# is it crazy to go to ohau for 5 days from east coast



## trachda (Oct 12, 2009)

we love hawaii and have been there several times , most recently this past july and august.  Have a bonus week with II and have thought about newport coast california weather too unpredictable for beach weather, aruba maybe put not my first choice.  Have not been to frenchman's cove St. Thomas would like to go there but nothing has been available recently.  Hawaii keeps coming up as we would like to go last week in Oct beginning of november.  Unfortunately we can't spend the whole week time change is tough but its Hawaii and our all time favorite place to be.  Are we crazy for coming jsut for a few days.
Karen


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## DeniseM (Oct 12, 2009)

If you go for 5 days, you will spend a whole day getting there, and another whole day going home, and you will only have 3 days to enjoy Hawaii.  To me, it wouldn't be worth the $$$ or the flight time for a 3 day Vaca.


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## post-it (Oct 12, 2009)

I think I would consider the price of the flight.  Is the cost worth the travel time and relaxation time.


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## josh1231 (Oct 12, 2009)

trachda said:


> we love hawaii and have been there several times , most recently this past july and august.  Have a bonus week with II and have thought about newport coast california weather too unpredictable for beach weather, aruba maybe put not my first choice.  Have not been to frenchman's cove St. Thomas would like to go there but nothing has been available recently.  Hawaii keeps coming up as we would like to go last week in Oct beginning of november.  Unfortunately we can't spend the whole week time change is tough but its Hawaii and our all time favorite place to be.  Are we crazy for coming jsut for a few days.
> Karen



It sounds like you are planning to do beach activities. Personally for me if that's what I had planned I'd hit the Carribean. I love Hawaii and am going there in January, but for beach activities on such a short trip, I wouldn't do the long flight. But that's just me, Hawaii is incredible as you know, so you'll have a great time either way.


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## RLG (Oct 12, 2009)

trachda said:


> Are we crazy for coming jsut for a few days.



........yes


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## trachda (Oct 12, 2009)

*are we crazy just for coming*

I already took into account the travewl days and we would have 5 full days there.  Airline price is $498 and funny enough $528 to go to Aruba and $428 for St Thomas
Karen


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## DeniseM (Oct 12, 2009)

trachda said:


> I already took into account the travewl days and we would have 5 full days there.  Airline price is $498 and funny enough $528 to go to Aruba and $428 for St Thomas
> Karen



I'm confused - I thought you couldn't stay the whole week?


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## trachda (Oct 12, 2009)

we have 7 days so I know you loss 2 travel days so we have 5 days meaning we would  only have 5 full days to relax and have fun
Karen


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## post-it (Oct 12, 2009)

I think 6 nights with 5 full days would be ok.  The nice thing about coming from the East Coast is you'll be up early to make the most of the day.  Air fare is a good price and since you're planning on Oahu you wouldn't have an island connector flight.  It sounds like you enjoy Hawaii more, but where on Oahu are you staying?  I wonder if the resort is worthy of the travel time.


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## trachda (Oct 12, 2009)

trying to get marriotts Ko Olina which keeps popping up in various unit size.  Been there before and enjoyed the area quiet but enough to do on site. wil rent a car to make take a day trip to beaches we have not done yet. 
Karen


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## alwysonvac (Oct 12, 2009)

trachda said:


> I already took into account the travewl days and we would have 5 full days there.  Airline price is $498 and funny enough $528 to go to Aruba and $428 for St Thomas
> Karen



Go for it !! That's a great rate from the east coast. You've done the Hawaii flights before so there are no surprises.

We prefer a two week trip when we go from the east coast but we've done one week trips too. We normally leave the east coast on Saturday (fly all day) and leave Hawaii late Friday or Saturday night (taking the overnight flight that arrives the next morning on the east coast). 

Have Fun


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## tombo (Oct 12, 2009)

5 FULL days on Oahu would be plenty of time to see most things. Spend a day visiting Pearl Harbor, Wakiiki Beach, and Diamond Head. Spend a day visiting hanama bay (sp), Dole Pineapple Plantation, and other city sights. Spend a day watching the surfers on the north Shore, hiking to waimea falls, sacred falls, the bonsai pipelineetc. Then spend 2 days relaxing on the beaches. I could spend a month exploring Kauai and 3 weeks or more exploring Maui, but 5 days in Oahu would be plenty for me.


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## post-it (Oct 12, 2009)

Since this is a nice resort, air fare is great, I'd go for it.


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## Kenrabs (Oct 12, 2009)

I wouldn't, but if it's what you want and have been there before and don't have to squeeze the tourist stuff in then go for it.


