Hawaii

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by FRPLG

Been twice. Neither a cruise though. Oahu is a big city on an island for the most part. Ther are more tropical parts of it but in Waikiki and the area around it it is like any other big city in the US. Except in the middle of paradise.

Maui was hot when I was there so it probably biased my view that is was sort of dry and not as lush. The terrain is cool and has a different feel than the others. Kauai was my favorite but there is far less to do there than nay other island. It is your prototypical tropical island. With lots of lushness and mountains. We did a helicopter tour on Kauai. If you do one that is the island to do it on.

All in all every island is different and offers different things. If you only do one thing I think you HAVE to go to the Arizona memorial on Oahu. As an American it is like your duty and if you only go to Hawaii once then this is your only shot. It is really "cool" honestly in a weird morbid way. It took us a while to get in since they can only take a certain amount out at once. Allow for several hours to do that.

I should have stated that I plan to do two things, 1- go to the memorial, and 2- see actual lava / climb a volcano.
I have always wanted to go to pearl harbor, and we are flying in 2 days early just to make sure we can go see the USS Arizona.

The Helicopter tour on Kauai is a great idea.

[CooleyAsCanBe]

Originally Posted by jsarno

I should have stated that I plan to do two things, 1- go to the memorial, and 2- see actual lava / climb a volcano.
I have always wanted to go to pearl harbor, and we are flying in 2 days early just to make sure we can go see the USS Arizona.

The Helicopter tour on Kauai is a great idea.

I've been to Oahu and Big Island (Hawaii). When I was on Big Island he volcano had recently erupted and the lava was flowing into the ocean. We even got to kick it. Pretty sweet. I'd assume Big Island is your best bet if you want to see an active Volcano, and there are some beautiful black sand beaches and other nature-related attractions. Oahu is pretty touristy, but still fun. The North Shore is beautiful.