Okay- I have to disagree with Wildcard. For sightseeing there is plenty on Oahu!! You have the Arizona Memorial, USS Bowfin, Mighty Mo, Diamond Head, Punchbowl, Kualoa Ranch, Bishop musuem, Iolani Palace, Dole Plantation, Botanical Gardens, Pali Lookout, Hanauma Bay (for divers and non-divers),Chinaman's Hat, Makapuu Point (lighthouse you can walk to and have a good chance of seeing the humpback whales passing by), Halona Blowhole, Lanai Lookout, Valley of the Temples, Ko'Olina Resort with nice beaches, plenty of beautiful beaches and good diving. Don't forget you have tons of shopping in Waikiki and Chinatown. Granted I have not dove on the Big Isle, but there is good diving here and plenty of places to see. You would have a better chance of seeing everything on Oahu in a week than you would on Hawaii. It took us around 5 hours to drive from Hilo to Kona. That is a 10hr drive for a one day trip from Hilo to Kona. Yes, the volcano was awesome, but it is also quite a hike and you more than likely will not actually see the lava flowing unless you take the helo ride (which I do recommend). Just wanted to add my two cents in for O'ahu.
Ummm, how lost did you get? 5 Hours? It takes two. I have lived on Maui, Big Isle and now Oahu. Dove and drove em all. Oahu gets the vote for shopping I guess but I have been very underwhelmed by everything else here. Call me spoiled but here in Oahu you can't swing a dead cat without hitting 14 tourests and three locals trying to steal your stuff....I can name a hundred things to do big isle style like tubing the water flume, seing the sea horse ranch, seeing the largest private cattle ranch in the US and taking a horse/ATV/wagon tour. How about driving from sea level to 14,000 feet in two hours? Eleven of fourteen of the earth climates in one day?..Ive been very lucky in life as of late in getting to live in these places and realy get to know them....Like I said, everyone has different view of things. It's all good!
Melissa