Advice for travel to Hawaii

[deniseh]

We are looking to travel to Hawaii in the next year or two. We live on the east coast near Philly so I know the travel days will be long. Just looking for advice on how best to make the trip, better to take two days to travel? Also what's a good time frame for a vacation there? Our preference is probably to stay on one island as we need to get some r&r while on vacation along with sightseeing.

 

[JIMinNC]

We are looking to travel to Hawaii in the next year or two. We live on the east coast near Philly so I know the travel days will be long. Just looking for advice on how best to make the trip, better to take two days to travel? Also what's a good time frame for a vacation there? Our preference is probably to stay on one island as we need to get some r&r while on vacation along with sightseeing.

We've personally never been big fans of spreading the air travel over two days, although there are some folks who swear by that approach. I guess if you are the kind of person who hates long plane flights then maybe breaking it up world work for you, but for my 2-cents, we would never do that. I want to get to where I'm going as soon as possible and minimize the days wasted to travel. That means flying all the way with as few stops/layovers as possible. From Philly, you'll have many routing options. From our home in Charlotte, we've done it many ways over the last 25 years. We've flown to Atlanta, changed planes, and then flown nonstop from ATL to Honolulu on Delta. We've also used Dallas-Ft Worth as the connecting city, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, and Phoenix. Generally, in my opinion, from the east coast, flying to LAX, SFO, or PHX tends to break the trip up into two somewhat equal segments, so tends to work fairly well.

As far as the time of the year, the weather in Hawaii is very similar all 12 months of the year. The fall months can have some risk of tropical storms or hurricanes threatening the islands, but that's not usually as much of an issue there as it is in the Caribbean; although it seems that in recent years I've heard about storms coming close to the Hawaiian Islands more than ever before. It might be an artifact of rising sea temperatures keeping the storms strong closer to the islands than in the past when they tended to dissipate before getting to that part of the Pacific. Summers tend to be a tad warmer and a little more humid than other parts of the year. January through March is when the humpback whales visit the Hawaiian Islands, so if you want a chance to see these amazing animals, go then. Maui is by far the best place to whale watch, but all of the islands will usually have whale sightings during that time. Trips as early as December and as late as April can also spot some whales.

Island preferences are very individual. We love Maui the best, but others swear by Kauai, Oahu, or the Big Island. Each island has it's own personality. For a first time trip, I think it's good for someone to visit Oahu so they can see the famous sights there - Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial, Diamond Head, and Waikiki - but to me Oahu with its city, freeways, traffic, and large population is not the "real" Hawaii. To me, that experience is best realized on Maui, Kauai, or the Big Island. Ideally, given the long distance, you should consider going for 10 days to two weeks and give yourself a chance to visit Oahu and one of the other islands. Spend a few days on Oahu to sightsee, and then spend your R&R time on Maui, Kauai, or the Big Island.

 

[2disneydads]

The trip from the east coast is long, and the time change is 5 or 6 hours. It will take you a few days to get over that no matter whether you go directly or go over 2 days. I would say just do the whole trip in one day. The return trip likely will be a overnight. I would schedule the longest flight from Hawaii that you can schedule. It really is best to have 2 weeks at least in Hawaii.

It is not hard or expensive to move from island to island in Hawaii. I would consider doing two islands because they have different characters and activities. On Oahu, you could consider one week at Waikiki and one week at Ko Olina on the west side. On Maui you could do one week at Kaanapali and one week at Kihei. On Kauai you could do one week at Poipu and one week near Princeville. The Big Island offers Kona and Hilo (near Volcano National Park). A lot will be determined by availability.

There are good online Hawaiian vacation planners that can help you narrow down your selections. They will give you lots of information about each island. I'm planning for next summer, and I'm still struggling over what island to do with the Big Island/Waikoloa.

