The Hawaiian Islands don’t do one-size-fits-all. Of the six islands that are open to visitors, you will experience six very different versions of paradise. The trick is knowing which one is calling your name.

I’ve hovered above a volcano, paddled into the open ocean in a waʻa (traditional outrigger canoe) and floated face-down under a star-filled sky while manta rays swooped beneath me. Over the past decade of visiting the Hawaiian Islands – the Island of Hawaiʻi (formerly known as the Big Island), Maui, Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi – each one has handed me something completely different. Here are six out of the eight major Hawaiian Islands you should visit and why.

O’ahu

Perfect for… Families, honeymooners, surfers, adventurers, first-timers. O’ahu is the most versatile of the Hawaiian Islands and that’s not a criticism; it’s the island’s greatest asset. Families find their footing easily here, with calm beaches, cultural experiences, and accommodation at every price point. Honeymooners get the romance of Waikīkī sunsets and fine dining. Surfers have the North Shore. Adventurers have the hikes, the history, and the outrigger canoes. First time in Hawaiʻi and not sure where to start? Head to O’ahu.

Why you should visit

Hear the ocean shift from a whisper to a roar during big-wave season – from late October through to mid-March – on the North Shore, and you’ll understand why Oʻahu holds such a grip on people. The third largest of the Hawaiian Islands draws surfers and non-surfers alike, along with foodies, shopaholics and hikers who like to push deep into the emerald-green jungle where the canopy closes overhead and the city feels like a world away. It’s the kind of island that rewards the energetic and keeps everyone else perfectly happy lounging by the pool.

What to expect

Be prepared to be awestruck by Diamond Head, which looms over Waikīkī like a green blanket heaped on a couch. There is rugged nature in every direction, whether you’re facing mauka (the mountains) or makai (the sea). The locals are hospitable and generous when it comes to sharing their rich culture and you should expect warm greetings wherever you go. Hawaiians will often say ‘e komo mai’ when they greet you, which signifies open arms and, in a broader sense, means ‘welcome home’.

Best things to do

When my Hawaiian friends wanted to show me the real O’ahu, they recommended a figure-eight drive: start near Waikīkī, push east, cut through the island’s centre and loop back via the North Shore. They also pointed me in the direction of Nuʻuanu Pali Lookout – a clifftop viewpoint that doesn’t appear on every checklist but absolutely should. Watching the pro surfers ride waves at Sunset Beach or Waimea Bay is also a must. You can then follow the river of people moving in and out of the candy-coloured timber shops in Haleʻiwa. Alternatively, spend the morning reading on a sun lounger in Waikīkī.

Where to stay

The Ritz-Carlton Oʻahu, Turtle Bay or Four Seasons Resort Oʻahu at Ko Olina trade crowds for coastline. For something more boutique, Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club and Kaimana Beach Hotel both deliver on location without the resort-hotel scale. The wonderful Waikiki Beachcomber by Outrigger is for in-betweeners, DILKS (double-income, no kids) who like to tango between the pool and Maui Brewing Waikīkī next door. Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort remains the sweetest set-up for families, right on the oceanfront with Diamond Head views from the Voyager 47 Club Lounge. Halepuna Waikiki by Halekūlani has the beach-chic luxury formula down pat: think impeccable service, serene interiors and the kind of pool you’ll struggle to leave.

Where to eat & drink

Construct your own cup of Waiola Shave Ice with everything from tapioca pearls to coconut curls. Enjoy a sundowner at Orchids at Halekūlani or Sky Waikiki to watch the sky and sea turn to indigo. Halekūlani Bakery & Restaurant is a hit for its Kona lobster roll and coconut cake, while Maguro Spot is a must for poke bowls. Come evening, Nico’s Pier 38 is a waterfront bar locals like for its harbour views and sunset drinks. Da Cove draws locals for its acai bowls with pa’i ‘ai, while Seven Brothers in Hale’iwa is popular for a plate lunch that feels true to Hawaiʻi. Haleiwa Joe’s Haiku Gardens in Kāneohe is the pick for generous plates of prime rib and fresh fish in an unfussy, locals-first setting. BYO Sharpie to Giovanni’s food truck to scrawl your name on the food truck serving garlic-shrimp scampi.

