Worth it for just 1 wk from east coast?

[vacationhopeful]

Go for it ...

I went 3.5 years ago to Kauai for my April Birthday Party Week ... invited all my siblings & spouses. My Southern CA sister & husband plus my TX sister & husband attended but not my other 2 siblings or spouses. I had never been to Kauai (Big Island & Oahu during the 1st Gulf War). I am from the east coast - so I had the longest trip.

Everyone had a great time - small enough group to just rent one car and to eat on the one balcony every evening - wine & food from Costco. Large enough to have 2 units. It was the best time we had had with a difficult BIL. 6 months later that BIL died suddenly (October) but more of the siblings had also done an Alaskan cruise with him in August, too.

If I had NOT done the Hawaii trip - would the Alaskan cruise been attended so well by my siblings? Would my sister had 2 sets of once in a lifetime trips (and photos) with her husband at age 52? Would us siblings seen a "better" side of him and had memories of him enjoying life with our sister?

So my answer is ... GO FOR IT! Life is too short. You got a week NOW... take the opportunity as no one knows WHAT the future holds.

 

[Julian926]

As an East Coaster, I find that it's worth it. Yeah, I can go the Caribbeans and save money and time. But the Caribbeans and Hawaii are fundamentally different in all aspects. Culturally speaking, the food is different, the people are different, and the atmosphere very different.

So, a flight to Hawaii is worth it to me since it provides a much different vacation perspective.

 

[MichaelColey]

Personally, I would look into the Caribbean (and maybe a cruise or an all-inclusive resort) instead. Travel time and cost would both be quite a bit less, and you would still get an enjoyable island vacation. The Caribbean is much more varied, but many islands rival the beauty of Hawaii.

The biggest cost (for us, and probably most others) for a Hawaii vacation is just getting there. The time there (especially in timeshares) isn't that expensive, so longer trips just make a lot of sense because the incremental cost of those extra weeks is minimal.

 

[Deb from NC]

But for Wyndham owners (and in general, in my opinion) the choice of resorts on Hawaii is much better than in the Caribbean..... Both times we went to Hawaii for one week it was to attend the Maui Classic, so of course, the Caribbean was not an option! And it was SO worth it. I really didn't have a problem with the flight getting there...went straight to bed on arrival and was raring to go the next day. Coming back was worse, but not bad enough to prevent me from doing it again !

 

[topdog]

We are wrapping up 2 weeks in Hawaii now. Not happy that the trade winds were stolen by the passing hurricanes. Feels just like Florida in September. Still glad we came, it's Hawaii, but would never come here for just 1 week, and will never return in September. Had my first Puka dog today in Poipu, with lemonade of course. An authentic treat!

Also happy to see Hanalei and the north shore this trip, so no complaints.

 

[tompalm]

We are wrapping up 2 weeks in Hawaii now. Not happy that the trade winds were stolen by the passing hurricanes. Feels just like Florida in September. Still glad we came, it's Hawaii, but would never come here for just 1 week, and will never return in September. Had my first Puka dog today in Poipu, with lemonade of course. An authentic treat!

Also happy to see Hanalei and the north shore this trip, so no complaints.

You got robbed on the weather. We have lived here 20 plus years and have never seen it this bad. Today's newspaper has an article on the front page stating it is the worst weather in 30 years. August and September are the hottest months of the year in Hawaii. So that is great if you like to swim in the ocean for your entire vacation, but if out seeing the island, it is not the best time to visit.

 

[MichaelColey]

I can attest that it's not always like that in September. We went in September several years ago and even stayed in one timeshare that didn't have air conditioning (and another that only had it in the bedrooms). I was worried that it would be too hot. It wasn't.