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[deniseh]

We've personally never been big fans of spreading the air travel over two days, although there are some folks who swear by that approach. I guess if you are the kind of person who hates long plane flights then maybe breaking it up world work for you, but for my 2-cents, we would never do that. I want to get to where I'm going as soon as possible and minimize the days wasted to travel. That means flying all the way with as few stops/layovers as possible. From Philly, you'll have many routing options. From our home in Charlotte, we've done it many ways over the last 25 years. We've flown to Atlanta, changed planes, and then flown nonstop from ATL to Honolulu on Delta. We've also used Dallas-Ft Worth as the connecting city, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, and Phoenix. Generally, in my opinion, from the east coast, flying to LAX, SFO, or PHX tends to break the trip up into two somewhat equal segments, so tends to work fairly well.

As far as the time of the year, the weather in Hawaii is very similar all 12 months of the year. The fall months can have some risk of tropical storms or hurricanes threatening the islands, but that's not usually as much of an issue there as it is in the Caribbean; although it seems that in recent years I've heard about storms coming close to the Hawaiian Islands more than ever before. It might be an artifact of rising sea temperatures keeping the storms strong closer to the islands than in the past when they tended to dissipate before getting to that part of the Pacific. Summers tend to be a tad warmer and a little more humid than other parts of the year. January through March is when the humpback whales visit the Hawaiian Islands, so if you want a chance to see these amazing animals, go then. Maui is by far the best place to whale watch, but all of the islands will usually have whale sightings during that time. Trips as early as December and as late as April can also spot some whales.

Island preferences are very individual. We love Maui the best, but others swear by Kauai, Oahu, or the Big Island. Each island has it's own personality. For a first time trip, I think it's good for someone to visit Oahu so they can see the famous sights there - Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial, Diamond Head, and Waikiki - but to me Oahu with its city, freeways, traffic, and large population is not the "real" Hawaii. To me, that experience is best realized on Maui, Kauai, or the Big Island. Ideally, given the long distance, you should consider going for 10 days to two weeks and give yourself a chance to visit Oahu and one of the other islands. Spend a few days on Oahu to sightsee, and then spend your R&R time on Maui, Kauai, or the Big Island.

Thanks for all the info. Very helpful. We just added a bundle with a resale week and more points so I think we can easily do the longer trip plus we have some flexibility. We've never been to Hawaii so I read all the posts but don't have a frame of reference.

 

[kds4]

We will be heading to Ko'Olina for the first week of April 2018. We are in the thick of air travel planning as the 11 month booking window is about to open. Any suggestions are welcome. We will likely be traveling via FF miles. So, our choice of carriers may be limited, but experiences with different carriers are welcome advice. Thanks.

 

[deniseh]

Yes I am interested in any tips for booking flights.

 

[TXTortoise]

Hawaii Air...

I'm with Jim, flying from San Antonio, I'd even rather do 60 minutes leg to DFW or Houston for a direct shot to HNL or OGG, vs a stop or overnight in LAX, but we have few competitive choices from here. Check your airports within driving range and weigh the 'cost', e.g., Austin to Hawaii runs about $200 less than from San Antonio...and it's only 90 miles from us.

While flights from the east coast are long, you do have a lot of departure airports and competition for direct flights, so be willing to connect to Atlanta or other major hubs. The key is to lock-in your travel dates so you can start some ongoing searches with Hopper, Hipmunk, Google Flights and others. If really two years out, at least you'll start getting a feel for what the cost will be.

For example, SAT-HNL is running $800-900 and $1000+ to SAT-OGG for winter coach flights. Business/first is usually $2200+ and will go to $3600. Premium economy, and business/first for that matter, is a marginal product for CONUS to Hawaii, with Premium Economy running around $1300 RT to Maui direct. I just found a SAT-HNL First Class ticket on American for $1500, add $150 RT for HNL-OGG it made sense to do that vs $1300+ for premium economy or $2200+ for Business/First direct to OGG.

So lots of variables to juggle depending on number of travelers, budget, miles/points or cash purchase...and how will you fit in a Coach seat for way too many hours. (I don't)

Lastly, start booking your rental car now. You can cancel them anytime, do don't be shy about having multiple durations and island configurations confirmed with your preferred company. Rates will easily double between as you get closer to your travel date.