Maui

Perfect for… Families, big-wave surfers, honeymooners, adventurers, all-rounders. Maui suits the traveller who wants beauty and ease in roughly equal measure. Honeymooners find it impossibly romantic. Families settle into the Ka’anapali resort strip and stay put. But Maui also rewards those who push past the obvious, whether that’s visiting upcountry farms, exploring the Road to Hana, or hovering over the mouth of a crater in a helicopter. If you’ve been to O’ahu and want to go deeper into what the Hawaiian Islands offer, Maui is the natural next step.

Why you should visit

Of all Maui’s assets, its rugged good looks are the biggest draw. Known as the Valley Isle, it is the second largest of the Hawaiian Islands, and it’s magnificent – voluptuous curves, Jurassic wilderness, inky-black skies built for stargazing. You can hike to craters and learn to make leis. Or book a ride in a chopper over the island’s saw-toothed peaks to see Jaws surf break swallowing the ocean whole.

What to expect

Maui presents like it’s a place of perpetual sunshine even when the sky is blanket grey. It’s in the attitudes of the locals, in watching the men with wide grins and shoulders steer outrigger canoes through the seas, seeing women with pretty flowers in their hair and following the sound of music rolling out of open doors. It’s in the mountains and the mythology surrounding this essential link in the island chain.

Best things to do

I flew over Maui in a helicopter on a Hana Rainforest Experience with Maverick Helicopters and the scale of it stopped me cold: black lava cliffs pushing out of the Pacific, the Haleakalā Crater a dimple in a giant chin, waterfalls that seem like rivulets until, way up close, you hear them roar. On my last visit, I paddled a wa’a canoe from OUTRIGGER Kāʻanapali Beach Resort to look for humpback whales moving through the channel. Book a chocolate tasting at Maui Ku’ia Estate and walk the Kapalua Coastal Trail for one of the island’s quieter pleasures.

Where to stay

Wailea Beach Resort has oceanfront rooms that will ruin all other hotel stays for you; book a guestroom on the water and you will never want to leave. OUTRIGGER Ka’anapali Beach Resort is ideal for immersive cultural activities like ukulele classes and has a family-friendly warmth that earns its aloha. Royal Lahaina Resort & Bungalows and Westin Maui Resort & Spa both sit in Ka’anapali, close to the newly emerging scene in West Maui. Napili Kai Beach Resort offers a quieter alternative further north toward Kapalua.

Where to eat & drink 

Mama’s Fish House in Paia is an institution and one visitors remember years later. Star Noodle has reopened in a new Front Street location in Lahaina with sweeping ocean views. For breakfast, The Gazebo at Napili Shores serves macadamia nut pancakes in an open-air room facing the sea – it’s walk-ins only and always worth the wait. Back in West Maui, Mala Ocean Tavern and Honu Oceanside are both open and welcoming visitors. For drinks, the Pau Hana Pool Bar or Maui Brewing Company at OUTRIGGER Ka’anapali Beach Resort are the easy island-inspired options at the end of a long day.

Island of Hawaiʻi

Perfect for… Intrepid travellers, active families, adventure seekers, honeymooners and nature lovers. The Island of Hawaiʻi rewards the intrepid. This is not the island for travellers who need a dense dining and nightlife scene – it is the island for those who find perfection in a waterfall swim at dusk, a volcano at sunrise, and a manta ray moving through dark water beneath them. Active families who hike and snorkel will love it. So will anyone who wants their first holiday to Hawaiʻi to feel genuinely immersive.

Why you should visit

Travelling around the Island of Hawaiʻi, also known as the Volcano Island, is like getting a geology lesson in real time – one of the most humbling experiences the Hawaiian Islands can offer. The Lower Puna Eruption of 2018 tore the earth open in parts, the cracked and scorched aftermath not unlike the crust of a chocolate brownie. Elsewhere, there are pockets of emerald jungle that pop against an otherwise charred landscape.

What to expect

Be awestruck by volcanic fields ribbed with rows of scarred earth on the Kona side, then fall immediately in love with the contrast of the jade-green jungle in Hilo. The island’s evolution is evident everywhere. No other island in Hawaiʻi makes you feel the age and force of the earth quite like this one.

