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Oahu vs. Maui: Which Island is Right for Your Hawaii Vacation?

• Bryan Murphy — Certified Hawaii Travel Expert & Owner of Hawaii’s Best Travel | Hawaii Travel Podcast • Episode 194

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Free PDF Guide - "Oahu vs. Maui"

✨ New Service: Get Your Custom Hawaii Trip Plan

What if you won't know whether you picked the right island until your flights are booked and your money's spent?

Choosing between Oahu and Maui isn't just about beaches and resorts. It's about matching your vacation style to the island that'll actually deliver what you're after.

👉 Hit play now to discover the real cost differences, personality traits, and decision framework that'll help you pick the perfect island before you commit.

If you've ever wondered how to choose between Oahu's urban energy and Maui's laid-back luxury, this episode is for you. You'll learn the stuff most first-timers don't think about so you can book with confidence.

In this episode of Hawaii's Best, we break down the personality, cost, and logistics of both islands so you can match your vacation goals to the right destination.

👉In this episode, you will:

  • Discover why Oahu costs roughly $1,500 less per week than Maui and where those savings come from
  • Learn which island fits first-timers, families, honeymooners, and budget-conscious travelers
  • Get 2026 updates on Maui travel following the West Maui fires and how tourism supports recovery

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Scroll up ⬆️ and hit play now to pick the island that matches your Hawaii vacation style and budget.

🤙Resources mentioned:

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🎧Related episodes:

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🤓Chapters:

  • 1:31 Exploring Oahu: The Gathering Place
  • 3:35 Discovering Maui: The Valley Isle
  • 4:59 Cost Comparison: Oahu vs. Maui
  • 6:55 Food and Activities: Budget vs. Luxury
  • 9:53 Which Island to Choose?
  • 13:38 More Hawaii Travel Tips

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👉Get Your Custom Hawaii Trip Plan


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This Hawaii travel podcast is for travelers looking to plan a trip to Hawaii. Discover travel tips, itineraries, and traveling tips & hacks with guides to help you explore Hawaii. Whether you’re planning a Hawaii vacation to the islands, dreaming of a Hawaiian getaway, or visiting Honolulu, Maui, Kauai, Oahu, or Big Island we’ll help you travel with aloha.

Edge of the Ocean, Stick Figure (w/ permission)
Ukulele and Chill, Coby G (w/ permission)
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194_Oahu vs. Maui- Which Island is Right for Your Hawaii Vacation


[00:00:00] Bryan Murphy: This is one of the things that nobody tells you about choosing between Oahu and Maui. You won't actually know if you picked the right island until you're actually there, but by that time, the flights are booked, the money's spent, and you've locked in for the duration of your trip. So today I'm breaking down.

[00:00:18] Bryan Murphy: The real difference is the stuff most first time visitors usually don't think about in even some season travelers. So you can pick the island that actually fits what you want. For your Hawaii vacation,

[00:00:32] Bryan Murphy: welcome to Hawaii's Best, the podcast helping you plan an unforgettable trip to Hawaii. I'm Brian, a certified Hawaii travel expert, and I've helped plan hundreds of Hawaii trips at this point over the last six, seven or so years. And. Oahu versus Maui. That question comes up almost every single time when helping someone plan a vacation.

[00:00:55] Bryan Murphy: So today we're gonna talk about it. We're gonna cover the personality of each island cost, and most importantly, how to actually decide which one is right for you and what you're hoping to get out of your Hawaii trip. Plus, I'll be going, some need to know stuff about Maui in 2025 because some stuff has changed, and especially going into 2020.

[00:01:12] Bryan Murphy: Six as well. So real quick, I've got a free PDF with all this info. It's in a show notes first link below, and it's got the details that we're gonna talk about today. So you can grab that after you listen to this or just download it now. And as you're listening to this episode, you can follow along and you can have it later as a reference for your actual planning.

[00:01:31] Bryan Murphy: Alright, so we're gonna go ahead and get right into, we're talking about Oahu first, and it's called The Gathering Place. And honestly, that name really makes sense, especially if you've been to Oahu or you've seen pictures, heard about it. This is kind of where Urban Vibe meets, you know, tropical Paradise.

