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First time in Hawaii - Need advice

njny2000

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Planning our first trip to Hawaii and would like some advice from you seasoned Tugg'ers.
We are planning to use the winter break (Fri. 2/16 to Sun. 2/25) for our trip to Maui or Oahu.There will be 4 of us (DW and two daughters - 9 and 7).

I would like to use my United miles for the airfare, unfortunately they only have award travel from Mon 2/19 so I can book say from Mon 2/19 to Tue 2/28.

But this poses a challenge with renting a TS for those dates. The best option I see on redweek is from 2/18 to 2/25 with no oceanfront (DW would really like oceanfront). I see oceanfront options for 2/17 to 2/24. So if I book a TS, I will waste at least 1-2 days of my stay and will still have to find a place to live for 1-2 day after the TS rental.

So here is my question: We really like renting TS and have rented them for our last 4 beach vacations. But in this case, do you think I am making it more complicated necessary or are there options? Are there comparable hotels I should look at? Advise?

Thanks,
Sam
 

jnsywg

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You can stay at the Westin timeshare properties like a hotel guest by booking via www.spg.com. This includes bookings by the night.

On Maui you can also look at something like http://www.honuakai.com.

Planning our first trip to Hawaii and would like some advice from you seasoned Tugg'ers.
We are planning to use the winter break (Fri. 2/16 to Sun. 2/25) for our trip to Maui or Oahu.There will be 4 of us (DW and two daughters - 9 and 7).

I would like to use my United miles for the airfare, unfortunately they only have award travel from Mon 2/19 so I can book say from Mon 2/19 to Tue 2/28.

But this poses a challenge with renting a TS for those dates. The best option I see on redweek is from 2/18 to 2/25 with no oceanfront (DW would really like oceanfront). I see oceanfront options for 2/17 to 2/24. So if I book a TS, I will waste at least 1-2 days of my stay and will still have to find a place to live for 1-2 day after the TS rental.

So here is my question: We really like renting TS and have rented them for our last 4 beach vacations. But in this case, do you think I am making it more complicated necessary or are there options? Are there comparable hotels I should look at? Advise?

Thanks,
Sam
 

njny2000

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Thanks, I will check those two out, but I am under the impression that renting TS will be significant saving over comparable hotel/resort.
 

vacationtime1

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Thanks, I will check those two out, but I am under the impression that renting TS will be significant saving over comparable hotel/resort.

Your "impression" is quite correct. It will also be cheaper than AirBnB, vrbo, etc.

And the problem you describe -- expensive airfares on Saturdays -- is similarly accurate.

If using frequent flyer miles is a necessity -- which airfares from the east coast makes likely -- your best bet may be renting a Sunday to Sunday timeshare, checking in a day late, and renting a hotel for the last two nights. Not optimal, but probably cheaper than paying for flights.
 

WalnutBaron

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I agree with Robert's assessment. Ultimately, I think you're going to have to build a little spreadsheet to help you analyze the overall costs to determine which option gives you the highest cost savings. Here are your options: 1) United miles for airfare, but paying hotel room costs for a few nights until you can bridge to one of the timeshares' check-in dates; 2) Pay for airfare and have your desired check-in dates for timeshare, avoiding hotel room fares; 3) (if you have hotel points), using United miles, hotel points, and timeshare to achieve the lowest overall cost.

I suspect that since you'll be paying for four airline tickets, Option 1 will work best for you--unless you have hotel points that can be used for 2-3 free nights to bridge you to a timeshare check-in date.

In any case, you and your family will LOVE Hawaii. It will create many happy memories, and you'll start planning your return trip as soon as you get back home. Aloha!
 

taterhed

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Sounds like a great family trip.

A word of caution: We're east-coasters and frequent travelers. We go to Hawaii every year and are VERY familiar with dragging family on the 10 hour and 41 minute flight (if you're lucky enough to go direct) from EC to Hawaii. Then comes the inter-island flight. Spending less than 7 days in HI from the EC is brutal and not recommended. Ok, so you're not doing that. But, spending 7 days and moving resorts and locations really cuts into your beach/fun time. It's hard to move groceries, clean toys/clothes etc and schlupp the gang across town/island. Plus, that's peak week time. I'd look at better airfare combos, companion tickets etc... and sticking with a timeshare that has availability for the whole start/stop days of travel. Most timeshares are Fri, Sat, Sun check-ins. That is very peak time, so reservations won't be plentiful and/or cheap I think.

