two weeks trip in July - what do you guys recommend

Greetings,

Family of four (two childrens 13+10 yrs old) from eastern canada planning a trip to Hawaii this summer (July).

We are a quite active family and would like to cover two islands during our upcoming visit.

We are not necessarily great fans of busy %26amp; commercial areas and we prefer more quiet areas.

We definitely wants to visit volcanoes and enjoy nice beaches that allows for snorkeling and forests hikes.

What type of itinenary would you recommend ?

Many Thanks

Montrealer2

two weeks trip in July - what do you guys recommend

For volcanoes you need to go to the Big Island. There%26#39;s some good snorkeling on the east side and Hawai%26#39;i Volcanos National Park on the west side, along with a great black sand beach. Great hikes both in HVNP and in the Hilo area.

Any of the other islands have nice beaches and hikes. Oahu ranges from big city (Honolulu) to quite rural. Maui has populated areas in the south and west, isolated rural in the northwest and northeast, also upcountry. If you choose Maui, think about staying part of the time in or near Hana for quiet and lots of forest hikes.

Kaua%26#39;i is the least populated and built-up. Wonderful scenery - it%26#39;s not called the Garden Island for nothing. %26lt;G%26gt; Tons of good hiking areas, wonderful beaches, some decent snorkeling. Very low-key. My personal favorite.

two weeks trip in July - what do you guys recommend

Maui has the most easy-access beaches (and tons of them) for GREAT snorkeling -- I would probably say Maui is great for you and your family with your children at that age. Lahaina town is fun for restaurants and shopping if you choose to do this (kids may or may not like this scene). The Drive to Hana is one of the 10 ten things to do in Hawaii.

And the Volcano National Park on Big Island offers lots of nice hikes and you may get a chance to see the lava (best if you do helicopter tour). A few years back we were lucky and only had to hike about 1/2 mile over hard lava to see the red stuff on the surface. Spectacular fun!

Big Island is more rugged, has less sandy beaches than Maui, but it does have some GEMS (Mauna Kea Beach). And Big Island has the best snorkeling. Take a tour boat to Captain Cook%26#39;s monument for the best snorkeling out of ALL of the Islands.

Many people love Kauai for its quietude and lush landscape. I love Kauai, but think of it more for couples on honeymoons or older crowds. However, if you like avoiding that, then you will probably love Kauai, too.

Oahu is the most populated island and is full of many tourists and the hustle and bustle of Honolulu, a large city. Waikiki is pretty and is the area most tourist stay, with losts of huge high rise hotels, etc., but the North Shore of Oahu is beautiful and more quiet.

Get the Maui Revealed and Big Island Revealed books (Doughty %26amp; Friedman). Read them and you%26#39;ll figure out which islands are best for you.

I would say you would want to go to Big Island and Maui or Big Island and Kauai. One week on each will be the greatest vacation!!

We have been to Kauai six times, sometimes with friends, and LOVE it. You cannot beat it for quiet and jungle-y. However, we took our college-age daughters and they were kind of bored. They wanted to go to clubs. So you clubbers beware! It is paradise, but not a club scene.