Hawaii first trip recommendations

[KenA]

I know there are quite a few tuggers who seem to be well versed with Hawaii. We are in the initial planning stages of a trip in March. We are points owners and on first glance, I see availability at Ko'Olina (which seems to be very popular in my reading of the threads).

We are taking our children (10 and 13) and we have never been to Hawaii. We live on the east coast and it could be some time before we make it there again. Does anyone have any basic recommendations to get me started, especially for a first time visit. Not sure which resort would be the best choice, which island provides best air travel options etc.

Thanks for any help.

 

[silentg]

How long are you staying? We are going next June, staying at Ko Olina first then going to Maui Hill in Maui. I too have been getting advice about Hawaii. Trying to get our airfare and dates co ordinated. If you can get into Ko Olina it looks very nice and is highly recommended. Since you will be there before us. Let me know how the trip goes for you!
Silentg

 

[Luanne]

How long will you be there? Are you planning on visiting just one island, or more?

Personally I'd suggest Maui for a first time visitor and especially if you are going for just one week. I'm not a Marriott owner, but I've heard good things about Maui Ocean Club (MOC).

 

[Luanne]

How long are you staying? We are going next June, staying at Ko Olina first then going to Maui Hill in Maui. I too have been getting advice about Hawaii. Trying to get our airfare and dates co ordinated. If you can get into Ko Olina it looks very nice and is highly recommended. Since you will be there before us. Let me know how the trip goes for you!
Silentg

Off the topic of this thread, but we own at Maui Hill and love it!

 

[JIMinNC]

For a first timer who may not go back for awhile, I think you should definitely spend a few days on Oahu at somewhere like KoOlina to see the things that are most commonly associated with Hawaii like Pearl Harbor, Waikiki, and Diamond Head, etc. But after you see the big tourist spots on Oahu, I think you should spend the bulk of your time on one of the neighbor islands. If there is still availability on Maui at Maui Ocean Club, that is our favorite island. I think it has the most to offer a family with children the ages of yours. Second choice would be one of the Kauai resorts if MOC is unavailable. Both Maui and Kauai are less developed and offer a more relaxed atmosphere than the hustle bustle of Honolulu and Oahu.

 

[curbysplace]

You may want to consider going to Hawaii for at least ten days and better yet for two weeks. If you only own points for one week you can easily rent points for the second. Is it worth it? In my opinion a resounding yes. Coming from the East coast you'll spend a very long and full day traveling to the islands which cuts into a short seven-day trip. And if you island hop, that will eat up the better part of another day when you add up the resort checkout & checkin time (normally can't checkin until 3:00), travel to the airport to arrive at least an hour early, picking up the rental car, travel from the airport to the second resort, etc. Add that time to the significant expense of airfare for four getting to Hawaii and the extra three to seven days in the islands will truly seem like a bargain. All this is of course providing you can get the resort reservations. We did it with our first week at Ko Olina and the second at Maui Ocean Club. We thoroughly enjoyed both of resorts and all four of you would too.

 

[Quadmaniac]

Each person will have different preferences but after visiting all the islands, my current favorite is Ko Olina which was not the case originally. I had gone to Maui at least 5-6 times, loving it at MOC and the Westin. Maui was my island !

My first Hawaii trip was to Kauai and it was nice but very quiet. I would honestly say, it was good to see but a little too quiet as everything closes down by 8 or 9.

After numerous trips to Maui, I tried Ko Olina and I got hooked. While I love Maui, Ko Olina was like being in Lahaina/Kaanapali but having more access to a larger variety of choices for food at more reasonable prices. Ko Olina is very close to Kapolei with everything there from Walmart, Costco, Safeway, movies, every type of food and restaurant chains. There is a lot to see and you can be as busy or quiet as you want. If you want to go out to grab a bite late, there are places open.

