# Two week trip to HI from Michigan



## rsackett (Nov 21, 2013)

We will be going to Hawaii for about two weeks over Christmas 2014.  I have traded my Marriott week for a week on Maui.  We have been on two islands in the past, Oahu and Kauai.

We will be flying from Michigan on Delta, so we will most likely have at least one stop each way and a total flight time of about 12 to 15 hours.  Because of this and the expense of flying the four of us we do not travel to Hawaii very often.  We can't stay longer because we are still tied to school breaks.

Given this would you stay on Maui for the entire two weeks or would you island hop to another island.  We will be changing hotels in either case.

Ray


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## slip (Nov 21, 2013)

I would do Maui for the two weeks. You lose too much time island hopping.
These plenty to do on all the islands for a couple of weeks.


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## DeniseM (Nov 21, 2013)

I would stay on Maui for 2 weeks.  If you really want to island hop, you can make day trips to Molokai and/or Lanai, by ferry or sail boat.

This trip to Lanai is the most fun activity we have ever done in Hawaii:

http://sailtrilogy.com/tour/lanai

It's pricey - but it is an all-day activity that includes 3 meals, a tour of Lanai, and beach equipment and activities, so you get a lot for your money.


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## DaveNV (Nov 21, 2013)

Figure the travel time involved to switch islands:  On the (presumed) seventh day, you need to be up early, clean up, pack up, check out of the t/s, make your way to the airport, turn in the rental car, check in, go through security, get to the gate and wait for your flight.  On the other end after the flight, you have to claim bags, get a new rental car, make your way to the second t/s, check in, unpack, and then try and decide what to do with whatever is left of your day.

It is generally cheaper to keep a rental car for two weeks than to get two cars for a week at a time.  Getting groceries, finding your way around, and whatever, all tends to take time away from your vacation. And don't forget the flight home - does it leave direct from the second island, or do you need to make a connection along the way?  Even more time wasted.

Unless there is a burning need to switch islands, I'd say stay put and enjoy your time on Maui. You'll save time AND money that way. There is plenty to do to fill two weeks, and you've already been to Oahu and Kauai. Unless you want to see the Big Island, stay put and have fun. 

Even changing t/s on the same island is easier since you can haul everything in the rental car and be done with it. 

Dave


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## Luanne (Nov 21, 2013)

I agree two weeks on Maui.


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## riverdees05 (Nov 21, 2013)

My daughter's family lives in the Detroit area and they were wanting to go over next Christmas, too.  We were going in the spring of 2014 for the grandsons spring break, but the tickets on Delta were over 1300 each.  I am going to be watching prices this spring to see what they will be Christmas, but my guess is that they will be higher.


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## BocaBoy (Nov 21, 2013)

I would spend the two weeks on Maui if you plan to go back to Hawaii in the next 2 or 3 years.  If not, I would spend one week on the Big Island to see the volcanoes.  It is a very short flight from Maui to the Big Island.  If you can split up your second week, I would spend 3 or 4 days on the Big Island and 10-11 days on Maui, again assuming you will not be back to Hawaii in the next 2-3 years.


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## BocaBoy (Nov 21, 2013)

riverdees05 said:


> My daughter's family lives in the Detroit area and they were wanting to go over next Christmas, too.  We were going in the spring of 2014 for the grandsons spring break, but the tickets on Delta were over 1300 each.  I am going to be watching prices this spring to see what they will be Christmas, but my guess is that they will be higher.



One thing to be aware of is that rental cars over Christmas and New Year's are MUCH more expensive.


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## avelox (Nov 21, 2013)

*I vote: 2 weeks on Maui*

Hi Ray! Please, help me understand your questions a little better. 
1. You have traded your Marriott Week for a week on Maui over Christmas 2014, but you do not have the week specified yet. Really?;
2. How about the location? Are you really unaware of where on Maui you will be trading into, or, will you will be trading into a Marriott Maui Property and so you just don't care where you eventually will wind up, as long as it will be on Maui? (is there only 1 Marriott on Maui?);
3. You will be flying from Michigan to Maui on Delta, and so you will "most likely" have at least 1 stop each way! Really? Most likely? Does this mean that you have not yet booked your flight or you have booked it and haven't yet reviewed the details involved?;
4. You will be staying for "about" 2 weeks over Christmas 2014. Great! But you do not yet know where you will be staying for the 2nd week! So, you will be booking the balance of your stay after you confirm your 1 week resort stay but you want suggestions?; 
5. You can't stay longer because you are still tied to school breaks. So, where you live and work, your kids get at least 2 weeks off for the Christmas Holidays. Great! (spoiled little brats!) For you and for them! So, you ask, should you stay on Maui for the entire 2 weeks or hop to another island? 
This question is a no brainer to answer. IMO, traveling from Michigan to Maui requires at least a 2 week commitment to enjoy the entire island of Maui. Trust me! And this is most especially true if you plan to travel with children. The 2 weeks will quickly vanish. Best of luck! BTW, I will be available during those 2 weeks and I clean and cook. Just sayin! LOL!
:whoopie:     



rsackett said:


