Hawaii, USA

HAWAII: How to Travel 4 Islands in 4 Weeks

This summer I finally did it – I travelled to my dream destination, all the way on the other side of the world. After almost a year of planning, I spent 4 weeks travelling around 4 of the Hawaiian Islands. A common misconception about Hawaii is that all the islands are the same, however I found this couldn’t be further from the truth. In this post I’ll explain the breakdown of my trip visiting the 4 main islands; Oahu, Kauai, the Big Island and Maui. It includes the highlights of what each island has to offer, when to visit Hawaii and how long to stay for. I’ve also included my tips on how to decide how many islands to visit during your trip. For more in-depth information, I’ve linked my travel guides to each individual island. I hope this helps with planning your very own exciting trip to Hawaii!

Kauai was the second of 4 islands in 4 weeks we spent in Hawaii.

Best Time to Visit Hawaii

The main tourist season in Hawaii is from May to September. These summer months are when the islands see the highest temperatures, as well as the least amount of rain. However, Hawaii accommodation tends to be more expensive during the peak season. The cheapest time to visit Hawaii is during the winter, and there tend to be much fewer visitors during these months too. The temperature in Hawaii doesn’t drop too low, even during the winter, making it a great year-round holiday destination. Since the Hawaiian Islands are tropical, some rain is to be expected all year round. Finding a great deal on flights to Hawaii often requires you to be flexible with the dates of your holiday.

We spent the entire month of September in Hawaii, which is the tail end of Hawaiian summertime. Despite this, we had fantastic weather for the majority of the trip. The islands we saw the most rain on were Kauai and the Big Island. However, this wasn’t a problem as we were expecting it and came prepared. Regardless of the weather, the temperature always remained hot. We often found that rain didn’t last for the entire day. Better yet, even if it was raining on one side of the island, it would be really sunny and clear on the other side. In addition to the great weather, September is also a much quieter period for tourism in Hawaii. Overall, we found most attractions to be far quieter than we were expecting. Even Waikiki Beach on Oahu – a notorious tourist trap – was relatively empty when we visited.

How Long to Spend on Each Island

There are 8 main Hawaiian Islands, but out of these 8 the most popular among visitors to Hawaii are; Oahu, Kauai, the Big Island and Maui. Many people think that all the islands are the same and to see one is to see them all. However, this is not the case at all. Each island has things that make it stand out from the rest and make it worth visiting. The most difficult part about visiting Hawaii is deciding how best to allocate your time, as there’s just so much to see and do!

Of course, if it weren’t for financial and time constraints, I could have easily stayed far longer on any of the islands. But on a more realistic level, I’d personally recommend staying for at least 1 week on each island. This gives you enough time to explore an entire island comfortably, without rushing around and getting burnt out. I’d also advise against trying to squeeze visiting too many islands into a short timeframe. Though all of the islands are incredible, spending too little time on each would likely mean not getting to enjoy any of them properly. You don’t want to spend the majority of your trip commuting between islands, to airports and accommodations.

4 Islands in 4 Weeks

On our trip to Hawaii, we visited 4 islands in 4 weeks. Breaking down the trip in this way and spending 1 week on each island allowed us to fully explore each of them, and see all of the incredible sights they have to offer. We weren’t pushed for time, and we had days to do hikes and other activities such as boat tours, snorkelling, mountain tubing, and even a helicopter tour. We also had at least 1-2 days downtime in each location to check out the beaches and relax.

Kauai was the second stop of our trip around Hawaii visiting 4 islands in 4 weeks.

Which Islands to Visit

Whether you’re looking to visit 4 islands in 4 weeks like we did, or just stop off at 1 or 2, here’s a breakdown of each of the islands to help you make your decision!

Oahu

Oahu is home to the capital city of Hawaii, Honolulu, and perhaps the most well known of the Hawaiian Islands. It is also the most heavily populated of all the islands. Around two thirds of the state of Hawaii’s population live there. Oahu is the most popular island for visitors to Hawaii, and after visiting myself it is easy to understand why. This was the first stop of our 4 weeks in Hawaii, as the majority of flights to Hawaii land in Honolulu airport.

Honolulu is the only city of its size in all of Hawaii. It was a lot of fun to explore a new city at the start of the trip. We then spent the majority of our time exploring the rest of Oahu outside of Honolulu. Some of the highlights of Oahu for me were the beaches. We experienced the calmest waters here, which made for great swimming conditions without fear of being swept out to sea. There are also plenty of great hikes on the island. One of my favourites was Koko Head Trail, which follows a steep abandoned railway track.

To find out more about Oahu, check out my OAHU TRAVEL GUIDE here.

Kauai

Even after visiting Kauai, I still look back at the pictures and find it hard to believe it exists. The landscapes of Kauai were very dramatic, rural and largely untouched, as the majority of the island is inaccessible on foot. Kauai also experiences a lot of rainfall, and its second highest peak, Mount Waialeale, is one of the rainiest spots on earth. As a result, the island is very tropical, green and absolutely gorgeous.

