I went to Hawaii last year for the first time.

I read everything, including a hawaii book. All indicators were to
stay off Oahu and Honolulu. U..scary traffic, scary city..scary etc.

I really wanted to see Waikiki and the North Shore. Against all advise
I went to Oahu for a week.

Guess what....all of the negative advises were a pile of feces.

I loved Honolulu, the japanese influence, all the friendly people, the
very orderly traffic and thew waikiki surfing every morning was
great.

I advise you, go to Oahu and you will enjoy it. There are so much to
see and do and not do if you want to. In relation to traffic ..... I
saw traffic but was smart enough


Some epeople think they know better and they do not.

Guess what, I also went to Maui, and I enjoy it very much also.

But side by side, BOTH island were beautiful in their own way. I
would go back anytime to Oahu.

Looking forward to go this year to the Big Island and Kauai. Just
because I want to see different things, but would be very happy to
stay at Honolulu again for a few days. Even did scuba diving at Oahu
and also was great.


Happy travels.


On 13 Jan 2005 14:54:35 -0600, (Todd H.) wrote:


Greetings,

I'm looking for some recommendations to narrow down plans on a 2-stop
itinerary, 2 hotels, and dive operators for a trip we're pondering
Hawaii in March for a 2 week stay. At this point, I'm not even sure
the best place to fly into! From what I've read and investigated,
about all I have it narrowed down to is "you'll really like Maui"
"skip Honoloulou-you've got enough of that big city crap in Chicago,"
and I think we'd enjoy staying week 1 and week 2 in different places,
and above all else this trip should be relaxing.

We're both early 30-somethings, and pretty active. We've been to the
Carribbean and Thailand in the past. Having the beach or water close
at hand for snorkeling is a priority, and we will be looking to dive
oh... say, 4 or 5 days over the course of our 2 weeks. I've got about
25 dives under my belt over the past 7 years and my SO was certified
last year, so we won't be looking for adrenaline filled diving or
anything. :-)

Our last vacation was way overpacked on a go go go itinerary, so the
m.o. for this trip is "relaxing." For me that involves planting my
hiney near a large body of water in the sun, snorkeling, and some
diving. If there's beach volleyball to be had that's a pleasant
bonus. I wanna see the volcanoes, maybe some kayaking, maybe rent a
car and drive around the island. And I think I'd like to pick up camp
and move only once during the stay (so, I guess i'm looking for 2
hotels, one in Maui somewhere, and one on another island..unless
inter-island transport is too much of a pain).

We don't have money to burn by any stretch, but I'm also willing to
pay to be in a place that's clean and not run down. I've got a mental
idea of wanting to stay under $225 a night but I've also not looked
enough to whether that's terribly realistic.

I'd welcome any recommendations to narrow it down some! Thanks for
any experiences you can share!

Best Regards,