[00:01:44] Bryan Murphy: And Oahu isn't just Waikiki, we talk about that in a little bit, but Oahu gets about 60% of all of Hawaii's visitor. So this is the island. A lot of first timers. Go. I mean, 60% has over half of people all traveling to Hawaii. And I mean, you've got Waikiki, you've got Pearl Harbor, north Shore, some of the best food in all of the Pacific, and honestly I think in all the world.

[00:02:08] Bryan Murphy: But the vibe here, it's variety, which the different sides of the island on Oahu does have, which I love about Oahu. And it's got convenience as well, which is also really great. I mean, all the islands are doing. To a an extent, but Oahu especially. So a typical day can look like, you know, you wake up, maybe you go hike diamond head, grab some poke from a local spot to snorkel Han Bay, explore Chinatown in the afternoon.

[00:02:32] Bryan Murphy: Kesha, sunset of Waikiki. That's a busy day. But those are some of the things that you can do on Oahu's. It's got great sites and also has some great nightlife too. If you. Or into that. And one of the cool things, especially if you're staying in Waikiki Honolulu, you really don't need a car. They have the bus system, which is called the bus, and the island's pretty easy to navigate.

[00:02:54] Bryan Murphy: But if you're going to the North Shore, getting up there via bus takes quite a while. So maybe if you want to do a North Shore Adventure Day, you rent a car for the day, but you can shuttle over to Waikiki and stay and have a great time. Oahu in Hawaii is so much more than Waikiki, but what's great about Oahu is it has great infrastructure so you can make it work.

[00:03:16] Bryan Murphy: You're not spending half your day stuck in a car trying to get to places. For example, if you're going to Hawaii Island and you want to get to Volcanoes National Park, and you're staying on Kona side, it's gonna take you most of the day to make that trip. Like that's pretty much an all day excursion.

[00:03:34] Bryan Murphy: Which is fine as long as you plan for it.

[00:03:35] Bryan Murphy: Now, Maui is called the valley aisle and it gets about 24% of Hawaii's visitors. And so it's, it's a little bit more exclusive, a bit more laid back. Um, Maui's about luxury romance and it's got some of the most incredible natural beauty in all of the islands. And you, I mean, you, you've got Rho Hana, Halala, national Park.

[00:03:59] Bryan Murphy: Amazing beaches and resorts that are legitimately hard to beat. The vibe's a little bit different than Oahu. Say you're staying in Waikiki area. A bit more relaxation as a slower paced. So Oahu, it's about. Exploring experiencing variety. Maui is a little bit about more unwinding and immersing yourself in the amazing natural beauty that is Maui.

[00:04:24] Bryan Murphy: Neither is better, neither is worse. It's just about just knowing the differences and honestly, the one you pick depends entirely on what kind of vacation you're actually after. Also in the show notes and in the PDF I'm gonna link a blog post I just wrote. It's more of an immersive type of blog post.

[00:04:42] Bryan Murphy: Kind of cool. It has an interactive quiz so you can, so it prompts you to, you know, select some of your options that you were looking for in your Hawaii trip. And it'll suggest which island is for you, and it gives you some more pros and cons on that webpage. So I'll link that below.

[00:04:59] Bryan Murphy: One of the biggest differentiators between the two islands is about cost.

[00:05:04] Bryan Murphy: So let's talk a little bit about that, because this is where the difference really shows, I think, and I'm not. Just gonna sugarcoat it because we've done both, because this is really where the difference shows up. For a week long trip for two people, you're gonna spend roughly $1,700 more on Maui. So the biggest reason is the accommodations are the biggest differentiator in keep saying that word.

[00:05:29] Bryan Murphy: I'll try not to. But on Oahu, you're looking at 200 to 300 per night for a decent hotel. And on Maui, that same quality runs about 300 to 500 per night. And you know, that depends on the time of year too. You're gonna be visiting during Christmas time, during peak summer, you're gonna be paying that higher price That's.

[00:05:50] Bryan Murphy: A 30% cost difference right there between the two islands. So over a week, that adds up pretty quick. And transportation is the next big gap on Oahu. You got the bus and you got, honestly, when we go do Oahu, we, we always rent a car. That's just how we like to explore. But if you're looking to cut costs, that's more doable.

[00:06:11] Bryan Murphy: On Oahu, then on Maui in regards to transportation, because on Maui, a rental car is definitely required. It's gonna be hard to really get around the island, and that's gonna cost you anywhere between at the lowest range. I'd never seen this, but some of my research saw like 50 to $80 per day. Typically, it's gonna be for a week.

