What's The Best Hawaiian Island For a Honeymoon? Read This
So you want to find the best Hawaiian Island to visit for your honeymoon, and you can’t decide.
Trust us, you aren’t alone. Kelly and myself honeymooned in Hawaii, and choosing which Island(s) to visit was no easy task.
In this guide, we will break down each island by its unique features to help pick the best Hawaiian Island for your honeymoon.
In addition, we’ll share exactly what we did on our honeymoon and how you can replicate it.
Ready? Let’s plan your dream honeymoon! ✈😍
Maui
Best for an all around great Hawaiian honeymoon
Maui is one of the most popular islands to visit in Hawaii, and it’s fantastic for honeymooning. In fact, Kelly and I visited here on our own honeymoon (in addition to Oahu and The Big Island).
Our favorite island day-trip is the Road to Hana, a popular motorcycle and car route of winding roads and waterfalls. It’s perfect for day-trips or overnights, and you can quickly rent a motorcycle or car for the adventure.
Maui features some of the best white sand beaches in the world, fine and upscale dining, beautiful landscapes and waterfalls, and just about anything you can dream of.
Best hotels on Maui for honeymoon
Here are some exceptional resorts in Maui for your honeymoon:
Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea - a gorgeous island refuge
Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort - amazing pools
Hotel Wailea - adults-only paradise
Montage Kapalua Bay - luxury tropical paradise
The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua - relaxing Maui getaway
Wailea Beach Resort - Marriott, Maui - oceanfront villa
For our honeymoon, we stayed in the Kaanapali Beach region of Maui. Kaanapali Beach is a gorgeous white-sand beach on the Northwestern tip of Maui. With countless top-tier resorts like The Westin Maui Resort and Spa and The Westin Nanea Ocean Villas, having a romance-filled honeymoon is a sure bet.
Right along the path of Kaanapali Beach is Whalers Village, which features upscale dining options right on the beach. Some of our favorite spots to dine at Whalers Village on our honeymoon were:
Hula Grill (which has seating directly in the sand!)
If you want to have an amazing honeymoon experience in Hawaii, Maui is the best overall experience giving you everything from romance to beaches to dining and adventure.
Oahu
Best for romantic dining and urban experiences
Oahu is Hawaii’s most populated island, containing over 1.4 million people living within the city limits alone! Being the capital of Hawaii and the largest city on any Hawaiian Island, it’s no wonder this is a popular honeymoon destination.
Oahu has countless fun experiences to explore from nightlife and restaurants to stunning resorts and jungle adventures.
If you are looking for a romantic honeymoon in Oahu, you can absolutely have one.
We recommend staying at the Four Seasons Resort at Ko Olina on your honeymoon:
Located away from the city center of Honolulu, you can escape the crowds of Waikiki for a peaceful and romantic honeymoon in Hawaii.
If you prefer being closer to the city to explore upscale dining options, you will love honeymooning at the Moana Surfrider, right on Waikiki beach:
The Moana Surfrider hotel is filled with history and is nestled right on the calm shores of Waikiki. You can walk just steps from your room into the crystal clear, turquoise water.
And just minutes away are tons of romantic, high-quality restaurants to eat at. Some of our favorites in the area are:
Best hotels on Oahu for honeymoon
ESPACIO The Jewel of Waikiki - very exclusive
Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina - paradise on the west coast
Halekulani - Waikiki elegance
The Kahala Hotel and Resort - a hidden gem
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach - luxurious tranquility
Trump International Hotel Waikiki - beauty in Honolulu
Oahu is best known for its city life and incredible dining. But, you can still escape the crowds of Honolulu at countless romantic resorts, too.
The Big Island (Hawaii)
Best for remote romantic getaways
Where is the picture above? It’s at the Hapuna Beach Resort Hotel on the Big Island of Hawaii, one of the best honeymoon destinations out there.
How do we know? We stayed here for the last few nights of our own honeymoon!
The Big Island of Hawaii is often forgotten by other islands like Maui and Oahu. But, the Big Island packs some of the world's best beaches, seclusion from crowds, and more couples than families.
This makes The Big Island one of the best honeymoon spots in all of Hawaii.
Best hotels on the Big Island for honeymoon
Four Seasons Resort Hualalai - heaven in Hawaii
Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection - upscale island getaway
Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Autograph Collection - white sand beach
The Big Island has multiple climate zones, ranging from desert to tropical to snow on the mountain peaks. If you and your partner love seclusion from large crowds and relaxing on a top-rated beach, The Big Island is for you!
With tons of marketplaces and restaurants like Ruth's Chris, Tommy Bahama, and Merrimans, you can enjoy upscale dining, too.
Kauai
Best for adventurous honeymooners
Kauai is often hailed as the most beautiful island in Hawaii, and for one reason: it’s the most lush, green, and naturally expansive of them all.
That’s why it’s called the Garden Island. Do you dream of your honeymoon as an adventure filled with lush jungles, pristine waterfalls, and stunning coastlines? If so, Kauai might be the right island for your honeymoon.
The stunning landscape is the perfect island to capture drone footage for your honeymoon memories. Drones don’t have to break the bank, there are plenty of top drones under 500 for you to choose from.
While quieter than Maui and Oahu, plush resorts are still prominent.
Kauai also has great spots for scuba diving, snorkeling, and even spearfishing! We would recommend getting your spearfishing essentials from Neptonics.
Best hotels on the Kauai for honeymoon
1 Hotel Hanalei Bay - opening Fall 2022
These romantic hotels are sure to provide an amazing honeymoon stay for you are your spouse.
While on Kauai, you can explore tons of activities like hiking the Kalalu Trail, enjoying Hanalei Bay, or seeing the stunning Waimea Canyon State Park.
Lanai
Best honeymoon spot for simple relaxation
Lanai is only nine miles away from Maui, and it’s the smallest inhabited Hawaiian Island. Complete with rugged backroads and very few actual residents, it’s a popular honeymoon destination.
Best hotels on the Lanai for honeymoon
Four Seasons Resort Lanai - idyllic Hawaiian escape
Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort - adults-only paradise
These are ranked some of the best hotels in the world!
This expensive, yet dreamy resort has almost zero kids and families, making it quiet and peaceful nearly year-round!
Lanai, while short on residents and crowds, still has fantastic dining options like Nobu Lanai, ONE FORTY American Steak and Hawaiian Seafood, and Malibu Farm.
Are you looking to escape all crowds, all city life, and all traffic lights to enjoy every moment with your spouse?
Lanai is the perfect place for your honeymoon!
What Islands We Visited in Hawaii On Our Honeymoon
We are huge fans of Hawaii and have been ever since we got engaged on Kaanapali Beach in Maui.
Since then, we’ve been more times than we can count!
We knew that our honeymoon would be in Hawaii, but we couldn’t decide which Hawaiian Island to visit.
So, we decided to visit multiple for our honeymoon: Oahu, Maui, and The Big Island!
First, we kicked off the honeymoon by visiting the island of Oahu, staying right on Waikiki Beach at the Sheraton Waikiki, with a stunning view of the beach and Diamond Head Crater:
It’s safe to say we were blown away with the beauty of Oahu. While crowds were certainly prevalent, the water of Waikiki Beach was pure magic.
With amazing restaurants and bars, there were nearly endless activities to do. In addition, we explored the island of Oahu by visiting Jurassic Park and hiking Diamond Head, where we got a full view of Oahu:
After Oahu, we headed off to Maui, one of our favorite destinations anywhere in the world.
We stayed on Kaanapali Beach at the Westin Resort, enjoying fabulous views of the calm waters and vivid sunsets:
During the evenings, we strolled along Kaanapali Beach through Whalers Village where we shopped, ate amazing food at Leilani’s, and spent nights relaxing on the beach.
Lastly, we jetted off from Maui to The Big Island where we spent the remaining six days of our honeymoon, nestled in at the Hapuna Beach Resort:
Isn’t that view incredible?? We fell in love with the Hapuna Beach Resort the moment we arrived. It was truly surreal, and one of the most romantic destinations we’ve ever encountered.
Hapuna Beach is consistently rated as one of the best beaches in the world, and it’s easy to see why!
It’s a long, wide beach with white sand, calm waves, and some of the deepest sunset colors you will ever see.
Plus, the bar at Hapuna Beach is next-level for enjoying a Mai Tai at sunset.
What Hawaiian Island(s) are you planning to visit on your honeymoon? Let us know in the comments below!