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## danb (Oct 13, 2009)

*Oahu for 5 days*

We did the same thing a year ago. We got some great airfares $276 from NJ and we went for a week. We stayed on Oahu and rented a car for one day. We enjoyed the resort and walking in the Waikiki area. Ha d a great time. My only regret was not upgrading to the seats with more room for the flight back. we flew United and traveled thru Denver. Comming back we transfered in SF.


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## cissy (Oct 13, 2009)

Absolutely!


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## Michigan Czar (Oct 13, 2009)

Nope, not crazy, if you have been there before and plan to relax and see a few sites I would go. Great airfare, Ko Olina is a great resort, and with the trade the price is right!


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## GregT (Oct 13, 2009)

I would definitely go for 5 full days -- the flight out will be reasonable because you're looking forward to your trip -- it will be the flight back that will be the depressing one -- if you can sleep on a redeye, you can get pretty far anyway, so it will make it more manageable.

That's the logic I use when I go east to the Caribbean -- a long long way to go for less than a full week (usually 6 functional days), but I don't regret it when I'm there!

Good luck to you...

Greg


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## Zac495 (Oct 13, 2009)

Not me - the jet lag killed me. I think 5 full days in Oahu is plenty of time to do Oahu, but not enough time to recover from the flight. I guess it depends how well you do with jet lag.


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## JeffW (Oct 13, 2009)

A lot depends on what you get on flight times.  I'm going on Continental out for Newark next week.  Early morning departure gets us to HNL by 1245pm.  On the return, we have a nonstop that leaves HNL at 9pm, arrives EWR (next day) 11am.  

Jeff


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## jestme (Oct 13, 2009)

I would go. If the price is right, I'd rather go there than spend 6.0 hours getting to the Caribbean. By the time you count airport check in time, etc. Jet lag will be an issue, but the fact you are asking makes me believe you already knew that.


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## cissy (Oct 14, 2009)

To clarify my previous post, I meant absolutely you should go.  Enjoy!


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## trachda (Oct 14, 2009)

yes we are going we got a 2 bedroom at Ko olina and we are excited does anybody have any suggestions on how to approach getting a room with an oceanview at such a short notice.
Karen


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## jehb2 (Oct 14, 2009)

I was just going to add you should definitely go.


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## post-it (Oct 14, 2009)

Karen,

I'm glad you made your decision to go!  Have a great time.


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## ajsmithtx (Oct 14, 2009)

Go and have a relaxing time!:whoopie:


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## cgeidl (Oct 16, 2009)

*Jet Lag Vacation equation*

Total up the entire hours en route including delays and getting to the airport and thru screening. DIvide by 2 and this is the minimum time for flying somewhere. If the total hours is 22 you need 11 days to make the trip worthwhile. This equation can be used worldwide.


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## brigechols (Oct 16, 2009)

trachda said:


> yes we are going we got a 2 bedroom at Ko olina and we are excited does anybody have any suggestions on how to approach getting a room with an oceanview at such a short notice.
> Karen



I would call the resort prior to arrival and request an oceanview room. It may help to mention that you are a Marriott owner at another resort. Have a great time!


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## Lv2Trvl (Oct 16, 2009)

*Enjoy the trip!*

We did the opposite (for distance) a few years ago - San Francisco to Paris and back in 5 days (including the travel) and thoroughly enjoyed the trip.  So 5 days plus travel time will be lots of wonderful time on the beaches of Hawaii.  We were busy the whole time in Paris and would do it again even if we could not squeeze out a couple more days.

We are leaving in the morning for Kauai for the week ... ready to go now!   

Aloha!


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## trachda (Oct 16, 2009)

Kauai is our favorite island but on 3 weeks short notice and few days I'll take Ohau especially since we just spend 2 weeks in Kauai over the summer.


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## RDB (Oct 16, 2009)

Depends how you wish to enjoy your dollars.

We wish to take in Maui and Kauai, but we have a month to spare.  The thing that bothers us... total transportation prices.  This is only for Maui. Add a flight fare, over to Kauai, to that and over $800 for auto rentals.
--------------------------------------------------

1 traveler, round-trip (30 days, 29 nights)    
Total airfare, taxes and fees:   *$ 1309.38 *
Then there's additional fee for checked baggage. 

Sat, Oct 31  Depart: 6:55 am  Hampton/Newport News/Williamsburg, VA (PHF)  US Airways 2545

operated by US Airways Express - PSA Airlines
 US Airways 1119      2+ stops  
   Arrive: 5:09 pm  Maui, HI (OGG)  US Airways 429  

Sat, Nov 28  Depart: 11:35 pm  Kahului/Maui, HI (OGG)  US Airways 31
US Airways 304
 2+ stops  
   Arrive: 7:57 pm next day  Hampton/Newport News/Williamsburg, VA (PHF)  US Airways 4338 
operated by US Airways Express - Piedmont Airlines 
---------------------------------------------------------

There's two of us. I figure well over $3400 for transportation alone.