Getting into MOC is a little difficult sometimes on Interval but definitely achievable. Most of the time, it was in a 1 BR in the original towers with the limited kitchens. Occasionally you might get into the new towers with kitchens but much more rare. The other alternative was the Westin, but trading into it has become much more difficult lately as the bulk deposits have dried up mostly. I am a huge Costco fan and one thing that ticks me off is that Costco is by the airport and MOC is on the other side of the island. Unless you buy stuff before going to MOC, it is quite a drive (30-40 min) to go back to buy groceries as it more expensive on the island

Now looking at Ko Olina, the deposits are relatively plentiful and regularly I can trade into 2 BR units with full kitchens. It is like being in Kaanapali without the crowds. Many mornings I am in the lagoon / beach practically by myself till 11 am. The lagoon/beach is not crowded at all. I will be honest, I am not a fan of Honolulu and Waikiki as the traffic and crowds are absolutely nuts, but the west end of the island is completely different and I avoid going to Honolulu unless I absolutely have to. Costco is 5 min away in Kapolei and I love going to buy fresh poke every day for lunch or dinner. Perfect place to gas up as it is way cheaper there than anywhere else.

Weighing the pros and cons, Ko Olina is a no brainer for me with the ease of getting 2 BR units reservations, conveniences of being close to Kapolei/Costco and many restaurant choices for reasonable prices. There are many sites to go visit and more options. The shopping choices are fantastic. I guess I am having my cake and eating it too!

I recently visited the Big Island and there are many things to see, but I don't think i would rush back to that island anytime soon.

That's my take on it, but each person's preferences are different so it's all what works for you.

 

[ibcnu]

I've been to Hawaii a few times but my kids haven't. We were also thinking of taking them one day and I too would chose Ko Olina. This way it gives you a relaxing atmosphere while still being on the island of Oahu, where you can visit Pearl Harbor, snorkel Hanauma Bay, watch the locals surf the Pipeline, get wild in Waikiki, etc.

Venturing to another island is something you can do if you are planning on staying in Hawaii 2 weeks or it is your 2nd or 3rd trip.

 

[JIMinNC]

Getting into MOC is a little difficult sometimes on Interval but definitely achievable. Most of the time, it was in a 1 BR in the original towers with the limited kitchens. Occasionally you might get into the new towers with kitchens but much more rare.

The OP said he was a DC points owner, so he can get into MOC or KoOlina with points and avoid II searches. I found points availability in the MOC original towers to be excellent in all room sizes and categories when I was searching earlier this year. There was also quite a bit of DC points availability in the new towers with a little flexibility in dates. I shopped the system almost every week from January through June. But if the OP is looking at March 2016, he may be a little late in the game to get MOC. I'm not sure what availability looks like there today for that time period since we used our points to book a June week and don't have enough to search with now.

 

[JIMinNC]

I just had another thought -- since you said this was your first trip and it may be a long time before you go back, and since you are points owners, you are not restricted to seven-day stays. If you are willing island hop, you could stay three to five days each on two or three different islands. That is a huge advantage you have as a points owner.

As others have noted here, each island has its own character - KoOlina/Oahu has the big tourist attractions, night life, mainland-like dining and shopping, etc. Kauai offers a pure Hawaiian experience with amazingly beautiful scenery, lots of outdoor activities, and is maybe a little more like Hawaii of old. Maui is sort of a blend of the two - with tropical jungles, a dormant volcano that is 10,000 feet high, great beaches, and upscale restaurants and shops. And in March, the Humpback Whales will still be visiting the waters between Maui and Lanai and a whale watch is an amazing experience. The Big Island is totally different again with an active volcano, lava deserts, and the stark contrasts of pitch black lava rocks against green tropical scenery and the blue ocean.

For a first time or one-time visitor, this might be the best way to see the islands as long as you are not committed to a leisurely 7 night traditional timeshare stay. I would bet you can even now get 3-5 night bookings through the DC Points system on Kauai and KoOlina, with the only difficult one being Maui Ocean Club since the demand for that resort is so high - especially during whale season in March.

If you can use points for Oahu and Kauai, maybe you could do a three or four night rental on Maui. I assume as a family of four you would prefer a two bedroom unit, so MOC may not be a rental option on Marriott.com since I rarely see 2BR units show up there. Good alternatives for nightly rentals in the Kaanapali area would be the Kaanapali Alii or The Whaler condos. Do a Google search and you will find at least a couple local Maui real estate firms that offer nightly rentals there.

