hawaii tips

[jax86]

We're in the very early stages of planning a hawaii vacation trip for next summer. does anyone have tips as far as hotels etc. we have 2 teenagers. the best air fare i could find is about $600 RT from nj. I would like to do this as cheaply as possible. (i know Hawaii is VERY expensive) we're staying 2 weeks and not sure what islands yet except Maui. thanks

[ILoveLegos]

Have you considered an inter island cruise? Island hoping costs (and the resultant hotel hoping costs add up pretty quickly in Hawaii). On a cruise the islands "come to you" also you don't have to pack/unpack quite so often, your meals are included as well as gratuities and you can feel free to do whatever (well on Norwegian Cruise Line anyway).
Of course, adult beverages and tour excursions come extra, but with teenagers that's probably the way the'd like to spend time in Hawaii.
Have fun planning & have a great time when you go whatever you decide!

[faline]

We've done two trips to Hawaii in the last three years. On each trip, we spent three nights in Honolulu and another eleven nights on Maui! You'll have a wonderful time!

On Maui, I'd recommend Mahana at Kaanapali. This is an excellent condo! It is beach front and well maintained. While there is no restaurant on-site, a five minute walk down the beach will bring you to two resorts (including Mahana's sister resort) that have restaurants. Additionally, you'll have a kitchen in your condo. Gas grills are also available. It's just a short drive away from downtown Lahaina! Yes, it is expensive but you save quite a lot if you do cooking for yourself onsite.

On our most recent trip, we stayed in the Sheraton right on Waikiki Beach in an ocean front room for out first three nights.

I rebooked both reservations several times as new discounts were announced by the places we stayed.

You'll have a wonderful time here! I'm hoping to go again in a couple of years!

[Disdude]

We've only been to Maui once and we stayed in Kihei. We really liked the area but we did not care for our accomadations. The Best Western is probably the cheapest in the area but the hotel was run down when we stayed there in 2006.

I perfered the Kihei area over the Lahaina area although we did enjoy our visit to the north west area of the island.

Things we enjoyed the most:

1) The drive to Hana. We rented a Jeep Wrangler and went ALL around the island. Awesome sites. It was truely beautiful.
2) The Maui aquarium. It is small but we really liked it.
3) Sansei sushi. Sunday and Monday 1/2 price sushi happy hour. Wow! Delicious.
4) Lahaina and Cheeseburger in Paradise. Good food and awesome view.
5) Living like a local. We love hanging out in the areas where the local residents hang out.

Oh how I wish we could live there. Maybe someday.

Aloha and enjoy your trip!

[murphy1]

We went to Oahu, Maui and Kauai, if you can get over to Kauai, do it! It is absolutely gorgeous! They have the Little Grand Canyon Waimea, we also did the helicopter tour over Napali, incredible! In Maui, we stayed in Kaanapali at the Whaler, the Golf course next door was gorgeous and so was the beach we were on. They also have a neat winery in Maui and we did the drive to Hana. I can't wait to go back! My grandma is from Hawaii and my gparents met at Pearl Harbor

[Mfarquar]

Can't agree more with murphy1 about Kauai! It's absolutely beautiful and has the most "old Hawaii" feel, in my opinion.

We also did the Big Island and Oahu on our trip.

We stayed away from Maui because some locals we know (and then some strangers re-confirmed on our trip) told us "it's where we send the tourists".

But, we still want to check it out some day. So, I can't give you any info on Maui.

However, we LOVED the Big Island. I see that as the "exploration island". Volcano National Park is AMAZING. We hiked through lava tube and to the bottom of craters with steam vents. There was unexpected activity the day we went, so they closed down areas where you can see live lava flowing. Still an utterly AMAZING experience (and you don't have to be a hiker). We also went on an awesome tour with an ecological company, Hawaii Forest and Trail. They have special permission (because they help preserve) to go through ancient Hawaiian bathing pools and water systems in the Kohala Valley. It was such a beautiful and great tour - I really can't say enough about it. It was a grade A, non-touristy trip and we regretted not booking their nighttime star gazing tour at the observatory at the top of Mauna Kea (the largest mountain - you need a coat, which they provide along with cookies and hot chocolate!). You really get almost every ecosystem on the big island - jungle, volcano, lava fields/plains, and mountain. We stayed at the Fairmont Orchid and we felt like royalty. Excellent service and absolutely gorgeous. The spa is $$$ but not to be beat (best massage of my life in a hut next to the ocean). The food is great, and you can get a good deal if you search the internet enough. There's also a wonderful turtle preservation area on the property so there isn't one day you won't see them on land or come across them while snorkeling. There's also some ancient Hawaiian petroglyphs on the Fairmont's land, and you can take a self-guided tour of them. Awesome!

