I think Kauai would suit you. There isn’t much nightlife here, but the views are spectacular! Kauai has Waimea Canyon (Mark Twain nicknamed it “the Grand Canyon of the Pacific”), Hanalei Bay, Kalalau, Bali Hai, Poipu, Polihale, and lots of other fantastic spots to get sun, surf, and sand.

Some things to keep in mind:
*Princeville/Hanalei are the wettest spots on the island. Things are beautiful there and very green, but if it’s raining in one place on Kauai, it’s usually in Princeville or Hanalei.
*Kauai is a very small island but you can’t drive all the way around it. The far west side is dominated by sea cliffs that cannot be accessed by car.
*The south and west sides of the island are the driest and sunniest during most of the year. There are no major towns out that way, however. In fact, the only ‘major’ town would be the county seat, Lihue. That is where the airport is. Kapa’a, on the east side, is a town of decent size (considering it’s Kauai!). You might want to make your home base in either Kapa’a or Lihue if you want to be able to walk or take a short drive to a grocery store or coffee place. Oh, and please don’t go to Starbucks while you’re here! Hawaii has some of the best coffee in the world! Check out Java Kai (Kapa’a and Hanalei) or any of the other local coffee places. Much fresher and better coffee than Starbucks EVER served.
The beaches on Kauai are fantastic! There is plenty of snorkeling here and the boat trips out to the Na Pali coastline (far west side of the island I mentioned earlier) are excellent. You will almost certainly see spinner dolphins on one of those excursions. I have also seen green sea turtles (honu) and Hawaiian monk seals, which are an endangered species. Whale watching season is Dec.-April.

If you do choose Kauai, feel free to email me. I have lived on the island for 3-1/2 years and would love to help you with restaurant, shopping, and sight seeing tips!

You might consider Manele Bay, Lanai if you can afford it. There is one town on Lanai (and one K-12 public school with a few hundred students). I can’t remember a Starbucks, but there are several cozy cafes with good food and coffee in Lanai City, all within walking distance of each other.

Or, you can do your parasailing on Maui, take a ferry or trilogy excursion to Lanai, possibly seeing some whales along the way, if you’re coming between now and the spring. Lanai is a company town, mostly owned by Castle & Cooke, and most of the families there immigrated from the Philippines sometime in the last hundred years.

If you’re fond of jets, you’d be out of luck for flying to either Molokai or Lanai. You can take an Island Air DeHavilland Dasah-8 turbo Prop (about the size of a school bus) or a 9-seater with an outfit like Mokulele or Pacific Wings. The smaller planes are better for taking photographs, but I advise you to wait until after the flight before eating a meal. It can be a visceral experience, and the pilot asks you to take any “aloha bags” you might use with you when you deplane.

The ferry to Lanai is smoother, shorter, cheaper, and drier–especially in winter–than the Molokai Princess. Sometimes a larger boat, the Maui Princess serves as the Molokai Ferry.

What I love about the Hotel Molokai is that when you eat breakfast, lunch or dinner at the patio restaurant by the beach and the small pool, it looks like the only buildings in the world are at the Hotel Molokai! One of topside Molokai’s two remaining bars is also at Hula Shores, but it’s a very mellow scene most of the time, with regulars like Al, Mel, and Larry, and local musicians playing mostly Hawaiian music. Zhan and Jenny do like playing a little bit of country if the rest of their bands will let them.

Molokai Fish and Dive runs snorkel, kayak, and whale-watching expeditions on a regular basis, but parasailing is way too citified for Molokai. Molokai does have the biggest and best coral reefs in the state.

Up the hill in Kualapuu is a coffee plantation with its own coffee shop, a post office in the same building with Shirley’s hair salon and real estate, and an excellent restaurant: the Kualapuu Cookhouse.

It’s BYOB, and Thursday night is always Prime Rib Night. Local folks stop by with grease still on their shirts from work to play ukulele, washtub bass, or slack key guitar. Bruiser might get a chance to come out of the kitchen and sing an Israel Kamakawiwoole song. If you’re lucky, two, three, or even five of the members of Manuwai’s Trio might drop by. It’s good performing experience for the students in the Hawaiian Language Immersion Program.

