Which order to visit.... Newport Coast, Maui & Ko Olina?

[Gemini Chica]

Thinking to visit in August (only month we can go for 3 weeks) coming from Europe so would be making the most of travelling so far, my idea being fly into LAX and stay a week in Newport Coast Villas, then fly out to Hawaii and do a week in Maui (thinking Molokai towers) and finally on to Ko Olina for a week. My thinking being we will like Ko Olina the most so leave it til last. Would be 2 adults + 3 teens. Does anyone suggest a different way round and the reasons?

 

[DanCali]

Thinking to visit in August (only month we can go for 3 weeks) coming from Europe so would be making the most of travelling so far, my idea being fly into LAX and stay a week in Newport Coast Villas, then fly out to Hawaii and do a week in Maui (thinking Molokai towers) and finally on to Ko Olina for a week. My thinking being we will like Ko Olina the most so leave it til last. Would be 2 adults + 3 teens. Does anyone suggest a different way round and the reasons?

Order is very subjective, but seems reasonable.

If you're staying on points one thing to consider is that NCV becomes a bit cheaper after Aug 15, but it's just a 10% difference vs peak summer. It gets much cheaper after mid-September.

For Maui, you may want to consider the Westin resorts on Kaanapali (Westin Kaanapali Villas, Westin Kaanapali Villas north, and Westin Nanea). We prefer Westins over Marriott almost always.

Ko Olina is in a nice secluded location but Oahu is home to Honolulu and if you've never been there you may spend more time touring around the island than being on the beach.

Given the size of your party, you'll likely need 2BRs everywhere. You could potentially stay at Disney's Aulani resort on Ko Olina in a 1BR since those sleep up to 5 adults (~10 min walk from the Marriott). Both Marriott's Ko Olina and Disney's Aulani are fantastic resorts, but very different in their vibe (Ko Olina is more relaxing...). We split out stay between the two last summer and it was great. But if you don't own Disney, be prepared for a sticker shock as that 1BR may cost you more than a 2BR at Marriott, even when renting from an owner.

 

[Gemini Chica]

Order is very subjective, but seems reasonable.

If you're staying on points one thing to consider is that NCV becomes a bit cheaper after Aug 15, but it's just a 10% difference vs peak summer. It gets much cheaper after mid-September.

For Maui, you may want to consider the Westin resorts on Kaanapali (Westin Kaanapali Villas, Westin Kaanapali Villas north, and Westin Nanea). We prefer Westins over Marriott almost always.

Ko Olina is in a nice secluded location but Oahu is home to Honolulu and if you've never been there you may spend more time touring around the island than being on the beach.

Given the size of your party, you'll likely need 2BRs everywhere. You could potentially stay at Disney's Aulani resort on Ko Olina in a 1BR since those sleep up to 5 adults (~10 min walk from the Marriott). Both Marriott's Ko Olina and Disney's Aulani are fantastic resorts, but very different in their vibe (Ko Olina is more relaxing...). We split out stay between the two last summer and it was great. But if you don't own Disney, be prepared for a sticker shock as that 1BR may cost you more than a 2BR at Marriott, even when renting from an owner.

Thanks, yes would be booking with destination points, and looking at 2 bedrooms in each. Ko Olina is the one we most want to visit, so could shorten the other ones and chose longer for there. Maui, yes will look at the Westin's too, which of the 3 would be better for teens?

 

[ljmiii]

My first suggestion would be to break up the flights in both directions rather than just one. We love visiting San Francisco and the 2BRs at the SF RCC are spectacular (as is the service). A three-ish night stay there on the way out or back could be wonderful for you and yours.

As for order, on a longish trip we usually prefer to visit the places that are most 'busy' first while we and our kids have the most energy. I don't know what you intend to do in LA, Oahu, and Maui (and perhaps SF) so I'm not sure what would be best for y'all.

Lastly, while I agree that Oahu is a must I'm not sure why you chose Maui as your second island. We much prefer Waiohai on Kauai to MOC and somewhat prefer Waikoloa on the Big Island as well. Kaanapali feels a lot like coastal LA and tragically a lot of that which was most quirky and interesting about the area was in Lahaina and no longer exists. But to each their own...many people like MOC...I just wanted to make sure it wasn't a choice by default.

