I was nearing the point of booking a 6-night vacation in Maui for my family later this year (2 adults, 3 kids (14, 11, 9 roughly, at travel time) when I had the thought to consider splitting time between Maui and the Big Island. One of our "bucket list" goals is to knock out the 63 National Parks. In June of 2027 we plan to kick off a year-long road trip to do all the parks in the lower 48.

Initially I settled on Maui as I was placing more value in a "laid back, chill" kind of vacation, so it seemed like a better fit. But in the last 24 hours I thought that if we can extend the trip just a few days it might be possible to do get both NP's done from the islands and that it would be financially more efficient then splitting them between 2 distinct trips.

So, anyone done a multi-island trip? Any thoughts on how many days is needed to make this viable?

If you want laid back, split it 80/20 Big Island/Maui.

Maui is basically California at this point. Big Island and Kauai are significantly slower pace.

I once did 4 islands in one trip (don't remember how many days total, but it was something like 2 or 3 days per island). Enjoyed myself just fine.

The Big Island is pretty laid back, in fact more than Maui (which is still more laid back than Oahu).

Yes! The prices were so much lower on Big Island that I was worried it'd suck so I split my trip between Big Island and Maui. I got a Camaro covertible on Big Island for less money than a Chevy Impala on Maui. Marriott rooms on both islands but 30% less on Big Island. Turns out Big Island is my favorite of the 4 I've visited and it's lower cost because there is more land.

I've been to Hawaii 7 times, and 3 of the trips included Big Island. On Big Island, I've stayed at the Marriott, Marriott Courtyard, and a 1 bedroom condo I found on VRBO.

Here is a link to a lengthy post I made about my general and island specific experiences on Hawaii.

I’ve been to Maui three times, Oahu four times, Kauai and the Big Island once each.

My favorite was the Big Island. It offers everything. Unless there is something specific you want that Maui offers (other than Haleakala), I’d spend the majority of the time on BI.

Volcanoes are spewing lava in the Big Island right now.

I did an Oahu/Maui twofer over 7 days which was fine. A couple days on Oahu was enough. You shouldn’t have any issues combining Maui and the Big Island over 7-10 days. You’ll be able to hit both parks and do other stuff too. It makes sense if hitting the parks is a goal. An extra trip to Hawaii is never a bad thing but gets expensive. Make a plan.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by berto:
... A couple days on Oahu was enough.../QUOTE]


Agree, I do consider Oahu a "must" at least once for Pearl Harbor, Punchbowl Cemetery, Polynesian cultural center. Other than that is it basically southern CA.

It's been a long time (but I think it's still popular), if you like sushi / sashimi (more Japan style than US style) and find yourself on Oahu, check out Mitch's. (seafood importer with a side area for sushi; at least it was 30 years ago ). One of the few places for sushi I'll patronize in the US). New Zealand (?) owner w/ Japanese trained and certified sushi chefs (again, back then; not sure about now. If still true, may be worth checking out if you like sushi. Try the lobster 3 ways). Warning - it may set you back a pretty penny.

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:
The Big Island is pretty laid back, in fact more than Maui (which is still more laid back than Oahu).

My wife, son and I have taken maybe two dozen trips to the islands, my wife grew up there in her childhood and still has family there, most on Oahu (one on the Big Island). We viewed Oahu mostly as a location to visit family, with a little bit of the vacation vibe thrown in, but Maui became our main vacation spot, a good mix of tourist stuff and laid back surroundings. The Big Island and Kauai are even more laid back. But I'll admit, Oahu had the great selection of restaurants, food for us was paramount. For each island, you make your experience, and we've had fun on all of them. Maui and a few days of the Big Island is a great mix for the week.

^Yes, so similar. Both my parents were from Honolulu, and I don't even know how many times our family went there. Most of both sides of the family were there, so I have fond memories of that island. Don't really mind the touristy stuff, it's still Hawaii.

I lived on Oahu as a kid from 80-85 (5-11th grade) and have visited all the islands the public can get to including Molokai and Lanai so I have lots of opinions about which island I like the best that I will keep to my self.