Best things to do

Take a guided tour of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, where the scale of what the earth is capable of becomes very real, very quickly. Browse the charming shops and pick up souvenirs in Hilo. Then, if you’re ready for something that will recalibrate your sense of wonder entirely, go snorkelling with manta rays at night. It sounds a bit touristy until you’re underwater, watching a ray three metres wide turn slow circles beneath you in the dark. Learn more about the island’s history at Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, an ancient site of refuge on the Kona coast.

Places to stay 

The Inn at Kulaniapia Falls is an enchanting place to stay that overlooks its own waterfall and invites you to swim on a sultry afternoon. Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the Kona coast is for those wanting something more polished, less rustic. It’s named after the dormant volcano that watches over it on the Island of Hawaiʻi.

Places to eat & drink

If you’re on the Hilo side of the island, book a table at The Inn at Kulaniapia Falls and trust the talented chefs to curate a menu around what’s growing outside. The charming inn is the sum of its parts: the gardens, view, food, waterfall. Each evening’s menu at the onsite restaurant is built around what is local and seasonal, with at least 80 per cent of ingredients grown or produced in Hawaiʻi, making it one of the most memorable meals you’ll have in the islands. Moon & Turtle in Hilo is also worth a detour for sashimi and poke bowls. Visit The Hidden Nēnē for an underground speakeasy vibe.

Kaua’i

Why you should visit

Kaua’i earns its title of ‘garden isle’ from the moment you touch down: everything is green, improbably so, spilling over valleys and canyon walls in every direction, all lush, tropical and wild. Wind your way past the weather-beaten landscape that doubled as the backdrop for George Clooney’s The Descendants, and you’ll fall that little bit deeper in love with Hawaiʻi. Tick off, like tally marks on a tree, the island’s untamed beauty and golden-sand beaches, too.

What to expect

There’s a wildness to Kaua’i that the other Hawaiian Islands can’t quite match. Expect hippie types, golfing enthusiasts, birders and history buffs to converge on Hanapēpē, the island’s biggest little town. The pace is slower here, the roads narrower, and the feeling of having arrived somewhere genuinely untouched is never far away.

Best things to do

Visit Koloa Rum, a single-batch rum distillery that takes the art of distilling sugarcane juice seriously. Get a custom Hawaiian shirt made to order from Jacqueline on Kauai, the ‘Aloha Shirt Lady’. Head north to Hanalei Bay and Princeville, where the Queen’s Bath sits like a small emerald gem set into a mottled black bracelet of rock. For the more adventurous, the Nā Pali Coast – by boat, helicopter or on foot – is one of the great natural spectacles of the Hawaiian Islands.

Places to stay

Ko’a Kea Resort, named after the term for ‘white coral’ in Hawaiian, sits at Poʻipū Beach and is regularly ranked among the world’s most romantic hotels. The Marriott Waiohai Beach Club is nearer to Ko’a Kea and well-suited to those wanting more space and resort amenities.

Where to eat & drink

Head to Hanalei Farmers’ Market where Natalie Nguyen carves the top off a coconut from the back of her pick-up truck. Natalie wields her machete like a ninja and will have you sipping fresh coconut milk in a flash. The century-old Tip Top Cafe is a must for macadamia nut pancakes and Kona coffee, while Puka Dog is the place to enjoy a Hawaiian-style hot dog slathered in one of six original relishes: mango, pineapple, papaya, coconut, banana or starfruit. Tiki Iniki and the Happy Talk Lounge are top spots for a tipple or two.

Perfect for…Travellers who like to explore beyond the resort pool and off the beaten track. Kaua’i is for the traveller who wants Hawaiʻi without the hype. It’s the quieter soul of the Hawaiian Islands – extraordinary in its privacy and wild, raw beauty. Honeymooners find real seclusion here. Adventurers have the Nā Pali Coast. Nature lovers have some of the most dramatic scenery in the entire Pacific. But the traveller who gets the most from Kaua’i is the one willing to leave the resort pool behind and see where the road runs out.

Lānaʻi

Why you should visit

There is a lot to love about Lānaʻi, which is different again from every other island in Hawaiʻi and highlights the diversity of the archipelago in the most striking way. Stark, rust-coloured cliffs push out of the Pacific with tussocks of grass poking up like afternoon stubble. Lānaʻi was once affectionately dubbed the Pineapple Isle before the Dole Company moved its plantations elsewhere, and it has never really reinvented itself – which is entirely the point.