BTW, I'm assuming that you're intending to take a non-stop out of Madrid or Barcelona to and from California...and see that at least in summer Iberia flies nonstop to both SFO and LAX.

 

[Big Matt]

Unless you just want to go to Oahu, I wouldn't include Ko'Olina. It's on a strip of resorts on man made lagoons. So many better options if going to Hawaii. I like Maui a lot, but make sure you understand what type of resort it is and how the trade winds impact the weather/surf. Just a wild idea, but have you ever thought about including one of the Lake Tahoe resorts? like another poster mentioned, you could go California, Hawaii, back to California and then home. I worry that if you are looking for a beachy vacation you may be disappointed with NCV and Ko'Olina/Maui.

 

[VacationForever]

Ko Olina is my absolute favorite. See - everyone is different. I dislike Maui the most, again, see - everyone is different. OP is asking about sequence and I would agree with the proposal, NCV, Maui and then Ko Olina. Leave with happy memories of the last location.

 

[klpca]

I also love Ko Olina. It is a great resort for "staying at the resort". That said, you can easily do a driving tour of Oahu or add a tour of Pearl Harbor, but Ko Olina is a great destination in and of itself.

As far as order, I don't see anything wrong with your preferred order. As a Californian, I agree, do Newport Coast first. If you reversed the order so that you came to Newport Coast on the heels of a Hawaii stay, it could be a bit of a letdown. There is nothing wrong with the resort, but either the Maui resorts (including Westin) or Ko Olina have far better beach access. Next, Maui or Oahu is a toss up. The shore snorkeling off of the west Maui resorts is fabulous, so if that is your thing you may want to finish there. And as I have said before, we love the feel of the Ko Olina resort, so you honestly can't go wrong with either one. There are direct flights to the West Coast from either Oahu or Maui, but there are probably more choices from Oahu than Maui. It may just come down to availability.

edit: To clarify, the shore snorkeling from the Westin (up the road a bit) is fabulous. I haven't snorkeled near the Marriott.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I like the order; you cannot go wrong either way. I would consider air schedules and cost to drive your decision.

I would also consider some of the budget carriers such as Level, French Bee or Norse to/from Calif nonstop from Europe. Norse and French Bee operate out of LAX but not SFO. Not sure of Level.

Southwest Air is easy trip from Northern and Southern Calif. to Hawaii. Also interisland check schedules.

 

[DanCali]

Thanks, yes would be booking with destination points, and looking at 2 bedrooms in each. Ko Olina is the one we most want to visit, so could shorten the other ones and chose longer for there. Maui, yes will look at the Westin's too, which of the 3 would be better for teens?

I don't know that one is better for teens over the others. I think the 2BRs at Nanea are "dedicated 2BR" (not lockoffs) that sleep 6 so someone would have to get the sofa in the single living area. The 2BRs at at the Wesin Kaanapali Villas (South and North) are lockoffs that sleep 8. Teens may like having a whole studio to themselves and adults might like having a 1BR to themselves.

 

[Dean]

Thinking to visit in August (only month we can go for 3 weeks) coming from Europe so would be making the most of travelling so far, my idea being fly into LAX and stay a week in Newport Coast Villas, then fly out to Hawaii and do a week in Maui (thinking Molokai towers) and finally on to Ko Olina for a week. My thinking being we will like Ko Olina the most so leave it til last. Would be 2 adults + 3 teens. Does anyone suggest a different way round and the reasons?

If you have all options easily vailable to you I'd do NC then Ko Olina then Maui if flights don't push you to a different choice. Ko Olina is likely to be busier for most people who haven't been there than is Maui. If you're looking at exchanges, Maui will be the most difficult to get so that could end up driving your choices. It might be more difficult t book in Abound points as well.

OTOH, flying in to Maui might be easier from the West Coast and give you more options flying out of HNL on the return. Of course you could fly into and out of HNL for the 2 weeks and pay the extra one way inter island. If using exchanges this is absolutely how I would approach it. I'm sure others have a lot more knowledge and experience on the airline choices but I don't think you'll be able to do Europe to LAX with stop over then fly into HNL and out of Maui (or vice versa) on a single ticket. While you likely can do so if you fly into and out of HNL with a layover at LAX.

 

[Gemini Chica]

If you have all options easily vailable to you I'd do NC then Ko Olina then Maui if flights don't push you to a different choice. Ko Olina is likely to be busier for most people who haven't been there than is Maui. If you're looking at exchanges, Maui will be the most difficult to get so that could end up driving your choices. It might be more difficult t book in Abound points as well.