To answer your question though, yes, both islands are very dooable if you extend. I don't know when "later this year" is but IMO Maui is good for two-three things, Haleakala, maybe Hana, and whales. Unless you LOVE whales (which I do) and go during Feb-April (humpback mating season) Maui is pretty much just the Hana HWY and the volcano, which are each a day. The fires really wrecked Old Lahaina so that attraction is limited.

The Big Island, Hawaii, has a lot of things to see that take time to get there (its MUCH bigger and the roads are slower). I agree that devoting more time to this island might be the way to go depending on your specific wants, and I WOULD NOT recommend shortchanging the visit there. Know that if the island is having eruptions, that is a one in a lifetime experience and SHOULD NOT BE MISSED.

About 15 years ago I took the family to Hawaii.
We flew into Maui and stayed for 5days, then flew to Kauai and stayed for 5days then flew to the big island for 5 days.We only went to Oahu to catch flights to the Islands we stayed on.
I found that Maui and Kauai were small enough that the they could very easily be driven around in less than a day. Both were worth visiting.
The big island held far more to see.I thought it was like visiting California on steroids.
Even though we stayed 5 days on each island the commute to each island was exhausting requiring a good part of the travel day to accomplish and then settle in. If your only going to spend 3 days on each island both travel days will be hectic.
If I did it again I would go to Maui for the beaches and the big island for things to see.
A couple days on Maui and the rest of the time on the Big Island.
I would fly into Maui.
As I remember all commuter flights must go through Oahu.

I've been to Oahu, Maui, Kauai. Maybe one more (but not Big). To me, Maui was great for golf (but very expensive), brunch at the top tier hotels (Ritz?) but also very expensive. And snorkeling, both on beach and boat trip. All of this was expensive but worth to do once and anyway it was a well deserved vacation.

Kauai was also good for snorkeling but had to pick and choose more carefully for people who don't swim well. Like stay away from the north coast / Princeville area. But hiking was fantastic.

Didn't care for Oahu in terms of nature and snorkeling. Hiked up the Head which was a task and a little bit of a let down.

Other than brunches at top tier hotels, don't really care for the food on Hawaii. Except for Mitch's.

I would love to hear about your travels if you make it to the Big Island. I've never had any interest when I was younger but I've been more keen on visiting someday as I've gotten older.

But first, I'm trying to get to the Bora Bora region - I hear that's once in a lifetime (and it'll have to wait until I'm more comfortable with w/ retirement egg).

We are going to the big island this year. Going to spend 4 nights in Hilo and 4 nights in Kona.

Still working out the details on what to do but I see a lot of driving and hiking happening.

If you were doing 2 weeks I’d do 2 islands, not 2 in a week or less. I would never do that, stick to one island. Each island is very different/unique and you won’t understand that with such limited time. Stay on one, get to know it. Go back later to another.

Waimea Canyon Park is the best in the state IMO. Grand Canyon of the Pacific. You can see Ni’ihau and Lehua from one of the observation points. Breathtaking sight.

Living in the NW, Hawaii has always been the midwinter sanity break for most of us. Visited the islands dozens of times, and we generally end up on the Big Island. It's diverse (tropical in Hilo and dry on the Kona side). Lots to do, see and it's pretty laid back comparatively speaking. As another has pointed out, blowing a day for travel to hit another island when you have just a week, I'd suggest the same, save it for another trip.

Starting about 20 years ago we started vacationing in Hawaii fairly frequently, now up to about 8 trips now. From When we first started going to the most recent trip, a lot has changed.
Oahu has always been congested /touristy though still a must for Pearl Harbor. Our first trip to Maui really liked it, was not nearly as crowded and was more laid back. Last couple times, very crowded, bad traffic, not what it used to be. Really liked Kauai for the slower pace and much less traffic.
Not been to Molokai or lanai and only briefly on big island, but would like to try that one of these days. I think with multiple kids in tow, island hopping would be a challenge ?

Big island is spectacular, and much slower pace. You would be hard pressed to see everything in two weeks. I agree on the 80/20 Big Island/Maui split.

Splitting islands is a waste. Pick one and go. Going to the airport, getting a new rental car, changing lodging are all more hassle than you gain by going to a different island on a single vacation. Do a separate trip for the next island, it is more efficient.