Hawaiian Islands, Hawaii

The Hawaiian Islands: The Choice of Island Determines the Entire Trip

The most common Hawaii mistake is treating the islands as interchangeable. Waikiki is not Kauai, and spending a week on each gives you two fundamentally different experiences rather than the same experience in different scenery. The first question to answer honestly is what you actually want: infrastructure and tourist facilities, beaches for swimming, geology and volcanic activity, or the least-developed landscape still accessible by commercial flight.

Oahu

Oahu has the international airport most people fly into and the Waikiki hotel strip, which is simultaneously the most touristy and the most convenient base in Hawaii. Waikiki gets dismissed by the “authentic Hawaii” contingent, which is partly fair and partly snobbery. Chinatown Honolulu has good food and an active gallery scene; the Honolulu Museum of Art is underrated; the eastern and northern coastal drives are genuinely beautiful.

The North Shore in winter (November through February) has the biggest accessible surf in the world. The Eddie Aikau invitational at Waimea Bay runs only on a handful of days when waves reach 20+ feet – the conditions are rare, the spectacle is extraordinary, and the event is free to watch from the beach.

Pearl Harbor requires advance reservations for the USS Arizona memorial. The wait for standby tickets on the day can be long and unpredictable; book online before you arrive.

Maui

Maui has the best beaches for swimming and general relaxation. Kaanapali, Kapalua, and Makena are all excellent. The Road to Hana is a 64-kilometre drive along the north coast worth doing once: waterfalls, rainforest, black sand beaches, and the Oheo Gulch pools. Haleakala summit at 3,055 metres – sunrise above the clouds, booked weeks ahead at recreation.gov – is one of the more disorienting experiences available without leaving American soil.

Whale season (December through April) brings humpbacks that breed offshore. Tours from Maalaea Harbor reliably sight them.

Big Island

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is the reason to go to the Big Island. Kilauea’s activity fluctuates; the park changes significantly depending on current eruption conditions. The Chain of Craters Road runs to the coast through lava fields. The Thurston Lava Tube (Nahuku) is open and easily walkable.

The manta ray night snorkel off Kona: mantas up to 4 metres gather to feed on plankton drawn by dive lights, and you float face-down watching them circle below you. This is as specific and as strange as it sounds and is consistently the thing Big Island visitors describe most vividly.

Kauai

Kauai has no buildings over four stories by local ordinance and is the least developed of the main islands. The Na Pali Coast along the northwest – accessible by boat, by the 18-kilometre Kalalau Trail (permit required and issued through recreation.gov), or by helicopter – is the most dramatic coastal scenery in Hawaii. Waimea Canyon on the western side is 1,600 metres deep and worth an afternoon.

The north shore (Princeville, Hanalei) is much wetter than the south shore (Poipu). If consistent sunshine is the priority, base in the south.

Food

Poke from the counter at any Foodland supermarket: raw ahi tuna marinated in soy, sesame, and additions, eaten from a bowl with rice. This is the honest version of Hawaii’s most famous food, available cheaply and well everywhere. Plate lunch – rice, macaroni salad, protein – is the working local meal. Shave ice at Matsumoto’s in Haleiwa on Oahu’s North Shore is the benchmark.