Oahu has more of a "city" feel with Honolulu. That part of the island is crowded. My personal preference for relaxation is Maui and Kona (the big island) for "adventure".
One other thing....If it's raining where you're staying, just drive to the opposite side and it'll be beautiful.
I tried to think of a few off-the-beaten-path things that I've seen that aren't necessarily in the guide books. Here's a few things that I thought were really cool and unique...(some/all might be guide book items)... Hanalei Pier - Hanalei Neat place to check out; you can swim, sunbathe, fish, jump off the pier; went fishing off the pier in July with my father-in-law and my son (11 y.o.); was fun for a while...did this very early in the day and my son was tired after a few catches; was extremely rainy this day and as we were fishing, the rains over the mountains sprung up 20 or so waterfalls...it was a really cool site to see...so if it is rainy while you are there, this might be a cool thing to see. We also had a giant sea turtle swimming through the schools of fish we were trying to catch. Really cool and awe-inspiring see one of those creatures up close. Stone Dam - Kilauea https://www.hawaiilife.com/blog/stone-dam-kilauea/ My wife grew up on Kauai (first 20 or so years) and never visited this place; we went a few years ago with my kids and enjoyed the short hike and the hidden beauty of this place. You'll find info that says to park at a putt-putt golf course and hike to this place...but there's a much shorter way to get there. There's a restaurant here... https://www.google.com/maps/place/2...0x0!7e2!8m2!3d22.1970821!4d-159.4194978?hl=en ...where you can park in the lot and it shortens the walk to about a mile. You will probably want to friendly-up with someone on the waitstaff and ask specific directions or just follow the road (which is usually closed due to it being private) to this location... https://www.google.com/maps/place/2...0x0!7e2!8m2!3d22.1891637!4d-159.4219978?hl=en (sorry for the lengthy urls...I wanted to be as specific as possible...we had to drive all over the area to find this place...if you go, hopefully it will get you to the end-goal much quicker; just look at some of the google map images at what is waiting...might help you decide to do this hike or not) Polihale State Park http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dsp/parks/kauai/polihale-state-park/ This beach is absolutely stunning! It's usually pretty quiet due to how secluded it is. Mostly locals. Some tourists do come out to Polihale...and often get stuck if trying to drive in the dunes. My brother-in-law frequently has to bail them out. If you go here and you want to get your vehicle on the beach, make sure you rent/borrow a good 4 wheel drive truck/suv. Also be sure to leave the park well before dark...it gets incredibly dark fast after sundown and finding your way around can be a little tricky at night. If you're going during the day, be sure to be prepared to be in direct sunlight for a while as there are not really any trees or shade close to the water area. Also...no facilities (outside of the jungle)...take care of business before leaving your hotel or Hanapepe/Waimea. Glass Beach - Eleele https://www.google.com/maps/place/G...b904bd7!8m2!3d21.8980933!4d-159.5842541?hl=en Neat, free expedition that won't take much time Any snorkel expedition to the Na Pali Coast Here's one of the many offered...these typically leave from Port Allen/Eleele... https://www.holoholokauaiboattours.com/kauai_boat_tours/napali-snorkel-sail/ I was lucky enough to have one of my wife's cousins work for one of these outfits and did a sunset snorkel cruise to the Na Pali Coast. Absolutely beautiful. No words could really do this justice. Having dolphins lead the way to the snorkel site and seeing all sorts of exotic fish and seals basking on the beach...just so much fun.
When I go to Hawaii I usually take my own green meds with me. I've found stuff over there but unless you know someone its difficult. Take your own if you wanna puff.
I did the kayaking trip on the river where they shot the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark. That was pretty neat (and a good workout).
The Na Pali coast is insanely beautiful. We did a helicopter tour there and if you are scared of helicopters, this probably isn't going to cure your fear. But, there are sailing, snorkeling tours that to the Na Pali coast as well. I would rather have done the snorkeling/ sailing tour, but the waves were huge the day we went over there and the boats couldn't handle the waves, so we did the heli tour. The are no roads over there. FYI, the reefs formed from volcanoes are razor sharp, so if you plan on snorkeling, or hanging out in the water, bring some reef walkers or river shoes. We had some good poke at several places on the north shore and south shore. Kauai Island Brewing company was the only place we found good beer in Kauai. They also had good Kalua pork. Pretty much everything is expensive in Kauai, so don't expect to eat out cheap anywhere. Even the food trucks aren't cheap. The Wailua River/ Smith's Fern grotto tour was pretty nice and relaxing way to spend a couple of hours, though hardly a can't miss. There are a bunch of great surf spots there too, but probably not the best place to learn.
My wife are still undecided between Kauai and Oahu. Kauai looks incredibly beautiful and rugged and Oahu has its tourist hot spots (with the upside and downside these bring). We have time to decide but it's tough.
Dude, wish I would have seen this earlier. I just got back last Thursday from a 12 day trip to Kauai. (my 5th one there) How long are you staying there? On top of what the others I have a few ideas to add as well. Dont want to type it up unless yore staying there longer. Napali coast tour is a MUST and if you're not prone to sea sickness I would do the sunset dinner boat cruise from Captain Andy's tours out of Hanapepe down south. Took about 4 hours and was very informative. Included open bar, and steak/pork dinner MUST DO on a huge catamaran.Takes you along the south of the island, between Ni'ihau, then over to the Napali coast. About $120 per person Waimea Canyon State Park and Kalalau Lookout is a MUST do as well, but leave early morning while its cool outside and before the clouds come in and take over. The winds have been all over the place last few weeks so each day the cloud cover can vary I got tons more info if you still want it!
GO GO GO to Kauai over Ohau 9 times out of 10. Ohau has its gems, but I usually tell people to spend maybe 2-3 days tops on Oahu, and mostly to go to Pearl Harbor, North Shore then drive along the Kings Highway on the east point of the island. It has its gems to go to that I absolutely love, but I feel the other islands have more of a Hawaiian experience to offer.
Thanks, my friend. I'll have to let my wife chime in (our friend went to O'ahu and she has his submarine touristy thing tattooed on her brain, so there's that), but should the time come and we hit Kauai (again, this would be next year), then I'll know who to hit up.
My cousin was a safety officer in the Air Force and he declined to get on helicopters because he knew how much your life was dependent on the maintenance of just a couple 3/4 inch bolts.
For what its worth, my wife and I liked Maui way more than Oahu. A big chunk of the stuff to see on Oahu is in Honolulu and what you realize when you're in Honolulu: you're in a big, working city with all the stuff that brings...good and bad. If I were you, I'd go to Kauai...I've heard nothing but great things from friends that have gone that route.
I'd suggest that you go snorkeling every day if you can. There's so much to see underwater. I thought I would like it a lot, but I had no idea how addicting it is. Another thing that I feel is easy to do is to go get all the different types of poke at the grocery store. It's raw fish, so you may not be into that, but if you are there are like 40 different versions at the grocery store.
Literally the first person I asked was the bartender at the tiki bar at our condo. He said "go see Mikey at the resort next door and tell him you like the Dead." Had an 1/8th a couple hours later. Been a great trip!
Just got back from Oahu, stayed in Waikiki.. had a lot of fun.. food was good and did a few hikes. If you go there try the KoKo head hike and tell me how you feel.
