Which Hawaii Island has the Least Tourists?
Hi, I am planning the vacation for two couples and we are having a difficult time deciding which island to go to. We definitely want to avoid Oahu and are considering Maui, Kauai and the Big Island. We are looking for sandy beaches and small communities of local folk with a few restaurants. Two people really want to go to the Big Island but I have heard that the beaches are few and far between and while we may be up for an adventure 2 or 3 days of the 7 most of our time will be spent on the beach. Is this true? I am nervous that Maui may have more tourists than we are willing to handle (coming from NYC and SF). Any advice would be much appreciated.
Well, yes, I think I would avoid Maui also. It’s a beautiful island, but most areas are pretty jam packed with other tourists. It’s following in Oahu’s footsteps. On the Big Island, the strange thing is, even though the beaches are few and far between, there is a stretch of road called the Kohala Coast that is dotted with one fantastic beach after another. Obviously the beach you’ll spend the most time at will be the one next to your hotel or rental, and if you stayed at a Kohala Coast hotel you would only have to drive 15 minutes or so in either direction to reach some of the nicest beaches in all of Hawaii like Beach 69, Kaunaoa Beach, and Hapuna Beach. There’s also A-Bay (Anaehoomalu), and Spencers Beach. However, on the Big Island, the adventures will be a far, far drive from Kohala. Also, there are no local communities really on the Kohala Coast 
. There’s some Hawaiian Homelands up North of Kawaihae, and Waikoloa Village and Waimea are pretty local and nice and laid-back, but they are up the mountain and not near the beaches.
Now Kauai is practically just one big beach, and the east side will be pretty local and laid-back with nice beaches and a short drive to anywhere.
I don’t know, I don’t think you can go wrong with what you want if you avoid Maui and Oahu. I stayed at the Waikoloa Marriott on the Big Island last weekend (October) for a mom’s weekend out and we were practically the only people around at the pool and the shops. A lot depends on when you go too.