Alaska vs. Hawaii

[muon2]

Hawaii. Easily one of the top 5 states in the country, and certainly the most pleasant. Sometimes I dream of retiring in Honolulu. Such a magical place!

Constant traffic jams, crazy expensive, tourists everywhere? Magical indeed.

(I love Hawaii but the idea that Honolulu is this magical place is divorced from reality)

I'm a city person. I wouldn't want to live out past Aiea and commute, but a nice condo in Waikiki where I could walk everywhere sounds like a dream. Besides, there are a ton of cool neighborhoods without much driving, like Maikiki, Kapahulu, and Kahala which would all be nice. Kailua would also be cool. Maui is lame, and Kauai and the Big Island are fun to visit, but way too remote to live in.

But that's the problem with Honolulu. It feels like most any big US city in a tropical climate. From my visit there last year, I felt I could have been in San Diego or South FL. Don't get me wrong, it was a great experience, but I didn't get the feeling of being in a state with a significant other culture. I didn't get to Kailua on Oahu so I can't comment on that.

I visited 4 other HI islands that same trip last year, all of which were more culturally authentic than Oahu. I'm surprised you found Maui lame. I enjoyed it completely and it had areas that were far less touristy than Kaanapali such as Wailuku and Kihei. Plus the commuter terminal at Kahului Airport made connections to the other islands (or the Mainland) a breeze with far less hassle than at Inouye International in Honolulu.

The only island I found to be really remote was Molokai'i. The Big Island was indeed big so it took a long time to get from one side to the other, but Hilo was a nice town and more interesting than Kona. Kauai was the most scenic of the islands for my money and it was pretty easy to go between Lihue and Honolulu if one wanted something in the big city.

[muon2]

Hawaii. Easily one of the top 5 states in the country, and certainly the most pleasant. Sometimes I dream of retiring in Honolulu. Such a magical place!

Constant traffic jams, crazy expensive, tourists everywhere? Magical indeed.

(I love Hawaii but the idea that Honolulu is this magical place is divorced from reality)

I'm a city person. I wouldn't want to live out past Aiea and commute, but a nice condo in Waikiki where I could walk everywhere sounds like a dream. Besides, there are a ton of cool neighborhoods without much driving, like Maikiki, Kapahulu, and Kahala which would all be nice. Kailua would also be cool. Maui is lame, and Kauai and the Big Island are fun to visit, but way too remote to live in.

But that's the problem with Honolulu. It feels like most any big US city in a tropical climate. From my visit there last year, I felt I could have been in San Diego or South FL. Don't get me wrong, it was a great experience, but I didn't get the feeling of being in a state with a significant other culture. I didn't get to Kailua on Oahu so I can't comment on that.

I visited 4 other HI islands that same trip last year, all of which were more culturally authentic than Oahu. I'm surprised you found Maui lame. I enjoyed it completely and it had areas that were far less touristy than Kaanapali such as Wailuku and Kihei. Plus the commuter terminal at Kahului Airport made connections to the other islands (or the Mainland) a breeze with far less hassle than at Inouye International in Honolulu.

The only island I found to be really remote was Molokai'i. The Big Island was indeed big so it took a long time to get from one side to the other, but Hilo was a nice town and more interesting than Kona. Kauai was the most scenic of the islands for my money and it was pretty easy to go between Lihue and Honolulu if one wanted something in the big city.

I completely disagree. The climate, landscape, true diversity, and culture is a truly unique combo found nowhere else. It's truly a Pacific-Rim city--some sort of hybrid of Tokyo, Bangkok, and Los Angeles. I've never been anywhere else like it. As a generally very fast-paced traveler, Waikiki is one of a very small handful of neighborhoods I've been to in the world I just never want to leave. To me, Maui is like an extension of Orange County, with manicured resorts, and far less natural beauty than the Big Island or especially Kauai (which are amazing to visit, but too cut off for me to live.) To me, the ideal trip is 6 nights in Waikiki followed by 5 in North Kauai. Can't comment on Molokai, and one visit to the Big Island was great, but enough for a while for me.

We obviously visited different parts of the islands to come to such different conclusions. Honolulu, especially Waikiki, was perhaps diverse on a worldly basis, but lacked the feeling of Hawaiian culture I found on any of the other islands - for instance the lack of Hawaiian language in everyday conversation I heard elsewhere. Waikiki was by far the most touristy place I visited in all of the islands; it seemed to be nothing but high rise hotels and shops that catered to them, and I would rank it among the most touristy places in the world outside of theme parks.

If you only saw Maui as manicured resorts, you missed a lot of the island. The drive (or biking if its your thing) and view from Haleakala was unique, not only in the state but perhaps in the world. Where else can you go up 10,000 feet from sea level in only 33 miles to stand above the clouds. The winding coast road to Hana with its spectacular views was an experience I'd repeat with more time. Iao valley canyon was almost to the level of Kauai's beauty and better than what I found on Oahu. By and large the communities in the saddle between the mountains are nothing like the resort strip along the west coast.