Oahu Vs Kauai – Which Island Should you Visit and Why

WOOHOO You’ve decided to finally book a trip to Hawaii! Believe me, you WILL NOT REGRET IT! But which island should you visit, Oahu or Kauai?

If you love adventure travel and beautiful landscapes, you can’t go wrong with either island, but I know how agonising it can be to choose only 1 island to visit. I spent weeks looking at Oahu vs Kauai. I did loads of research on the differences between Kauai and Oahu and tried so hard to pick one.

In the end, we decided to just visit both which I’m glad of because they were both completely different experiences. Now that I have experienced a week on Kauai and a week on Oahu, I can help you learn the differences between the 2 and decide which one to visit.

From a glance at photos, Kauai and Oahu might seem difficult to tell apart. Each have stunning white and yellow sand beaches, lush jungles, rainbows and jagged mountains. However, each of these islands has a few different things about them which make them special in their own way.

After you read this guide, you will have a much clearer understanding on what the differences are between Oahu and Kauai and which island is the perfect adventure for you.

Once you have chosen an island to visit, use the blog posts below to help familiarise yourself with the best things to do on Kauai and Oahu.

Hawaii | USA

26 Best Things to do on Kauai, Hawaii

Hawaii | USA

Bucketlist Things to do on Oahu

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Things to consider when choosing your island

How long do you have in Hawaii

First of all, it depends how long you have in Hawaii. Is it a few days, 1 week, 2 weeks or more? If you have 2 weeks or longer, you can easily split your time between both islands which is what Dave and I did. You should however, make sure that there are things to do and see that suit your travel style on each island because some Hawaiian islands are not for everyone.

What sorts of activities do you like doing

Think about your Hawaiian activity bucket list. Why are you going to Hawaii. Is it to go snorkelling with sea turtles? Are you dying to do a Hawaiian ridge hike. Do you want to see where Jurassic Park was filmed? Or maybe you just want to have a relaxing beach resort holiday.

Each island is best for specific activities so if you are wanting to do something in particular, this might help you choose which island to visit.

How far is Kauai from Oahu?

Maybe you want to visit both islands like Dave and I did. To get from Waikiki to Kauai, you can book a flight from Honolulu International Airport to Lihue (LIH). The flight is only around 40 minutes and can cost as little as USD60 depending on the time of year.

It’s your first time visiting Hawaii. Which island should you visit?!

The answer to this question is all down to personal preference. What do you dream of when you think of your perfect Hawaiian vacation. For me, I wanted to see classic Hawaii so we picked Oahu as our first place to visit, followed a week later by Kauai because we wanted to see the wilder side of Hawaii and the stunning Na Pali Coast.

Oahu

Oahu’s Beaches are beautiful too but tend to be a little more crowded. The thing that I love about the beaches on Oahu is that there are loads of great spots to go snorkeling right from the shore!

Some of the best snorkeling spots on Oahu include Sharks Cove on the North Shore and Hanauma Bay near Waikiki.

Not all of the beaches are packed with people on Oahu but you might need to do some exploring to find the quieter ones. If you drive around the island and then pull out at random beaches to have a look, you are bound to find some hidden gems. 😉

Make sure you visit Lanikai Beach and Sunset Beach!

Oahu

Don’t get me wrong, Oahu has stunning jagged mountains too but you have to know where to look to get a good view of them. Oahu has lots of ridge hikes.

We loved the Wiliwilinui trail which is a good one for beginners and Crouching Lion, which isn’t a ridge hike but has a great view of the ocean and jagged mountains from the top.

We did find that there were not many supermarkets on Kauai and the ones that we did find were SUPER expensive compared with mainland USA.

Oahu

For Oahu, we rented a car and stayed on the North Shore, East Coast and in Waikiki. The hardest part was finding accommodation that wasn’t ridiculously expensive. It seemed like even the most basic accommodation in Hawaii was super expensive. We stayed in Airbnb’s mostly and then switched to a nicer hotel for our Waikiki portion.

We didn’t notice the meals being too expensive on Oahu. There were a lot of normal restaurants which I feel were pretty similar to mainland USA prices. For someone coming from elsewhere in the world however, you might get the shock of the sticker price + tax + tip so be prepared for that.

Oahu

Oahu’s most popular area to stay in is Waikiki, followed by the North Shore and the East Coast. Waikiki has the most options and it is therefore more likely that you will be able to find something a little more affordable.

The further away that you stay from Waikiki, the less resorts there are which makes the ones that are around more expensive.

If you have the funds, I highly recommend staying at Turtle Bay Resort, recently renamed The Ritz Carlton, on the North Shore. It is where Forgetting Sarah Marshall was filmed and it has amazing views and a lovely pool.

Oahu

Oahu is not short on restaurant options, especially if you are staying in Waikiki. The restaurant and bar scene in Waikiki is a lot of fun and will make you feel like you are on a true beach style holiday. There are less options for restaurants up on the North Shore, however, there is a big food truck scene up there.

Make sure you try the Garlic Shrimp before you leave the island! Kauai also has food trucks.

Kauai’s public transport system will take you to the major destinations on the island, however, it will be slow going and a bit frustrating compared to having your own car.

Which island is Waikiki on?

Waikiki is a popular holiday destination and location on Oahu, Hawaii.

Which Hawaiian island is Jurassic Park filmed on?

Jurassic Park was filmed on 3 of the Hawaiian Islands, Kauai, Maui, and Oahu, however, most of its locations were filmed on Kauai.

You can see some of the Jurassic Park filming locations on this Kauai Movie Location Tour and on this Kualoa Ranch Tour on Oahu.

How can I get from Waikiki to Kauai?

You can get from Waikiki to Kauai by taking a short 40 minute flight from Honolulu International Airport to Lihue Airport (LIH). This is the only way to get from Oahu to Kauai. There is currently no ferry service between these two islands.

Waikiki is about a 25-30 minute from from Honolulu International Airport, so you can get a taxi or a shuttle there.

What is so special about Kauai?

Kauai is a natural island paradise! It has stunning waterfalls, crazy ridgelines and mountains, rainbows absolutely everywhere and gorgeous blue water with great snorkelling opportunities.

Kauai is most famous for its stunning Na Pali Coastline, the Kalalau Valley and Trail and Waimea Canyon.

Is Oahu the island of Hawaii?

Oahu is not the Island of Hawaii. The Island of Hawaii is also and more commonly known as the Big Island, which is another really popular island for adventure travellers.

Our Thoughts

If you ask me to choose a favourite between Oahu and Kauai I simply cannot. We saw so many different sights and our adventures on each island were so different and unique that I can’t choose a favourite.

I will say that if you are keen on adventure travel, then Kauai might be a good choice for you!

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