kt123

My family has already booked a week-long stay in Maui in early January. But as this is our second time there, we were thinking of trying to organize a day trip to Kauai during our week in Maui.

Do you know of any tour operators and/or packages that I could research before we get to Maui? I'm thinking that these packages would include (interisland) airfare + some tour/sightseeing option together.

We're only looking at day trips as we already have everything booked for Maui (hotel + car rental for every day), so ideally we'd like to find some kind of package where we could fly to Kauai early in the morning, and then catch the last flight back to Maui at the end of the same day. Helicopter tours seem to be a popular choice, but are there other options? What other tour packages/sightseeing places are popular and/or recommended given our 1-day constraint? Or would you recommend that we just book everything separately and sightsee ourselves by renting car in Kauai?

Budman

I wouldn't think it would be worth the time & money to do just a day trip to Kauai -- maybe 2-3 days, but not a day trip.

kamahinaohoku

Budman - lots of people do one day trips from another island while in Hawaii. Though I agree with you that Kauai could better be appreciated by a longer stay.

That being said, I don't think there are any tours left that go from Maui to Kauai for a day. Most of them leave from Oahu. Since the interisland airlines have cut many of their early morning flights, many of the trips that used to run have been cancelled due to lack of air space.

So kt123, you'd have to book flights and a car and do it on your own, which can definitely be done.

cruisin_tigger

At the very bottom of this list, they offer private charters, although probably many $$$$.

http://www.volcanoairtours.com/tours.html

colombiana

kt123 your best bet is to do it on your own as previously advised. Go to www.aloha.com (airlines) so you can see when thier first flight and last flight go out to see if it truly is worth your time (I suggest at least 12 hours) I have to get back with you on the name but, they have the waimea canyon that is absolutly breath taken it is about 1 to 2 hour drive but wonderful to see. You can also go to the Kilauea lighthouse at the time your going you will probably get to see the whales (hear this is a great place for them) other suggestions: spouting horn, & Na'pali coast to name a few hope this helps, if you have the $$ I think it is worth it. The fare for interisland its around $79 each way. Lots of luck
Gina

Sarah

I have been on tours that included day tripers. People leave their hotels at 4AM and hop on planes. They looked completely bushed on my tour.


If I were looking for a trip from Maui to Kauai I would make certain it was on a direct non-stop flight. I agree with budman AND THAT IS A RARE THING, lol, while many people may do this one day trip I suspect they don't repeat the experience. Just a guess, it looks very whirl windish.

My one day tour of Kauai was too quick and I was staying on the island.

koa

It wouldnt be worth the effort.Kauai deserves more than one day, also the travel hassles make it more trouble than what its worth. If you want to do a day trip to see another island from Maui, you should consider lanai or molokai, both islands are close to maui and small enough to see in a day.

Rusty

A day trip is a great way to get an overview of another island. If you like what you see you can then go back another time and spend more time on Kauai.

Go for it!!

pspercy

IMHO it would not be worth the trouble and cost unless you want just a very superficial view of Kauai.

From Maui you can do a day trip to Molokai out of Lahaina (actually works out to about six hours on Molokai) on the ferry. http://www.molokaiferry.com

We've planned these things so many times but once actually there it all seems to fade away

suze

With only 1 week on Maui, I wouldn't want to take the time to get to Kauai just for a quick look around. You'd lose an entire day on Maui only to buy a few hours on Kauai.

AaronM

I did a day trip with my Father back in 1986 to Kauai when I was staying in Maui. I know things have changed with inter-island flights now but I had a great time and I'm glad we did it. We had a package deal through one of the airlines that included round-trip airfare and a car. We drove to Waimea Canyon and to Polihale Beach. Obviously I only had a small glimpse of the beauty of Kauai but that day drip left such an impression that 20 years later I am going back with my Wife and young children for a week long vacation.

Also, 15 years ago, when my younger brother graduated high school (in South Florida), he asked me what the most beautiful place I had ever been to, I said Kauai. Based on my short one day trip, he bought a one-way ticket to Kauai and lived there for several years (until Iniki hit). One day in Kauai changed our lives.

kt123

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I just wanted to write an update, in case it might be useful for others: Though we very much wanted to spend some a day trip in Kauai, the price & length of the trips made this very difficult (just as other have pointed out). While we were there, I believe I only saw one tour operator who organized such a tour, but the logistics of the tour weren't very good.

What we ended up doing was taking a ferry to Molokai. While I had wanted to explore on my own, but the rest of the family was more content with going with a tour operator. In the end, I think the tour was nice, though thinking back, I wish I had spent more time on the Molokai's beaches .

One note though - the ferries to Molokai move _a lot_. I usually don't get motion sickness, but I was easily feeling queezy about half way there. On the way, I was glad I had taken along some motion sickness medicine to help me survive the boat ride back. Which is a good thing because the scenery and the ocean views are quite nice. Plus, we were able to spot a few whales too!

delor

The only time I ever day tripped from Maui to Kauai was to visit my God Mother. Well worth the trip. For tourism, NO! Give Kauai at least 3 days, according to your interests and budget.

iceeu2

Last year some friends of mine did a day trip to Kauai and were very disappointed. They had gone specifically to do a helicopter tour. The weather just did not cooperate on the day they chose so their impression of Kauai was just rain.

I realize we kid around a lot here about rainy Kauai, but this is a true story.

Hopefully, you will go a a bright sunshiney beautiful day!

bryarsmom

We're gonna do the day trip this coming Nov. I've got my plans(realistic) laid out and although we can't do everything we have picked a few choice activities that will give us heavenly memories to last for many years to come(or until we go again!)

kanunu

Given that you seem to be somewhat adventurous, regarding the day trip to Kauai, I say "go for it!" It will be worth it, I think, based on this one fact alone. And, Kauai is great! (You can always rest up, on the beach, the next day....). We did the ferry day trip last year, from Maui to Molokai, and that alone made us want to go back to Molokai, for a longer stay, next time.

Kal

Agree with iceeu2.
Dbl and Triple check the weather report before going out esp in Jan!
We go every Dec/Jan and have been rained out a few times and you'd hate to waste a trip.