Hawaii Hiking Advice
My husband and I are going to Hawaii in mid February for about 2 weeks. We are going to the Big island, O'ahu and Moloka'i. We will not be camping but we want to do long day hikes and perhaps a bit of kayaking and of course some time on the beach. We are very athletic and in good shape. We don't know which island has the best hiking, what is not to be missed, etc. Any suggestions on how much time to spend on each of the islands and itinerary suggestions. I realize this is pretty vague but we need a jumping off point to start planning. Thanks.1
Check out the National Parks websites:1. Hawaii: Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park: http://www.nps.gov/havo/index.htm
2. Maui: Haleakala National Park: http://www.nps.gov/hale/index.htm
3. Kauai: Check out Kalalau Trail, Waimea Canyon and area trails: http://www.gohawaii.com/kauai/guidebook/topics/hiking-on-kauai
February is a peak tourist season. Especially the week before and after President's Day holiday, Feb. 18, 2013. Hotels and rental cars are expensive. Make sure you make a rental car reservation when you make your flight reservations. Some areas will sell out around that time. You need a rental car on every island other than Oahu.
2
IMHO, Kauai has the best hiking by a substantial margin. Big Island is second (and there's far more than just the national park there). With just two weeks most people would suggest you limit yourself to two islands (at most), particularly if you want to spend some days on long hikes, others beaching it or kayaking.Hope that's helpful.
Mark
4
We were in Big Island in 2009. I like hiking, but I am not very athletic. Anyway, we did some walking, especially around Volcanoes National park, but nothing longer than the Kilauea Iki trail. Also, on the other side of the island, we really enjoyed hiking down the Waipi'o valley.7
Looks like there are many all day hikes on the Big Island but looks like mostly short hikes in Oahu. Is that correct?