Suggest this: How about using miles for NJ to SFO or LAX or SEA or SAC, then using another means to get to Maui OGG or HNL? There are many cheaper fares from West Coast to HI. Also, I think you might be able to apply for Alaskan credit card (both you and wife could get one...) and get companion fares. Not sure, but an option. Also, check Hawaiian Air fares from non-peak airports (Sacramento or Phoenix) for bargains. I'd choose island based on cheaper air fare if there was a significant difference.

Maui vs Oahu.
Depends on the famdamily. IMHO

If the family has been watching re-runs of Hawaii 5-0, they are in for a disappointment (old series). But, if they expect the Waikiki vibe....well, you can only get that from Honolulu IMHO. That particular vibe includes tons of asphalt, tons of cars, concrete, hi-rises, shopping, bars etc... Lots of traffic during rush hours. It's not bad, it's just Honolulu. The monuments are great, the shopping, bars and hi-rise vibe is very cool. It's not my favorite though. The drive from the airport to downtown is about 45 mins at rush. 10 mins otherwise. The drive to KoOlina is about 45 mins. If you are shoppers, restaurant goers, bar hoppers and fashionista's, then HNL is for you.

Maui has great beaches, snorkeling, awesome resorts and lots of island vibe to go with it. The volcano looks like mars, the coastal drives are primitive and there is a good sampling of restaurants, some limited shopping and bars in the smaller cities (and at the resorts of course). If you're going to Hawaii to sit on the beach, have a drink by the pool, make some meals in the timeshare, walk in the sand, stare at the ocean, see the volcanos, see rain forest, dessert, moonscape all in 30minutes drive....then Maui is for you. I think Maui is our new favorite; Kauai being second. The drive from the airport to Kaanapali is about 30-45 mins, less if no traffic. The road from the airport to the resorts gets busy, but traffic in the resort areas is much less congested than HNL.

If I could do it....I thought it might just be a one time or long-time deal....I'd definitely do Maui. All for one reason: Whales. The whale viewing in Maui is spectacular. The ridged zodiac boat tour (I'll look it up) is fantastic. Being close to a whale, on the water is a once in a lifetime must do for me. Others may correct me, but I think the whale viewing on Oahu is much less thrilling and I can't imagine the whale watching tours to be as good as 'whale soup' at Maui.

If there's anything else you need to know, just ask. Make a good TS week reservation, book the best airfare possible for those dates and enjoy your vaca.
 

WinniWoman

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Since you are going so far you might want to think of going to two islands instead of one. Maybe Maui and Kauai, or Kauai and the Big Island or whatever. No matter what, you will have to land in Oahu first- so depending on how you plan your connecting island flights- either coming or going- you might be able to get a bit of Honolulu in and Pearl Harbor.

Our last trip there we stayed in an exchange timeshare on Kauai- rented a couple of extra nights at that resort- to make it coincide with our second exchange timeshare week- which was on the Big lsland. Then, on the way home we took a red eye back to NY, so we had some down time on Oahu and went to Pearl Harbor and had dinner in Honolulu..
 

taterhed

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Since you are going so far you might want to think of going to two islands instead of one. Maybe Maui and Kauai, or Kauai and the Big Island or whatever. No matter what, you will have to land in Oahu first- so depending on how you plan your connecting island flights- either coming or going- you might be able to get a bit of Honolulu in and Pearl Harbor.

Our last trip there we stayed in an exchange timeshare on Kauai- rented a couple of extra nights at that resort- to make it coincide with our second exchange timeshare week- which was on the Big lsland. Then, on the way home we took a red eye back to NY, so we had some down time on Oahu and went to Pearl Harbor and had dinner in Honolulu..

Actually, there are many airlines that fly direct to OGG, LIH, KOA (and of course HNL) from the west coast. LAX, SFO and SEA all have direct flights to all the islands..
Breaking a westcoast trip (EWR, JFK or LGA) up into two equal legs (EWR to SFO, SFO to OGG) doesn't add much time to the over all itinerary, but certainly makes the 12 hours more bearable.
Also, NOT having to drag your bags in HNL to change airplanes is HUGE. You should get automatic bag transfer in any mainland airport. That connecting bag drag/ag inspection is the bane of my existence sometimes.

Also, I think there are some better fares available (points too) by looking at alternate routes between 'joisey and the islands other than HNL direct.