OTOH, flying in to Maui might be easier from the West Coast and give you more options flying out of HNL on the return. Of course you could fly into and out of HNL for the 2 weeks and pay the extra one way inter island. If using exchanges this is absolutely how I would approach it. I'm sure others have a lot more knowledge and experience on the airline choices but I don't think you'll be able to do Europe to LAX with stop over then fly into HNL and out of Maui (or vice versa) on a single ticket. While you likely can do so if you fly into and out of HNL with a layover at LAX.

Thanks for your thoughts, its much appreciated.

 

[Big Matt]

Ko Olina is my absolute favorite. See - everyone is different. I dislike Maui the most, again, see - everyone is different. OP is asking about sequence and I would agree with the proposal, NCV, Maui and then Ko Olina. Leave with happy memories of the last location.

That's what makes the world go 'round.

 

[tatmtr7]

I just booked a 2 bedroom at Ko Olina today. Unfortunately most dates were not available though the end of the month has some dates still available. I would suggest that if using points book soon! I agree do NCV first as you will appreciate the beach at your doorstep at Ko Olina. We have stayed at KOLina years ago and at the Nikko hotel which then rebranded as a Marriott property. The lagoons were wonderful to explore then but the resorts had yet to be built.

 

[Gemini Chica]

Unless you just want to go to Oahu, I wouldn't include Ko'Olina. It's on a strip of resorts on man made lagoons. So many better options if going to Hawaii. I like Maui a lot, but make sure you understand what type of resort it is and how the trade winds impact the weather/surf. Just a wild idea, but have you ever thought about including one of the Lake Tahoe resorts? like another poster mentioned, you could go California, Hawaii, back to California and then home. I worry that if you are looking for a beachy vacation you may be disappointed with NCV and Ko'Olina/Maui.

No I didn't even consider Lake Tahoe to be honest. My reasons for these resorts are purely based on what I read about and how amazing they are, the only one I am 100% sure that has to be in there is Ko Olina but the others are just ideas, currently our favourite resorts are Phuket Beach Club and our two home resorts Marbella Beach Resort and Playa Andaluza. We live by the beach and while I like to look at it we prefer to be by the pool. For us parents our main goal is to relax and enjoy for the teens it will be Scuba diving, water sports, and relaxing too.

 

[Gemini Chica]

My first suggestion would be to break up the flights in both directions rather than just one. We love visiting San Francisco and the 2BRs at the SF RCC are spectacular (as is the service). A three-ish night stay there on the way out or back could be wonderful for you and yours.

As for order, on a longish trip we usually prefer to visit the places that are most 'busy' first while we and our kids have the most energy. I don't know what you intend to do in LA, Oahu, and Maui (and perhaps SF) so I'm not sure what would be best for y'all.

Lastly, while I agree that Oahu is a must I'm not sure why you chose Maui as your second island. We much prefer Waiohai on Kauai to MOC and somewhat prefer Waikoloa on the Big Island as well. Kaanapali feels a lot like coastal LA and tragically a lot of that which was most quirky and interesting about the area was in Lahaina and no longer exists. But to each their own...many people like MOC...I just wanted to make sure it wasn't a choice by default.

BTW, I'm assuming that you're intending to take a non-stop out of Madrid or Barcelona to and from California...and see that at least in summer Iberia flies nonstop to both SFO and LAX.

Yes would do Iberia/AA/BA Madrid to LAX return and then just an internal flight.
Maui, no reason other than reading about it and knowing its popular. Our kids are adrenaline junkies (both boys do Motorcross as their main sport), they all love to Scuba dive, so anything water or adrenaline related goes down well!!
Never thought of the San Fran Ritz Carlton, as have no concept of how far away these places all are but will defo do some research with all the ideas you guys are giving me!! Thanks for your input, I appreciate it.

 

[Gemini Chica]

Ko Olina is my absolute favorite. See - everyone is different. I dislike Maui the most, again, see - everyone is different. OP is asking about sequence and I would agree with the proposal, NCV, Maui and then Ko Olina. Leave with happy memories of the last location.

Where would you suggest instead of Maui as a second destination in Hawaii, as thinking if we travel that far I would like to visit at least a couple of locations.