> We will be going to Hawaii for about two weeks over Christmas 2014.  I have traded my Marriott week for a week on Maui.  We have been on two islands in the past, Oahu and Kauai.
> 
> We will be flying from Michigan on Delta, so we will most likely have at least one stop each way and a total flight time of about 12 to 15 hours.  Because of this and the expense of flying the four of us we do not travel to Hawaii very often.  We can't stay longer because we are still tied to school breaks.
> 
> ...


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## DeniseM (Nov 21, 2013)

avelox - Since this trip is *more than a year away*, Ray is obviously still in the planning stages, and his post makes perfect sense to me.  

You can't book airfare more than a year out.

There are many ways to trade a timeshare...he didn't say it was a Marriott trade.

2 weeks off at Christmas is standard in US public schools.

Really


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## rsackett (Nov 21, 2013)

avelox said:


> Hi Ray! Please, help me understand your questions a little better.
> 1. You have traded your Marriott Week for a week on Maui over Christmas 2014, but you do not have the week specified yet. Really?;
> 2. How about the location? Are you really unaware of where on Maui you will be trading into, or, will you will be trading into a Marriott Maui Property and so you just don't care where you eventually will wind up, as long as it will be on Maui? (is there only 1 Marriott on Maui?);
> 3. You will be flying from Michigan to Maui on Delta, and so you will "most likely" have at least 1 stop each way! Really? Most likely? Does this mean that you have not yet booked your flight or you have booked it and haven't yet reviewed the details involved?;
> ...



1. I have made the first weeks trade, we are staying at Sands of Kahana Vacation Club, Dec. 21-28 2014.

2. The resort is located at 4299 Lower Honoapiilani Highway
Lahaina, HI 967618997

3. At this point in time Delta does not offer non-stop service to Maui.  Detroit is a Delta hub and when I fly for work it is almost always Delta.  I hope to use frequent flyer miles for at least some of the tickets.  We have not yet booked tickets.  On Delta the earliest you can book is about 11 months out, and we are a little over 13 months from our departure date.

4. I know where I am staying on Maui for the first week.  The rest of the time will be in hotels.  At this time I do not have a second timeshare to trade.  So since we will be staying in hotels I could stay on any of the islands.  I know it would be more relaxing to stay on Maui, but was weighing my options since we do not get to Hawaii often.  My wide and I have been married 28 years and have been twice.  My oldest is 20 and since I would hope she will be out of collage before we go again, this may be out last "Family "  trip to Hawaii.

5.  Yes both my younger daughter (14) and my older daughter get a little more than two weeks off at Christmas.  I think you may be right about them being spoiled, but it is not because they get two weeks off at Christmas .

So yes I was asking experienced travelers to Hawaii what they thought.  Having never been to Maui I was not sure if we stayed on that island for the whole time if we would have been board and wished we could see something else. (we have never seen a volcano).  Thanks for your thoughts on staying the whole two weeks on Maui!

Ray


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## Luanne (Nov 21, 2013)

Ray, instead of relying on hotels, I'd suggest resting another condo for the second week.  It gives you more space, a kitchen, usually a washer/dryer and you can stay put in one place for the week, unless you want to move around.  We've had good luck renting through vrbo (vacation rental by owner).


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## rsackett (Nov 21, 2013)

Luanne said:


> Ray, instead of relying on hotels, I'd suggest resting another condo for the second week.  It gives you more space, a kitchen, usually a washer/dryer and you can stay put in one place for the week, unless you want to move around.  We've had good luck renting through vrbo (vacation rental by owner).



Thanks for the idea.  I will give that some thought.  We do like using a kitchen and the extra space.  I will have enough Marriott reward points for fee hotel stay though.

Ray


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## kmij (Nov 21, 2013)

We have also had good luck renting a timeshare through redweek.com.
Maybe you could even get another week at sands of kahana and not have to
Move at all.  Just a suggestion.
Jean


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## Luanne (Nov 21, 2013)

rsackett said:


> Thanks for the idea.  I will give that some thought.  We do like using a kitchen and the extra space.  I will have enough Marriott reward points for fee hotel stay though.
> 
> Ray



Free hotel rooms are good.   I just know that when we've used both a timeshare condo and a hotel room on our Hawaii trips we've felt really cramped in the hotel.  If you do decide to do that I'm maybe make that the first week so you can kick back and relax in the timeshare the second week.

Also, what you may save on the hotel room you'll find you'll spend in food since you'll be eating all meals out.


