3 Things Every Hawaii First Timer Needs to Know (plus 3 common MISTAKES to avoid)

[Music] we get a lot of wonderful questions from people who are visiting hawaii for the first time and planning their trip so we want to make this video to help you out in this video we share three things to know before visiting hawaii plus we share three common mistakes that a lot of first-timers make hi i'm jordan and i'm eric and this is the hawaii vacation guide [Music] visiting the hawaiian islands should not be stressful planning a trip should not give you a headache but we understand where you're coming from big trip especially when you come from the east coast it's huge right and we've been coming here to the hawaiian islands since we're young we've lived on oahu and maui now but we're still far from experts we're always learning about the islands so we understand that we know what it feels like to be a first-timer coming to hawaii so let us help you out all right so here are three big things you need to know before visiting hawaii for the first time let's have some fun here we go all right number one is vibe by island right because it's a big question what island do i go to and to be honest i feel like it's kind of split in hairs to some degree you can't go wrong you're gonna have a good time regardless erica what do you think about that i think it's big i think you will have a wonderful time just like jordan said you'll have a wonderful time but i think it's a big decision and it's probably the hardest decision the hardest first decision you have to make which is why we have a full video on it click right up there but we'll give you the clips notes version right here and then go watch our other video all right so we just get asked what is the best island for we like that breakdown like based on personality what you're looking for so let's choose your own adventure i mean your own hawaiian island starting off with oahu visiting here you get a town and country experience at the same time visit oahu if you want it all for your wine vacation honolulu in waikiki is lively with bars restaurants and live music all the time but you can also get out to the north shore to experience the lush tropical landscape of hawaii there's a big reason why a lot of people come to hawaii also there's lots of luaus to pick from and things to do for the whole family on the island it is the most visited island all the hawaiian islands over 50 visitors go there and pray for good reason right like i said it kind of gives you a little bit of everything one thing to know is that oahu is crowded so you have to go into that with that expectation that you are going to have some traffic there are some freeways so that adds to the vibe of the island some people love the cosmopolitan city experience and some people don't so just weigh that as you're thinking about the island you're going to all right there's maui and so in our humble opinion we love this island the most and we think it's the best for first timers so it is the second most visited island there are crowds here but fewer than you'll find on oahu it's filled with the best beaches in our opinion again snorkeling and resorts of all the hawaiian islands maui is known for luxury accommodations making it the most expensive island to visit but you can find some deals and there are things to be done outside like bamboo forest hikes waterfall swims and whale watching that you can do from shore that kind of help balance out the luxury draw of this island too and keep watching because we talk about a lot of the bucket list items for hawaii are found on maui all right the third major hawaiian island kauai i like to think kawaii is best for adventure seekers outdoor enthusiasts and beach bums quiz island explore from the grand canyon of the pacific waimea canyon to hiking remote valleys to sunset cruises along the nepali coast you'll not regret a trip to the garden isle it is a great island for honeymooners anniversary trips baby moons those types of experiences are really nice kawaii and maui are both good for those all right and then the fourth major island that you might be visiting is the island of hawaii also known as the big island so this island is big so it feels much less crowded than the other islands and there are so many outdoor adventures that you can do the big island has a lot of die-hard fans and i'm one of them i love that island i can retire there the big island is for coffee connoisseurs astronomers whale watchers volcanologists manta ray snorkelers and travelers who crave a white sandy beach so again this is the place to come if you want to avoid some of the major crowds that you will find on the other islands it's probably why it's most popular during december during the christmas holiday period everyone likes to go to the big island a quick tip for first timers too is get lots of opinions before you come to hawaii check out some other youtube channels we like denny and nikki they have a really good video also sharing their advice on first time to y so click that video right there to take a look at their video number two thing to know for first timers is define your bucket list items a lot of people who come to hawaii have a very specific activity in mind that they want to do all right i'ma let you know when you're ready this could be visiting pearl harbor go hiking a volcano swimming with manta rays you gotta figure out what you want to do and that should really lead you to what island you want to go to we occasionally get emails from people saying things like hey i'm coming to maui and i really want to do a nice one with manta rays and i'm like ah that doesn't happen here you'd have to go to the big island and so you really want to think about what you really want to do before you actually plan your trip so here's some bucket list examples just kind of get you thinking but maybe this will help you just how island you want to go to the most common bucket list item is visiting pearl harbor national memorial going out to the uss arizona memorial that's a big bucket list item a lot of people say i have to go to that and then i gotta be like well head up head to oahu because that's the place to go for it now they do offer inner island trips like if you're on maui you can go over for the day our favorite tour company is hawaii tours they're linked below no matter what neighbor island you're on they'll fly to oahu and show you around for the day another bucket list experience is whale watching so whale watching season runs here from mid-december through mid-april sometimes the end of april and a lot of people come out to hawaii in hopes of seeing humpback whales during their migration down here and i have to say think about if that is a bucket list experience for you you might want to consider prioritizing going to maui because that's the best island to do whale watching on and also think about your timing of your trip right for that bucket list experience because it only happens