Just my2c, but lots of experience with this. Just scanning the fares right now, I see a $300 dollar difference EWR-HNL vs the SFO connection. YMMV
 

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There is only one way I would try to do 2 islands on a short 9 night trip:

1) Fly into Oahu and spend 2 nights in a hotel to see the historical and cultural sights.
2) Fly to your 2nd destination, and spend 7 night, and fly home from that island (if possible.)
 

taterhed

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Um...the vacation is actually 7 days (barely). It's just that he can't get airfare via points from when vacation starts--Friday to Sunday (or Sat-Sat, Sun-Sun etc...), but only Mon-Mon or Mon-Tue etc..... No timeshare check-ins on Mon or Tue apparently .

In fact, if you leave EWR on Friday, you'll be lucky to make 4pm check-in on Saturday in Hawaii due to travel time. Same going home only worse.
Leave Hawaii at noon on Sunday.......you'll be back late on Monday and useless on Tuesday morning for school or work.

So, think carefully: Leave on Fri or Sat and plan for the brutal return to east coast time from Hawaii (6 hours on the time zone, 12 hours on the airplane plus)

I agree with Denise: I would not do two islands in 7 days.
 

DeniseM

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From the first post:
We are planning to use the winter break (Fri. 2/16 to Sun. 2/25) for our trip to Maui or Oahu

I belive this is 9 nights, and as I said, the only way I would do 2 islands (as suggested in post #7) is 2 days on Oahu and 7 on Maui.

If they are only going to go for 7 nights - they should just do one island.
 

taterhed

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You are correct, but (perhaps the OP can respond)

I'm guessing that the first practical day for departure would be Friday (16)....arrive late Friday or early Saturday (17)
I'm also guessing that the crew needs to be back in school on Monday (26)...that means leave Saturday (24) arrive Sunday (25)
Probably only 7 or 8 nights

So....I'm thinking the 9 days thing was only to accommodate the available booking dates for reward miles. In any case, you loose 1 or 2 nights depending on the departure date time and the lost day on the way home. I'm pretty sure the family doesn't want to land at midnight and send the kids back to school at 6am. Or maybe they really do!!! :rolleyes: So mom and dad can get some sleep.

I mean yeah, if you've got 8 or 9 full nights to see two islands, then maybe. But, if the real issue here is price sensitivity on airline tickets and rooms....then island hopping with a family of (4?) is probably not the best use of vacation dollars. Especially for east-coasters who spend 12 hours in the plane/airport on both ends of the trip as well.

One note/thought: The first night arriving from the mainland is ideal for a hotel at the airport stay. By staying in a (cheaper) hotel by the airport, you get some quick rest after the long flight and save the cost of a rental car day (in some cases). Now you are able to be ready to check-in as soon as possible the next day and not waste a valuable day of expensive resort time. Checking into a $300 a night timeshare at midnight local to sleep (and sleep in the next day) is not the best use of the resort IMHO.

Alternatively, if you use the NJ-San Fran-Hawaii type of routing, you could grab an airport hotel room at SFO (especially if you leave late out of NJ) and eat/sleep the night on the west coast. The next day, you can grab the earliest flight from the west coast location to Hawaii. These flights tend to be cheaper than later connecting flights, get you into Hawaii ahead of some of the crowd and again, avoid wasting an expensive night in HI when you're just dead tired.

Just some stuff to consider. Hope it helps. Sorry Denise, I can usually count, but not always!
 

WinniWoman

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Actually, there are many airlines that fly direct to OGG, LIH, KOA (and of course HNL) from the west coast. LAX, SFO and SEA all have direct flights to all the islands..
Breaking a westcoast trip (EWR, JFK or LGA) up into two equal legs (EWR to SFO, SFO to OGG) doesn't add much time to the over all itinerary, but certainly makes the 12 hours more bearable.
Also, NOT having to drag your bags in HNL to change airplanes is HUGE. You should get automatic bag transfer in any mainland airport. That connecting bag drag/ag inspection is the bane of my existence sometimes.

Also, I think there are some better fares available (points too) by looking at alternate routes between 'joisey and the islands other than HNL direct.

Just my2c, but lots of experience with this. Just scanning the fares right now, I see a $300 dollar difference EWR-HNL vs the SFO connection. YMMV


I am only familiar with flights that stopped on the West Coast (from NY) and then again in Honolulu and then flew from there to the islands. I don't remember what happened with our luggage but it might have been forwarded to the next flight by the airline? I honestly can't remember but I know we did not lug our suitcases around with us.

