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First time

TheHolleys87 said:
The Big Islad is my favorite due to volcanoes, black sand beaches, tropical gardens, cattle ranches, astronomical observatories, and snow-capped peaks, all on one island. There are not a lot of sandy beaches but the ones they have are beautiful. My parents bought into Kona Coast, now a Wyndham, so we’ve always stayed there, and as a result I don’t know about other resorts.
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Volcano is highly active right now so there is high chance for a unique experience I would vote BI given the volcano activity.

But in reality you can go to any island they will all offer very similar experiences even for first timers. You can also take day trips and island hop, do a activity and be back within hours. For instance on Kauai you could do the helicopter tour one of the most famous to do activities, for Oahu you could go to Waikiki and hike Diamondhead.

Best Hilton of course is Waikiola, We stayed at Bay Club and liked it. Although it's further away from the action and a bit of a drive, I would if preferred to stay near Captain Cook, nice resorts there also.
 
davidvel said:
I would strongly recommend against Oahu for a 1st visit, as you will not get the true essence of Hawaii, and may never return. It is like San Fransicso and Las Vegas on a large beachfront. Cars and people up and down the street blaring noise till midnight and after. Huge crowds, lots of shopping you can do on the mainland. You never get on Hawaii time. If you still want Oahu you could do KoOlina, which allows you to escape all the crowds and noise. But I think Maui is the best compromise for a 1st visit.
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The first time I went to Hawaii with my husband, we went to Honolulu for 4 nights. But, having been to other islands, I didn't want Waikiki to be his only impression. So, we drove to North Shore and then spent one night at Turtle Bay Resort. After that, he was hooked.

I recently saw that TBR is now a Ritz Carlton. I can't afford that anymore, as a widow on fixed income.
 
vacationtime1 said:
Interesting questions (or at least interesting to me; I am somewhat nerdy that way).

Do you know the answers -- or where we can find them?
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I do know the answers. If I ask questions like that on tugbbs, you can assume I know the answer or at least have a very good approx of it
Hawaii Tourism "Board?" "Authority?" whatever it is called produces a MONTHLY report with those and many other data pts about their visitors.
There is also a yearly report with even more data, some of which I struggle to understand how they know, w/o deep snooping on people's activities / spending.
Or, they could be like the B(l)S and just make it up as they go along
 
AJCts411 said:
We are planning a one week trip to Hawaii in 2026 end of sept/first of Oct. We are week owners in Key West. Our preferences are (walkable if possible) bar/food/music, beach, and sightseeing. We will be renting a car. Which island would you recommend for first timers? (possibly one of the Hilton systems, not sure which)
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Wow there are alot of different desires in your list. We live in Honolulu which is on Oahu, actually in Waikiki which is the main tourist area of Hawaii and you can easily get all of your desires here. We love the location which is right next to the beach and it is extremely walkable. We live COMFORTABLY WITHOUT A CAR. We live right across the street from the Hilton Hawaiian Village which is on the beach and has 4 timeshare buildings. However, If you get a car here the parking is extremely expensive and the traffic can be really bad at times so it is NOT recommended. You can rent a car for a day just to go around the island if you wish or take a tour bus which is readily available.

Having a car. I always say if the MUST HAVE A CAR, go to another island do not stay in Honolulu. We have been to all six Hawaiian Islands that you can go to. I would recommend the Island of Hawaii. There are 4 Hilton Timeshares in Waikola and we have stayed in all of them. With a car I would recommend Kings Land which has free parking. (The Hilton Waikola Beach Resort does not have free parking). The area is very walkable but the things you can get to are not nearly as exciting or as close as in Waikiki. The big selling point here for you is you can have a car cheaply and drive all over.

These areas are so different that I would recomment that you not limit yourself to ONE WEEK. Either come for 2 weeks (one week on a different island) or come twice. A personal note: We lived in NY and came for 2 weeks in 2007 for the first time and I swore we would never come back for less than a month. Well I kept that promise we never came back for less that 3 months from 2009 to 2020 in Timeshares and moved here in 2021.
 
Use caution, the troll is out from under the bridge.
 
I have been to Hawaii exactly one time. Was living on my own little Paradise at the time Okinawa, Japan. This was before 1995. I had booked a hotel room and car rental combined deal. It was in Waikiki. I will never forget checking into the hotel and being told that I would have to pay for parking even though the car came with the Room. For me that sums up the entire attitude of the place. Very lovely and gut the tourist's in every conceivable way possible. And I am sure they have got better at it in the 30 years that have passed. Good Luck choosing and hope you have a nice trip. I am still glad I went and was recently looking into getting a week or two at a timeshare in the Islands. I not sure I am prepared to pay 8 $ for a loaf of bread and 12 $ for a gallon of milk, Eggs $$$, and this was Costco price's . I welcome better information from those who live there or visits often. If you got the data on tourism why are you not sharing it? Everyone can have a opinion. No need to be rude!
 
gpj555 said:
I have been to Hawaii exactly one time. Was living on my own little Paradise at the time Okinawa, Japan. This was before 1995. I had booked a hotel room and car rental combined deal. It was in Waikiki. I will never forget checking into the hotel and being told that I would have to pay for parking even though the car came with the Room. For me that sums up the entire attitude of the place. Very lovely and gut the tourist's in every conceivable way possible. And I am sure they have got better at it in the 30 years that have passed. Good Luck choosing and hope you have a nice trip. I am still glad I went and was recently looking into getting a week or two at a timeshare in the Islands. I not sure I am prepared to pay 8 $ for a loaf of bread and 12 $ for a gallon of milk, Eggs $$$, and this was Costco price's . I welcome better information from those who live there or visits often. If you got the data on tourism why are you not sharing it? Everyone can have a opinion. No need to be rude!
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That is what trolls do. It floats their boat.
 
gpj555 said:
I have been to Hawaii exactly one time. Was living on my own little Paradise at the time Okinawa, Japan. This was before 1995. I had booked a hotel room and car rental combined deal. It was in Waikiki. I will never forget checking into the hotel and being told that I would have to pay for parking even though the car came with the Room. For me that sums up the entire attitude of the place. Very lovely and gut the tourist's in every conceivable way possible. And I am sure they have got better at it in the 30 years that have passed. Good Luck choosing and hope you have a nice trip. I am still glad I went and was recently looking into getting a week or two at a timeshare in the Islands. I not sure I am prepared to pay 8 $ for a loaf of bread and 12 $ for a gallon of milk, Eggs $$$, and this was Costco price's . I welcome better information from those who live there or visits often. If you got the data on tourism why are you not sharing it? Everyone can have a opinion. No need to be rude!
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As I mentioned before; don't get a car that was mistake one. They probobly gave you the car package since they knew they would make the money on the parking.

I am not sure where you bought your bread, milk or eggs but we walk to Sam's and Walmart(same building) every week for $6 a loft Dave's Bread, and $4 eggs; we don't buy milk but I know that Sam's and Walmart has Milk much cheaper than $12. If you shop at the local markets in Waikiki you will pay a high price for most things.

Certainly Hawaii makes a great deal of money on tourists and it is not for everyone. We have found an affordable way to live in Waikiki without a car,(Senior Bus Pass $45/year), and shopping at Sam's and Walmart places that we can walk to and have many buses when we don't want to walk.
 
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