<p>I’ve just been told Oahu and Kauai were shut down yesterday because of torrential rainfall.</p>
<p>That should narrow your choices! :)</p>
<p>Just checking in. Thanks all for the advice. Am just wrapping up from work. Still have to make some reservations… Looks like the consensus is… Kauai or Maui or Oahu!</p>
<p>Parent1986- Do you mean flights between the two islands? That sounds like a risky proposition- what if our flight is disrupted on the way back…our return flight is from Honolulu.</p>
<p>We will still be looking at anything people post here, until around midnight EST. In case someone has more tips.</p>
<p>Yes I am aware we won’t be paying bargain prices at this eleventh hour…</p>
<p>Have you thought about using Priceline? You just might get a bargain price this close to your check in day. I don’t know if you can do that this close or not but might be worth investigating.</p>
<p>We usually stay in a condo when we go to Hawaii because my husband likes to cook. We stayed in Poipu on Kauai at the Kiahuna Plantation. We loved it. We have been to Oahu twice and both times rented a house on the North Shore and LOVED it. THere is also the Turtle Bay resort on the North Shore.</p>
<p>Hotwire also may have some good last minute rates. You can get an idea of location, number of stars before booking. We have used them with DC hotels and had good luck. 4 star hotels often under $200. Hope you enjoy your trip!</p>
<p>Oahua:if snorkeling at Hanauma bay get snorkel gear at snorkel bob,s when opens and go early at 830am best time to snorkel is am and there will be no lines Royal HawIian is lovely
Maui go to HaileMalie restaurant and get the crime brûlée ,Mama,s fish house is also very good but expensive</p>
<p>If you could possibly get a bag of frozen peas before snorkeling at Hanauma Bay you will feel like you are in an aquarium. The fish will flock to you. Try to get there before 9:00 Am to get in the water before there are any crowds. I doubt you will face the ususal crowds this time of you. </p>
<p>I did’nt mention this earlier but Molikai was one of the most magical places I visited when on my trips to Hawaii. I remember driving along the road with the windows rolled down and hearing the sound of water falls. We pulled the car over on the side of the road and hiked through the jungle picking mangos off the trees until we reached what was the most beautiful deserted spot I have ever scene. I will never forget those water falls and large pool that was completely untouched. We spent the whole afternoon there and to this day that image is burned in my head. Don’t be afraid to explore and go off the roads to find locations that tourists don’t know about. Hopefully the poster from Hawaii will see this thread before you close your computer for the night.</p>
<p>Check the weather.</p>
<p>[Storm</a> runoff closes Hanauma Bay, golf courses also affected - Hawaii News - Honolulu Star-Advertiser](<a href=“http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/141701803.html?id=141701803]Storm”>http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/141701803.html?id=141701803)</p>
<p>Hanuama Bay could be off limits for a while. The little cove at the Turtle Bay resort is a good alternative.</p>
<p>They don’t let you feed frozen peas to the fish anymore. On the other hand, you’re much more likely to see turtles anywhere in Hawaii than I remember from the old days.</p>
<p>First two nights booked in a hotel on Waikiki beach to be near an event we are attending.</p>
<p>Looks like we may spend a lot of time indoors if it continues to rain like crazy.</p>
<p>IloveLA is correct…they do not allow fish feeding at Hanuama anymore. Actually, once you purchase tickets, you are required to watch a quick 7 minute film about HB, which is pretty interesting, talks about bad effects of feeding fish, saving the bay, history,etc.</p>
<p>Let us know how your trip goes!</p>
<p>If you haven’t booked the hotel or car yet, when you decide which area to stay, check out the prices on hotwire.com. You can generally get a 4 star hotel for reasonable prices, and always a car for a deal. Because if you know approximately where you want to stay, who cares which 4 star hotel it is? And certainly, any car company at the airport will do.</p>
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<p>Well, if you go swimming in the ocean, it won’t matter that it is raining, since you’ll get wet anyway.</p>
<p>There is not a lot of parking in the Waikiki area, so you may not want to rent a car except on days when you actually will drive somewhere.</p>
<p>vicariousparent, the rain is one of the reasons why we did not go back to Kaui despite online reviews. South of Maui, Wailea is much sunnier. If you want sun and fun that’s definitely is the place. We also like to veg out when we go to Hawaii so we didn’t feel like visiting a lot of places, i.e. like touring Europe, except our family love snorkeling and south of Maui is nearer to the Molokini island where there are a lot of fishes.</p>
<p>It’s whale season! Schedule a whale watching tour from Maui on Pacific Whale Foundation boat. Fabulous experience.</p>
<p>Aloha! We are in Waikiki. Have not seen the sun much, but it hasn’t been raining too hard. We will explore the rest of Oahu but probably not go to another island. Taking it one day at a time. Thanks all for the advice.</p>
<p>We went to Maui two years ago and loved the experience. We all agreed it was the best vacation we had ever had. I was about to turn 50, and convinced my family to take the bike ride down the volcano/mountainside. It was an incredible thrill. I rode behind the leader. I know I enjoyed it more than DH. He rode behind S, who weaved a bit, causing DH to wonder if his heart would survive the trip! We loved it so much we plan to return to celebrate when S graduates from HS 2014, in spite of the 12 hours of flight time! I’m sure there are many wonderful things to see and do on all the islands. It was truly paradise.</p>
<p>Following up, we decided to fly off to the Big Island of Hawaii where the weather was <em>much</em> better, and spent 4 nights there- had a wonderful time snorkeling and generally exploring beaches, and then went to Volcano national park one day. We are wrapping up a great trip, thanks to all who helped with advice.</p>