1

You are going to be in the northshore of Kauai during the rainy season. Expect lots of mud, mosquitoes, rainy camping.

Probably going to get rained on in Hana

Start researching rental car rates NOW. The cost of a rental car during your two holiday weeks will be astonishing and it is very difficult to do what you wish to do without a rental car, on either island.

2

Do you think we'd have better weather if we went to The Big Island instead?

Thanks!

3

I was a bit perplexed by Kahua's comment about rental car rates. We usually go to one or another of the islands every winter for a couple weeks and have always found rental rates reasonable. So I did a very quick search on expedia and it came up $244 per week. That seems reasonable to me. In addition to that you will have insurance but if you rent it with your VISA card insurance is included.

I've been to Kaui only once, in January and it rained so hard we finally flew back to Oahu after a week. We keep saying we need to go have another look but we go to Hawaii for the sun in winter so that seems kind of self defeating.

I've never had rain in many trips to Maui EXCEPT once on the road to Hana. I've driven it three times so that is 1/3. Just stay loose about your plans and make the drive on a day for which sun is predicted. You can easily stay on the north part of the island and drive all the way around to Hana and back up the other side (do a loop) in one day. We find it easier and cheaper to book our whole stay at one condo. It is easy to drive anywhere on Maui from there, distances are not that far. Don't miss driving the loop around the north side of the island. Lots of great hiking and surfing and banana bread from the locals.

The weather on the big island of Hawaii is better on the Kona side by far. Much rain reported on the other side and sure enough, when we were there it rained heavily on the airport side. So book your accomodation on the Kona side and drive where you want to go for the day.

Six days each on two islands is fine. Except for Hawaii, the islands are not huge. You must have a car on all the islands except Oahu. You can bus it there, but you will spend a LOT of time stopping and starting your way around the island as the bus hits every suburban bus stop. So even there we rent a car so we can easily and quickly get out and enjoy all corners of the island without spending half our holiday on/waiting for a bus.

If you like geocaching Hawaii is a great place for it. Traveling there as often as we have we've seen all the usual places many times so geocaching gives us a way to explore the more unique and different places. If you are not familar with geocaching, I'll explain. People hide litte "caches" in special nieghbourhood places that are usually only familiar to locals. Then they post the gps coordinates and some hints online. We go looking for them. This takes us into intriquing corners of the islands that we would not otherwise find.

Final tip: For accomodations on Oahu, google terms like "vacation rentals". The private suites in homes, small houses for rent are a great way to enjoy Hawaii. Much cheaper than hotels and more interesting.

4

For car rentals try this outfit, they only rent from the majors:

discounthawaiicarrentals.com

5

Rain is called liquid sunshine there, generally not cold, but may be distracting. My favorite thing on Maui was a bike ride down Mt. Halakali volcano. I used Mike's Bikes; they furnish the bike and a school bus ride to the top of the crater, then gravity will get you to the bottom. It was fun and exciting. If it is raining I would postpone it due to slippery pavement; no need to crash.
Hana is another neat trip at the end of the island (world). When I was there the locals were not keen on tourists, but hopefully thas has changed.
Black sand beaches, green sand beaches, are interesting. Fresh water caves with sharks (I did not go, I'm afraid of sharks)
On Kuai you must stop at Hanalei, and acquaint yourself with Puff the Magic Dragon. Kuai has the wettest place on earth 400+ inches of rain.
Do your research.

6

The Haleakala bike ride no longer goes to the top. The National Park Service does not allow them to enter the park because of liability issues. Make sure you have good health insurance if you do the bike ride. They don't release injury statistics, but Maui Medical Center Emergency Room is very familiar with the bike ride accidents.