[00:06:33] Bryan Murphy: Probably closer to that $800 range. Again, when I throw out these numbers, a lot of these fluctuate even as I'm booking rental cars or if I'm booking for flights. So much of it changes throughout that process of. Trying to time it right, but that's just for the car. You're gonna need a rental car on Maui.

[00:06:55] Bryan Murphy: And switching gears a little bit, talking about food and activities, it kind of follows the same pattern. Oahu has way more budget options, food trucks, local spots holding the wall, places that serves some incredible food for inexpensive. But Oahu does have a lot more chain restaurants, so it could be really tempting to try to eat at a chain restaurant, especially if you're in a Waikiki.

[00:07:18] Bryan Murphy: And not try to hunt out some of those hole in the wall local spots that are incredibly worth it. So you gotta hunt a little bit more on Oahu. Maui skews towards more resort dining, but you can find a lot more local spots, a little bit easier. There's more food trucks crowded across the island and some more hubs where you can get some incredible food, but it's gonna cost you a little bit more.

[00:07:44] Bryan Murphy: Both islands do have a Costco ahu has. Two three. Costcos, Maui does have one by the airport and you can stock up there if that's gonna help budget wise. Now, activities cost about the same on both of the islands, but I have found that Oahu has a bit more free options than Maui. So if I'm just doing some quick math here, and I know this, I always kinda hesitate just throwing numbers out there because things do fluctuate.

[00:08:14] Bryan Murphy: The difference can be easily 14 to $1,500 more than going to Oahu. So if you're budget conscious, definitely Oahu delivers. You can still get that quote Hawaii travel experience, that vacation experience, try to get out of Waikiki. That's gonna be the cheapest place to stay, but try to get out of Waikiki at least for a day or two.

[00:08:37] Bryan Murphy: Rent a car and explore the other sides of the islands and the West side Colina area. Get out there at the coves, maybe go even further. Go to Ana or go to kind point out there. And it gets pretty quiet out there, which is cool. And the east side of Oahu has some incredible. Views you wanna explore outside of Waikiki, but I always say you gotta experience Waikiki at least one time because that iconic sight of Diamond Head when you're on Waikiki, standing out on the beach while someone's playing at at Dukes and you're watching a sunset like.

[00:09:11] Bryan Murphy: That just is postcard worthy right there. But if you're looking for a little bit more luxury exclusivity, and that matters more than costs, Maui is definitely worth every penny. So you gotta know what you're signing up for. Look, I know that's a lot of numbers and it's probably hard to take in, especially for you're driving right now or if you're out on your walk or whatever you're doing.

[00:09:31] Bryan Murphy: So I put together an easy reference format. I created that free PDF that I talked about, goes over more of the cost analysis, even some sample itineraries for both islands packing lists, more tips. You can grab that first link in the show notes below. Definitely will help you in your, your planning and deciding which island to choose.

[00:09:53] Bryan Murphy: So which island do you choose, which is right for you? For first timers, I usually always recommend. Oahu, it's got all the, the stuff it's got. Pearl Harbor, Waikiki North Shore. It's got culture, it's got history there. Ani Palace, Bishop Museum. It's got pretty much all the things that you think about when it comes to a trip to Hawaii.

[00:10:14] Bryan Murphy: The logistics are easier and you're gonna probably feel way more comfortable, especially if you're traveling from the continental us. It's gonna feel just more comfortable. And if you're a budget. Conscious. This is definitely a great choice. You're gonna save probably around 200 bucks a day without sacrificing much quality.

[00:10:32] Bryan Murphy: But if you want variety, Oahu, it's, that's the island for you. Families. Multi-generational trips. I feel like every time we go to Hawaii, it's a multi-generational trip now, which is, I wouldn't have it any other way. And what's great is that Oahu has got that infrastructure, more activities for different age groups, easier to navigate.

[00:10:51] Bryan Murphy: Plus, if you're thinking about island hopping, maybe you want to go to Maui for the day. Oahu is a great hub for that. It's easier to add a few days on another island if you begin on Oahu. But why would you pick Maui? So anyone celebrating something special, honeymoon, anniversary, milestone birthday. Or just you want to be fancy.

