Expert: John - 8/28/2008

Question
John,

My significant other and I are planning our first trip to Hawaii end of Feb first of March 2009.  It has been a life long dream to visit the islands.  I have heard Maui is the place to go to get both interesting and exciting things to do as well as a more romantic setting for a trip.  We have both traveled fairly extensively mostly in the Caribbean. I love beach and sun with a choice of gourmet to simple cuisine.  I am used to all inclusive which I have grown tired of here of late. There are just a couple of things I want to accomplish with this trip: Relax/Romance/Whale watching/Seeing surfers ride the huge waves.  I would like to know where we should stay in Maui and I am told the only place to see the big waves are on the Big Island.  Please help.

Answer
Starting with the last first, big surf can be found on any of the islands, on any north or NW facing shoreline, with two caveats.

1. Most of the biggest surf comes in the winter, Dec-Feb
2. The biggest surf is triggered by big storms in the Gulf of Alaska.

While all islands get big surf, O'ahu usually gets some of the best, due to the topography of the shoreline.  Also, it's easier to get around O'ahu.  I've never heard of really big surf on the Big Island of Hawaii, and looking again at a map, there's not much NW facing shoreline that isn't sheltered by other islands from the northwest.

Maui gets the surf, but it's hard to get to where the surf is, and there are not a lot of good roads in the area you want to go to see the surf.

You may be OK with the whales in March.  The Humpbacks are usually in the area in the winter and can linger to March.  The area off Maui is the best place to see them, but O'ahu has it's share of whale watching as well.

As for the relaxing/romance part, you're on your own.  Not to be philosphical about it, but you can relax and romance even in the heart of Waikiki, if you really want to.

Finally, food.  You want it, you can get it, from 5-star jacket & tie restaurants to McDonald's, sometimes within a block of each other.  The hardest part is deciding what kind of food you want for this meal.  One good way is to just walk down the street until you pass a place that has cooking odors that make your mouth water coming from inside!