When we did the two islands we did a 19 day trip- 2: 8 days/7 nights timeshare weeks and 3 days in between rental. We were a family of 3. Our son was about 14 years old.

Then again, we did 4 islands for our honeymoon 40 years ago in 14 days. Hotels.

Honestly, because the OP is coming from the East coast, I would not even consider going to Hawaii for less than 2 weeks.
 
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While doing Ohau and Honolulu if you have never been there is a good idea. If your family has never done a long flight vacation I would suggest you hold off on the 2 Island deal to a 2nd and 3rd trip. Just go to Maui or Kauai for this first trip. There will be so many things for you to do on either of these Islands that you will stay busy. Once you make up your mind as to Island or Islands pickup a copy (ies) of Maui Revealed or Kauai Revealed.
 

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Wow, thanks for all the detailed suggestions. very helpful! Oh, I wish I was able to do more days, but 9 days/ 8 nights is most we can do.

Anyhow, finally decided (and pulled the trigger) to use my United miles to book the airfare with the following Itinerary:

Mon 2/19: NJ to Ohau. Booking a Oceanfront Marriott TS listed at the TUG Marketplace (I will lose one night but no regrets..I think it is worth it)
Sun 2/25: Checkout and morning flight to Honolulu. Now need to find 2 nights stay in Honolulu. Any recommendation on the area / hotel to make the most out of our 2 days in Honolulu?
Tues 2/27: direct flight back to NJ

Once again, I greatly appreciate you all taking the time to respond to my post.
 

geist1223

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I am confused. NJ to Ohau on 2/19 then on 2/25 checkout and morning flight to Honolulu. Ohau and Honolulu are one and the same. I assume that on 2/19 after arriving on Ohau you take a flight to another Island and then fly back to Ohau/Honolulu on 2/25.
 

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Cool..
I hope you're landing OGG at 5pm and not one of the 10 or 11pm flights.
I also hope both the primary and connecting flight are on the same itinerary (booking reference).
I also hope that it's UAL and Hawaiian Air.
I'm not certain of the current status of affairs, but at one point, you could not check you luggage all the way thru to OGG unless both flights were booked on the same itinerary and were compatible carriers (UAL and HA are, I think). There is also a minimum connection time. Otherwise, the luggage will make the next flight. Not a long delay, but it can catch you.
I'd confirm the above issues ahead of time. Perhaps others can help.

Be aware, the drive from Maui Airport to Kaanapali Beach (MOC) is a 28 mile drive that takes at least 45 mins. You'll be leaving the airport at rush hour, but the traffic will dissipate by the time you get the car and groceries. The drive is mixed: city traffic, highway traffic, 2 lane road with steep drop-offs and two lane plane old country road. The locals in Hawaii (in general) drive a bit more aggressive than the tourists. The tourists drive, well...., like tourists. Be very careful, you'll be driving at 6 or 7pm local, but it will be well after midnight on your home (circadian) east coast time. Lots of speed changes and stop/go traffic.

Right by the airport is a fabulous Costco. Get the car and roll into the parking lot of Costco. Stock up, one stop shop for food, drinks, toys, booze and vaca supplies. The Costco beach gear can be as cheap as 1 or 2 rentals from the beachside rental vendor. Food, groceries and beverages will NOT be cheaper anywhere else...at least for what we eat/drink. The Pineapple Marg's (pre-mix) are worth a look. Behind the Costco (town side) is a Krispy Kreme donut factory. My advice? Plug mom and dad full of hot coffee to make the drive and unpack and first night tolerable and awake. Plug the kids full of hot steaming fresh Krispy crème donuts and a big ice-cold milk. That should put the kids to sleep and make the drive smoother. :p

Near the MOC: happy hour at Maui brewery is good for some good cheap eats and some cold bevs. Trolley service from MOC to brewpub I think. Capt Steve's rafting (zodiac whale tour) leaves from dock in Lahaina and is an amazing tour. Not for the faint of heart though. If you don't like powering through waves and being 'close to the water' then try one of the big catamaran tours...book early though...they fill up quick. The big steel boats are fine, but the experience is more 'Staten Island Ferry with whales' than an exciting adventure--my opinion.
Pretty decent snorkeling right in front of the MOC (and to the right) and turtles often beach in front of the resorts. Keep at least 6' away from turtles, the conservation folks will come running to rope them off or shew you away.