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## linsj (Nov 22, 2013)

Luanne said:


> Also, what you may save on the hotel room you'll find you'll spend in food since you'll be eating all meals out.



Not necessarily. With a refrigerator, it's possible to eat two meals a day in the room. I've done that for two weeks and never felt deprived. Of course, it depends on your eating tastes. Even in a timeshare, I eat yogurt and fruit for breakfast and often make salads or sandwiches for suppers. All of that can be done with only a refrigerator and paper goods.


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## Luanne (Nov 22, 2013)

linsj said:


> Not necessarily. With a refrigerator, it's possible to eat two meals a day in the room. I've done that for two weeks and never felt deprived. Of course, it depends on your eating tastes. Even in a timeshare, I eat yogurt and fruit for breakfast and often make salads or sandwiches for suppers. All of that can be done with only a refrigerator and paper goods.



That's if you have a hotel room with a refrigerator and wish to eat that way.

This has just been my experience.  I'd take the condo over the hotel room just for the extra space (and washer/dryer).


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## BocaBoy (Nov 22, 2013)

rsackett said:


> I know where I am staying on Maui for the first week.  The rest of the time will be in hotels.....we do not get to Hawaii often.  My wife and I have been married 28 years and have been twice.  My oldest is 20 and since I would hope she will be out of collage before we go again, *this may be out last "Family "  trip to Hawaii*.
> 
> So yes I was asking experienced travelers to Hawaii what they thought.  Having never been to Maui I was not sure if we stayed on that island for the whole time if we would have been board and wished we could see something else. (*we have never seen a volcano*).  Thanks for your thoughts on staying the whole two weeks on Maui!Ray



Based on this, I would strongly recommend 4 (or possibly 3) hotel nights on Maui following your timeshare stay and 3 (or possibly 4) hotel nights on the Big Island.  I love Maui and you would not be at all bored there for 2 full weeks, but the volcanoes are something you should not miss if at all possible.  Given your circumstances, I think using MR points for hotel stays the second week makes all the sense in the world.  On Maui, the Wailea Marriott is a great resort and the Courtyard in Kahului is a good choice for a cheaper accommodation.  On the Big island, the Waikoloa Marriott is a very good resort choice, although the resort is not as plush as the Wailea Marriott.  There is also a new Courtyard in Kona, but I have never seen it.  I don't know if it was new construction (like the one in Kahului, Maui) or whether it was formerly another hotel brand.

Whatever you decide, it seems like you have a great plan.


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## taffy19 (Nov 22, 2013)

If the volcano is still active, I would tag on the Big Island too and stay near the volcano for a few nights and more than a week on Maui. You could go to Maui first and then to the Big Island and fly back from there or the other way around.

Current pictures and videos of volcano.

If the volcano is *very* active during Christmas time, you may not be able to book a volcano tour from Maui to Hawaii because everybody else wants to do the same thing too. The problem is that you never know when the volcano is very active or not. 

We live on the west coast so took a flight on the spur of the moment and didn't regret it as it was spectacular.

You have time to think it over and decide if it will be your last trip or not.


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## dsyrcle (Nov 23, 2013)

Yes, you will loose a days vacation switching islands but how often do you get to see an active volcano. If you are staying near Kona on the Big Island, plan on spending about 5 hours driving round trip to the Volcano. You might want to consider spending a night near Hilo. The Marriott Courtyard in Kona near the harbor used to be the King Kamehameha Hotel.


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## SmithOp (Nov 23, 2013)

If you have any military connections the military camp in the park is a great way to see and hike the volcano.  The best helo flights to see lava are out of Hilo.

http://www.kmc-volcano.com/

Don't waste money on a day trip from one of the other islands, you only get a couple hours at the park and spend the rest of the day going back and forth.


Sent from my iPad Gen 4 using Tapatalk HD


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## DeniseM (Nov 23, 2013)

dsyrcle said:


> Yes, you will loose a days vacation switching islands but how often do you get to see an active volcano.



Any day for the last 30 years or so?  

The Big Island is bigger than all the other islands put together - you need to plan another trip in the future and go there for 2 weeks.  I'd stay on Maui.


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## Luanne (Nov 23, 2013)

dsyrcle said:


> Yes, you will loose a days vacation switching islands but how often do you get to see an active volcano. If you are staying near Kona on the Big Island, plan on spending about 5 hours driving round trip to the Volcano. You might want to consider spending a night near Hilo. The Marriott Courtyard in Kona near the harbor used to be the King Kamehameha Hotel.



Or, spend a couple of nights in Volcano Village at one of the B&Bs there.  Our favorite is Kilauea Lodge.


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## BocaBoy (Nov 24, 2013)

DeniseM said:


> Any day for the last 30 years or so?



