I lived there for a year. The surfing is great at North Shore, and okay at Ewa. The scuba/snorkeling is great at Hanauma Bay. But I was ready to head back to the mainland after about a month. You get island fever REAL fast. Hawai’i isn’t for everyone.
You might be amused however with the volume of American (re: mainland) tourists who don’t know that Hawai’i is a U.S. state, and how often you’d hear them ask if (the vendor) takes U.S. dollars. And then you’ll start to get p**sed off by it, because Americans shouldn’t be that stupid.