No Marriott timeshare yet on the Big Island, but there is a Marriott hotel that you could book for a few nights for cash - long enough to see the sights there.

While island hopping does require the purchase of inter island airfare on Hawaiian Airlines, if this is going to possibly be a one-time trip, I would definitely encourage you to visit more than one island - Kauai and Oahu if you don't want to mess with having to spring for a rental unit - or including Maui or the Big Island into the mix if you are willing to supplement your points nights with nightly rentals.

 

[KenA]

I appreciate all the great info. I had considered the idea of island hopping, but need to do more research on that. I don't know anything about which airline to use, cost etc. I also know that with March 2016 trip, it might limit my options. At this point, there appears to be good availability at Ko'Olina, but the other locations...not so much.

We are planning for 10 days, but close to three will be for travel. I am hoping to get 8 nights in Hawaii.

 

[JIMinNC]

I appreciate all the great info. I had considered the idea of island hopping, but need to do more research on that. I don't know anything about which airline to use, cost etc. I also know that with March 2016 trip, it might limit my options. At this point, there appears to be good availability at Ko'Olina, but the other locations...not so much.

We are planning for 10 days, but close to three will be for travel. I am hoping to get 8 nights in Hawaii.

Interisland hops will usually be on Hawaiian Airlines. They use Boeing 717 aircraft (an updated version of the DC-9).

I realized I have enough residual points in my account to look at individual day increments in Hawaii for next March and it looks like in addition to KoOlina, Marriott Waiohai on Kauai has good availability for most every day of early-to-mid March 2016 in a 2BR Island View (basically almost every night is open for the first three weeks of March 2016), and a full week in mid-March still has Ocean View availability. Maui or the Big Island would have to be some kind of nightly rental.

If you opt to do KoOlina and Waiohai, you could fly into Honolulu from the mainland, take one inter island flight segment to Lihue on Kauai, and then fly back to the mainland direct from Lihue. American, Delta, and United all offer service from Lihue to the mainland. That way you can do two islands with only one inter island segment. With only 10 days, I wouldn't try to tackle more than two islands. If you would rather do Maui or the Big Island than Kauai, you could do 5 or 6 nights at KoOlina and then do a rental for 3 or 4 nights on Maui or the Big Island. You can also fly back to the mainland direct from Kahului, Maui and Kona on the Big Island (also American, Delta, and United), and can thus do the same two-island itinerary with only one inter island segment on Hawaiian.

 

[Quadmaniac]

I appreciate all the great info. I had considered the idea of island hopping, but need to do more research on that. I don't know anything about which airline to use, cost etc. I also know that with March 2016 trip, it might limit my options. At this point, there appears to be good availability at Ko'Olina, but the other locations...not so much.

We are planning for 10 days, but close to three will be for travel. I am hoping to get 8 nights in Hawaii.

For such a short trip, I would recommend not island hopping. You really need at least a week to explore an island and even then you can't see it all. It's a hassle flying and getting settled again. There will be lots to see so enjoy your time and have time to breath.

 

[Luanne]

I appreciate all the great info. I had considered the idea of island hopping, but need to do more research on that. I don't know anything about which airline to use, cost etc. I also know that with March 2016 trip, it might limit my options. At this point, there appears to be good availability at Ko'Olina, but the other locations...not so much.

We are planning for 10 days, but close to three will be for travel. I am hoping to get 8 nights in Hawaii.

If you are going in March and only plan on doing one island I would highly recommend Maui. You have the best whale viewing on that island.

 

[myhrse11]

We go to Hawaii from the East Coast almost every year. 8 days is enough to see one island. So it really comes down to what you like to do. Oahu has some of everything and we own at Ko Olina. Oahu has varied restaurants, shopping, adventure (hiking, ATV, Zipline, Snorkeling, surfing, SUP) and sightseeing. However, you are not going to go surfing at Ko Olina. If shopping is less important and more adventure/nature is preferred then I would suggest somewhere like Kauai.

For a first trip, Oahu is a good starting place. Lot's to do. But be warned. You will be back!

