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First timer. Which island in Hawaii and best RCI T/S

Auger

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Looking at a 2017 visit from the east coast and have some RCI points to exchange. Would appreciate any recommendations on which island and which location. Thanks
 

dougp26364

TUG Review Crew: Expert
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Marriott Grand Chateau
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Grand Colorado on Peak 8
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To Date we've visited 3 islands:

Oahu: More metropolitan with many fine restaurants and shopping. Nasty traffic. Pearl Harbor and the Punch Bowl cemetary are located here. TONS of tourist, many from Asia (not a bad thing but, we began to refer to Honolulu as Tokyo with a beach). We've spent 2 weeks of vacation at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and enjoyed ourselves very much. We've also made to day trips when visiting Kaui and Maui with friends/family who wanted to visit Pearl Harbor. While we enjoy Oahu it's not our first choice at the moment.

Kaui: Smaller and less touristy IMHO. Some parts of it remind us of Oklahoma with all the red dirt. Has the Grand Canyon of the Pacific with Waimea Canyon. We stayed close to Poipu with Marriott and enjoyed relaxing and the swimming. For us this was more of a relaxing vacation than an activity filled vacation.

Maui: At the moment our favorite island. Maui has many very good restaurants, good shopping, reasonable roads and great beaches. Lots of activities and sights. You can go from driving the road to Hana and swimming in tropical pools along the way to hiking a volcanic crater that looks like the surface of the moon at Haleakala National Park, looking down on the clouds below you as you go. Maui has it's metropolitan feel but also that of a tropical paradise.

The Big Island: We have yet to go but are researching for a trip next year. It's large enough to fit all the other islands within it's shores. It has a varied landscape and active volcanoes. We plan on staying at HGVC Kingsland but I'm really looking forward to exploring the different terrain around the island. Not sure it will displace Maui as our favorite but I'm looking forward to the trip.
 

DeniseM

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If you go to the TUG Resorts and Reviews, linked in the red bar at the top of the page, you can view each region/island, see how timeshares are ranked by Tuggers, and which exchange company they are affiliated with.

Of the 3 regions you are asking about, Carmel/Monterey has the least availability, so you may want to start there, and build around that reservation. Getting 3 reservations that match exactly will be challenging, so you will want to be flexible, and be prepared to link exchanges with 1-3 night hotel stays, if necessary.
 
Last edited:

geist1223

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There is no best Island. I have lived on Oahu. Patti and I have no desire to stay there but it does have Diamond Head, Waikiki, Pearl Harbor, etc. Patti loves Kauai. It is less populated, more rural, with lots to do. Maui is my favorite. I can't point to any specific but for snorkling and watching sunrise from the top of the mountain. We have spent a week on Hawaii. The VOG was bad in the Kona area all week. We are going back for several weeks next January to Hawaii and will stay on several parts of the Island.
 
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