*Where do I find rates like you mention?*

Robert


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## LisaRex (Oct 17, 2009)

RDB said:


> Sat, Nov 28  Depart: 11:35 pm  Kahului/Maui, HI (OGG)  US Airways 31
> US Airways 304
> 2+ stops
> Arrive: 7:57 pm next day  Hampton/Newport News/Williamsburg, VA (PHF)  US Airways 4338
> operated by US Airways Express - Piedmont Airlines



Your return flight is one of the weekends straddling Thanksgiving.  They jack up the rates for holiday travel.  If you could travel home one week later, or two weeks earlier, your airfare would be much more reasonable.


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## RDB (Oct 17, 2009)

*Much better. Thanks for the reminder.*

Dumb me.   I know better, and what a difference. *However, I see nothing close to the Airline price of $498. Where should I be looking? *
.................................................................
Total price for this trip: $1,430.20  
Average price per passenger: $715.10  
-------------------------------------------------

Traveling to Kahului    Sat 31-Oct-09  

Newport News (PHF)   Depart 6:55 am   
 Thru Denver (DEN)  to   Kahului (OGG)
Arrive 3:10 pm  3,287 mi

 Total duration:  (14hr 15mn with connections)  
 ------------------------------------------------

Traveling to Newport News 
   Sat 5-Dec-09  

 Kahului (OGG)    Depart 9:34 pm  
    thru  Los Angeles (LAX)    and  Atlanta (ATL)

  to   Newport News (PHF)  Arrive 4:49 pm   

 Total duration: 11hr 4mn (14hr 15mn with connections)  
 ---------------------------------------------------------
 Of course + fees. Airline 1st Checked Bag 2nd Checked Bag Premium Seat Selection Meals 
US Airways $15.00  each way 
 $25.00  each way 
 No information available  $3.00 - $7.00  per item 

UNITED $15.00 - $20.00  each way 
 $25.00 - $30.00  each way 
 No information available  $3.00 - $9.00  per item 

  That's for *nonrefundable *Tickets. A fee of $150.00 per ticket will be charged for itinerary changes after the tickets are issued, provided that the booking rules were followed.


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## SDtwins (Oct 17, 2009)

Karen,

We live in SoCal, so the flight time is not as long. We frequently go for long weekends. I wouldn't hesitate to do as you have planned.

Erik


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## MissTins (Oct 17, 2009)

I would absolutely go!


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## alwysonvac (Oct 18, 2009)

RDB said:


> *Where do I find rates like you mention?*



Try the various Fare Calendars. 

For example, Continental's Fare Calendar is showing $498 rates (not including tax) from EWR to HNL for a seven night stay (see fares below). 
You can get to Continental's Fare Calendar by selecting my "My Dates are Flexible" from the "Flight Search Page". This option is located above the text box where you would normally indicate your travel dates. 
http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/apps/booking/flight/searchRT.aspx


```
Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
		20-Oct	21-Oct	22-Oct	23-Oct	24-Oct
		From	From	From	From	From
		$1,089 	$989 	[COLOR="red"][B]$498 [/B][/COLOR]	$1,580 	$1,480 

25-Oct	26-Oct	27-Oct	28-Oct	29-Oct	30-Oct	31-Oct
From	From	From	From	From	From	From
$548 	[COLOR="red"][B]$498 	$498 	$498 	$498 	$498 [/B][/COLOR]	$794 

1-Nov	2-Nov	3-Nov	4-Nov	5-Nov	6-Nov	7-Nov
From	From	From	From	From	From	From
$548 	[COLOR="red"][B]$498 	$498 	$498 	$498 [/B][/COLOR]	$821 	$867 

8-Nov	9-Nov	10-Nov	11-Nov	12-Nov	13-Nov	14-Nov
From	From	From	From	From	From	From
[COLOR="red"][B]$498 	$498 	$498 	$498 [/B][/COLOR]	$624 	$701 	$661 

15-Nov	16-Nov	17-Nov	18-Nov	19-Nov	20-Nov	21-Nov
From	From	From	From	From	From	From
$661 	$701 	$851 	$636 	$867 	$1,232 	$1,422 

22-Nov	23-Nov	24-Nov	25-Nov	26-Nov	27-Nov	28-Nov
From	From	From	From	From	From	From
$1,356 	$1,182 	$1,062 	$997 	$719 	$591 	$867 

29-Nov	30-Nov	1-Dec	2-Dec	3-Dec	4-Dec	5-Dec
From	From	From	From	From	From	From
$598 	$523 	$548 	[COLOR="red"][B]$498 	$498 [/B][/COLOR]	$548 	$621 

6-Dec	7-Dec	8-Dec	9-Dec	10-Dec	11-Dec	12-Dec
From	From	From	From	From	From	From
$548 	[COLOR="Red"][B]$498 [/B][/COLOR]	$548 	$548 	$674 	$744 	$744
```