About 75% of the schoolkids on Molokai have some Native Hawaiian ancestry. Many of the families have enough Hawaiian blood (half or more) to qualify for a Hawaiian Home Lands kuleana. Molokai folks are proud of their ability to live off the land, by farming, hunting, and fishing. It’s a tight community of about 7000 where people share fruit from their trees with each other, and where a school can sell 3000 whole hulihuli chickens in a single day fundraiser!

Many people on Molokai actively campaign against mass tourism like cruise ship stops and rampant residential development to create luxury vacation homes. But they do welcome tourists who arrive in the right spirit. One popular bumper sticker reads, “Don’t try to change Molokai. Let Molokai change you.”

Keep in mind that you cannot go to Niihau or Kahoolawe.

Haleiwa, on the north shore of Oahu, sounds just like your type of place. it has the surf, the starbucks and everything else. the only problems are the crowds and the bars maybe. theres also another town waaaay down the road called Laie. the majority of the population here is mormon so theres no drinking, drugs or anything like that. theres also a shopping center with a grocery store, some restaurants, there isn’t a starbucks. but theres a great view at temple beach and the temple is BEAUTIFUL at night. hukilau beach is great for surfing and parasailing. the crowds aren’t too bad but theres a college(BYUH) so there are college students walking around. thats about it but its not cheap.

Definitely go to Maui and stay on the north west side of the island (near Lahaina). Some of the nicest beaches are up there, including Flemings, Napili, and Kaanapali. My recommendation to people going to Hawaii is to rent a vacation condo. These are around $1000 to $1500 a week for a 1 bedroom or 2 bedroom condo right on the ocean, with a full kitchen and often in-unit laundry. The best place would be in Honokowai or Kahana, about 10 miles north of Lahaina. And, the waves aren’t that big on the west side of Maui.

There’s a couple shopping centers where the Lower Honoapiilani Highway cuts off the main highway, so you can buy all your groceries and anything else you may need there. This actually works out to be a lot cheaper and more convenient than staying in a hotel, where you would have to go out for every meal. And, if you’re staying some place like Kaanapali, every place is expensive to stay and to eat.

In Kahana, there’s a strip mall with a couple of good restaurants. I think the best one there is the Maui Brewing Company. They serve beers that they brew on premises and have really good food. There’s also a Roy’s and a Black Angus steakhouse there.

This area is also close to Lahaina, where all the night life is. Lahaina is an old fishing village, but there’s lots of restaurants and bars there, especially along the water front. I wouldn’t recommend staying in Lahaina. It’s kind of noisy and crowded, and a nice place would be expensive. But, you’re only about 15 minutes away from Lahaina in Honokowai or Kahana.

Each of the Hawaiian Islands has its own personality and character. So, knowing what type of person you are and what you like to do will help you decide which of the islands you will like.

If you like tourists and fishing you should like the Kona area of the “Big Island” of Hawaii. If you like solitude, a tropical feel, a rural atmosphere and you don’t mind rain, you should like the Hilo area of the Big Island. The west side of the Big Island has a few nice small beaches,
including black sand beaches. Near Ka Lae, the southernmost point of the island you will find a green sand beach. Big beaches are not prevalent on the Big Island.

If you enjoy scenery, hiking, snorkeling, kayaking or surfing and don’t yearn for “night life” then the oldest of the islands, Kauai is for you.

If you are the kind of person who keep a bathing suit, snorkel gear or a surfboard in your car, then Maui is for you, because it has 120 miles of easily accessible and swimmable coastline, more than any other island.

If you have an artistic temperament or perhaps you like to get away and write, then seek out the island of Lanai.

If you love nature, hiking and solitude, then “the most Hawaiian” of the islands, Molokai is for you.

You’ll enjoy Oahu if you like beaches, shopping, tourists, high-rises, traffic and don’t mind a lot of other people. Honolulu is like a tropical version of NYC, or LA as it was in the smog-free 1950’s.

Kaui sounds like your best bet.

Go to Oahu, not overdeveloped in the mainland sense of the word

Kauai may be less crowded even Molokai, even less crowded/

I would recommend Oahu or Maui. Oahu has the very busy city of Waikiki to walk around, shop at, and the beach is within walking distance. You can also go to Haleiwa which is on the opposite side of the island but a lot of tourists go there too! There’s a lot of good food there, although it’s not a very developed part of the island like Waikiki. But I would say you could get a “Hawaii flavor vacation” there!

Maui — I’ve only been there twice but everything is so beautiful! I don’t know in depth details about Maui but if you do decide to go there instead, you will not regret it.