 

[JIMinNC]

We will be heading to Ko'Olina for the first week of April 2018. We are in the thick of air travel planning as the 11 month booking window is about to open. Any suggestions are welcome. We will likely be traveling via FF miles. So, our choice of carriers may be limited, but experiences with different carriers are welcome advice. Thanks.

Since your member info shows you are in Fort Mill, I assume that means you'll by flying out of Charlotte. On the main CLT carrier, American, there are several routings that can get you to Hawaii - via Dallas-Ft Worth, Phoenix, or Los Angeles. American obviously flies nonstop from CLT to all of those gateways, so you can get there with one plane change. Delta flies nonstop to Honolulu from Atlanta, Minneapolis-St Paul, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Salt Lake City. You can fly nonstop from Charlotte on Delta to Atlanta, Minneapolis, and, I think, Salt Lake City (but flights to SLC are limited, I think). So your best bet on Delta is to route through Atlanta or Minneapolis. Routing through LAX, SEA, or SFO would require two plane changes. I don't have as much experience with United, but they fly to HNL from Chicago, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco. You can fly nonstop from Charlotte on United to Chicago, Houston, and Denver, so those are the gateways you can use for United. Nowadays, all three carriers provide similar level of service, although we prefer American or Delta.

 

[rthib]

For fare savings, look at Strange cities. We did a mileage run to OGG. Was $1800 from DFW vs $600 from SAT (with a connection on that same flight from DFW).
We have done the connection in LAX and also stayed night in LA, both didn't do much. It is a long flight and that just made it feel like two long flights.
Think of it this way. Would you rather recover from a long flight in a hotel in LA or a beach in Hawaii.

 

[DaveNV]

We are looking to travel to Hawaii in the next year or two. We live on the east coast near Philly so I know the travel days will be long. Just looking for advice on how best to make the trip, better to take two days to travel? Also what's a good time frame for a vacation there? Our preference is probably to stay on one island as we need to get some r&r while on vacation along with sightseeing.

I'd suggest you decide which island(s) you want to see, and make plans accordingly. Some carriers (Alaska Air, for one) fly directly into each of the four main islands. Other carriers, (Hawaiian Airlines) fly into Honolulu or Maui directly, but most flights route through Honolulu. Interisland travel within Hawaii will add time to your travel days, and an additional ~$200 r/t each, if you're scheduling a separate inter island trip. FYI, I just checked Hawaiian Airlines, and they fly nonstop from JFK to Honolulu. I know a hop from Philadelphia to JFK wouldn't be that hard to do, and it may help ease the travel burden a bit. There may be other options, too, so you'd have to check around. The lowest price isn't always the best deal - time and itinerary are important too.

There are many threads here about which island(s) to visit, and why they're each interesting. Searching for things you want to do in Hawaii will give you some great answers to think about. It all depends on how you want to spend your time. If you want to see historical things, Oahu has Pearl Harbor, Waikiki, Diamond Head, and such. In Honolulu, it's crowded, and traffic can be a mess. But if you're traveling with kids who want Disney, the Aulani resort is on that island. Oahu has great beaches on the windward side of the island, which happens to be away from the crowds on the leeward side of the island. It's fairly easy to get away from the crowds and have an awesome vacation, if you plan accordingly.

Kauai is the least crowded of the four main islands, has great beaches, and a very laid-back atmosphere. You could unpack there and relax for the whole trip, but you'd basically be doing just that - relaxing, since there isn't a lot of nightlife or variety of activities. Hiking, biking, beach time, and relaxing are the main things you'll find on Kauai.

Maui has a whole lot to see and do, has great beaches, but can also be crowded, busy, and expensive. There is plenty to keep a family occupied, as long as you know what you want to do with your time.

The Big Island of Hawaii is very large, so getting around takes time. But that's where the active volcanoes are. If you want to see a volcano in action, you have to go to the BI. Sandy beaches are harder to find, since the island is geologically younger, and Mother Nature hasn't had a lot of time to break down rocks and coral into sandy beaches.