 

[Gemini Chica]

I like the order; you cannot go wrong either way. I would consider air schedules and cost to drive your decision.

I would also consider some of the budget carriers such as Level, French Bee or Norse to/from Calif nonstop from Europe. Norse and French Bee operate out of LAX but not SFO. Not sure of Level.

Southwest Air is easy trip from Northern and Southern Calif. to Hawaii. Also interisland check schedules.

Thank you, Level has often popped up with offers from Europe but I dismissed them as thought they might be rubbish, have you ever flown with them?

 

[Dean]

Where would you suggest instead of Maui as a second destination in Hawaii, as thinking if we travel that far I would like to visit at least a couple of locations.

If you are going to HI, I think your original options are best but that assumes you have interest in the options on Oahu outside the resort. Otherwise I'd personally skip Oahu and chose Kauai but not KBC.

 

[klpca]

Where would you suggest instead of Maui as a second destination in Hawaii, as thinking if we travel that far I would like to visit at least a couple of locations.

I'd keep Maui on the itinerary, as it has a lot for your sons. In addition to the water sports, there are a couple of places to zipline, one on the west side not far from the resort and another near Kula on the way to Haleakala National Park, which rises to 10,000 feet and has great hiking (pass on the sunrise though. It requires a reservation and you'll be driving up there at 3am). There is another national park out towards Hana that has a great bamboo forest to hike through - it just depends on how much driving you want to do. Kauai is our favorite now, but it is a slower pace there and I honestly didn't appreciate it until I got older.

One other to consider - the snorkeling/diving is really good off of the island of Hawaii (Big Island). The only downside is that the island is huge, so driving anywhere takes longer than one of the smaller islands. For your situation (adrenaline junkies, first visit), I think that Maui would be better.

 

[PaulaC]

Having traveled to Hawaii for the past 43 years, I think you have got the perfect itinerary. We travel to Hawaii yearly and spend 4 to 6 weeks there, traveling between the islands or just staying on one island. Ko'Olina is our favorite of all the Hawaiian resorts, it is close enough to the airport, the North Shore, Pearl Harbor, etc to be able to explore without spending hours traveling. Kauai is the most beautiful island, IMHO, but it doesn't offer as much to do and travel can be so slow because there is one road that connects Lihue to Princeville, so you can waste hours trying to get anywhere. Maui is definitely a must visit island because of the activities, but here again traffic can be a nightmare, especially from the airport if there is an accident. If you decide that you want to visit a third island, you are close enough to the Honolulu Airport, when at Ko'Olina, to book a day trip. One year we did a day trip to the Big Island, where we flew over the active volcano.

 

[ljmiii]

Maui, no reason other than reading about it and knowing its popular. Our kids are adrenaline junkies (both boys do Motorcross as their main sport), they all love to Scuba dive, so anything water or adrenaline related goes down well!!

Then as long as y'all are willing to drive to get out of Kaanapali, Maui is an excellent choice. The scuba diving down by Molokini is extraordinary, biking Haleakala is not for the faint of heart, and there are many outdoor adventures and activities on offer.

 

[VacationForever]

Where would you suggest instead of Maui as a second destination in Hawaii, as thinking if we travel that far I would like to visit at least a couple of locations.

Kauai is my other/second favorite. The island is rustic and beautiful - aka the Garden Island. Stay around Poipu area (south). Spouting horn and great restaurants. Waimea Canyon is amazing, and on a right day, you see rainbow colors throughout the drive. Simply breathtaking. Princeville (north) is too rainy and far from everything. I would skip Maui.

 

[Gemini Chica]

I'd keep Maui on the itinerary, as it has a lot for your sons. In addition to the water sports, there are a couple of places to zipline, one on the west side not far from the resort and another near Kula on the way to Haleakala National Park, which rises to 10,000 feet and has great hiking (pass on the sunrise though. It requires a reservation and you'll be driving up there at 3am). There is another national park out towards Hana that has a great bamboo forest to hike through - it just depends on how much driving you want to do. Kauai is our favorite now, but it is a slower pace there and I honestly didn't appreciate it until I got older.

One other to consider - the snorkeling/diving is really good off of the island of Hawaii (Big Island). The only downside is that the island is huge, so driving anywhere takes longer than one of the smaller islands. For your situation (adrenaline junkies, first visit), I think that Maui would be better.

Thank you!