Hawaii; Should I Visit One Island or Two or More?

November 11, 2009 by Lisa
Filed under: Big Island, Most Popular Questions, Vacation Planning

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Hi Lisa
i happened upon your site while doing research on Hawaii vacations..
here is my dilemna…my husband and two daughters (13 & 16) will be coming to Hawaii in July. I am trying to book a nice vacation and at the same time trying to control costs…
Since this is a once in a lifetime trip for us I am trying to decide if we should do 2 islands or just enjoy one. We want to have some down time to relax and some time to explore. I am definetly staying on the big island. By staying on just one island will we get to see all Hawaii has to offer?

You didn’t say how long your trip will be. I like to recommend no more than one island for every 5-7 days in Hawaii, for just that reason. Relaxing is important. Packing and unpacking and flying and renting a car all over again is not relaxing, typically.

The other islands are quite different than the Big Island, but the Big Island definitely has something to offer for everyone, and it’s the only island with the volcano and an awesome black sand beach (punaluu) and it’s best beaches (Hapuna and Mauna Kea) can rival the best anywhere in the islands.

I don’t think you will be missing out on anything by staying on the Big Island, unless someone else in your party has their heart set on something specific like Pearl Harbor. There is always the option of a day trip too - meaning you could just fly over for a day and fly back that evening, but that could the priciest way to island hop if you go with a predestined tour.

So, don’t worry if you just stay on the Big Island. Others may tell you that you were missing something, but I don’t think you will be.

Aloha, Lisa

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