The highlights of Kauai for me were not only the beautiful landscapes, but also the wide range of activities to do on the island. Since so much of Kauai is inaccessible by car or on foot, you have to resort to other options to properly explore, such as by boat and helicopter! As well as a boat tour along the Na Pali Coast, and a snorkelling excursion, we also did mountain tubing and a doors-off helicopter tour over the island.

To find out more about Kauai, check out my KAUAI TRAVEL GUIDE here.

Read the full post on booking a helicopter tour here: 7 Kauai Helicopter Tour Tips – A Guide to Booking Your Tour

Check out my favourite pictures from the helicopter tour here: Kauai Helicopter Gallery

Big Island

The Big Island is most well-known for it’s active volcanoes, one of which (Kilauea) last erupted in 2018. The island is also home to Mauna Loa, which is the largest active volcano in the world. When approaching the island in the airplane, you can see immediately how vastly different the landscape is compared to the other islands. The Big Island is considerably bigger than the other Hawaiian Islands, hence its name. However, it seems hardly inhabited at all in relation to its size. The landscape is made up of vast stretches of black lava rock. These areas contrast sharply with bright green areas of vegetation, which have either started to grow back, or were narrowly missed by lava flow in recent years.

Though it is often overlooked by tourists, the Big Island is fascinating and so different to the other islands. I certainly don’t think it should be missed out on any trip to the Hawaiian Islands. Unfortunately, since the most recent eruption, there are no longer any active lava flows to be seen on the island. Despite this, the Volcanoes National Park was one of my highlights of the trip. The weather was more consistently cloudy on the Big Island, but it was remained a good temperature. We also found that it’s sunnier at the coast, so we still managed to have some nice beach days. The beaches on the Big Island were stunning, with the clearest blue water I’ve ever seen anywhere.

To find out more about the Big Island, check out my BIG ISLAND TRAVEL GUIDE here.

The Big Island was the third stop of our trip around Hawaii to 4 islands in 4 weeks.

Maui

And finally, the last stop on our trip around 4 islands in 4 weeks, Maui. Similar to Kauai, Maui is very green and beautiful due to the rainfall, especially surrounding the mountains. It also has plenty to explore and its own unique attractions to enjoy. Maui is home to the world’s largest dormant volcano, Haleakala. At 10,000ft high, the crater at the top is an incredible place to watch the sunrise/sunset from. This was one of my favourite things we did on the island. Some other highlights of Maui for me were; a snorkelling trip to Molokini Crater and Turtle Town, and driving along the Hana Highway. The Road to Hana is a 64 mile long stretch of highway. It’s famous for being one of the most dangerous roads in the world. It’s an absolutely stunning highway with countless stops to make along the way. This includes rock pools, waterfalls, scenic viewpoints and food trucks.

To find out more about Maui, read my MAUI TRAVEL GUIDE here.

For more about the best road trip in Hawaii, check out my 2 Day Road to Hana Itinerary.

How To Get Around on Each Island

Put simply, the best way to make the most out of each island is to hire a car. I recommend downloading the app ‘Turo’, which allows you to hire cars from locals in the places you’re travelling to. This option was more flexible and a lot cheaper than traditional rental cars, particularly because we were all under 25 during our visit. You still have to pay a young driver surcharge, but it is much lower than with big car rental companies.

We used this app on each island we visited, and had a great experience every time. There is a great selection of cars on this app in Hawaii. We were able to choose one based on our needs; whether that be the cheapest available, the most fuel-efficient or a 4×4. We booked each car pretty last minute, usually the day before we needed it. A lot of the car owners were great too, offering flexible delivery/collection of the car. Some even offered to take us to the airport when we were leaving.

I’d love to have been able to get around the islands using solely public transport, and we did take the bus a few times on Oahu and Kauai. However, doing this for the whole trip just wasn’t realistic. Our jam-packed itinerary of visiting 4 islands in 4 weeks wouldn’t have been possible relying solely on public transport. Nonetheless, our few experiences taking the bus on Oahu and Kauai were great. Perhaps if you are staying for a longer period of time, you could use public transport to get around more frequently.

Final Hawaii Tip: Hike As Much as Possible

My final tip for this 4 islands in 4 weeks trip to Hawaii is to hike as much as possible! In a place with such insanely scenic landscapes, and incredible hiking trails, I really recommend giving it a go. I mean this even if you are a complete amateur when it comes to hiking. Hawaii is such an incredible place full of hikes for all abilities. You’re guaranteed to find an easy one to start off with.

I went into this trip with relatively low hiking practice, having not been hiking for a few years. The first few hikes we did were difficult for me, particularly because of the humidity – something we don’t have to worry about when hiking in the UK. However, after a few I was addicted and my ability to hike improved massively over the course of the trip. The feeling of reaching the top of a really long or steep trail is surprisingly addictive. Plus, nothing beats looking down at the crystal clear Hawaiian water from high up on a mountain! I dare you to try it.

Thanks for reading my guide on how to travel 4 of the Hawaiian Islands in 4 weeks. I hope it helps with planning your own exciting adventure to Hawaii!

Abbey x