Anyone had a week at Ko Olina with NO sunsets?

[sbeck22]

We just got back from our week at Ko Olina. Wow was it bad weather. We had a 9th Floor 2BR OV in Moana. We didn't come CLOSE to a sunset all 7 nights. I guess the last night, Thursday, you could see the sun until about 30 minutes before sunset, but then poof it was gone.

Is it normally that bad. We were there 2/24 - 3/2. We could not get into the pools barely at all. We spent 20 minutes the last day and we all froze in the wind when we got out. Windy and cold. I haven't really seen threads preparing anyone for that and I thought I would share our experience.

It was a tough trip with 2 kids and the Mrs sick. Are "bad" TS weeks common and what is the cure?

 

[LAX Mom]

Sorry to hear your week didn't go well. I've traveled with sick kids and it is not fun.

Ko'Olina is a beautiful resort. I've stayed there many times, but never had a full week of bad weather. Most of the time I get one, maybe two bad days (windy, rainy) but the rest of the time is nice. I actually prefer cloud cover because I don't want to burn. The sunsets at Ko'Olina are lovely, but we also have pretty amazing sunsets at home.

The cure.....
go again! Next time you'll likely hit better weather and see some amazing sunsets. There is a reason why Hawaii is so popular with tourists. It's a beautiful place!!!!!

 

[Quilter]

Ah-h-h-h the terrible broken vacation expectation. That's a bummer. Sorry it didn't go as planned.

We've learned the hard way weather and other unseen troubles can mess with the vacation. Last week it was unseasonably cold here in Arizona with high pollen and wind storms generating dust. Everyone was coughing, sneezing and had headaches. We've been here 5 times before and never had these issues.

 

[gblotter]

It was a tough trip with 2 kids and the Mrs sick.

We typically spend the July 4th week at Mountainside. A few years back, my wife and four kids all came down with stomach flu at the same time. Vomiting and fevers all night long. I was the only person available to help. Did loads of laundry all night long and was given access to raid the maid's closet for fresh linens (more than once).

I'm not sure if that night was worse for me or my sick family members.

 

[sbeck22]

Sorry to hear that gb.

thankfully, our MD called something in and we picked it up at a Pharmacy. Not fun trying to grind it out for sure.

The locals were saying how strange it was as well. The wind was the biggest issue. At the Monday torch lighting, they "blamed' the folks from Chicago, we were among many from here, for the wind. It was remarkable.

Manoa Falls was down to 5% flow since they had a drought the last 2 months on the "wet" side of Oahu. The week we were the, Ko Olina side was getting it, and the city, and north of Pali Lookout, it was sunny.

So Az with strange weather and in hawaii it was hot and dry for 2 months and this was the break from their dry spell. I see it is continuing this week as well.

If we go back to Hawaii, it will be Maui. I do love Ko Olina for sunsets though. We brought the kids to our special place, and it seemed to change and be work instead of its "place of joy". It was still good, just different.
I also thought the snorkeling was very hard at Electric beach due to current. We heard and saw no dolphins the whole time. We did see lots of whales.

 

[jpc763]

Sorry to hear that Ko Olina was not what you had hoped. We are traveling there in a little less than 4 weeks :whoopie: and hope that we get some good weather.

Our trip last year (end of March also) started out great, but got steadily windier as the week wore on. Still not as bad as you described.

I did have a Maui vacation that was very similar to what you described. We traded into MOC for a Feb week with 2 little ones and the weather was awful. Wind and rain the whole week.

So we just keep going back! Had some unbelievable days and some not so great days but each of those days was in Hawaii!

 

[fluke]

Last year

Last year we were there for 2 weeks in early February and the year before 1 week in late February. Out of those 21 days we only had one day of rain, and it only rained for part of the day. It was 80 and sunny pretty much every day.

 

[sbeck22]

Yeah this year has been no rain until now.

that was our 4th trip and BY far the least great.

It is fun to hear other stories. At least I won the weekly Texas Hold'em Poker game. On the other hand, the winning prize, among other things, was a daily cabana rental coupon. Couldn't use it

 

[tandemrider]

Ko Olina is on the part of Oahu that has the most sunshine and least rain on the island. However on any given week you may have rain there and not in other parts of the island. Statistically, you chances are much better to have good weather at Ko Olina than most other parts of Oahu.

 

[slum808]

Could be worse

At least you're not in Hawaii this week. Rain totals since Sat 8 am, North Kauai 36", North east Oahu 15", West Oahu 5". Its the most rain we've had in a really long time. Brown water advisories for most beaches and selective power outages. One of the Kauai resorts had to evacuate hotel guest to an emergency shelter last night. Good new for them, was that the emergency shelter was another hotel.

 

[hypnotiq]

36"!?!

Is that a typo?

 

[Quilter]

Another dust cloud last night in Phoenix. On our way to dinner we could see it rising from the ground. We had reserved outdoor seating but begged to change to indoors when we got to the restaurant.

We just had 2 days in the 80's which was a welcome change from last week. It's only supposed to get to 64 today so yoga on the lawn will be nippy. The instructor promised to use the outdoor heaters. Water aerobics?. . .Well, we'll see.

