Going to HAwaii for ten days - which Island

Hi,

Am planning a trip to Hawaii at some point before next christmas - Whens the best time of year to go to get good weather / avoid tourists? Found cheap flights in September - is that a good time?

Also, what islands would people reccomend? Not looking for a big package accomodation, though do want to do a couple of days diving and snorkeling.

How expensive is transport between the islands?

Any advice is welcome

there isnt much avoiding the tourists when it comes to hawaii. the most popular time is gonna have to be winter because people want to go somewhere hot when its snowing at home. but september would probrably be good.

i think the key to getting away from as many tourists as possible is to go somewhere very local. stay in a little cabin go to the smaller beaches. there are some really amazing local places and the best way to find out about them is to talk to the locals! i'd recommend going to a farmers market or something and finding the most hippiest people you can find and just start up a conversation. if they like you and dont get that touristy feel for you then they will tell you some great places to go.

as for islands im not sure they are all so beautiful. word of warning though, the big island is mostly desert. if you decided to go there deffinatley go to the hilo area

i hope that helped. a bit off topic here and there but im just trying to share the knowledge! good luck, and have fun on your trip!

The island to go to if you really want to avoid the tourists is Molokai. It is the island where the leper colony used to be--so a lot of people find that out and "freak out" and avoid it.

There are very few hotels on the island for this reason--and it is probably easier to "get away" than on other islands--although I agree you can pretty much do that on any island--but then you can probably do that most anywhere in the world if you try.

So that you don't "freak out" about Molokai, for your information--leprosy has been eliminated in 113 out of the 122 current countries--and there have been only 100 known cases of leprosy each year in the United States since about 1995--and those are all from immigrants who come here from countries where the disease hasn't been eliminated--so don't worry about going to Molokai. There has been a cure available for the disease since the 1940s, first dapsone, then starting in 1960, rifampicin and clofazimine.

P.S. Your odds of getting leprosy are 10 times greater in New York City or London or Dublin than they are of getting it in Hawaii.

Molokai sounds ideal actually. Is it expensive to get to from O'ahu?

Do you know if theres facilities for going diving there? (Ill have to rent equipment).

Not arsed about the lepresy thing - i guess if it keeps the hordes of tourists away then its best that people are afraid to go. Nice to know theres a wee bit of traditional Hawaii left.

Was considering renting a car and going camping - do you know if this is possible in Hawaii?

You get there from Honolulu by taking Mokulele Airlines. The cost is $137 round-trip.

Here's a link for Molokai Scuba Diving--I don't know the price:

http://www.hawaiiactivities.com/us/hawaii/molokai/sg/1156/ag/6334/

You can rent cars at the airport (Hoolehua). Unfortunately the cost is kind of steep since it is so isolated--like $57 a day.

Enjoy

P.S. Check CarRentals.com or Expedia or Kayak for the car rentals--or book the car through Kayak when you book the airfare.

Enjoy