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## Kauai Kid (Oct 18, 2009)

Hope you don't have any pressing or important engagements for the week following you Hawaii vacation.  Always takes me the better part of a week to recover from the return flite.

Sterling


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## LisaRex (Oct 18, 2009)

Because of my husband's work schedule, we've always traveled for just a week in the past.  We generally leave early Saturday morning and catch a Saturday evening red-eye home, ultimately arriving home on Sunday afternoon.  (Note: Our TS check-in is on a Saturday, so we travel on Saturday.  If you're not a slave to a weekend check-in, you can save a lot of money on flights traveling on Tue/Wed.)

Going for a relatively short time is doable.  The flight out isn't bad at all because you're traveling with the sun.  I'd definitely advise arriving mid-afternoon (3-4pm), while it's still light out, if at all possible.  We've arrived at 7pm before and there was a palatable difference in our energy level.  Driving along those dark coastal roads at 8pm, when it feels like 2am and you've been up for 24 hours, isn't fun.

When we go for just a week, we never fully adjust to the new time zone but it's not a huge deal.  A lot of activities require getting up before or at the crack of dawn anyway.  For instance, if you do the sunrise at Haleakala bike ride, they'll pick you up around 3am from your hotel.  It's no big deal for us East Coasters to be ready at 3am because 3am Hawaii time is 8-9am back home.  Because it's on the eastern end of their time zone, the sun rises and sets early on the islands, so just plan to set your wake/sleep pattern with the sun and forget the clock on the wall. 

Just don't tell your friends that you never went to bed later than 8pm.   

If you can sleep at all on the ride home, it helps tremendously.  If we're able, I try to book coach out and first class on the way home.  Being able to be comfortable is the difference between arriving home feeling like a zombie and arriving home feeling like a zombie who's been on a ten day bender. But I've had no difficulty going to work on Monday morning and functioning just fine.


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## RDB (Oct 18, 2009)

*I appreciate the tips.*



alwysonvac said:


> Try the various Fare Calendars.
> 
> For example, Continental's Fare Calendar is showing $498 rates (not including tax) from EWR to HNL for a seven night stay (see fares below).
> You can get to Continental's Fare Calendar by selecting my "My Dates are Flexible" from the "Flight Search Page". ... [/code]



R/T from EWR to HNL is $620 per person in Mar/Apr.
Add inter-island hops for Maui & Kauai.
Add R/T flight Newport News to EWR (to take advantage of their "special rates"... We are back to $1145 + tax/fees each.

Maybe we need to cancel all medical appointments and go now... Probably better for our health.


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## ownsmany (Oct 18, 2009)

I'd do it in a heartbeat if I could find cheap air.


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## LisaRex (Oct 18, 2009)

RDB said:


> R/T from EWR to HNL is $620 per person in Mar/Apr.
> Add inter-island hops for Maui & Kauai.
> Add R/T flight Newport News to EWR (to take advantage of their "special rates"... We are back to $1145 + tax/fees each.



FYI, some airlines (e.g. United and Delta) allow you to book a mix and match islands.  For instance, for our June 2010 trip, we are flying into Big Island and home from Maui on the same r/t itinerary on Delta.  That means we only need to book one intraisland ticket from Big Island to Maui.


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## jestme (Oct 18, 2009)

Is it just me, or maybe it's just time sharing, but more than 150 million people in the country would give their eye teeth to see Hawaii once in their life, and some are wondering if it is worth it to only go for a week. Hmmmm.


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## LisaRex (Oct 18, 2009)

jestme said:


> Is it just me, or maybe it's just time sharing, but more than 150 million people in the country would give their eye teeth to see Hawaii once in their life, and some are wondering if it is worth it to only go for a week. Hmmmm.



My parents were invited to go to Hawaii (for free) and they passed.  They don't want to be on a plane that long.  Seriously.


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## WalnutBaron (Oct 19, 2009)

trachda said:


> I already took into account the travewl days and we would have 5 full days there.  Airline price is $498 and funny enough $528 to go to Aruba and $428 for St Thomas
> Karen



Since you love Hawaii and know what to expect, I say go for it!


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