I had a vow renewal in Kauai - we used Pastor Harold Kilborn - wonderful man. Native Hawaiian. He’s very wonderful and reasonable - he’ll even blow the conch shell for you! His site is

Hi Ed,

I got married on the beach in Maui. My husband and I were the only ones there and it was so simple and wonderful. The only thing that would have been better would have been to have a few easy going family members there also. Email if you have questions, maybe I can help with some of your specific questions. Some things to think about, how many people will be attending? Are you planning any group activities before or after the wedding? Gifts for family? Anyways best of luck.

It’s crowded. There are many people visiting during Christmas to get away from their winter season. Many of the off-island locals return home from college or to be with family as well.

I’ve been to Poipu but never at Christmas. I would imagine that it would be very nice. It certainly would be hard to spend Christmas away from friends and family. I would suggest visiting one of the local churches for a Hawaiian Christmas Eve service. I’ve heard they are pretty neat. According to Sunterra resorts it’s one of the highest sought after times to visit. Hope you have fun and Mele Kalikimaka.

My family went to Kauai and stayed near Poipu the week before and the week of Christmas. It is similar to vacationing there when it isn’t a holiday. However, we found that due to the winter season we couldn’t swim in the north island beaches. We went to a Christmas luau, but I can’t recall the name of where went. Enjoy your vacation!

I’ve never been to Poipu at Christmas but I’d expect it to be the same as any other hotel at Christmas time. There will more than likely be a special dinner menu out on that day and the day to day operations will be the same as on any other day (since hotel staff don’t get holidays). Your best bet would be to check out the hotel website as it gets closer to the day you’re going. They may have something posted as to events scheduled around that time.

Don’t forget to wish your hotel staff a happy holiday when you see them on Christmas (remember, you’re on vacation but they’re at work!).

Have a great trip!

How lucky of you to be able to go the different islands! I’ll try to be as helpful as possible by seperating the different islands/restaurants:

Waikiki:

Gyu-Kaku Yakiniku
307 Lewers St.,
Honolulu, HI 96815
808-926-2989

This is one of my favorite places to eat yakiniku in Waikiki. Think Benihana, but instead you’re doing all of the bbq-ing right in front of you! The shi’o seasoning is sooo good, but don’t overlook the pancake-style dessert either.

Beard Papa
2370 Kuhio Avenue
Honolulu, HI
808.922.8726

Beard Papa is not a place to go and buy a meal, but it’s a great place to get some creme puffs! You’re not going to want to miss this place (but..if you’re big on these guys like I am, try and get a taxi or a ride over to Kalihi, and you’ll be able to pick up the very veryyyy best–cocoa puffs–at Liliha Bakery)

Sam Choy’s Breakfast Lunch and Crab
580 N. Nimitz Highway
Honolulu, Hawaii 96817
Tel: (808) 545-7979

I love going here for the buffet. Call first to make sure that there will be a buffet that day–but when there is (and I’m not usually keen on buffet), this is a good place to go. The food is fresh, and you’ll get a mix of brunch classics, as well as local food that’s made oh-so-tasty.

Alan Wong’s Restaurant
1857 S. King St
Honolulu, HI 96826

This is a nicer restaurant, that you will want to catch a taxi to. You will not be let down though. I promise. The food nearly melts in your mouth, and owner Alan Wong is known around the world as an iron chef. Wonderful.

Also, since you’re staying in Waikiki, stop by Duke’s restaurant for a Hula Pie and drinks one night. Make sure to either make a res, or come a little early since it fills up pretty quickly. Duke’s is located underneath the Outrigger Hotel on the Beach.

Maui:

I have one suggestion…

Mala Ocean Tavern
1307 Front Street,
Lahaina, Maui
808.667.9394

There is outdoor dining, wonderful greek dips to be had with drinks. Also you can find breakfasts and burgers. A little something for everyone!

Kauai:
Po’ipu area…

Beach Broiler Po’Ipu
1941 Poipu Road
Koloa, Hawaii 96756

what a view! plenty to choose from on the menu

Also, I was searching for another place that I could recall which was very good….

but I will update this when I find the address/name
Have a great trip!