 

[DeniseM]

Don't island hop unless, you are going for 2 weeks - it eats up most of a day:

Day 1 - Fly home

Day 2 - recover from jet lag - enjoy Hawaii

Day 3 - enjoy Hawaii

Day 4 - Island Hop: check out, return car, go to airport and wait, fly, do in reverse on the other end

Day 5 - enjoy Hawaii

Day 6 - enjoy Hawaii

Day 7 - fly home

Island hopping turns a 7 day vacation into a 4 day vacation. Even from the West Coast, we won't go to Hawaii for less than 2 weeks - the travel time eats up too much of the vacation time to go for a week.

 

[JIMinNC]

I agree on a 7 day trip, island hopping would not be a good idea; and for someone who thinks they may return to the islands again soon, island hopping would also be a bad choice for a shorter trip.

But the OP said they were planning a 10 day trip. I think island hopping can at least be considered on a 10 day trip, especially if they think they may never go back or that it might be a long, long time before they go back.

Seeing more than one island for a one-time visitor, in my opinion, would be preferable to seeing just one island. On my first trip to Hawaii, I did Oahu, Maui, and Kauai spending 3 or 4 days on each island. This was pre-timeshare ownership. Second trip, our honeymoon, my wife and I did Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island over about 12 days, also hotels. It wasn't until our third trip in 1996 that we spent a full week in one place - Maui - in a rented studio condo at The Whaler on Kaanapali, followed by a few days on either Kauai or the Big Island (can't recall which).

So using Denise's example as a starting point:

Day 1 - Fly from home

Day 2 - recover from jet lag - enjoy Hawaii

Day 3 - enjoy Hawaii

Day 4 - enjoy Hawaii

Day 5 - Island Hop: check out, return car, go to airport and wait, fly, do in reverse on the other end

Day 6 - enjoy Hawaii

Day 7 - enjoy Hawaii

Day 8 - enjoy Hawaii

Day 9 - enjoy Hawaii, take evening overnight flight to mainland (almost all flight options to east coast from Hawaii are overnight)

Day 10 - arrive home

So that would give the OP three days on one island, a island hop day, plus four days on another island. While not ideal for someone who thinks they will return soon, I think it is worth considering if the OP thinks they won't be back for a long, long time.

 

[SueDonJ]

I think we must be the laziest TUGgers. We like to get to a place and settle in for the long haul.

Our one and only trip to Hawaii was two consecutive weeks at Waiohai, the only moving we did was to a different unit on Day 7. If we go back I'll be perfectly content to go to Waiohai again but Don would like to try a different resort/island. Both of us say we'll extend a return trip to three weeks if we move between islands and we'll bookend the Hawaii stays with 2-3 night stays on the west coast (ideally Seattle and SanFran or Anaheim to coincide with RedSox baseball.)

Yeah, that's a long trip, but even the draw of Hawaii isn't enough to combat the effects of east-coast-to-Hawaii travel. If we don't have the kind of time we want then we'd rather book an island closer to home and be happy with that.

 

[cowboy]

I think that the first thing you need to determine is what your interests are. If you want to experience an urban setting go to Oahu, if you want scenery, by far the best island is Kauai. Maui is also a very scenic island but is busier than Kauai and is more spread out. The Big Island(Hawaii) is huge and has a lot of diversity. Like the other posts have stated be forewarned that you will get hooked on Hawaii and want to return. All of the Islands have different personalities and one is not better than the other. Once you decide on your interests I would obtain the guide book for whatever island you decide upon which is published by Wizard publications to help in your planning. Here's hoping you have a wonderful trip.

 

[Luanne]

My first trip to Hawaii was back in 1968 with my parents and sister. We saw 4 islands in two weeks. I do have memorable impressions of each island, and it showed me which one I wanted to come back and spend more time on (Maui).

If I remember (and my memory is vague) our trip went something like this:

Day 1 - flew from west coast to Hilo. Toured the Hilo and Volcano Park area in the afternoon/evening (obviously a quick tour, but we did have dinner at the Volcano House and at that time could see the lava bubbling from the windows).

Day 2 - went to the Mauna Kea resort, which at that time was the only resort in that area. I'm not sure how we got there as we did not have a car while there. Spent the entire time at the resort so my dad and grandfather could play golf. To this day the beach at the Mauna Kea is one of my favorites.

