I'm going to St. Thomas & St. John for only the second time end of November....AND going back to Hawaii for the 4th time in April. I've done all 4 islands in Hawaii. And last April we just stayed on Maui for a week.
(Luckily, my Dad thinks it's a good idea to spend our inheritance on us while he is still here, so he brings us back there every year.)

I will tell you that if I had to pay for going to Hawaii on my own, I would NOT go. I will however spend my money to go back to St. Thomas!!

I think that the Virgin Islands have much better beaches than Hawaii and....ALOT less people!! And the color of water in UN comparable!! I'm not real fond of the food in Hawaii. There are sushi bars on EVERY corner in Hawaii.

Then the plane ride! Yea......From Milwaukee....could be 14hrs. of travel! We have done the direct flight from Chicago, but I kinda like getting off the plane after 6hrs.

What else....if you get a trip to Hawaii...go, it truly is paradise....but IMO if you have a choice....go back to the Virgin Islands!!

AND....one important thing.....when you go to Hawaii, they really do all wear floral clothes!! I mad a huge mistake the first time going to Hawaii. My birthday is the 4th of July, so for a while there, my wardrobe consisted of alot of Americana clothes. So....I thought it would be a great idea to bring those clothes to Hawaii because they were all interchangeable. WRONG....I stuck out like a sore thumb!!! Next time, we did a shopping trip to Wal-Mart & got Hawaiian attire!

Terri:

I've been to Hawaii many times for both business & pleasure. Actually I met Mrs. Future Islander there. Hawaii is truly a beautiful place and should be visited. Each island is different and except for the fact that they are islands STJ is different from any Hawaiian Island.

But we love STT, as well, and decided to buy a home here...we could have easily bought in Hawaii...the only difference is the distance from NJ and the fact that there are many other islands just a sailboat ride away.

F.I.

my dad did a 15 night cruise to Hawaii and when he came back, it was kinda like "been there, done that" attitude. Not a WOW that was AWESOME! attitude. But, he did not get to do many beaches. Seeing a volcano tho, he said was cool. The Pearl Harbor memorial was important to him (tho he's not a WWII vet, he's a Korean war vet). I think a black sand beach would be cool to see, tho. Not for any other reason, just to see it. Given the opportunity, I think Hawaii would be hard to turn down, but since R&R on a beach with a drink and a book is what I'm looking for, 3 hour flight vs 14 hour flight - hmmmm - give me the Caribbean!!

I'd never pass up a chance to go to Hawaii, although the flight is grueling. We've been to STJ numerous times since our first trip in the mid-80s and last month made our second trip to Hawaii. We've been to Maui, the Big Island and twice to Kauai. Kauai is by far our favorite. Comparing STJ and Kauai is kind of like comparing mangoes and papayas. Two versions of Paradise. Each is absolutely stunning, Kauai is probably more dramatically beautiful. We were in a few spots that are probably among the most astonishingly beautiful in the world. Kauai does have areas that are much more developed than any area on STJ, but also has areas that will never be developed---in fact that will never have roads built. Kauai has some good snorkeling right off the beach. The coral is better on STJ, but turtles are more prevalent on Kauai. There are fewer beaches on Kauai with good snorkeling, so they tend to have more people than the beaches we prefer on STJ. Good hikes on STJ. Fantastic hikes on Kauai. Northern Kauai is less developed than the south. Historically, ethnically and culturally, the two are very different. A lot of things are more expensive on Kauai. If it weren't for the length and cost of the flight, we'd get to Kauai regularly.

As a fellow Wisconsonian (is that a word?), I too would have the choice of flying out of Milwaukee vs. Chicago.
Did you find that the flight from Chicago was a lot less expensive? I checked into a flight to STT from Milwaukee and is was way, way more expensive than flying out of O'Hare. Also, most of them stopped in Chicago anyway, which is ridiculous since we live half way between Milwaukee and Chicago.

Thanks everyone for the tips about Hawaii. It will be a tough decision when the time comes. Of course it is my husband's trip. I guess I should let him pick. He will probably pick Alaska or snowmobiling or anywhere there is a car race. He did tell me I could pick, but that was before I bribed the family into going to STJ in 2007! : )

I live in Green Bay and have always found the flights out of Chicago alot cheaper then Milwaukee or Green Bay. We are heading down in Jan and are going out of ORD it was 400.00 cheaper then Green Bay.

I would NEVER turn down a trip to Hawaii. Even thought the airplane trip is painful! Maui is my favorite place on earth. However, St. Thomas and ST. John are both wonderful too. The first time we went to ST. Thomas we were looking for a Maui that was closer. We are from IL. I was a little disappointed. I have learned you can not compare those two places. They are both wonderful and very different. As for the beaches being crowd, we always managed to find a quiet place on Maui. Just avoid the areas that are highly publicized. It is like avoiding places when the cruise ships are in. I can't imagine not enjoying both places. We have our ST. Thomas trip planned for 2007 and Maui for 2008. Good luck!

I agree that Hawaii should be visited by everyone (as should the VI's!). I have been to Kauai, Oahu, and the Big Island. All are wonderful, and really very different. A travel snag beyond our control prevented a visit to Maui...will get next time. You really do need to go to various beaches even on a single island there to fully appreciate how there can be such differences. A cruise doesn't really allow for long enough stops to check several beaches. On the Big Island, Hapuna Beach has beautiful white sand and big waves while Honaunau Bay (same side of island) has no sand at all, just big sheets of lava that end in a snorkeling heaven. Similar differences can be found on the other islands. The volcanos are neat to see. You can't see that everywhere. That being said, I remember thinking while on Lanikai Beach (Oahu), that it was georgeous, but....was really a lot like St. John's beaches, and St. John is a lot closer!