For downtime in the resort (if there is such a thing) consider bringing a ROKU or Fire stick. Good for rainy days or sunburn or just a quick movie night. Work great on the MOC TV's.

Have a great time! Report back.



Waikiki
Not sure if you have any military affiliations....there is a good military hotel in HNL. Otherwise, there are many, many hotels. The outriggers are nice.
IF you have affiliations with travel industry, Costco, military, fire, police, unions etc... there are a number of sights that have nightly rentals for a discount, some at timeshares, hotels, condos etc... Worth a look.

The Outrigger, Hyatt, Westin beachfront hotels (not OF rooms) look to be around $250-300 night. All nice.
The off-beach hotels, Hilton Garden Inn and similar are around $200.
I don't have any experience with the <$200 a night hotels.
 

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I hope you're landing OGG at 5pm and not one of the 10 or 11pm flights. - Check, flight lands at 6:10 PM
I also hope both the primary and connecting flight are on the same itinerary (booking reference). Check, everything on same booking with UAL
I also hope that it's UAL and Hawaiian Air. Check, UAL and Hawaiian
I'm not certain of the current status of affairs, but at one point, you could not check you luggage all the way thru to OGG unless both flights were booked on the same itinerary and were compatible carriers (UAL and HA are, I think). There is also a minimum connection time. Otherwise, the luggage will make the next flight. Not a long delay, but it can catch you.
I'd confirm the above issues ahead of time. Perhaps others can help. UAL flight get in at HNL at 2:40 PM with flight to HNL to OGG at 5:30 PM, so hopefully we should be fine

Great suggestion with the Costco ( I am a member), I will absolutely purchase everything needed before heading to the resort.

Question: Do you advise booking a car for the approx. two days we are in Honolulu or is the public transportation (or Uber) systems good enough for us to do some sightseeing (WWII memorial etc.)?

 

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The bus and uber in HNL is fine. The bus people get really upset if you drag too much luggage on the bus. So, don't try the 5 suitcase thing. Ask me how I know...:oops:
Car parking, rental fees will set you back a bunch. Traffic is not good. skip the car. Take a bus to Diamond head if you want.

The uber isn't cheap (check estimated pricing) but there are shuttles as well. If you're planning on doing pearl, read the reviews, get the tour information and book ahead. They fill up. Make sure your kid's (age unknown) are aware of the keen sense of respect and honor around the memorial. They take it seriously (as they should).

The market and other sites in HNL are fun. Lots of tourist stuff. Dukes, Rumfire, Kona Brewery, Moana, are all great beach front bar/restaurants. Very nice beachy feel.
The best souvenirs (IMHO) have got to be the Crazy Shirts. Look it up. They run $30-35 bucks, but they are quality, last a long time and come very nicely wrapped in cellophane bags with a nice packaging. You can get them customized with a loc/date stamp. Toys and knick-knacks break, but the shirts live on and on. The wine/beer/chocolate/curacao dyed shirts are fun to talk about. my closet is littered with them.

He who wears the Maui Brewery Crazy Shirt to Maui Brewery on Weds drinks $4 pints. Cheap flatbreads on happy hour (I think):thumbup:

m_574b5bdcf092829aff04a025.jpg
 

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If you decide to do several days on Oahu and renting a car, avoiding traffic will be the most important part of your trip planning.

I would look at the new Embassy Suites in Kapolei as an option for someone who is spending a couple of days on Oahu and then going to a neighbor island resort for a week. You will need to plan around rush hour traffic if you are doing things town side. However, you will have a brand new hotel. It will not be next to the beach. However, you can visit nearby Koolina or White Plains Beach while you are there.

http://embassysuites3.hilton.com/en...tes-by-hilton-oahu-kapolei-JRFOKES/index.html
 
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Good plan. For adults Patti and my favorite drink is POG (Passion Fruit Juice, Orange Juice, and Gauva Juice) and Dark Koloa Rum (from Kauai) with ice. You can buy both at Costco. If you enjoy zip lining try Piiholo Ranch. They offer two courses. One is a Tree Top Tour. The other is basically a 5 zip back and forth across a canyon. Each segment is longer than segments on the Tree Top Tour and the final zip is over a half mile long. This is a side by side zip line. Patti and I have done both over the past 5 years. We are currently 63.