In Oahu…John Dominis

Alan Wong’s

In Maui:

Sarento’s on the beach

Spago

Humhumhumm (Grand Wailea)

Mulligan’s (for cheap lunch)

Alexander’s (for cheap lunch)

Mama’s Fish House

Nick’s Fishmarket

I can’t rememebr whhere we ate in Kuaui because that island was so boring and quiet!!

Have fun!!

David pauls. For a complete list of places go to citysearch.com/Maui or (the name of the city you want).com

Hiking the Na Pali coast! Hanakapi’ai Falls, to be exact.

I have gone there so many times! Drive around the entire island! Explore everything. There is a tour that u can drive around the entire island on boat. you get a big all-u-can-eat buffet, snorkling, and you can even find dolphins and turtles! There is a small beach near there that has a small reef where you can find sooo many diffrent kinds of fishes! I caughtn a blue-silver eel (I think it was!) Sorry i can’t give out the names. i cant remember everything.

In Waikiki, we LOVE the sushi restaurant right in the Waikiki beach Marriott. And I’m not big on hotel restaurants. This is definitely an exception.

If you like Thai, there’s nothing better on Oahu than
SINGHA THAI CUISINE
1910 Ala Moana Boulevard
Honolulu, HI 96815
(Honolulu / Waikiki Area)
Tel. (808) 941-2898
Awarded “Best Restaurant” by the City of Bangkok. (D $$)

If you have a car and are willing to drive past Diamondhead, try Roy’s, some of the best Hawaiian fusion. There is also a Roy’s on Maui, but near Kihei, not in the Lahaina area.

The best advice I can give you, though, is to buy the books:
Oahu Revealed
Maui Revealed and
Kauai revealed
These are the best guide books, with the best recommendations for not only restaurants but wonderful activities.

For Maui:
Med-Pricy:
David Paul’s (Voted Best restaurant 7 years in a row) - Lahaina
Mama’s Fish House (Super fresh seafood right by the beach)-Drive needed
Hali’imaile General Store (In the middle of a pineapple plantation - try the napoleon sashimi)-Drive needed
Cheap:
House of Saimin (Best Saimin in town)-Lahaina
Sato’s Sam Inc (Best Dry Noodle in town)-Drive needed
Aloha Mixed Plate ( Best Mixed plate in town)-Lahaina

Also go to “Feast at Lele” Luau, it is catered by Pacific O restaurant and without a doubt the best Luau (better than Old Lahaina, trust me)

Go swimming and snorkeling, for sure. Meet some of the native people and try to go to a luau. They are a blast. Try a little island hopping or take a helicopter trip. Go deep sea fishing. Enjoy the beach. Your options are all open. Have a great time. Hope this helps.

You spelled it wrong… it’s Kaua’i.

Best place to eat is at the Tunnel of Love. I also enjoy oral homage to my morning wood.

i stayed next door to that hotel, at the outrigger, and the hyatt was NICEEE! i snuck in to the jacuzzi and everything there on the grounds were perfect. poipu beach is really nice, the sunny side of the island and the water/weather is always ALWAYS warm, even at night the water is like a bathtub. the north side has the best snorkeling, although it can be dangerous at this time of year cause theres huge waves.

Poipu Beach is a good snorkeling spot on the south side of the island, though not as good as Ke’e Beach up past Princeville on the north. Although, the large north swells can cause a lot of turbulence up there, resulting in cloudy water (there is a high surf advisory with waves to 16 feet right now). You can lay out on the sand at Poipu. But, it’s kind of a small strip, not a big expansive sandy beach. The best place to lay out is on the grassy park on the south end of the beach. Or, do so at your resort. And yes, the water is blue and the sand is pretty soft - almost too soft - and it’s at kind of a steep angle. That’s another reason I recommend the grass.

About 3 miles to the south is a big, expansive sandy beach called Brennecke Beach. If that’s the kind of beach you’re looking for, that’s the place to go.