for you know a few months out of the year i was at the airport waiting in line to get on my flight and i wasn't going to maui and somebody there was saying that they were really excited to go see the humpback whales and two problems they weren't coming to maui you can see them from any island but you'll have the best shot of seeing them on maui and number two they weren't coming during whale season so i mean it's tough but if that's something you want to do prioritize it all right another buck list item is visiting hawaii's volcano national park maybe you just want to hike around you want to do the devastation trail you want to see steam vents walk through a lava tube so much coolest things to do if you can visit active volcanoes on u.s oil here in hawaii if you want to do that you gotta head to the big island it may feel a little bit overwhelming to pick your bucket list experiences but that's why you're gonna want to head to our website the hawaiivacationguys.com because we have island guides for every island god do the music that help list out some of these bucket list experiences so you can have them top of mind and decide what makes sense for you number three what you need to know for a first timer is book early we can't stress this enough all right so if you have a bucket list experience or whether it be an activity a restaurant a place to go just something that you know you want to do when you come here don't wait until you get here to book it because it's not going to turn out well things do get really crowded here things book up in advance so make sure you make those plans before you get here you can do some things you know that are less important to you and book it when you're here and they look interesting but make sure you book the really important things to you before you come even your rental car we just went through the great rental car crisis or shortage in 2021 so we have a link below discount hawaii car rental they require no prepayment they're absolutely amazing i don't know how they get such low deals we met guys like my military discount wasn't even as good as what they could offer so check them out so even think of that rental car book it early same with your activities don't mess that up now that we've talked about three things to know before you book your trip let's talk about a few mistakes that you want to make sure you avoid these are examples of things that we commonly see people make for mistakes when they first come here so number one is they try too much they try to put too much on their plate that usually means like i just want to go to all the islands or i want to go to three islands it's totally doable we meet lots of people that have done it and they had a great time but island hopping during your trip is time consuming it's like a half day of travel especially when you got kids a travel day is still a travel day so even though the flight's only like 20 or 30 or 40 minutes it's still like you know two hours before to get to the airport once you land you gotta get your rental car checked in the hotel all that takes time so if you're doing like a seven or ten day trip think about only doing one island or maybe two islands yeah just go into it with realistic expectations of how long travel between the islands we'll take because the trip to hawaii should be relaxing at least part of it at least part of it make something adventure but another part relax number two mistake that we know it's a lot is people not taking the time to learn the hawaiian culture is such a unique and amazing culture hawaiian and polynesian culture so take some time to learn it and that doesn't mean just going to a luau there's a lot of cool other activities you do you do outreach or canoeing visit to museum visit heya which is a temple there's a lot of national historical properties around all the islands the big island has a lot but all the islands have them so just find some cultural activities to mix in with your schedule on that one and also there's some good things to know to be a good visitor of the hawaiian islands like respecting marine life for sea turtles saying 10 feet away in the water 30 feet away from shore not picking things like silver sword only grows on top of haleakala so you just stay clear of it right let it grow let it thrive also learn the pono pledge this is big on the big island but it's all over i have a link to it below they give you some really good cultural tips and also just some good safety practices like never cheering your back on the pacific don't stack lava rocks and also a big one don't take any sand or rocks away from the hawaiian islands because you'll get the pele curse it is real i'm not joking with you number three this is a big mistake is people worry too much about the weather the perfect time to come here right and that is because there's only one month you should visit hawaii and that is that is the best month to go no other time that's pretty much it right there so now that you know that you're good to go i'm just joking sorry that's really lame this is the thing like don't worry about the month right the weather's great all year long you're in the tropics there's always a chance of rain we have a whole video on when to visit hawaii that goes over this but there's always a chance of some rain there's a bigger chance of some sun there will be warm weather year round it is all right so most of the resorts are on the leeward side of the island which is the dry side of the island so you're already setting yourself up for success if you're coming during the winter with the highest chance of rain still i won't stress it because usually rains in the morning doesn't rain the rest of the day and then after rain you got rainbows so just enjoy it any time of year work what's best for your schedule or the whale schedule we have a lot of great subscribers who've been to the islands lots of times if you're one of those people leave a comment below on a tip to help other first-timers come to hawaii that'd be really helpful and if you are looking for more help planning your hawaii vacation head to our website the hawaii vacation guide dot com itineraries where we have itineraries for each island that help you plan the perfect excursion days so you can see what you want to see and go to the best beaches and snorkel spots and cultural sites and the best restaurants and fit it all into one wonderful day we got you covered this is what we do so click the link in description below to find our itineraries thanks so much for watching [Music] you

Channel: The Hawaii Vacation Guide

Views: 283,416

Keywords: hawaii, hawaii vacation, hawaii family vacation, hawaii travel, hawaii first time, first time hawaii, hawaii first timers, hawaii first time advice, must do first trip to hawaii, hawaii vacation planning, hawaii itineraries, maui, oahu, kauai, big island, island of hawaii

Id: N0wTQ1b8teE

Length: 12min 26sec (746 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 26 2021