Can't give you advice about Kaanapali area as we stay in the Kihei area. You will want to fine a place for good Loco Moco in Kaanapali. Some of the best coffee we have ever had is Maui Mokka Estate. You can find them at 277 Lahainaluna Road, Lahaina, next to the Pioneer Mill Smokestack. We enjoyed the Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Museum. Have a great time.
 

dsmrp

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If you decide to do several days on Oahu and renting a car, avoiding traffic will be the most important part of your trip planning.

I would look at the new Embassy Suites in Kapolei as an option for someone who is spending a couple of days on Oahu and then going to a neighbor island resort for a week. You will need to plan around rush hour traffic if you are doing things town side. However, you will have a brand new hotel. It will not be next to the beach. However, you can visit nearby Koolina or White Plains Beach while you are there.
http://embassysuites3.hilton.com/en...tes-by-hilton-oahu-kapolei-JRFOKES/index.html

+1 for staying in Kapolei, as it's also closer to the Arizona Memorial (need reservations). And for cheaper souvenirs you can also hit the Aloha Stadium swap meet :) Also can go to the touristy Dole plantation by Wahiawa (their pineapple whip drink is tasty).
Just gotta remember to plan your trips cross-flow to local rush hour. In the morning, traffic is going eastbound into Honolulu, and in afternoon (3-6) westbound back to Kapolei, Waipahu, Pearl City etc.
Can also take scenic H3 from Aiea to Kaneohe; scenic for passengers, not for driver .

The best souvenirs (IMHO) have got to be the Crazy Shirts. Look it up. They run $30-35 bucks, but they are quality, last a long time and come very nicely wrapped in cellophane bags with a nice packaging. You can get them customized with a loc/date stamp. Toys and knick-knacks break, but the shirts live on and on. The wine/beer/chocolate/curacao dyed shirts are fun to talk about. my closet is littered with them.

The Ward center Crazy Shirt location is their outlet store. I usually hit them up when I'm in Honolulu.
Somehow I thought they were closing, but think I mixed them up with the next door Ward Warehouse mall which is closing to make way for (i think) condos. Prime real estate, across the street from Fisherman's wharf, so ocean views... and prime prices ;) Anyway I think the Crazy Shirt Ward store is still open. I'll check when I'm there again around Thanksgiving.
 

easyrider

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Wow, thanks for all the detailed suggestions. very helpful! Oh, I wish I was able to do more days, but 9 days/ 8 nights is most we can do.

Anyhow, finally decided (and pulled the trigger) to use my United miles to book the airfare with the following Itinerary:

Mon 2/19: NJ to Ohau. Booking a Oceanfront Marriott TS listed at the TUG Marketplace (I will lose one night but no regrets..I think it is worth it)
Sun 2/25: Checkout and morning flight to Honolulu. Now need to find 2 nights stay in Honolulu. Any recommendation on the area / hotel to make the most out of our 2 days in Honolulu?
Tues 2/27: direct flight back to NJ

Once again, I greatly appreciate you all taking the time to respond to my post.


The Courtyard by Marriott on the North Shore is really close to Polynesian Cultural Center, Banzai Pipeline and Sunset Beach and Turtle Bay and includes a decent continental breakfast.

Bill
 

Caligirlfrtx

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Actually, there are many airlines that fly direct to OGG, LIH, KOA (and of course HNL) from the west coast. LAX, SFO and SEA all have direct flights to all the islands..
Breaking a westcoast trip (EWR, JFK or LGA) up into two equal legs (EWR to SFO, SFO to OGG) doesn't add much time to the over all itinerary, but certainly makes the 12 hours more bearable.
Also, NOT having to drag your bags in HNL to change airplanes is HUGE. You should get automatic bag transfer in any mainland airport. That connecting bag drag/ag inspection is the bane of my existence sometimes.

Also, I think there are some better fares available (points too) by looking at alternate routes between 'joisey and the islands other than HNL direct.

Just my2c, but lots of experience with this. Just scanning the fares right now, I see a $300 dollar difference EWR-HNL vs the SFO connection. YMMV
There is only one way I would try to do 2 islands on a short 9 night trip:

1) Fly into Oahu and spend 2 nights in a hotel to see the historical and cultural sights.
2) Fly to your 2nd destination, and spend 7 night, and fly home from that island (if possible.)
This may have just solved my delima. Great idea! I'm trying to plan Hawaii from the east coast, stopping in Ca for cheaper fares then to Hawaii for two weeks. Must see the historical sites but don't necessarily need to spend too long there, final destination would be Hiltons on the BI for two weeks.
 
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