My DH and I have been to Hawaii 10 times and will be visiting St Thomas and St John for the first time in less than one month! Hawaii is great-although I hate the long plane trip. Our favorite is the Big Island because there is so much to do and has some of the best snorkeling. Mauna Kea beach is great and we love to snorkel Ka'alulu (normally lots of sea turtles) Capt. Cooks monument (lots of fish) and Place of Refuge (cannot remember its Hawaiian name).
I would not pass up a trip to Hawaii ever, even though it is not the Caribbean, it should not be missed.

I am trying to plan a trip for next spring. I have been to Oahu 4 times, and to Maui twice. Went to St. Thomas Oct. of 2005. We really loved it.
I cannot decide between Hawaii and St. Thomas or St. John.
If you have never been to Hawaii, you should go at least once. The plane trip isn't so bad if you have good company with you. Pearl Harbor and the Punch Bowl cemetary are very interesting. Haunama Bay is beautiful.
If you go to Maui, make sure that you take the Road to Hana. Also drive the Northern drive on Maui. BEAUTIFUL!!
My daughters loved St. Thomas and St. John so much. That is probably where we will end up.

Hi terri--I have been to both hawaii (1x) and st john (4x) and am also from wi. I love st john more and really prefer it to hawaii. We did a cruise around all four islands and kuaui was also my favorite but is running into the same problem as st john that it is too expensive for the common worker to live there.

On flights we we also make the trek to ohare for the cheaper prices. We have been going with another couple so there are four of us and we would fly into chicago to transfer to the flight to st thomas--usually with a stop somewhere.

I'm with Lex...

Kauai is to Hawaii as St John is to the VI. I've stayed on St John four times and Kauai twice. Two different versions of paradise. I travel a lot for business...I wouldn't say the travel is so grueling, it's the time zone differences that mess up your daily living patterns when you get there and return that are so grueling about Hawaii versus VI.

Personally, I prefer St John...perhaps that's the reason I read a VI forum and not a Kauai forum? 🙂

I prefer the St John beaches, snorkeling, generally calmer waters, quietness, uncrowdedness. Both are laid back and casual. Kauai is more crowded, but you can easily find a place with no one. We drove our jeep on a beach on western Kauai not far from a couple of resorts and didn't see a soul for hours. The upscale dining is far better and more plentiful in Kauai. Kauai has golf (great golf BTW) St John has none (yes, I know about Mahogany Run - it pales in comparison, - plus it's not on StJ) . Hawaii has dependable (world class) surf. So it depends on what you like too.

I'd happily do either, but still prefer St. John (even though I'm an avid golfer).

I wanted to also mention that being around volcanoes is a pretty remarkable thing to experience. None on Kauai, but there is Haleakala on Maui and Volcano National Park on the Big Island. It can be chilly up on the craters---makes packing a little more complicated than when going to the VI. It's quite a shift from watching the sunrise up on the moonscape of the Haleakala crater and shivering in a polartec to watching the sunset from a lush, warm tropical beach.

I have found flights from Chicago to be cheaper than Milwaukee. What we do is get a park and fly hotel near O'Hare and even with that expense it is always cheaper than Milwaukee. It is only cheaper if the airline is having a special out of Milwaukee.
I prefer St. John over Hawaii, liked Kona though. It seemed to me that people in Hawaii were not very thrilled to see people from the mainland.
Nice to see all the Wisconsinites showing up on the list, for the past 18 months I believed I was the only one.
Lisa

Definitely, the USVI!!! I just got married in St. Thomas and it was wonderful. I like Hawaii, but the USVI is by far the better vacation spot!

We love St John, and our next favorite place is Hawaii. Each island is different and we love it for different reasons. The big island for the Volcano, the volcanic landscape, the snorkeling and the Four Seasons best resort.
Maui for golf, beaches, shopping, surfing, touristy stuff
Kaui for one of the prettiest islands ever, low key, relaxing
Oahu, Mandarin Oriental on the other side of Diamond Head, fabulous hotel, we have seen so many stars while staying there, the kids loved the Polynesian Cultural Center and everyone should visit Pearl Harbor once. Waikiki beach is a kick for a couple of hours but then head to a hotel away from the masses.
Flights between islands are cheap so you can hop around. The time we last went to Hawaii we went on the Company, they payed a week for us and we did a week on our own. If your going to travel all that way you might as well see it all. If it was as close to us as St John we would be divided on where to go, we loved it that much. Do St John 2007 and Hawaii 2008 and St John 2009. You wont regret spending as much time as you can in Hawaii. Upgrade to Business class if you can, we did and it was sooooo worth it.

I was surprised to see this post surface again.
My husband may want to go to Alaska! My Mom said it was great there and that I would like. However she hasn't been to SJ and she doesn't understand my obsession.
I was leaning towards Hawaii and now this obstacle!
Hawaii or Alaska or STJ??? I guess it is my husband's trip...

I lived in Hawaii for 14 years and I now live on STX, I have lived on STJ for a short time also, I have a home in Craig Alaska, by ketchaken, I would move back to Hawaii tomorrow if I could , I love the Big Island of Hawaii and it has to be pure paradise in my opinion.........but how could anyone complain with any of your choices.....travel is pure pleasure to me , so don't stop adventuring go see them all.

I'll let you know better Terri....just got back from USVI, & leave for all 4 islands in Hawaii end of March.