Hawaii Island Hopping: Maui, Big Island, and Oahu
After a brief stop-over in Los Angeles, we made our way to Hawaii with Hawaiian Airlines; the first island we visited was the wonderful Maui which we were able to enjoy a panoramic views of out the plane window upon our decent. Once we landed in Maui, we wasted no time picking up our hired car and driving to our hotel the Royal Lahaina Resort on Maui’s Kaanapali coast. This hotel offered spacious bungalow style rooms which provided a great base for our exploration of the island of Maui. On our first morning in Maui, we made the journey to the summit of Haleakala National Park to watch one of the most breath-taking sunrises we have ever and will ever see. This journey required an early start, but it was well worth it once we saw the sun begin to peak over the cloud and illuminate the valley beneath us. We also really enjoyed visiting the historic whaling town of Lahaina and its quaint harbour. Though, our favourite part of our trip to Maui was driving the Road to Hana - a twisting and turning coastal road that takes you along one of Maui’s most scenic coastlines to the rustic town of Hana. Along the way we explored hidden sea caves, black sand beaches, towering waterfalls, rustic bridges, and more – all with the back of amazing views out over the Pacific Ocean.
The second island we visited on our Hawaii holiday was Hawaii’s Big Island where we stayed at the Royal Kona Resort. Kona is the Big Island’s largest town and during the drive there from the airport we were treated to amazing views of the Big Island’s landscape including towering volcanic mountains, golden sand beaches, and shining emerald waters. We kicked off our visit to the Hawaii Big Island by driving through the Volcanoes National Park - at the Volcanoes National Park we saw lava fields spreading for miles and miles, remnants of volcanoes, and the highlight of the trip to Volcanoes National Park was seeing the stunning Rainbow Falls - a waterfall cascading down over a lava cave! Whilst on the Big Island we also drove out to Waipio Valley – part of the Hamakua Coastal Drive, Waipio Valley Lookout offered stunning views out over the vast Canyon. To really get a good view of this Valley, you have to take to the skies- we took a helicopter tour over the Waipio Valley and this offered 360-degree panoramic views over one of the most scenic spots on the Big Island.
The last island of Hawaii that we visited was Oahu where we stayed at the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort. We highly recommend staying on Waikiki Beach when you visit Oahu as not only are you within the iconic city of Honolulu, but you are staying on one of the most famous and stunning beaches in the entire world! Waikiki beach is a beautiful stretch of golden sand backed by Honolulu on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other, and to top it all off the beach is towered over by the Diamond Head Crater... a once active, but now extinct, volcano! Staying on Waikiki Beach provided an excellent location for mornings of learning to surf, where we spent more time in the water than on the surfboard, and also close proximity Diamond Head Crater which, after a semi-short hike, offered absolutely stunning views out over Honolulu and is a must do hike whilst on Oahu. The hike up Diamond Head Crater is quite steep but not particularly long and would be doable for almost all who visit Hawaii. Whilst on Oahu we simply had to visit Pearl Harbor where we saw the USS Arizona Memorial and its visitor centre as well as the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific Oahu. This was a sad but deeply interesting day thanks to the amazing facilities at the Pearl Harbor Memorial, and we highly recommend it to anyone visiting the island of Oahu. While our Surfing efforts were not great, we had to visit Oahu’s World-Famous North Shore - the hotspot for surfing in Oahu for all the locals! We were happy to simply watch and enjoy the local Hawaiian surfers catch some of the biggest and most amazing waves we have ever seen!
After an amazing two weeks on our Hawaii Island Hopping Holiday to Maui, the Big Island, and Oahu it was finally time to fly back to the UK, again via Los Angeles, where after we landed we decided that we cannot wait to return back to Hawaii for another adventure.
To book your own Hawaii Holiday, why not get in touch with Tailormade Hawaii’s Experts who have years of expertise and experience not only booking and planning Hawaii holidays, but visiting the Hawaiian Islands to really get a feel for them.