I spent two nights in Honolulu two nights in Maui, and 4 in Kauai. I will only be skimming over my time in Honolulu and Maui given that I didn’t actually do much on those islands.

Honolulu

I stayed at the Ohana East in Waikiki. My girlfriend’s company paid for the room which they were able to get a fantastic rate of $75/night. The Ohana hotel company runs a wide range of hotels in Honolulu. The Ohana East is on the lower end of the scale. The location is good but not fantastic. It’s near the main drag, but not on the beach.

Waikiki beach itself is a great beach if you haven’t been to other beaches in Hawaii. Since we visited during off season, the beach was only moderately crowded. Compared to a beach in Cape Cod or the Jersey shore during the summer, the beach was positively abandoned. Waikiki is good swimming beach with gentle surf by Hawaiian standards. The snorkeling given the volume of beach goers is not the best.

Maui

In Maui we stayed at the Beachside Motel near the airport on the bay. We stayed there because it was cheap and conveniently located to where my girlfriend needed to be. Unless there’s a strong reason you need to stay near Kahului, the main town in Maui, I would look to other hotels in more recreational locations.

Given my short time in Maui, I only managed to do two things:

One: I drove around the western half of the island. This is the less famous drive in Maui. The drive to do is the one to the eastern side of Maui, The Road to Hana. I instead drove around the western island, the smaller of the two connected islands, which is still incredibly scenic in itself. The drive is series of mountain switchbacks across a one lane road. Depending on the traffic levels, it can make for some interesting moments as two cars traveling in opposite directions try to make room for one to pass.

Two: I snorkeled in Lahaina near Black Rock. On our last day in Maui we rented snorkel equipment parked the car near the series of resorts in the Western town of Lahaina and made our way to Black Rock. Black Roak is craggy rock jutting out to sea at the beach near the Sheraton hotel. Torches are lit up a night along a walkway towards the top of the rock from which brave souls jump into the sea. I was not such a brave soul. I was only brave enough to snorkel by daylight in the vicinity. Because of the geology of the area, the shore quickly becomes much deeper in the vicinity of Black Rock. This geography makes for excellent near shore snorkeling. There is both coral and fish to be scene. Remember do not get near the coral as your touch can kill coral that may be hundreds of years old.

Kauai

Kauai was really my vacation while the rest of Hawaii was just a bonus. Without any work obligations, my girlfriend was free to spend time with me. We were able to do what we wanted when we wanted, making the best of 4 nights, and three full days.

Using the Hanalei Bay Resort as our base of operations, we generally stuck to the northern and eastern side of the island. Not having done my research ahead of time, I only earned winter was rainy season in the North Shore when we arrived. Luckily it was reasonably sunny 3 out of 4 days. The waters are rougher during rainy season while in contrast the south is calm in winter and stormier in summer. Even without the seasonal variation, the north shore is known to be the wetter locale. However like much of Hawaii rain will often come but does not often stay through the whole day. Expect showers, but don’t expect constant rain. However if sun and surf is your main interest, I would recommend staying in the South especially in the winter.

The North Shore

Princeville on the east marks the beginning which might arguably be the prettiest area of Kauai. Princeville is on the eastern shore of Hanalei bay, and is best described as a posh gated golf course community. The north shore because it gets more water than the other shores is by far the greenest, and this greenery frames the ocean perfectly

The Eastern Coast

The east coast is home to Kaua’is largest towns Lihu’e and Kapa’a. The airport and Marriott Hotel are located in Lihu’e which is the most commercial part of the island.

Southeastern Coast

Poipu

Poipu is known as the Wakiki of Kauai. I didn’t really see that while spending about an hour on this shore. The Sheraton and Hyatt are two big hotels in this area. The Hyatt has wonderful oceanfront restaurant called the Tidepools which features independent thatched huts linked by bridges over a carp pond and waterfalls. I didn’t get a chance to visit the restaurant, but many friends who have been to Hawaii have. All we really managed to do at Poipu was watch rather subdued sea spray at Spouting Horn. The horn needs the bigger summer surf to put on a real show.