My suggestion for a first trip would be to try to fly nonstop into Honolulu, (sleep on the plane), and spend a few days. See Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head, and the classic Hawaiian sites, and get your Hawaiian time legs under you. Then move to a second island, and spent the bulk of your vacation there. Enjoy it for all its worth, then fly home by whatever way works best for you (another nonstop to JFK, or something with a stop along the way.) There is no easy way to get there from where you are, so I say rip off the bandaid and get there as quickly as you can. Layovers only delay the goal.

Good luck!

Dave

 

[dgf15215]

We are looking to travel to Hawaii in the next year or two. We live on the east coast near Philly so I know the travel days will be long. Just looking for advice on how best to make the trip, better to take two days to travel? Also what's a good time frame for a vacation there? Our preference is probably to stay on one island as we need to get some r&r while on vacation along with sightseeing.

We did Hawaii in January from Pittsburgh. For us, going through LAX worked great, split the trip in about half and our connection was well-timed so we weren't on the ground all that long in LA. It is a long trip but we didn't have a big problem with the time difference but then again, we spent the first couple of days just relaxing and finding our way around. To spend a night in LA just eats up a terrible amount of time that seems a little pointless to me but others would digress. If I had the time and inclination to spend a couple of nights in LA and catch some local theater it would be worth it but a single night . . . nah.

We enjoyed Honolulu and stayed there for all twelve nights. Never tired of it. Plan on going back next year. Good luck and be sure to take Dave's advice on the "must see" tourist sites.

 

[TXTortoise]

For fare savings, look at Strange cities. We did a mileage run to OGG. Was $1800 from DFW vs $600 from SAT (with a connection on that same flight from DFW).

I'm pretty good with Google, but 'Strange cities".

 

[geist1223]

We have been traveling to the Hawaiian Islands for years. We never go to Oah'u. But I use to live on Oah'u when I was younger, spent a summer there during college, and Patti visited before we got together. So we have seen and done the Oah'u sites. In that this is your first trip to Hawaii you should do 3 or 4 days on Oah'u. Then spent the rest of your time on Kaua'i, Mau'i, or Hawai'i. We always spent a minimum of 2 weeks on the Island for the year. We spent 2 weeks on Hawai'i this year. One week in the Waikoloa area and one week down by the South Point. On Kaua'i we split time between Princeville and Kolo'a/Poip'u. Usually on Mau'i we stay in the Kehe'i area. Our limitation is we have 3 pets at home and pay for a House/Pet Sitter. Once all the pets have passed we will probably spend a month or 2 each year in Hawai'i. We have traveled there in the Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. We had a good time and fair weather all 4 seasons.

 

[hangloose]

Agree with other posters. Try to go for 10 -14 days, as one week is just not long enough from the East Coast. We're also from the East Coast and have always flown to HI without an overnight. We'd rather recover and sleep it off on the beach the first day...than wasting vacation time spent a hotel in LAX or somewhere else mid way.

If first timers to HI, spend 3-4 days on Oahu visiting key historical sites like Honolulu, Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head, Waikiki, North Shore, etc. Honolulu is very busy (urban city, traffic, etc), but is still fun to see. Oahu really shines once you get outside of the city center. After Oahu, go spend the rest of the time relaxing on a different island. We love Maui, as it is a good mix of everything. We also love Kauai. It is quieter and very lush. The Napali coast is gorgeous! We find the Big Island to be very different than the other islands. Volcano National Park is fantastic, but the BI wasn't our favorite. We also found the BI too large to site-see properly without staying on both sides of the island.

 

[newportbeach]

Length of time min of 10 days, and by using Friday to Sunday or a 2 week period that squeezes in extra time, but if you are a senior like me and employed I go 14 days Sat to Sat, because on the return I have Sunday to recover.
Plan your flights and connections to your likes and dislikes. I don't do redeyes because I usually feel actually pain arriving at 4 in the a.m., but sometimes you have no choice. I also do not want to arrive in the dark in a foreign
location and have to drive to somewhere that is not familiar. Lay over sometimes are a treat. 2 nights going or coming in say a new city like SF/ LA/SD/ or Seattle Washington can help in scheduling my Hawaii arrival time or
managing to avoid the redeye effect. As to how long to stay in one location, think of each island as having multi faces depending on East/West/South/North or simply windward and leeward. Visit Waikiki 1/2 time and drive a few miles
and stay at the North Shore or 20 miles and stay at Ko o lina, avoid a TSA experience and 4 hrs of airport + 60 min in the air. The Big Island of Hawaii is the same, as are all the islands. If your visit trip to Hawaii Maui is the most
popular in terms of the variety and quality of things to do and see. I would recommend Kanannapali then a few nights in Hana, or Kehi. Personally, there are great B&B's over on Lanai if you want more than a one day trip using the
Ferry.

