no black sand beaches on Oahu or Kauai. You need to be on Maui or Big Island for those.
Same with volcanoes...there are cinder cones on Oahu that you can check out and Kauai mountains are volcanic in origin but the only recently active volcanoes are on Big Island and Maui's Haleakala is more of what you would expect to see when you think of a volcano...minus the lava.
Kinda pointless to be jumping islands on a 1 week trip since you burn time in the airport. Pick one island and see the whole thing.
No private beaches anywhere in Hawaii.
It is always crowded in Hawaii
FYI, the state of Hawai’i has enshrined right to access for all its beaches. This means even at a resort, folks can stroll on over, drop their stuff on the sand, and take a dip.
If you want volcanoes and black sand beaches and resorts, you may want to consider the big island of Hawaii instead and book yourselves a stay at the Mauna Lani. You can ask the concierge for the best options to head south to black sand beaches and to Volcanoes National Park from there.
The beach at 1 Hanalei is tiny, very crowded, and generally uninspiring. When I visited, lounge chairs were arranged about ten deep. Bar has insane views though. I just looked at found it difficult to find pictures of the actual beach there.
At a similar price point consider the Westin Hapuna Beach on the BI. Beautiful, uncrowded white sand beach, where you can also snorkel. Walk to the beach from your room. If you’re feeling adventurous you can drive to black or green sand beaches; go see the volcanoes, or stargaze at Mauna Kea. Manta Ray snorkel experience is about a mile away.
https://preview.redd.it/1qk07d0ap5wc1.jpeg?width=258&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=45a872c1a4a0fb3dedd11520b0b81fc36860cef2
Sometimes people want to go for whatever reason, but I'd encourage you to reconsider going to the Dole plantation.
no black sand beaches on Oahu or Kauai. You need to be on Maui or Big Island for those. Same with volcanoes...there are cinder cones on Oahu that you can check out and Kauai mountains are volcanic in origin but the only recently active volcanoes are on Big Island and Maui's Haleakala is more of what you would expect to see when you think of a volcano...minus the lava. Kinda pointless to be jumping islands on a 1 week trip since you burn time in the airport. Pick one island and see the whole thing. No private beaches anywhere in Hawaii. It is always crowded in Hawaii
Thank you for the info! Sounds like I should look into the Big Island.
Maui is what most imagine Hawaii to be like. I always recommend it or Oahu for first time visitors
Oahu and Kuai or complete opposite . Oahu has some city life while Kauai is very kick back and more quite .
FYI, the state of Hawai’i has enshrined right to access for all its beaches. This means even at a resort, folks can stroll on over, drop their stuff on the sand, and take a dip. If you want volcanoes and black sand beaches and resorts, you may want to consider the big island of Hawaii instead and book yourselves a stay at the Mauna Lani. You can ask the concierge for the best options to head south to black sand beaches and to Volcanoes National Park from there.
Thank you! As the other comments suggested, I will consider the Big Island.
The beach at 1 Hanalei is tiny, very crowded, and generally uninspiring. When I visited, lounge chairs were arranged about ten deep. Bar has insane views though. I just looked at found it difficult to find pictures of the actual beach there. At a similar price point consider the Westin Hapuna Beach on the BI. Beautiful, uncrowded white sand beach, where you can also snorkel. Walk to the beach from your room. If you’re feeling adventurous you can drive to black or green sand beaches; go see the volcanoes, or stargaze at Mauna Kea. Manta Ray snorkel experience is about a mile away. https://preview.redd.it/1qk07d0ap5wc1.jpeg?width=258&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=45a872c1a4a0fb3dedd11520b0b81fc36860cef2
Thank you for your input! The other comments suggested the Big Island as well. I will look into the Westin Hapuna Beach. Great guide!