what is the best island to go to in Hawaii?

Question

How necessary is it to rent a car?

Answer 1

Oahu. The Gathering Place. Tons of people with aloha spirit, and all the activities of the other islands minus the active volcano but really, how long can you look at lava? Once you've seen it fly back to Oahu and have a malasada!

Answer 2

Depends on what you want from you trip. Oahu is probably the most visited and touristy, but also has the most variety. The big island has volcanoes and cool landscapes. Maui is more small town-ish, but has good surfing and resorts. I usually go to Oahu for a few days and then try to go to another island for a few more days.



About a car, it depends on what you want to do. If you are staying at a hotel on the beach and only plan on sunbathing, then you won't need a car. It is definitely helpful to get around and see the islands though. I always rent a car.

Answer 3

My husband and I went to Oahu and Maui with a day trip to Lana'i and a Helicoptor Flight over Moloka'i. I wouldn't recommend planning a vacation to the last two, but they were great for the short time we spent there. I recommend the day trips/helicoptor tours.



Oahu (where Honolulu is) was really nice, but very very touristy. We had a rental car, but we didn't really use it on that island.



For Maui, we needed the rental. The nice places to visit are all sprawled out on Maui. We particularly fell in love with Hana in Maui. What a beautiful, quaint little town, and you definitely need a rental car to get to it...the Hana Highway is a long neverending, crazy, turning stretch of road.



One island that we didn't visit that is increasing in popularity is Kaua'i. If/when we go back to Hawai'i, this will be a stop for us.



I highly recommend the Frommers Hawaii book and the Hawaii for Dummies book. The travel agent we used was Aloha Destinations (McCoy Travel Company). They were great. We have since used them for a trip to Italy.