Once you visit Hawaii you will return. There is a trip for every budget, and Aloha once experienced is really appreciated. Now for some humor !! There is a Costco for food, booze, and fuel on every island, wants not to love. If you are not a Costco
member pay for a friend to come along who is a member.

 

[Thunder Up]

We are looking to travel to Hawaii in the next year or two. We live on the east coast near Philly so I know the travel days will be long. Just looking for advice on how best to make the trip, better to take two days to travel? Also what's a good time frame for a vacation there? Our preference is probably to stay on one island as we need to get some r&r while on vacation along with sightseeing.[/QUOTE

On airlines you should check Alaska Airlines/Virgin. With the Alaska Airlines credit card they offer a companion fare on one flight a year for about $200 for the companion along with one free checked bag for each traveler. Travel times in 2018 looked pretty ugly to HNL but to OGG, they showed a 6:30 am departure, a plane change in SFO and a 2:20 pm arrival in OGG.

Good luck. Have fun making all the decisions and enjoy.

Thunder Up

 

[elleny76]

IMO...We just came back from Oahu_Hawaii and we had 11 hours flight going from JFK to HNL and 9 1/2 hours from HNL to JFK. (BRUTAL!) We did flight with Hawaiian airlines and we paid for extra comfort seats right after 1st class. Still..It was Brutal!

1.) Next trip to Hawaii 2020 or 2021 will be with a stop LA or Vegas 2 nights -3 days in our way to Honolulu (JFK to HNL)
2.) Coming back from Hawaii for 9 1/2 hours flight back home is in FIRST CLASS! ( I will be saving my points for this!)
3.) We arrived at 3:30pm to HNL , getting to the resort HGVC _Waikiki by 5ish Pm, We got into the condo, put suitcases away, when down to buy food and back to the condo by 7pm and we were in bed by 7:30pm and wake up next day by 6:30am..PERFECT!
4.) It took us 3 days to recover from vacation after we arrived home.
5.) We tour Diamond head ( small fee at gate) and pearl harbor($1.50 pp) on our own.
6.) In Waikiki we took the trolley back and forth from the HGVC resort. (appx $2.50pp each way)
7.) No car rental at Waikiki
8.) We rented a car when we move to our 2nd resort AULANI.
9) Dole plantation (fee at the entrance only)
10.) We stayed 16 days in Oahu ( 2 resorts) in APRIL
11.) Weather was OK.. It was hot for sure, sun was not much present in the last 7 days, rained everyday (2 days for like 1 hour!) the rest of days rain was over 10 minutes but still was not cold at all.
12.) Food expensive and I was not happy about the food itself. ( for example: 3 tacos with 4 shrimp in it $18 + tip..lol)
13.) We had a 2 bed condo at HGVC and we went to Sam's club and got couple items like for breakfast and we got at walmart chairs and Umbrellas for the beach $$(these 2 stores are in the same building) We don't like to cook so we ate our lunch and dinner around the resort. We find out that ABC stores and other stores around Hilton village sale sodas, food, Liquor and etc right across the street so we didn't come back to supermarkets at all.
14.) At Aulani Disney resort we ate lunch around the pool and at night we went across the street and you can find any food you like for a regular price. We got all the food to go ( we liked a lot ABC store which it as EVERYTHING! you need)
15.) Our budget per day was $125 for food (2 adults and a child)
16.) Miscellaneous budget: $ 600 for the whole trip ( toys, etc)
17.) Car rental for 8 days $ 300

It was a very nice experience for my family. The Hilton Villages are just beautiful and full of peace and Aulani Disney just Magical. Mahalo Hawaii!