[00:11:11] Bryan Murphy: Maui is definitely built, like I, I don't want to, I don't want Maui to come across as just like this exclusive island though. It's not just to be fancy. You can find some budget options on Maui though. It is a bit harder. Yeah, quite a bit harder than Oahu. Maui can definitely use your visit if you're able to budget for it.

[00:11:31] Bryan Murphy: Many people I talked to on the island of Maui, the resounding message that I get is, yes, please. We want you to visit Maui. We want your tourism here on Maui, so if you wanna relax, Maui is definitely your spot. If you want world class beaches. Maui is really hard to beat. Some of the best beaches in the world are in Maui, so really there is no wrong choice here.

[00:11:55] Bryan Murphy: And you know, maybe you have 10 days, maybe you wanna split your time, start on Oahu for four or five days, and then visit Maui for relaxation. Maybe end your trip on Maui. You get best of both worlds and I've seen people do that and they come back like it was a perfect trip. They go on on ahu and then go over to Maui.

[00:12:14] Bryan Murphy: Unwind, slow down, really get the pace of the island. One thing to note, there are some updates with travel to Maui following the August, 2023 fires in West Maui. Laina. The good news is that all major resort areas are fully operational. Wale, KA poly KeHE, all open, all welcoming visitors. Tourism is actually vital for the recovery on Maui.

[00:12:36] Bryan Murphy: What's encouraging is that visitor spinning was up 23% in August of this year, 2025, compared to the previous year. So that's definitely a positive sign. So if you're traveling to Maui, just do it. Do it respectfully. I know you're listening to this podcast. You're gonna do that. Book your accommodations, support local businesses and restaurants, Maui once.

[00:12:57] Bryan Murphy: And needs visitors who can come with aloha and respect the culture, especially the recovery that they're still going through. And if you're concerned about whether best weather you're, you're gonna get typically between April through May, September through November. And during those times, you'll avoid summer crowds.

[00:13:13] Bryan Murphy: You'll avoid, um, holiday, you know, as long as you don't go during Thanksgiving week or later into December. And yes, they're gonna get great conditions. I mean, really, it's like one of the biggest questions is like, what? When is the best time to visit Hawaii? And it's like right now. So whatever works for you, whatever works for your budget, whatever works for your crew, who you're going with, that's when you go.

[00:13:35] Bryan Murphy: But you just gotta know what to expect when you get there.

[00:13:38] Bryan Murphy: Now look, I know planning a trip to Hawaii can. Feel overwhelming, especially if this is your very first time and you're trying to coordinate something special. Especially like I mentioned, multi-generational trip. You're trying to accommodate for everybody and everybody's likes and needs and dislikes.

[00:13:54] Bryan Murphy: If you want personal likes, help figuring out your itinerary, finding the best accommodations for your budget. We just want to talk through your options. I now offer Hawaii vacation planning consultations where we can hop on Zoom, and I hope you create a trip that's perfectly tailored to what you want.

[00:14:09] Bryan Murphy: If you're interested in that, I put some more info in the show notes below this episode. But whatever you choose, whether you pick Oahu, you choose Maui, you're choosing Hawaii, and you're gonna have an amazing time. You really can't go wrong before you go about the rest of your day. A couple things I want to just remind you of.

[00:14:28] Bryan Murphy: First link below, I got that free PDF, where you can grab more info about Oahu versus Maui for your planning. First link in the show notes below. Second, if you're still not sure which island. I got a quiz for you. You can go right to that link in the show notes as well. It's quick, it's fun, and it's pretty accurate I think.

[00:14:47] Bryan Murphy: And if you want personalized help, you can check out those Hawaii vacation planning consultations that I mentioned, everything linked below in the show notes. Alright, I think that's all I have for today. And I mean, we're staring down Thanksgiving next week if you celebrate. That. I hope you have a great Thanksgiving.

[00:15:05] Bryan Murphy: I'll be back here next Wednesday with another episode, but I know it's hard to believe that the holidays are, we're staring 'em down and sometimes it can stir up different emotions. So I hope that this holiday season is something for you where you're able to take some time to rest recuperate, especially from this past year and looking into 2026.

[00:15:26] Bryan Murphy: Okay, so until next time, my friend, as always. Live with Aloha

[00:15:35] Bryan Murphy: Mala for listening to this episode of Hawaii's. Best to stay up to date on future episodes. Hit follow on your podcast app. Hawaii's Best is a production of shore break media group with editing by easy podcast solutions and music courtesy of our friends. Stick figure.


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