our car rental, and with a book we bought that detailed many lesser known sites that aren't covered on tours. Ie - we did a hike through a bamboo forest for an hour which lead to a hidden 100' waterfall off a cliff we could swim under. We then found a private lagoon swimming hole that only the locals knew of where you could dive into the water between crevices and ledges. Like a mini spalunking excursion of sorts.

Google "road to hanna" to get better info than I'm babbling about.

The sunrise mtn biking:
You wake up at 3am, take a bus with mtn bikes to the top of a mountain, and watch the sunrise against the backdrop of these reddish hue hills. It's actually where they filmed the original "Total Recall" movie when on Mars. You can't really explain the visual here. You just need to experience it.

Once you're done with sunrise, you get on your mtn bike and weave your way down the mtn (on the paved roads) back to the shop, and at your own pace. You literally don't pedal once the entire time, and it like a controlled scenic 90 minute glide down. Its just awesome.

Anyway, those were my two favorite moments and I highly recommend both. I wish you a wonderful time, and keep in mind regardless what you do, you're in Hawaii so it's going to be awesome.

A few other cool thing we did:
Breakfast at Kenny Rogers' reataurant.
Big Beach and Little Beach (little beach is for the locals, kind of hidden, and is an all nude beach)
And of course we did the usual snorkeling and catamaran and whatever.
Edit: and an authentic luau of course. Very cool.

Cheers my friend.

 

[Grob]

Honeymoon? Obviously lots of sex. Venue doesn't matter.

We went a few years ago, but we rented a house near the beach. The beach is where we enjoyed the most time. Polynesian center was a joke, and the pineapple plantation was just too touristy.

Don't worry too much about the hotel. You should be spending little time there.

 

[D Train]

Haleakala is a must do.
I stayed in Kanapali, but I don't remember the resort. It wasn't all inclusive. Are you looking all inclusive? You should be?

 

[iThrillhouse]

Just sent you a PM

but for other lurkers,


drive to Hana for sure
snorkel molokini
Catch a sunset anywhere on the island, it's pretty spectacular

 

[Kb7]

Polihale beach park, Kauai. most gorgeous beach on the planet me think.

 

[gigantalor]

We stayed in Kaanapali, and I think it was the Westin. It was pretty nice.

We went snorkeling. A large catamaran picked us up at the hotel, and drove us over to some cove or something. It was nice.

We also did a luau. You kinda have to make sure you do that. We ran into some dude that hooked us up. For $20 each (I think), we got to sit in a bar and drink ("free" drinks) while others stood in line for a while. Then, right before the show, we got to walk right in and sit right up front in the middle....like VIPs. Definitely worth it.

We should have done a helicopter ride over a volcano, but didn't, and regretted it.

We didn't do the bike ride. That sounded cool, but the whole "wake up at 3am" stuff didn't sound too appealing.

We went about halfway up the Road to Hana, before turning around. It just seemed to drag on. There's so many narrow bridges to navigate, etc, it just got old. But others seem to like it.

Our wedding/honeymoon was a combo of Maui (wedding...we eloped) for a few days, then Oahu for a few days, at the Turtle Bay Resort. If you were doing Oahu, I'd recommend the Dole plantation and of course, Pearl Harbor.

 

[t3c9]

Kintaro's has great sushi while your on Kauai and Lydgate is a cool snorkel spot. Both in Kapaa. Have fun & congrats

 

[kahanaohana]

i live on the rock, email me and ill send you a good book to help you out.
[email protected]

 

[DoctorTaco]

just bang, bro.

 

[Rob Battisti]

Thanks Gents!

 

[Jing]

I miss when the Hawaii threads would go on for at least 30-40 pages.

 

[Jar of Flies]

Had my honeymoon in Maui and Kauai in October. Stayed at the Hyatt on both. If youre going to take a helicopter tour do it on Kauai

 

[Rob Battisti]

Are the helicopter rides worth it?

Any good local restaurants worth seeing?

 

[Jar of Flies]

Are the helicopter rides worth it?

Any good local restaurants worth seeing?

I thought so. It was the highlight excursion of our trip. Flew over the waterfall fom Jurassic Park. Kauai was more of the secluded paradise we expected while Maui was more touristy