What to expect

This is rough and rural Hawaiʻi at its windswept best: crisscrossed with pockmarked roads, red-dirt trails, and the cracked earth surrounding Polihua Beach. Some say it’s the island that most resembles what Hawaiʻi once was. It is also, for those who need it, the best place in the Hawaiian Islands to get genuinely off-grid with zero distractions.

Best things to do

Visit the Garden of the Gods, a wind-blasted field of rock formations that looks out over the Kalohi Channel at Moloka’i. It’s like watching the ocean from under a heavy brow. Take a windcheater to Polihua Beach, a wide expanse of sand torn up by the tradewinds. Spend time in Lānaʻi Town learning the island’s history or head to Kaunolu on the southern tip to find the bones of an abandoned fishing village. The more adventurous can find a deserted stretch of coast and simply disappear into it.

Where to stay

Sitting on the southeastern coast overlooking Hulopoʻe Bay, Four Seasons Resort Lānaʻi, which underwent a comprehensive $450 million renovation about a decade ago, is located on the southeastern coast overlooking Hulopoʻe Bay, offering seclusion amid oceanfront cliffs and gardens. Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort is the sister property designed for those who want to soothe mind and body during their stay. The three-star Hotel Lanai has a storied history and a considerably more affordable price tag.

Places to eat & drink

The dining options on Lānaʻi are exceptional for such a remote island. Inside the Four Seasons, Nobu Lānaʻi serves innovative Japanese cuisine from world-renowned chef Nobu Matsuhisa alongside sweeping Pacific views. The 15-course teppanyaki experience is worth every dime for a special occasion. For something more relaxed, Osteria Mozza Lānaʻi – James Beard Award-winning chef Nancy Silverton’s first Hawaii outpost – blends her signature Italian cooking with fresh island ingredients, including pasta made with local eggs and salads constructed from lettuce leaves plucked from nearby Sensei Farms. If you’ve had no luck catching fish while on the island, head to the Lanai City Grill for a simple feed of spicy tuna rolls. For sundowners, the poolside bar at The Four Seasons Resort Lānaʻi serves classic Hawaiian pupus.

Perfect for… Hardcore Hawaiʻiphiles, intrepid travellers, honeymooners, adventurers and off-grid adventurers. Lānaʻi is the most off-grid of the main Hawaiian Islands and it wears that distinction proudly. It suits the traveller who considers no phone signal a feature rather than a flaw, who wants Hawaiʻi raw and unpolished. Honeymooners after complete isolation will find it here. So will anyone who’s visited the other islands and wants the more uncut version most people never see.

Moloka’i

Why you should visit

The Hawaiian Islands are the most isolated archipelago on earth, and Moloka’i is one of the least visited of all of them. The sea cliffs here are the highest in the world. The habitats shelter endangered and endemic species found nowhere else on the planet. Getting here takes effort – a short flight from Maui – and there are few places to stay once you arrive. Moloka’i is great for a day trip from Maui.

What to expect

The Hawaiian Islands are the most isolated on Earth and Moloka’i is one of the least visited of them all. It’s also a bit more challenging to get there and there are not a lot of options to stay. The island has the frozen moment quality of a Polaroid. With a bit of luck, it might stay like that for many years to come.

Best things to do

Moloka’i is in parts bleak and beautiful. Visit stunning Kaupoa Beach before the boyfriends of Instagram and their subjects decide to descend. Kahalepohaku and Kapukuwahine beaches are also deserted, but for a reason: it’s usually too dangerous to swim here, but an extraordinary place to enjoy a barefoot stroll. Enjoy a cultural experience such as a guided mule tour up the soaring sea cliffs. Moloka’i is also an easy day trip from Maui for those who want a taste without the commitment of an overnight stay.

Perfect for…Hardcore Hawaiʻiphiles, intrepid travellers, adventurers and those who love getting off the grid. This is the rawest, most unmediated of the Hawaiian Islands – with no well-worn tourist trails to follow. Those who feel most alive when they’re genuinely off-grid will find their place here. Come for the land, the silence and the feeling of arriving somewhere most people never do.