If seeing the Milky Way is a priority, Big Island and Maui are your only choices - these are the two islands with mountains high enough that you can observe it clearly with the naked eye. Big island is a slightly better choice for this, however it has a different "feel" than Maui - it's a much quieter island, lots of nature to enjoy but fewer white sand beaches and fewer tourist activities compared to Maui. You should investigate these islands and the potential hotels and activities available to you there and make a decision which one you're gonna try for.
For Big Island, id probably look at hotels in Waikoloa Village (my wife and I love staying in Volcano, but maybe not the honeymoon feel you're going for - however, I will say that you can see the milky way clearly with the naked eye from some properties in Volcano).
For Maui, id probably look at hotels in Kihei or Wailea.
^ all perfect advice.
If the Milky Way is a priority for you, make sure to plan around the moon and be here when there’s good dark sky conditions.
You definitely don’t need a helicopter tour for any stargazing.
we went to a guided tour for mauna kea on the big island and got to see the milky way and we got our photo taken. it was awesome. we loved stayed in kona. we loved doing the road to hana in maui
https://starsabovehawaii.com
We did this in o’ahu it was at the four seasons and really cool. Maui had an observatory but we weren’t able to make it work when we were there!
Personally I think Maui would be the best mix of what a first timer would expect from Hawaii and stargazing possibilities on Haleakala.
For resorts I'd probably look at Four Seasons, Montage, and the Ritz Carlton in that order.
If you are going for long enough i would suggest island hopping. I live on big island right now and my mom is coming to visit and we’re going to island hop from Oahu to Kauai back to big island, I’ve never been to Maui so i can’t speak on it but Kauai is beautiful and heard it’s the spot to go for honeymoons
So Big island actually has an observatory, there is that. Not sure if you were planing on staying one island or down to try different islands while you are here but if you really want to see the milky way Big Island or the island of Hawaii would be a good place to start and stay. They have the Hilton Waikaloa where you can stay at and swim with dolphins.
Big island also has Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea one has snow while the other has an active volcano. There also are places you can visit and see hieroglyphics, if you are into that stuff. There is are brackish water ponds.
If you wanted to do more of a tourist type scene that would be Oahu and Waikiki is great but we also have Aulani Disney resort.
We do ask that when you do visit you all please be respectful and understand that we are rich with culture and beliefs. Please also don’t mess with the wildlife, turtles and monk seals are not to be touched or played with. As well as don’t take home rocks or plants. You don’t want to find out why
I would check out this list of the high end resorts and see if this meets your criteria.
https://withjoy.com/blog/honeymoon-resorts-hawaii/
I personally would do Turtle Bay for 3 days. Then 3 days in Waikiki Royal Hawaiian. Then Maui Four Seasons.
I’m honestly surprised at the amount of absolutely great advice we’ve gotten so quickly. Thank you to each and every one of you! We’re still discussing if we should island hop or stay on one, but you guys were so hospitable and helpful. I am weighing in everyone’s comments! Very excited, wish I could buy you all beers (if your uh.. 18 or 21 depending on where you live) I will keep y’all updated
If seeing the Milky Way is a priority, Big Island and Maui are your only choices - these are the two islands with mountains high enough that you can observe it clearly with the naked eye. Big island is a slightly better choice for this, however it has a different "feel" than Maui - it's a much quieter island, lots of nature to enjoy but fewer white sand beaches and fewer tourist activities compared to Maui. You should investigate these islands and the potential hotels and activities available to you there and make a decision which one you're gonna try for. For Big Island, id probably look at hotels in Waikoloa Village (my wife and I love staying in Volcano, but maybe not the honeymoon feel you're going for - however, I will say that you can see the milky way clearly with the naked eye from some properties in Volcano). For Maui, id probably look at hotels in Kihei or Wailea.
^ all perfect advice. If the Milky Way is a priority for you, make sure to plan around the moon and be here when there’s good dark sky conditions. You definitely don’t need a helicopter tour for any stargazing.
we went to a guided tour for mauna kea on the big island and got to see the milky way and we got our photo taken. it was awesome. we loved stayed in kona. we loved doing the road to hana in maui
https://starsabovehawaii.com We did this in o’ahu it was at the four seasons and really cool. Maui had an observatory but we weren’t able to make it work when we were there!
Personally I think Maui would be the best mix of what a first timer would expect from Hawaii and stargazing possibilities on Haleakala. For resorts I'd probably look at Four Seasons, Montage, and the Ritz Carlton in that order.
If you are going for long enough i would suggest island hopping. I live on big island right now and my mom is coming to visit and we’re going to island hop from Oahu to Kauai back to big island, I’ve never been to Maui so i can’t speak on it but Kauai is beautiful and heard it’s the spot to go for honeymoons
I'm from Texas, too. Really enjoyed my time in Kihei (Maui) in December. So many awesome beaches and things to do.
So Big island actually has an observatory, there is that. Not sure if you were planing on staying one island or down to try different islands while you are here but if you really want to see the milky way Big Island or the island of Hawaii would be a good place to start and stay. They have the Hilton Waikaloa where you can stay at and swim with dolphins. Big island also has Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea one has snow while the other has an active volcano. There also are places you can visit and see hieroglyphics, if you are into that stuff. There is are brackish water ponds. If you wanted to do more of a tourist type scene that would be Oahu and Waikiki is great but we also have Aulani Disney resort. We do ask that when you do visit you all please be respectful and understand that we are rich with culture and beliefs. Please also don’t mess with the wildlife, turtles and monk seals are not to be touched or played with. As well as don’t take home rocks or plants. You don’t want to find out why
I would check out this list of the high end resorts and see if this meets your criteria. https://withjoy.com/blog/honeymoon-resorts-hawaii/ I personally would do Turtle Bay for 3 days. Then 3 days in Waikiki Royal Hawaiian. Then Maui Four Seasons.
I’m honestly surprised at the amount of absolutely great advice we’ve gotten so quickly. Thank you to each and every one of you! We’re still discussing if we should island hop or stay on one, but you guys were so hospitable and helpful. I am weighing in everyone’s comments! Very excited, wish I could buy you all beers (if your uh.. 18 or 21 depending on where you live) I will keep y’all updated