These are two of Hawaii's top islands - but which one's for you?

Blissful beaches, lush mountains and rivers of molten lava ... the American archipelago has it all. But which of these two isles is best for you? Our duelling experts help you decide.

By Amy Cooper

If you're new to the Hawaiian islands, here's a quick who's hula: Oahu's your gateway; the one with direct flights from Australia, and the home of Hawaii's capital, Honolulu. Confusingly, there's also an island called Hawaii, out on the easternmost end of the chain and known as the Big Island because sometimes - as evidenced by our own Great Sandy Desert and Snowy Mountains - you just have to call it what it is.

The Big Island is big. Almost twice the size of Hawaii's other seven main islands combined, and about six times the size of Oahu. That's 63 per cent of the entire archipelago's land mass, but with only 13 per cent of its population.

No crowds and 428 lovely kilometres of coastline? That's one big reason to go. But there's more to the Big Island than extra space to swing a coconut.

It is, quite literally, peak Hawaii.

The youngest of the Hawaiian islands is one of the world's most volcanically volatile places; a colossal clump of five massive mounts including Kilauea, the world's most active volcano, and 4000-metre-high Mauna Loa, the world's largest active volcano. Snow-capped Mauna Kea compensates for inactivity with sheer majesty; taller than Everest when measured from its base beneath the ocean, it's the highest point in the Pacific Basin, home to the world's largest astronomical observatory and a stargazer's ... well, heaven. Stargazing tours around the summit reveal the skies in stunning clarity.

The Big Island is always so-hot-right-now. It's Hawaii at its most elemental and exhilarating, a walk on the wilder side where molten lava seethes just beneath a restlessly shifting surface, ready to erupt from giant crevices and craters in fiery showers. Other islands do fireworks - the Big Island dazzles with the wrath of the deities.

In the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, a World Heritage Site the size of Oahu, centuries of lava flow have carved wonders including the 24.7-metre Holei Sea Arch extending from the cliffs into the Pacific Ocean, and the Great Crack - not just something found in Irish pubs, but a ginormous 28-kilometre-long ravine 15 metres wide and 22 metres deep.

The Big Island's beaches are the new black. The ebony-hued volcanic sands at Punaluu Beach, Richardson Ocean Park and Pohoiki Black Sand Beach contrast dramatically with their snow-white neighbours, like a photo negative (for those who can still remember what that is). There's even a green beach, one of only four in the world. Made from the jade-coloured mineral olivine, Papakolea is splendidly psychedelic and will boggle your mind almost as much as snorkelling with friendly giant manta rays off the Kona or Keauhou coast, a treat available nowhere else in the Hawaiian Islands.

Oahu is awesome, but to hit Hawaii's heights, you need to see the Big picture.

By Mal Chenu

Hawaii is awesome, and not just because you can have pineapple on your pizza and not be judged. But while some may spruik the others, everyone knows Oahu is the Hawaiian island.

Flights to Hawaii land in Honolulu. On Oahu. And once you arrive, you want to get stuck into the surf and hula and luaus and Spam musubi and ukelele lessons right away, rather than wait for another flight to the Big Island.

Beyond Waikiki, Oahu's 180 kilometres of white-sand coastline offers secluded coves, gentle waves, gnarly surf, sublime snorkelling and fiery sunsets. Hanauma Bay - to name but one superb beach - is so gorgeous and popular that you have to make a booking to swim with the turtles, parrotfish and Nemos. In winter, massive swells hit Oahu's North Shore and you can watch the action at legendary places such as Waimea Bay, Sunset Beach and Banzai Pipeline, followed by a feed at the famous food trucks of Haleiwa. By contrast, the Big Island's beaches are covered with dirty, gritty volcanic black sand that is painful to walk on. Lava, lava, you don't treat feet so good no more.

A trip to Pearl Harbour recalls the "date which will live in infamy". America knows how to honour its war dead and the USS Arizona Memorial is notably poignant. At the Polynesian Cultural Center, you can visit six villages (showcasing Hawaii, Fiji, Aotearoa, Samoa, Tahiti and Tonga) followed by dinner and the critically acclaimed Ha: Breath of Life evening show. Then there's Iolani Palace (the former royal residence of the Hawaiian Monarchy), Ala Moana (the largest open-air shopping centre in the world) and Kuaola Ranch, where dinosaurs roamed in the Jurassic Park movies.

While Amy's penchant for Big is understandable, and rivals Carrie Bradshaw's for passion, let's face it, Hawaii is Oahu. If it was good enough for Scomo, it's good enough for the rest of us.