I would recommend Maui. I always stay in Lahaina and it is a great time. It is about a 30-45 minute drive from the airport but it is well worth the drive and has great scenery on the way. It is a small town with some shopping and a great night life. The main street is right on the water and is lined with restaurants and a few great bars. There is a Hard Rock that always has some local music at night. Kaanapali is the next town over (about a 15 minute drive) and they have hotels over there as well. You can also get to some great secluded beaches for some snorkelling or hike up to a waterfall with a short drive. The waves aren’t rought at all and are great for learning to surf on.
Hope this helped a little bit… Have a great trip!

Maui is the best. They have beautiful scenery, yet they have the night life and typical luau stuff if you want. In Oahu it is expensive to rent a car to get around and if you use the bus system, it takes a long time.
In Maui you need to rent a car, but they are not overly expensive. They even have rent-a-wreck there. Good Luck, and aloha.

$4,000 for seven days? You will be fine. Go to Maui.

My husband and I were able to go to Oahu from Thursday to Tuesday for $900. This was for the flight and hotel (right on the beach).
The best way to save money to to search expedia, travelocity, hotwire, travelzoo, orbitz, etc… The rates change daily. You save money by booking your flight and hotel together and also if you want a rental car.
Just keep doing research until you are happy with the price. I have also found that you can camp cheap in Hawaii at the parks. Since you aren’t spending much time in the hotel, you might be better off packing a tent and camping out a few nights.

Have fun!!~~~~~~~

Honalulu.

The Big Island has it’s tourist spots far apart, you use a lot of time driving. Also the Big Island has lot’s of Lava Fields that run into the Ocean, thus, they have less percentage of actual beach.

Maui is our where you should go. It’s more manageable than Big Island and they have more to do than Lanai, Kauai or Molokai.

As far as budget accomodations, just google “Maui Vacation Rentals” and stay in either Kihei or Wailea. But you lived here, you should know where to stay

tells some to do on Big Island. get tickets through hotwire. Forget hotel stay at Vacation rental through or

Your kids are small so they will be fine with any of the Islands. I would say The Adults would enjoy Maui the most, since it seems to have the most diverse entertainment possibilities for Younger Adults as well as older Adults…(I will Post Maui Ideas below) Oahu is alot of fun, it is the more Metropolitan and City like of the Islands…my Teenagers 13,14 and 17 love it since they are able to run around and do things on their own if they want since so much is within walking distance from your Hotels in Waikiki…I Love Oahu as well and I’m 45…but SOME older persons don’t care for it much. Waikiki Beach is one of my all-time favorite Beaches (We all Surf) as is Kaanapali on Maui. I have been to the other Islands but these two Islands are My Families favorites…

~~Below I will Post Our Families favorites for Maui and Oahu~~Aloha..Enjoy yourself and have a “Blue Hawaii” or a “Mai Tai” for me…LOL

Things to do on Maui…

**= the things we personally do**

**Surf**
**Swim**
**Snorkel**
Snuba
Scuba
**Spear Fish**
**Cliff Dive**
**Lay-Out**
**People Watch**
**Shop**
**Eat**
**Hotel Hop**
**Horse Back Ride**
**Luau**
**Visit Lahaina**
**Hana Hiway**
Haleakala Crater
Dinner Cruise
Zip-Line
**Para-Sail**
Catamaran Sail
Maui Aquarium
**Visit Whalers Village**
**Go to the Million Dollar Open-Houses in Kapalua**
**Watch the Fabulous Maui Sunsets**

Make sure you eat dinner at the Hula Grill and/or Leilanis in Whalers Village right on Kaanapali Beach…get a table outside and watch the Sunset from there…you will NEVER forget it!
There is also a place called Mamas Fish House that I hear is Fabulous…I have never been there but you can bet I will go next time we are in Maui~~Aloha~~

You all may enjoy “Cheeseburger in Paradise” and “Bubba Gumps” as well…both are on Front Street in Lahaina.

Also another can’t miss…The Infamous Green Flash at Sunset…I have seen it only once in all the years going to Maui since I was a kid…read The Big Kahunas directions on catching it and maybe you will see this Natural Marvel your first time….

~~Hotels~~………

Westin on Maui is good, as is the Hilton. Look on redweek.com for something….

Hilton is mine.