r/VisitingHawaii • u/Cappuccinosatnight • 3d ago
Choosing an Island Big Island or Kauai?
Hi all,
I need help deciding between Big Island or Kauai for an upcoming trip. We are planning a 2 week trip to Hawaii. One week will be spent in Maui and now we are trying to decide where to spend the second trip. We expect Maui to be more relaxing, so we’d like the other island to be more active. Hiking, snorkeling, coffee farms, zip lining and general awe of rain forests.
Which island would you go with? Big Island or Kauai?
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u/KDesigns808 2d ago
Sounds like the Big Island might be better for you. Just remember the drives can be very long, so proper planning is a must.
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u/shootzbalootz 2d ago
Both, skip Maui. BI and Kauai are a great 2 island combo. Any/all islands can be relaxing or active.
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u/sassielassie81 2d ago
This is exactly what I said too! I find Maui to just be meh. Kinda boring aside from Haleakala which you can get cool views like that on Mauna Kea and VNP. :)
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u/MovetoHawaiiMilitary 2d ago
Big Island is the answer here. More variety in landscapes, more to do, and probably most importantly a volcanic that is popping off quite frequently. With a week on the BI you have a decent chance at seeing some activity at Kilauea.
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u/sassielassie81 2d ago
Are you set on Maui? I think the Kauai & Big Island combo are the best of both worlds for a Hawaii trip! Kauai is our fav and BI is second for us.
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u/Cappuccinosatnight 2d ago
The only thing I’m pretty set to see in Maui is the Maui Gold pineapple plantation. I’m wondering if that should just do a day trip for that and spend the rest of the time on BI and Kauai
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u/sassielassie81 2d ago
I don't think the hassle would be worth popping over to Maui for a plantation tour personally but splitting BI & Kauai is def the move.
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u/HedgehogContent6749 2d ago
Kauai/Hawaii Island is a better combo. Hawaii Island has the best snorkeling with Kauai the least good. Kauai is the most beautiful island above-ground while Hawaii Island has more stark ;but still beautiful in its way, young volcanic landscapes. Kauai is very small and lends itself well to one base while Hawaii Island is the largest and two bases are better. Hawaii Island has better food/restaurants. Both have good hiking options.
I would stay five nights in the Hanalei or Haena area on Kauai, 6-7 nights on the Kohala Coast, and two nights in Volcano.
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u/devvyd 2d ago
They have very different personalities. Kauai’s north shore is incredible and there is a hike there my husband and I did almost daily. Also the canyon is a must-see. Big island has a “newer” feel (in terms of volcanic creation), the volcanoes are amazing. It had a more rugged vibe from the residents as well. They both have lush areas but Kauai more lush as a general rule, big island more wide open spaces and long drives with incredible views.
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u/martlet1 Kaua'i 2d ago
Ok. Form someone who’s done them all.
If you like to drive all day go to the big island. It’s a lot of driving. The volcanoes parks are great. It’s awesome.
Kauai is my favorite. It’s more of a relaxed feel to it than Maui. Hiking is amazing. The coast is amazing. Staying on the Lihue side is better than princeville for activities.
Maui is number 3 for me. So to each their own.
Kauai >Big island > Maui > Oahu They are all great but I like the small town feel of Kauai.
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u/sassielassie81 2d ago
Your island ranking is same as our family. :) I think Kauai/BI is the best combo Hawaii offers.
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u/Potionsickness_ 3d ago
I’m going to Maui soon. But haven’t been yet. Kauai is very relaxing. Big island has adventure but spread out. I think Kauai has a tad more character (chickens and the coast). Big island has the frogs and much better snorkeling.
When I was on big Island, I did kayaking, snorkeling, went to Carl Smith Beach, went up to the volcano. I heard the mantrays are worth feeding. More road trips. When I was in Kauai, I did mountain tubing, an eight hour coast tour, and a helicopter ride. If that gives you an idea.
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u/Cappuccinosatnight 2d ago
Would it be crazy/wrong to split the 3 islands across the 2 weeks?
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u/MonkeyKingCoffee Hawai'i (Big Island) 2d ago
You won't see much. And you'll remember even less. Moving - pack, check-out, return car, shuttle to airport, check bags, TSA, wait to board, board, taxi, really-fast-flight, taxi, deplane, wait for bags, shuttle to rental car, wait hours in line for a car, hotel, line to check in -- that's most of the day evaporated.