Kauai is really the "nature" island. Now we experienced Hawaiians to be SUPER friendly (think the best of the Disney cast members), but Kauai really has the FRIENDLIEST inhabitants. It also has the most lush and gorgeous scenery, as well as the biggest tropical bird population. The Napali Coast is not to be missed. It's AMAZING (usually shot for movies like Jurassic Park, etc.). You can't trek it unless you're a great hiker and want to camp overnight. Not for me. I'm a wus. So, we took a boat out instead (with a tour company). We went with a small one - a local, family-owned company where they only take out 15 people at a time. We went through gorgeous caverns and super-blue water. We stopped in a cay and went snorkeling and saw dolphin mothers with their babies! It's really an Eden! We stayed at the Sheraton, and the location and beach are the best. The hotel and service was ok, just not nearly as nice as the Fairmont. But, the location made up for it and I hear if you get an ocean room in the main building it's amazing (we had a garden view in the 2nd building). We found great "secret" beaches with lava pools as well, around the island.

Finally, we viewed Oahu as our acclamation back to the "real world", as it is more city-like (or at least, Waikiki is - the North Shore is another story). It really was our "history" island. The Iolani Palace (former Hawaiian royalty homestead) is the only real palace on US soil and it is GORGEOUS. Definitely worth a tour (not the self-guided one) and you must reserve in advance otherwise you only get to the bottom floor. Pearl Harbor is amazing, and the USS Missouri (where the Japanese officially surrendered) is awesome and worth a $7 tour. It's history come alive. There is great snorkeling on this island too, especially Shark Beach. The food on this island is amazing too, and drives up the North Shore were awesome. We stayed at the Halekulani, which was gorgeous and quiet (especially for Waikiki beach), but in the end was a little stuffy (dress code, etc., but the staff was the kindest and would trip over themselves to do anything for you - bottled waters, towels and umbrellas when leaving for the day), but we loved it nonetheless.

Sorry for the long answer, but I hope it is helpful.

It is my opinion that going to the actual island is much better than a cruise. Staying in one spot for awhile lets you explore the island and get a real feel for it. There is SO much to do on each island. These are not spots to go and drop dead on the beach and never leave the resort the entire vacation (although we enjoyed that part too!).

Check out the Hawaii Revealed books (they're very blue). They are AWESOME and really give you insight to the "real Hawaii". They were my bible (along with a few websites) when planning our trip and we found them to be spot on. They're written by people who actually live on the island and give great advice and reviews. They also have a website through Wizard Publications and you can get some info for free right away through many page samples.

As for flights, we took Continental's direct flight out of Newark. I believe it leaves every day around 1pm (returns around 6pm from Oahu every day). For us, the timing really relieved jet lag - when we arrived, we had enough time to eat dinner and go to bed. We woke up bright and early the next day and we're ready to go! $600 is a good price for this. You probably won't see any cheaper. We used credit card points to upgrade to first class (wasn't as much as we thought).

We went for 16 days, and still wanted more. It is my opinion to try to stay 4 - 6 nights per island. So, if you only have a week, just choose one island, IMO.

No matter what you choose, you'll have a great time!

[Daisy712]

We were on Maui and Oahu in 2005 with our two children (then DD, 9 and DS, 11). We also did a budget and stayed at two great hotels. On Maui, the Kaanapali Beach Hotel and on Oahu, Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel. Both are budget friendly and were great for us. I did a lot of research online and checking out hotels on Tripadvisor. Both of these hotels got rave reviews. We are actually staying at the Aston again this Thanksgiving for our anniversary. We liked the fact that it was next to the Waikiki Zoo and across the street from the beach. They loaned us chairs for the beach and they have a breakfast where you have a lunch cooler in your room and they have stations set up on the pool deck. You can fill your cooler and put left overs in the refrigerator in the room. Helps to save money and have a few snacks on hand. The breakfast is free.

On Oahu, I would suggest the Polynesian Cultural Center. It is wonderful and the people are so friendly. You can also research it online.

I would grab the $600 airfare. We are flying from Indiana for $580 and I haven't seen anything cheaper than that. We also are flying Continental, again. Each seat has its own personal tv and you can choose from a selection of movies and games. It certainly helps to keep the kids busy and to pass the time.

Have a great trip.