best hawaiian island to visit

ukebuilder

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What is the best place to vacation any suggestions? I want to take a tour of some uke related shop while there. Never Been there and neither has the wife.
 
you should go to Oahu if you want to visit shops as the K brands have factory tours
 
Yep, if you have never been there before Oahu would be good. Lots of Uke shops in Waikiki. Kamaka Factory is nearby. The Kanile'a and KoAloha are a drive from Waikiki. HMS is a must on the North Shore. Lots of non ukulele things to do and see there too. Don't miss the Rainbow Cafe and Marukame Udon, both in Waikiki area.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but you HAVE to get to Oahu from the mainland before you get to any of the other islands?
Of the two I've been to; Oahu and Hawaii, the Big Island, with Mt. Kilauea was the most pleasant.
This was before I had any interest in ukulele and found hearing "The Star Spangled Banner" rendered on soprano ukulele...
disturbing.
Let's see? This was 43 and 10 years ago.
YMMV

Doug
 
There are direct flights to Maui, Oahu, and the Big I.(both Hilo and Kona). If you decide to go to Oahu make sure you get to Leonard's Bakery for some malasadas.
 
What is the best place to vacation any suggestions? I want to take a tour of some uke related shop while there. Never Been there and neither has the wife.

since you want to do uke tours...Oahu.
Each island has its own personality. My personal favorite is Maui then the other outer islands then last Oahu.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but you HAVE to get to Oahu from the mainland before you get to any of the other islands?
Of the two I've been to; Oahu and Hawaii, the Big Island, with Mt. Kilauea was the most pleasant.
This was before I had any interest in ukulele and found hearing "The Star Spangled Banner" rendered on soprano ukulele...
disturbing.
Let's see? This was 43 and 10 years ago.
YMMV

Doug
you used to be correct:) It has changed quite a bit. Not sure how long now but it has been after 9/11 you can fly direct to Maui and I want to say BI.
 
you should go to Oahu if you want to visit shops as the K brands have factory tours

Agreed. Plus, on Oahu there's more hula girls, per capita, than any other place on planet Earth. Some of them play ukuleles. Fortunately, most of them don't.
 
Agreed. Plus, on Oahu there's more hula girls, per capita, than any other place on planet Earth. Some of them play ukuleles. Fortunately, most of them don't.


I'll be there to check out the Ukulele Picnic Feb 10th and I'm sure I'll see a few. :p
 
Visit Oahu first. Don't forget to eat at Ono. I dream of the laulau they serve there. Just make sure you show up early or plan on waiting in line.
 
I agree. If this is the first to the islands, Oahu should be your first experience me thinks esp as a uke player as others pointed out. Ono was nice but I much prefer Helena's. They were a lot friendlier at Helena's too and even remembered us from our last visit the previous summer. The pipikaula ribs are sooo good... kinda like beef jerky.

Someone mentioned Leonards. Oh you made me drool! Nothing like steaming hot, right from fryer malasadas and a short walk down to Waikola Shaved Ice, although I found that Uncle Clay's Shaved Ice down by Hawaii Kai was da bestest on the island, yeah, even better than Matsumotos! Uncle Clay embodies the true spirit of Aloha. He took time to chat with us, teach us some Hawaiian traditions etc and gave my nice some stickers. The young girls serving at Matsumotos weren't the friendliest but the older ladies in the gift shop side were a hoot. :)

Oh, be sure to hit up Liliha Bakery for coco puffs and award winning Loco Moco plate lunch.

It's pretty easy to get around Oahu with public transit or the Wikiwiki.

All that being said, I think I still like Big Island the best. It's just nice to get away from busy Oahu esp the hordes of tourist in Waikiki.

Ok, enough, I'm feel vacation sick now. lol
 
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Kauai.

End of story.
 
You can't go wrong wherever you choose. Inter island flights are only about 30-40 minutes, so you can even make day trips if you don't want to island hop.
 
If you're in Wakiki try out pukka dogs. I know, not glamorous, but they are great!
 
Oahu has the uke tours. But if you want to some real paradise you don't stay in the city. I love this place-Fabulous Artistic Villa on a Private 50 Acre Forested Estate
Kaui- most gorgeous and best outdoors activity, best beaches, best hiking. Used to live there and it's a dream. Maui is where I die and go to yuppy heaven. Stores with just wine and cheese? Damn! Oahu can't get away with that level of cool. Big Island ..I go there every year for family, but vacation?...if you like resorts. or maybe camping. Do it all!
But please, guys, understand, Waikiki is as far from real Hawaii as you can get. Which many are most comfortable with, but still...
 
Oahu - sort of a complete Hawaii trip. You can stay entertained your entire trip. But like Andrew said get out of town and head to the North Shore, my favorite place on earth :) When you get up there, not only do you need to stop at HMS, but you have to stop at Ted's Bakery and get some Chocolate Cream Pie. Giovanni's Shrimp Truck. You also have all the big Ukulele companies, can tour the factories. If you're looking for a new ukulele save up and buy it while in Hawaii, you'll never be in a place to try out almost any uke you can think of :)
 
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