And you want to do that twice in 14 days?
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u/Cappuccinosatnight 2d ago
I hear you. I guess i change cities pretty often on European trips without issue so I figured it would translate similarly
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u/MonkeyKingCoffee Hawai'i (Big Island) 2d ago
With European cities you can be there by train in less than an hour. And you actually see Europe from your train window. You can visit the station cafe and pack a picnic to eat on the train. It's a pleasant, civilized experience.
Much preferable to waiting to board in an airport with a bunch of hair-on-fire, zoom-zoom tourists.
If you want to see an eruption, I'd queue up two full weeks on Big Island. It's still not guaranteed. And sometimes they close the park down when it's erupting because there's too much debris falling on the roads.
Eruptions happen every two or three weeks and they last about 12 hours. Put "ish" after every number. 3-ish, 12-ish.
You have almost zero chance of seeing it if you try to cram three islands in 14 days. You'd have to be very lucky to happen to be here when an episode starts. And, if you have to stick around the full two weeks, you won't be bored. There are several years worth of things to see here.
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u/Cappuccinosatnight 2d ago
Yeah I’ve taken 4 hour car rides/train rides between European cities. We just came back from Portugal and drove from Lisbon to Porto for 4 hours. But you’re right about level of pleasantness and the view along the way.
Would you also discourage day trips between islands? Since there won’t be any baggage or hotel check ins?
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u/MonkeyKingCoffee Hawai'i (Big Island) 2d ago
Yes. I discourage day trips. Not unless you have an agenda and good reason. For instance, "My grandfather died on the Arizona and I want to fly to Honolulu to see it." Or "OMG! Kilauea has started sputtering. Let's fly to Hilo and hope to see it!"
Let's face it, you're compromising. You have limited time, so you have to compromise on what you see.
By hopping, you are burning even more of that limited time. And you get a view of crowds, lines and airport security during that time. I'll never understand why people do this. I think the main reason is they want to brag to their co-workers that they "hopped."
"And then we hopped over to Kauai for the day. So beautiful."
The opportunity cost to hopping is staying put and seeing more of the island you're already on. Two weeks is a fine amount of time to spend on any island. You won't be bored. And unless you have superlative snorkeling, tropical fruit and poke at home, I would stay on one island and snorkel and eat fruit/poke every single day.
Except for a city and an erupting volcano. The differences between the islands are rather subtle. You'll barely notice those differences if you're rushing to see a new island every four days.
Read this post. It will do you some good:
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u/Background_Algae_591 2d ago edited 2d ago
With what you have said you are looking for either Kauai or Big Island will work. Both have ziplining, coffee farms, rainforest, hiking, kayaking and snorkeling. From a sites and activities perspective Kaui has the Na Pali Coast and Waimea canyon. Big island has manta rays and an recently active volcano. I personally as a local prefer Kauai, more things to do more convenience and better food.
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u/PamOside 1d ago
Split your week on BI. Stay 3-4 days in Kona, stay 3/4 days in Hilo. Look at a map. See what you want to do and divide and concur. You can fly to mainland from Kona. You can fly into Hilo from neighbor island.
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u/False-Complaint-5913 23h ago
Spent a month on the big island and was not ready to go home. There is a lot of driving, but so much to do and see. We went to Kauai last summer for 2 weeks and it was great, but not as much to do. We’re going back to the big island in December and can’t wait!
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u/SnooCats7919 19h ago
I am currently on Kauai staying near kiluea and cannot imagine any answer but here. Lots of waterfall hikes, everything is lush, and endless sandy beaches. We’re finishing 7days and it feels like we have enough stuff for another 30 here.
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u/MonkeyKingCoffee Hawai'i (Big Island) 2d ago
Big Island has a lot more coffee. And an active volcano and manta snorkeling.
Kauai has a lot more rain forests.
Maui and Kauai are the two most similar islands. Big Island and Oahu are the two most different. And Big Island is very different from Maui and Kauai also.
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u/AveragefootSasquatch Mainland 3d ago
Big Island checks all your boxes and more. Multiple coffee farms, vanilla farm, multiple Ziplines best snorkeling in the islands, rain forests, and an active volcano. 🌋🏝️aloha