With the exception of snorkeling or hiking around Waimea Canyon, there isn’t a whole lot to do on Kauai. It rains a lot (a spot on top of Waimea Canyon is the rainiest spot on earth with nearly 500 inches a year). Day cruises or sunset cruises can be fun, especially this time of year with the whale season. And, a sunset cruise to the Na Pali coast is spectacular (be on the lookout for dolphins playing with the boat). Just be wary of going out on a boat if you get seasick. The high winds and swells this time of year can make the boat rock pretty good. And, once you’re out there, you aren’t coming back for a few hours.

But, Kauai is mostly for couples who want a laid back Hawaiian vacation. There’s a lot more to do and fun places to go on Maui, which is and has always been my favorite Hawaiian island.

The Grand Hyatt is the resort of resorts here on the island. You’ll get exactly what you pay for at this hotel, from menus catered to specific dietary needs, to the most awesome on site amenities at almost any hotel in the state. This hotel made the Travel Channel’s top 10 Hotels in Hawaii (or something like that).

Poipu beach, while gorgeous, is often over run with tourists, and unfortunately the weather right now is pretty rainy. My boyfriend and I were in Poipu yesterday and while it wasn’t rainy, it was pretty overcast and windy. The water was still clear though, and the sand at Poipu beach (which is actually down to road by the Sheraton) is soft, I guess… I can’t think of any beaches on Kauai where the sand is hard. For the most part, any beach you go to on Kauai will have soft sand and crystal clear water, provided of course the weather is nice. It’s when there’s a storm (either hitting the island, or offshore) that makes the water dirty.

The beaches on the North Shore are way nicer than the ones on south side (in my opinion). Lumahai is my absolute favorite, the most photographed beach in Hawaii, and Ke’e is a famous snorkeling spot, as is Tunnels.

If you start at Ke’e on the north shore, and drive all the way around the island to Koke’e (which only takes 2-3 hours depending on traffic, seriously), you’ll see a complete change through about 4 different climate types, from a rain forest, to the humid sea level coastline, to something I can only describe as rustic suburbs where the plants are between that gorgeous green and yellow, and the color range is much larger, to flat out desert.

Kauai is also a nature lover’s paradise, nicknamed the Garden Island for it’s lush tropical greenery. Don’t expect malls, or even large chains like Target, we just got our Costco a couple years ago, just after the Home Depot and Walmart. Kauai is very laid back, and while we do things on our own time, we do still have lives and places to go. And lastly, Hawaii, and Hawaiian locals, are all about respect. Remember, this is our home, we’re not all on vacation, and we have a very deep and rich culture. So long as you remember to respect that people live here and are different from you, you’ll be fine. You wouldn’t be too happy with discourteous house guests that left their trash all over the place and made fun of the way you live your lives, now would you?

That’s all I can tell you. If you have any other specific questions, feel free to email me.

Definitely a posh mega-resort, you will LOVE it! They have a network of fresh-water ponds with beautiful Japanese koi, with an amazing restaurant that appears to “float” in the water.

The Grand Hyatt is on the “dry” side of Kauai (this is a relative term remember), so the sun is normally out and there is less rain, which is why it is here next to Poipu Beach. Good snorkeling, sand and sun! The water is blue, but not as clear as some parts of the Caribbean or Tahiti because of the rich, nutrients draining from the volcanic islands, there is more algae in the water. You may not notice the difference, however.

Make sure to go to the rainy side of the island, called the Hanalei area, you can take a rubber-raft (zodiac) ride along the Na Pali coast to view sea caves and waterfalls that fall into the ocean! Just make sure to go on a day where the waves are not too rough…

You can also cruise down the Wailua River to the Fern Grotto. This is admittedly touristy, but if this is your first time here, definitely worth seeing a navigable river on such a little island!

Drive up to Waimea Canyon to see an amazing canyon which looks like the Grand Canyon…again amazing to have a canyon like this on such a little island, but of course as the rainiest spot on earth, a lot of water to carve the side of the volcano!

There is a restaurant which will be fun for you and the family, touristy and campy, but you will really enjoy it!: