I’ve never been to Hawaii, and I was thinking about going next month. There’s a band I really like (Silversun Pickups) that’s playing a couple of shows in Maui and Oahu, so I thought I’d schedule my trip so I could catch them.
Any recommendations on which island I might like? I tend to prefer less traveled, more natural areas to places with a lot of action and night life. For example, I enjoyed Belize and Costa Rica more than Cancun and Cabo San Lucas.
If you had to compare the two, Oahu is more like the “Big city” and Maui is like the “Small town”. The city of Honolulu is a bustling large city with big malls and lots of people and tourists. Maui has one main mall, a couple of smaller ones, and…well, tourists.
It’s not uncommon for us Mauians to go to Oahu for a vacation, as there’s more to see and do there overall what with the bigger malls and the like. If you like seeing more nature-wise and exploring, Maui is a better place for that AFAIK. We have Iao Valley which is nice to walk around in, as well as a nice drive up to Haleakala crater if you so desire, with parks along the way. There are also caves to explore on the way out to Hana, and the drive to Hana itself is pretty legendary with over 600 curves/turns. Literally.
If you like to drive and see the scenery, I also suggest going through upcountry (Makawao/Pukalani/Kula) areas. Makawao is a very small town but rich in atmosphere, and an unusual blend of both new age and western themes, as it was where the Paniolos (Hawaiian cowboys) made their roost. You can even see the hitching posts at the side of the road where they tied up their horses. It’s all farmland/cattle country up there, although there is development starting to go on.
Like sunrises? Drive up to Haleakala and make it before sunrise to see it in all its spectacular-ness.
Overall, Maui is more ‘unspoiled’ compared to Oahu, but then again, like I said, we really only went to Oahu for all the shopping and the water park…but if there’s anything else you want to ask me, feel free, and I’ll do the best I can to answer.
If you “prefer less traveled, more natural areas”, there’s no question – go to Maui. In fact, take a 20-minute flight to Kauai or Molokai if you can.
Unless you plan on getting out of the Waikiki/downtown/Pearl City areas, Oahu is very citified – IIRC, there are at least 800K people there, after all.
Seconding Maui if you prefer less-traveled, more natural, fewer people.
Enjoy Maui! 
Maui it is. How can you not trust someone with the handle Maui Lion 
Thanks for the info everyone.
Valid if you’re comparing Maui to the crowded bits of Oahu. But I don’t think many Maui visitors come away with the notion that it’s a lightly traveled place with few people.
What part of fewER doesn’t make sense to you? Oahu has a little less than 900K permanent residents, Maui has 117k permanent residents on an island 20% larger and much more mountainous than Oahu. In 2004, Maui had 2.2 million tourists, Oahu had over five million.
You can get more of a countrified atmosphere on Oahu, but you’ll need a car. Staying anywhere outside of Honolulu/Pearl City/Kahala will do the trick. There are a couple bungalo type arrangements you can find online with digging.
Xema, I think I get what you’re trying to say. No, Maui doesn’t feel like the mountains of Arizona, or the forests of Oregon or Northern California, where you can convince yourself that you’re the first human to ever set foot there. Hawai’i, on the whole, feels a lot younger. And it is. And you’re never more than 7 miles as the crow flies from significant human development.
That doesn’t mean that it feels used.
Definitely Maui. And don’t miss the bike ride down from Haleakala Crater. And the Road to Hana.
Make sure you make it up Haleakala in time for the sunrise. Camp out there the night before if necessary Make sure you bring warm clothing, though.
I think my first sentence made it clear that I grasp the concept of “fewer”.
But to someone who hasn’t been there, I think the descriptions of Maui presented here may be a bit misleading. To me it comes across as a stunningly beautiful place that has about twice the number of people it can gracefully handle. Traffic jams are common. The drive to Hana is absolutely superb, and pretty much every day sees an excessive number of vehicles.
Oahu, though smaller, seems at times to handle its crowding better. Perhaps this is simply a function of roads that more nearly match the traffic they must carry.
Ah, but if you increase the infrastructure, you’ll destroy the country charm.
As noted, I did say fewer. “Lightly traveled with few people” is Hawai’i, Kaua’i, or Moloka’i. Maui, on the other hand, as I understand it, is experiencing big growth, as tourists in the last few years have been opting for the smaller-city experience. But Oahu is where the vast majority of Hawaii’s residents live and where most of its tourists head, and has been for a very long time. Maui has a long way to go before it becomes as treaded-upon as Oahu.
Quite right. If the road to Hana were improved to properly handle the sort of traffic it sees every day, it would lose much of its appeal (at which point traffic might decline to levels the current road could hope to cope with).
I don’t see any brilliant solution to Maui’s problem (which is by no means unknown on other islands). People are bound to flock to such a charming spot, in numbers that are pretty well guaranteed to seriously detract from the charm.
Sadly, for the first two I think the number of places where this applies is shrinking.
Each island has its own flavor. I probably like Kauai best after Oahu. I only like Oahu best of all only because of Honolulu. I’m a city boy through and through. But Maui is good, too. There even used to be direct flights to Maui from the mainland. Do they still have those?
I didn’t like anywhere in Hawaii except Lahaina, which I loved, so I vote for Maui.
You liked nowhere at all besides Lahaina? How much of Hawaii did you see? 
I agree that at times, yes, Maui can have a lot of traffic, especially in the middle of Kahului. Heck, even Paia, which is a very small town (and where I live) sees a lot of traffic, but that’s mostly around the time when people get off of work, which is a given time for traffic anyway.
Still, don’t expect traffic jams where you could be waiting hours. It’s not that bad. Those of us living here also know that the traffic can be bad, and well, the answer for that is (as far as I can guess) because Maui’s highways and road systems haven’t been really updated much over the years to deal with all of the growth recently. Much of the roads look the same as they were ten years ago.
Now however, work is being done on the Pu’unene <-> Kihei roads as well as the Haleakala Highway. That doesn’t do much to help the traffic in the middle of Kahului, or Paia, or Wailuku, but it’s something at least.