 

[Pmuppet]

The trip from the east coast is long, and the time change is 5 or 6 hours. It will take you a few days to get over that no matter whether you go directly or go over 2 days. I would say just do the whole trip in one day. The return trip likely will be a overnight. I would schedule the longest flight from Hawaii that you can schedule. It really is best to have 2 weeks at least in Hawaii.

It is not hard or expensive to move from island to island in Hawaii. I would consider doing two islands because they have different characters and activities. On Oahu, you could consider one week at Waikiki and one week at Ko Olina on the west side. On Maui you could do one week at Kaanapali and one week at Kihei. On Kauai you could do one week at Poipu and one week near Princeville. The Big Island offers Kona and Hilo (near Volcano National Park). A lot will be determined by availability.

There are good online Hawaiian vacation planners that can help you narrow down your selections. They will give you lots of information about each island. I'm planning for next summer, and I'm still struggling over what island to do with the Big Island/Waikoloa.

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I recommend getting Maui revealed, Kauai revealed, etc and do some fun reading.

The book is awesome, funny, and well worth your time.



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[2disneydads]

I recommend getting Maui revealed, Kauai revealed, etc and do some fun reading.

The book is awesome, funny, and well worth your time.



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I second the recommendation of the "Revealed" books. When you're ready to buy some books, these are great choices. And they are not too big or dense. Lots of common sense advice.

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[ljmiii]

We live in New York and have flown to Hawaii more or less once a year for the past 20 years. We've flown direct to/from HNL every time - out of EWR many times when it was Continental, EWR once when our flight became United, and then Hawaiian Air out of JFK every time since. Since you live in/around Philly I would suggest taking the EWR or JFK direct flight to/from HNL as well.

That said, it was only our last trip that we didn't stay on Oahu before visiting other islands. And this last one - JFK->HNL->OGG - did seem like it took an eternity. So if you are only visiting Maui (or Kailua-Kona) there are some east coast->west coast->hawaii routes that make sense. However, keep in mind is that there are only so many flights out of OGG (or KOA) to the west coast so if your plane has a mechanical issue you may have to wait in Hawaii overnight (so sad..I know...;-).

We've done 7 day Hawaii trips...but like the 14 day ones much better. In general I would recommend a minimum of 4-5 days per island...with the Big Island being a special case. It is big enough and Kailua-Kona/Captain Cook, Waikoloa, and Hilo/Volcano are so diverse that the Big Island is almost three separate islands. Our preferred Big Island stay is a day or three in Hilo, an overnight in Volcano (to see the lava at night), and however many days in Kona - your mileage may vary.

Lastly, one thing to watch out for is that you (and your family) will be pretty much useless on Monday morning after a Saturday night/Sunday morning overnight flight. Not that it hasn't kept us from taking that flight (year after year after year)...but be realistic about how much you will be able to accomplish that next full day home.

 

[NboroGirl]

I agree with DaveNW's comments and suggestions.

I've been to HI 3 times now, and 2 times 'recently', flying from the east coast each time. Plus we're headed to Maui in August.

We usually fly from BOS to Hawaii via SFO or LAX with a brief layover, and from there on to our final island destination. We've been lucky in that our flights have been on time, but my son and his bride, and also my niece and her husband both had delayed flights from SFO to Hawaii on their recent honeymoons - niece and her husband ended up spending the night in SFO, so flights with layovers have their perils.

The last time we went we drove 2.5 hrs. to Newark and flew direct to HNL on United. It was about a 12 hour flight. We paid for our ticket and used miles and cash to upgrade to 1st class. Although I was very nervous about being on a plane for that long (it was the longest flight by far I have ever taken), that is the best way to go, IMO. The 12 hour flight in 1st class was so nice, so relaxing, so luxurious with the fold-flat seat/beds that I didn't mind it at all. In fact, it seemed to go too fast. Then from HNL we flew Hawaiian Air to Kauai. We did the same thing in reverse for the trip home.