 

[dioxide45]

I think time of year is a big part of it. Many people want to go to Hawaii this time of year to get away from the cold weather in most other parts of the continental US. The problem is that this is also "winter" in Hawaii and probably the least desirable weather wise. The best time to go to Hawaii tends to be when most people don't want to go, early fall. Of course if you are wanting to see some big waves and decent surfing, the waves are also at their lowest point in the fall. Tough decision, though any time of year on vacation in Hawaii is better than being at work back home.

 

[winger]

I read the OP to DW last night and she almost 'cried' . It is such a shame to visit the Islands and not experience several sunsets - as they are generally pretty amazing, best we've seen at least. Crossing our fingers for our upcoming Thanksgiving trip...

 

[ada903]

Are you kidding me, I was there in January 2011 for the one week when the monsoon came, it rained so hard - rain like I didn't even see in Florida. The beaches were closed for a month or so after that because of flooding and landfill waste flowing into the ocean... we had an ocean view 2 bdr, not only did I not see a sunset, I did not see the sun at all!

But we got to bond indoors.. hahaha.

 

[jpc763]

Yeah this year has been no rain until now.

that was our 4th trip and BY far the least great.

It is fun to hear other stories. At least I won the weekly Texas Hold'em Poker game. On the other hand, the winning prize, among other things, was a daily cabana rental coupon. Couldn't use it

Send it to me! I'll pay shipping!

 

[slum808]

36"!?!

Is that a typo?

Not a typo. Kauai is the wetest place on earth. Sun finally broke through today.

 

[sbeck22]

At least you're not in Hawaii this week. Rain totals since Sat 8 am, North Kauai 36", North east Oahu 15", West Oahu 5". Its the most rain we've had in a really long time. Brown water advisories for most beaches and selective power outages. One of the Kauai resorts had to evacuate hotel guest to an emergency shelter last night. Good new for them, was that the emergency shelter was another hotel.

Holy cow. I did check the montly weather channel calendar to see what has been going on and 3 days, Sat -Mon or showers icon. I didn't know the amount.

That was the theme of the trip, some bad but could have been worse a lot of times. thanks for the update!

 

[sbeck22]

Send it to me! I'll pay shipping!

Yeah I would love to do that. I turned it in the next day trying to turn it into a 25 minute massage session for DW. They would not make the trade so I just said here you can have it back.

Last night, first night at home, I was like duh I should have kept it and gave it to someone who COULD use it. Sorry about that.

 

[BocaBoy]

I think time of year is a big part of it. Many people want to go to Hawaii this time of year to get away from the cold weather in most other parts of the continental US. The problem is that this is also "winter" in Hawaii and probably the least desirable weather wise. The best time to go to Hawaii tends to be when most people don't want to go, early fall. Of course if you are wanting to see some big waves and decent surfing, the waves are also at their lowest point in the fall. Tough decision, though any time of year on vacation in Hawaii is better than being at work back home.

We usually go to Maui every February and the weather is almost always great. We especially like the February weather because the normal high and low temperatures are what we consider ideal--highs of 78-80 and lows in upper 60's. It is true there is a little more rain that time of year, but normal February rainfall is only about 2.5 inches. September is actually the hottest month of the year, upper 80's instead of upper 70's. These are nits, however. There really isn't a bad weather month in Hawaii.

 

[Docklander]

We're on Maui right now and it's been raining, almost continuously, since Monday...looks like it's brightening up a little now so perhaps our last morning will be a dry one

 

[whatsburning]

Sorry to hear of your sunset-less vacation... Every now and then, Hawaii experiences a bout of the rainies that lasts longer than wanted. A few years back, we had a whole month of rain, every day for something like 40 days straight.

Days and weeks like that, I really feel for you tourists visitors to our beautiful islands. I know there's a lot of planning and spending involved to get on that long plane ride, and for mother nature to put a wrench in those plans, it sucks.

Come back again soon to make up for last week... wait, not too soon because believe it or not, there's more rain forcasted for the next week!

 

[whatsburning]

We're on Maui right now and it's been raining, almost continuously, since Monday...looks like it's brightening up a little now so perhaps our last morning will be a dry one

Sorry Docklander, flash flood warnings for Maui until tomorrow! At least enjoy the waterfalls the rain creates!

 

[Docklander]

Sorry Docklander, flash flood warnings for Maui until tomorrow! At least enjoy the waterfalls the rain creates!

IIt doesn't matter . I'm happy Maui is getting some much needed water. Plus, as you say, all the visitors doing the Road to Hana or the Seven Sacred Pools will have some great waterfalls to look at.

There was actually a weather advisory for the south of Maui this morning as a thunderstorm came in at 5mph potentially bringing with it "quarter sized hail"

 

[HatTrick]

I actually prefer cloud cover because I don't want to burn.

"You might think the chance of getting a sunburn on cloudy days is less, but the sun's damaging UV light can pass through clouds."

http://www.webmd.com/healthy-beauty/tc/sunburn-topic-overview