Only if you are on the Big Island and that's the point here.  The OP may not go back to Hawaii again.


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## Luanne (Nov 24, 2013)

BocaBoy said:


> Only if you are on the Big Island and that's the point here.  The OP may not go back to Hawaii again.



That's what they all say.


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## DeniseM (Nov 24, 2013)

BocaBoy said:


> Only if you are on the Big Island and that's the point here.  The OP may not go back to Hawaii again.



Seriously?  Once you've been to Hawaii, how can you not go back?


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## rsackett (Dec 4, 2013)

Thanks everybody!  Based on most responses I think we will stay on Maui for both weeks.  I hope someday we can get back and see the volcano's though.

Ray


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## rsackett (Feb 9, 2014)

Well my trip is now finalized.  We found a way to add 5 days onto the trip, so we now have 14 days on Maui and 5 days on the Big Island.

First week we rented a condo on VRBO. The second week at Sands of Kahana Vacation Club on exchange.  Then the last 5 days at Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa on points.

I was able to get all four airline tickets on frequent flyer miles, Delta.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Ray


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## talkamotta (Feb 16, 2014)

rsackett said:


> Well my trip is now finalized.  We found a way to add 5 days onto the trip, so we now have 14 days on Maui and 5 days on the Big Island.
> 
> First week we rented a condo on VRBO. The second week at Sands of Kahana Vacation Club on exchange.  Then the last 5 days at Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa on points.
> 
> ...



Thats a great plan...  Isnt it wonderful when all the pieces fall into place.   I own at Sands of Kahana.  The units are large and most units are either ocean front or ocean view.  As a trader you might get garden view but ask when you check in.  Make sure you buy Maui Revealled and Big Island Revealled Books.  When you go on the Road to Hana start your day very early and go with the blue book.  The first time we missed the bamboo forest and the red rock beach.


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## MuranoJo (Feb 16, 2014)

SmithOp said:


> If you have any military connections the military camp in the park is a great way to see and hike the volcano.  The best helo flights to see lava are out of Hilo.
> 
> http://www.kmc-volcano.com/
> 
> ...



I've heard this mentioned several times before on this forum, and always thought we'd give this a try since DH is a VN vet.  However, I see it says it's for active or retired military, in which case he wouldn't qualify, unless access is broader than stated on the website?


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## SmithOp (Feb 16, 2014)

muranojo said:


> I've heard this mentioned several times before on this forum, and always thought we'd give this a try since DH is a VN vet.  However, I see it says it's for active or retired military, in which case he wouldn't qualify, unless access is broader than stated on the website?



If you go to the reservation page of the web site there are rates for veterans with DD-214, your husband will know what that is.  I was required to show it at check in.  I made the reservation on the web site but it's better to call in, they admit the web site is not up to date and works sporadically. 

I'm getting ready to book a short stay in May.


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## MuranoJo (Feb 17, 2014)

Thanks, Dave.  I sent the link to DH and we'll certainly consider it in the future.


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## talkamotta (Mar 1, 2014)

Im going to be the odd person out but I would do two different islands.  Maui and the Big Island are great.  

Next year will be the first time we stayed more than 2 weeks.  Always did 2 islands.   If you have to check out and move to a hotel that kind of takes care of that 7th day anyhow.  We will use the time from landing on the second island to check in time to go to Costco and get our food for the next week. You will have to plan your food tighter, cant take some things even on an inter island flight and weight restrictions still apply.  

  Each island has thier unique points and a week on each island will give you plenty of time to visit your favorites and still have time to relax. 

Car rental -  Dont know if its more money on 2 different islands.  Costco travel/car rental discounts may include a $30 or $40 off.  This is for the rental and not the time so you could double that discount.  

The biggest disadvantage is the cost of the inter island hops.  

I would for sure try for another condo and not hotel it.  So many advantages - sleep patterns,  time to visit with others and wont interrupt another's sleep or private time.  Kitchen is a big deal with us.  

Either way you will have a good time.  I was 53 when I first visited Hawaii.  Now Im 60 and I have been ther 5 times.


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## Xan (Mar 1, 2014)

SmithOp said:


> If you go to the reservation page of the web site there are rates for veterans with DD-214, your husband will know what that is.  I was required to show it at check in.  I made the reservation on the web site but it's better to call in, they admit the web site is not up to date and works sporadically.
> 
> I'm getting ready to book a short stay in May.


KMC in the Volcano park is great for a couple of nights! Stayed there early Nov 2012. Bring something warm to wear at night, gloves and earmuffs, so you can enjoy and take photos! That wind really kicks up and temps drop at night!

If you get the chance, go to the top of Mauna Kea (w/tour), it is something no one should ever miss! (tours supply the parkas and mittens, usually a meal, and an acclimation point on way up)!


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