Now the memory starts to fade. I know we went to Kauai (stayed at the Coco Palms) and Maui (stayed at the Napili Kai Beach Club, which was the resort the farthest north, there was no Kapalua at that time) and finished in Oahu.

What I don't remember is how many days we stayed in each location, and what all we saw. I remember a luau on Maui, beach time on all islands. The only reason we went to Oahu was because my parents had friends living in Honolulu. We did not tour Pearl Harbor as my dad, who had served in the Navy during WWII, had no interest. Or maybe it just hit too close to home for him, I don't really know.

So yes, you can see multiple islands in a short time, but at this point in my life, that's not a vacation. So you need to think about what your intent is. Do you want a vacation, where you can relax, yet still see some of the area, or do you want to rush from place to place just so you can say you've been there?

 

[JIMinNC]

Yeah, that's a long trip, but even the draw of Hawaii isn't enough to combat the effects of east-coast-to-Hawaii travel. If we don't have the kind of time we want then we'd rather book an island closer to home and be happy with that.

I've never had a problem with the east-to-west trip. We usually leave on an early AM flight from Charlotte and arrive Maui mid-afternoon Hawaii time. We'll usually rest a little on the flight out, and then force ourselves to eat dinner and stay up until at least 10pm or 11pm Hawaii time on that first night to get ourselves on island time. We then wake up on Hawaii time on the morning of Day 2 and I've usually had no issues with jet lag.

The return west-to-east trip is another story, however. That one usually takes me several days to readjust to eastern time after two weeks or so in the islands.

 

[BocaBoy]

Contrary to what most here have said, I think it is actually a no brainer to island hop on a trip to Hawaii when you might never go back. I think back to our honeymoon decades ago where we spent 6 days on Oahu and 7 days going to all 3 of the other main islands. If I had that to do over again, the only thing I would change would be to spend only 4 days on Oahu so I could have 9 days to see the other 3 islands. Had we not island hopped, I don't think I would have gotten the same flavor and appreciation of the state. Even today, after many trips to Hawaii, we still like to visit two islands when we go back on our annual trips. Now we always go to Maui for 2-3 weeks and spend a week or two on another island (and occasionally a third), which varies from trip to trip.

 

[SueDonJ]

I've never had a problem with the east-to-west trip. We usually leave on an early AM flight from Charlotte and arrive Maui mid-afternoon Hawaii time. We'll usually rest a little on the flight out, and then force ourselves to eat dinner and stay up until at least 10pm or 11pm Hawaii time on that first night to get ourselves on island time. We then wake up on Hawaii time on the morning of Day 2 and I've usually had no issues with jet lag.

The return west-to-east trip is another story, however. That one usually takes me several days to readjust to eastern time after two weeks or so in the islands.

The flying itself usually doesn't bother me a bit, I get settled in my seat and read for the duration. But flying to Hawaii Bos-LA and then LA-Kauai, I was batsh*t (sorry, the emphasis is warranted!) stir-crazy midway through the second flight. If I could have opened the door and jumped I would have. It had nothing to do with comfort or anybody around me bothering me, I had just HAD ENOUGH of flying and was climbing the walls. Once I was there, no problems, and none on the return home except the same stir-craziness on the second flight.

It's not the jet lag so much as being confined for that length of time with a connection in-between. Since then I won't fly any connecting flights on the same day unless the total is shorter than eight hours flying.

So you could say I'm not just a lazy slug, I'm also spoiled.

 

[Luanne]

We used to live in California and could easily fly from San Francisco to any of the islands. "Quick" 5 hour, direct, flight.

When we moved to New Mexico it became trickier. We've made two trips to Hawaii since we moved and both have been nightmares. So for our trip next year we're planning on spending a couple of nights in San Francisco both going and coming home. Since we're now retired we can take the extra time.

 

[TRAVELING FOOL]

We've only been to Hawaii once and stayed in Oahu. We flew to Seattle and stayed 2 days with family. We flew out in the am for a 5hr flight, which was much better. We did all the tourist sights.. Interesting to see how different each area of the island was. For our next trip, we will probably stay longer and island hop. Would definitely stop over on the west coast again before and after. I get stir crazy on those long flights, especially to Europe!