For our upcoming trip to Maui, we booked BOS-OGG with a brief (hopefully) layover in SFO. To upgrade from coach to 1st class it was only $500/pp extra so we decided to do that. Coming home, we'll be doing the same in reverse. However, the upgrade to 1st class was $2200/pp so we are using my hubby's 2 regional upgrades (and are currently on a waiting list with our fingers crossed) for the trip home and hope we'll end up in 1st. If not, I've flown red-eye back from HI twice before and it isn't so bad as long as you can sleep. The key for me to sleeping on a plane is Advil PM (or something equivalent). Take it before taking off and you WILL sleep. Advil PM is also key to adjusting to the new time zone. No matter how tired you'll be when you arrive (i.e. I always try to stay up until 9:30 p.m. that first night, which is 3:30 a.m. eastern time), take a dose of Advil PM before turning in and it will help you sleep past 2 a.m. (if you're used to waking up at 6 a.m.)

 

[vacationhopeful]

PHL is a great airport to get almost anywhere .. I really see NO big savings on going to the NYC airports for a Hawaii destination.

Do 2 islands ... I have done a day trip YEARS ago to the Big Island (Hawaii island) for viewing the lava flow into the ocean. It took less than 20 minutes to go from the parking lot to the edge to watch the lava hit the ocean water. Today, it is WAY LONGER (as in miles and hours) and helicopters or watercraft viewing might be safer to view the lava flow. I did the walk during the First Gulf War .. after the invasion by Iraq and before the Allied attack.

I went again to Kauai 5 years ago for 10 days .. Lawaii Beach Resort. Ocean side resort near the Beach House Restruant. Enjoyed the location, drove all over the island, saw a lot of stuff ... local shopping ... gas grills all over the resort. Ate out only for 1 dinner at the Beach House during sunset .. but every sunset had many people watching all long the waters edge. Did lunch at local places while we were touring/driving the rental car all over.

I would definitely go back to Kauai. Not Oahu. Not likely the Big Island (Hawaii). Would like to see Maui ... for at least a week.

 

[NTP66]

+1 to what JIMinNC said regarding travel. We fly out of Philly to Maui every other year, and last year broke the flights up into two separate days each because we had our toddler with us - never again. It took us longer to recover from the time difference, and it was much more of a hassle than simply getting the flights done with in a single day.

Make it easy on yourself - leave as early as you can, and make sure you have at least an hour between connecting flights. I normally connect through LAX or PHX, though prefer LAX these days only due to the newer A321s with in-seat entertainment.

 

[m61376]

Look for the Gypsy Guide apps for your phoe. On Maui they are amazing. $10 for the whole package or $5 each for the Road to Hana, Haleakala and a general Maui guide. It's a GPS based guide, so in spotty cell areas (like the Road to Hana) it still works, and is terrific. The guide is funny, and on the Road to Hana tells you which places are most important to stop at, what you're approaching and where to turn off. It's like having your own private guide in the car. Made the trip so much more enjoyable and easier. The first time we had gone my DH said never again, and this trip he really enjoyed it (except for the fact that we made a mistake and followed some bad advice and did the full circle route along the semi-paved side of Haleakala- word of advice- listen to the guide and turn around past the 7 pools and DO NOT continue through. That part of the drive was hairy, since some of the road isn't paved and very narrow, and there are some locals who plow through in pick-up trucks in the opposite direction ).

I agree with others' advice- a few days on Oahu is a must, preferably on Waikiki. Then spend a week on Maui or Kaui, although a week at Ko'Olina on Oahu would be great too. We really like Oahu, but wouldn't spend a week at Waikiki.

Last Dec. we flew Delta out of JFK to Maui, with a short layover in Seattle on the way and LAX on the return. The flights were surprisingly smooth and easy. Upgrading to comfort class made a huge difference, and getting the Bose in ear noise canceling headphones made a huge difference. Delta has individual movies to pass the time. We were surprised how easy the trip was, and we only were able to go for a week.

 

[pedro47]

Thanks to everyone for posting on this topic. We are planning to vacation two weeks or more in Hawaii for our 50th wedding anniversary next year.