[Frank Sullivan]

Hi Everyone!

I am headed to Hawaii for my honeymoon in May.  We are going for 2 weeks, and staying at the Four Seasons at Wailea on Maui.  While I am there, I plan on playing Kapalua Plantation, and one of the courses at the resort...

First question: Should I play Gold, Blue, or Emerald?

Second question:  I am undecided on where to spend the second week.  It does not need to be a golf destination.  We are looking for a quiet, romantic, and fun place to stay.  It needs to be peaceful...i.e., away from the heavily populated areas...and it can be on any island.  t also needs to have some opportunities for adventure...biking, hiking, excursions, etc.  Any thoughts or ideas are much appreciated!

Thanks so much!

Frank

[Dan Kelly]

North side of Kauai is nice. Quiet, romantic -- what the doctor ordered.

[R_Paulis]

I second Kauai. Princeville Resort on the Northside is where we had a three week honeymoon. Very tropical with the famous or infamous Prince course. Also stayed at Poipu Bay Hyatt on the other side of the island, less remote, more restaurants and usually drier than the Northside. THe Poipu Bay course has stunning views, is relatively short and very windy in the afternoons.

[Patrick Schultheis]

Lanai, either Manele Bay or Koele.  Perfect for couples --- my wife and I go there every couple of years.  Very low key and relaxing.

The golf at Manele Bay isn't too bad, either.

[TX Golf]

The Blue course runs through housing and is my least favorite of the three. Between the emerald and the gold you can't really go too wrong. They are both very enjoyable and fun rounds of golf. Hopefully these others threads will help you as well.

Enjoy your trip.

http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,38143.0.html

http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,37745.0.html

http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,36994.0.html

[Bob_Huntley]

Lanai, either Manele Bay or Koele.  Perfect for couples --- my wife and I go there every couple of years.  Very low key and relaxing.

The golf at Manele Bay isn't too bad, either.

Lanai, either Manele Bay or Koele.  Perfect for couples --- my wife and I go there every couple of years.  Very low key and relaxing.

The golf at Manele Bay isn't too bad, either.

On Lanai, stay at the Lodge and play Manele.

Go to Kauai and find a rental on Anini Beach near the Polo field. I find travelling through several hundred yards of passage ways and using two or three elevators to get to the beach, as at Princeville, is very unlike the Sandwich Islands of old.

Don't leave Maui, travel around the island to the Hana Ranch, lots of old Hawaii there.

My favorite spot has always been Mauna Kea on the Big Island, I don't know what it is like now after the earthquake renovations. I like the course but it does come in for some criticism here.

Bob

[henrye]

On Lanai, stay at the Lodge and play Manele.

Go to Kauai and find a rental on Anini Beach near the Polo field. I find travelling through several hundred yards of passage ways and using two or three elevators to get to the beach, as at Princeville, is very unlike the Sandwich Islands of old.

Don't leave Maui, travel around the island to the Hana Ranch, lots of old Hawaii there.

My favorite spot has always been Mauna Kea on the Big Island, I don't know what it is like now after the earthquake renovations. I like the course but it does come in for some criticism here.

Bob

I'm with you on Mauna Kea, Bob.  Great for family, but not so sure about a honeymoon.  I should qualify that by saying that I spent 4 nights there on my honeymoon 22 years ago.

As for Lanai.  Stay & play at Manele Bay.  Take the shuttle to the lodge for a day trip.

[Tom_Doak]

Frank:

You did not mention whether your wife-to-be enjoys golf or not.

If she doesn't play, I would recommend a resort with no golf courses.

[Pete Stankevich]

Frank:
If your wife is a non-golfer like mine, don't bring your clubs, just rent them in Hawaii.   The resorts over there have a good collection of rental sets and don't cost that much.
We spent one week in Kauai at the Grand Hyatt Poipu and I played one round at Poipu Bay.  Great location, nice quiet island, which is perfect for a honeymoon.
We spent the 2nd week in Maui and stayed in Wailea at the Fairmont Kea Lani and the only round I played was Kapalua Plantation.
I highly recommend the Maui Downhill bike rides from the top of the volcano and do the Road to Hana.
The only thing I might have done differently is I would've played Princeville.

[Frank Sullivan]

Frank:

You did not mention whether your wife-to-be enjoys golf or not.

If she doesn't play, I would recommend a resort with no golf courses.

Hey Tom,

Luckily, she loves golf!

[Frank Sullivan]

Thanks for great the advice everyone!  I really appreciate it, and I can't wait to get there!

Best,

Frank

[Tom Dunne]

Frank,

I honeymooned on Maui. Driving the road to Hana, while touristy, is amazing. Very much recommended, just make sure to set out early in the morning--in general, you want to be past Kahului by 9 AM to beat the tour buses. The waterfalls out there are amazing. Hana Town is a great place to overnight, too...Hotel Hana Maui. Check out Charles Lindbergh's grave in Kipahulu, past Hana--a wonderfully serene churchyard. I'd actually recommend driving all the way around west Maui, even though the roads are rough on the leeward side. It's pretty amazing how Mt. Haleakala sucks up all the rain--the leeward side of Maui looks like Perthshire in places!

Oh yeah, hiking in the Haleakala crater is pretty incredible too. Or snorkeling in the Molokini crater between Maui and Kauai.

Anyway, the honeymoon in Maui isn't the most original choice in the world, but it's popular for a reason. We had an incredible time and I'm sure you will, too. Have fun, and congrats!

[Kevin_Reilly]

Play the Gold.

A partner of mine just returned from a week at the Four Seasons.  Occupancy was 45%.  Ask for an upgrade...you'll get it.

Take a look at Kona Village on the Big Island.  My favorite place to go in Hawaii.  Will be shutting down for a few years later this year...upgrades.  But for now it is alive and well.  Understated , no bluetooth-wearing-kings-of-wall-street walking around (or tolerated).  But everything about it is top shelf.  Nanea is nearby, if you can swing golf and lunch. 

http://www.konavillage.com/

We stay at SM7 when we're there...can't imagine a better spot on the Islands.

http://www.konavillage.com/propertymap.aspx

[Michael Goody]

Frank,
We did the Big Island (Hualalai), Lanai (Lodge, but played golf at both Manele and Koele) and Maui (Four Seasons, played Wailea Gold and the Plantation). It was a wonderful trip (and my wife let us stop at Pebble Beach on the way back east, which was the perfect exclamation point on the honeymoon- stayed at Casa Palmero and got to play Spyglass and Pebble for the first time).

Anyway, I would recommend either Hualalai or Lanai. To me, neither would be worth going to for the golf alone, but I found the Hualalai Nicklaus course to be enjoyable, with some fun holes, especially in the wind (we were there in late august). Hualalai is a great resort overall, and we had a great time there. However, Lanai was my favorite stop in Hawaii. We stayed at the Lodge, which was a lovely change of pace and really created variety in our itinerary. Especially if you're staying at the Four Seasons on Maui, which we thought was great, but was more like staying at the Four Seasons on Doheny in Bev Hills with an amazing pool/beach, the Lodge is a complete changeup (we were there before the Four Seasons took over management, so I don't know how much it's improved, but it was great anyway). Very relaxing, great restaurant (need a sport jacket), entertaining golf if not a bit gimmicky in spots, sporting clays, horseback riding, the beach at manele, the visually spectacular manele golf course and just a very nice down-home feel overall (be sure to try henry clay's rotisserie).

From a golf standpoint, I was completely blown away by the Plantation course, and we've gone back to Maui since then just to spend time at Kapalua and play the Plantation each day of the trip. There's something about the scale of that course that really fits my eye and I just love all of the shots you can hit on that course to find your way around. The rest of the courses we played in Hawaii were good, but more due to setting than architecture.

Regardless, you're going to have a great time no matter where you choose to go, but I'd vote for Lanai, it's just provides a great feeling of isolation and doesn't feel commercial, while still having a ton of things to do.

[Adam Jeselnick]

I'd cast a vote for Lanai, also... except that my favorite island is the one that nobody has mentioned:  Molokai.  Molokai has all of the laid-back, deserted beaches, and adventure activities that you could ever fit into a honeymoon vacation.  No, you won't be pampered like at the Four Seasons, but you can rent a condo on the beach and feel like you own the place.

Due to the closing of Molokai Ranch and the Kaluakoi Golf Course, your only golf option would be a fun (but downtrodden) 9-hole course up on the mountain.  All activities can be arranged at Molokai Fish and Dive in town.

From Maui you can take a 90-minute boat from Lahaina or fly on Go! or Island Air.

On Lanai, you can rent a jeep for a day and do some serious off-road exploring.  Lots of off-the-beaten-track adventures here as well... don't miss Shipwreck Beach.  We stayed at the Hotel Lanai and loved the breakfast included every morning and the terrific restaurant.  When we were there last year they had just brought in one of the sous chefs from the Lodge and the food was incredible.

You really can't go wrong here... but I would definitely look at what Molokai has to offer.

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