Hi everyone:

I'm leaving in less than a month for my Hawaii honeymoon - I can't thank everyone on this board enough for all the great information. I pretty much planned out our tentative itinerary based on what I learned here.

I figured I would post my itinerary, mainly just because I'm excited and its all I want to talk about. But if you have any suggestions or comments I would appreciate it!

It looks like the Big Island will be more relaxing and Maui crazy with things to do. There is just too much to choose from and I'm worried about having too much planned and not enough time to just relax. We can always drop plans, but I got this together as more of a reminder of things that would be nice to do.

One question - did anyone take their video camera to HI? I'm wondering what to do on all the Hana stops, etc. since it would be great to film stuff but I know you can't leave anything in the trunk... my husband is going to have a backback to carry junk in it, but I would love to go swimming, etc. on stops along the way.

Anyway, here is the plan:

Day 1 - Fly into Honolulu around 5pm
- Hotel: Hilton Hawaiian Village

Day 2
- Pearl Harbor in the morning before catching 3:25 flight to Kona, BI.
- Hotel: Hilton Waikoloa Village

Day 3
- Kapola Falls tour morning/afternoon (I haven't read too much about this on these boards but looked really nice on the Travel Channel - anyone??)
- Check into 4 Seaons for 3 nights
- Go to 4S Beach BBQ in evening

Days 4 - 5
- Enjoy resort
All or some of these:
- Black Sand Beach
- Punalu'u Beach
- Stargazing at Mauna Kea


Day 6
- Check out of 4S, drive to Hilo/Volcano Park
- Hotel: Hilo Hawaiian Hotel

Day 7
- Drive back to Kona for 3pm flight to Maui
- Hotel: 4 Seasons (5 nights)

Day 8
- Road to Hana/Mama's Fish House on way back

Day 9
- Relaxing during the day/Lahania and OL Luau in the evening

Day 10
- Sunrise at Mt. Haleaka/Hula Grill on way back. Relax rest of the day

Day 11
- Either do a snorkeling trip or just do the beach during the day, Warren and Annabelle's show in evening

Day 12
- Go home at 4pm, maybe hit either Maui Ocean Center or Iao Park in the morning beforehand.

Thanks again for everyone's great suggestions on what to do! I can't wait until Oct. 2nd! Every day I search this forum and daydream at work...

-Danielle

Looks like a great trip! I would suggest for the BI that you consider the FairwindII snorkel boat trip to Capt. Cook Monument from Kona-the water is very clear there. Also Honaunau bay snorkeling before or after visiting adjacent "Place of Refuge" ancient Hawaiian Village-reconstruction with a few turtles hanging around. Enjoy your stay in Paradise!

On your way to Hilo, you could take the turnoff to Ka Lae (South Point), the southernmost point in the US. The effect of the trade winds on the trees is really amazing, and there is this surreal image of cows grazing underneath huge windmills that is still burned into my mind's eye! That, and the kitsch of being at the southernmost point! It would only take about 30-45 minutes.

If the Kapols Falls tour is the one in Polulu Valley, it will be gorgeous. We didn't hike to the falls, but did hike to the beach from the ridgetop. Beautiful!

Sounds like a fantastic trip! Hubby and I enjoyed the Hilton Waikaloa. We had a wonderful dinner one night at their "Provision Company" restaurant ... I don't know if that's the exact name ... but I'm pretty sure it had Provision in the name. Anyway, we sat outside on the terrace which sits on a cliff overlooking the ocean and the pools below ... torches all around you. Great food too. I also heard that the Japanese restaurant there is excellent ... if you like sushi/japanese food. Unfortunately, it was closed when we were there.

You mention going to Hula Grill on your way back from Sunrise at Haleakala. This doesn't quite make sense to me if you are staying at the Four Seasons in Wailea. Hula Grill will definitely NOT be on your way back ... in fact it will be quite a drive. Plus, I recommend going there before or after dinner for drinks ... or even for a casual dinner. The atmosphere in their beachside "Barefoot Bar" is fab at night!

Congratulations!

Wow what a wonderful treat!!!!

Can only offer my 2 cents about Maui, have been there 4 times and have stayed twice at 4S

I would check in and have a fabulous meal at Spago, we eat at the bar since it has given us the opportunity to meet wonderful people and some great travel advice. I would wake up early and land your favorite cabana and really enjoy your first day close to home. Walk along the ocean and see area resorts, pick up box lunch at Kea Lani's provisions store. Take a drive to Makena Beach, rent a Kayak in the morning to hang with the turtles...visit the shops Tommy Bahama! Now that you've gotten settled in make Hana your second day. You might want to stop at Charlies for breakfast in Paia, great refriend bean veggie thing. Then someone recently posted about heading straight thru and going back slowly. I have only stayed overnight, but this sounds like a plan, that way if you go to the pools it will be more secluded. pick up some roadside flowers, 4S housekeeping will provide vases and scissors, knife. Never done Warren and Anna - is it in Lahaina because no way would I travel two nights, it's a long drive home! As was stated Hula Grille is really about sunset and not in the vicinity, maybe an alternative would be Haillimaile General Store in cow country, I think that is more doable. Get a map to get a feeling for the island. Don't bother with paying to snorkle, find it yourself or do the trip "turn-it-on" did right in your neighborhood. I will definately book it on my next trip!...

Long winded, sorry, but your trip is so exciting! Be flexable, willing to change things at any momemt to make the most of that moment. And try to take an hour or two to visit the kapalua area and beyond before a Lahaina night. Best wishes!
Gyppielou

Wow - thanks for all the great responses so far!

JohnD - I have heard about that snorkling cruise -sounds wonderful and it has been added to my list - hopefully we can squeeze it in! I haven't heard of the "Place of Refuge" and will do a little research - thanks again!!

BMiller - thanks for the tip on Ka Lae - I had never heard of stopping here - thank you very much - I will be looking it up in my Revealed book tonight!

Italy - thanks a lot on the tips on the hotel resturants. I'm not sure what to expect from this Hilton (have heard mixed things) so I'm glad you liked it. That Provisions resturant sounds perfect! And thanks for pointing out my Hula Grill mistake. I think I got that from another person's schedule here and it must have been on their way back to THEIR hotel but not back to Wailea. I want to check that place out though at some point - thank you!

Gyppie - all of your suggestions sound wonderful. I hope we can see some turtles. I don't know if I'm brave enough for the kayaking - never tried it! Thanks again!

Darling, if you're brave enough to snorkle, you're brave enough to kayak just in the vicinity of your hotel. I did it my last day at the 4S....early morning seas are calm, snorkle kayak swim.....by noon the tradewinds kick in and thats when you head to other activities. I'd pay to kayak before a snorkle trip!!! Fun!!!!!!!

We always take a videocamera to Hawaii in our carry on luggage. On our last trip we arrived in Kauai and the Videocamera died on the first day, we bought a new one next day~$200 at Sears. I highly recommend you take it with you for the recording the lava flowing at VNP, as photo camera's can be tricky when lava viewing is best-after sunset, you might even record the sound of a (small) methane gas explosion. Also with regard to the Fairwind II, be sure to reserve early like days or a week in advance-we took the lesser rated afternoon trip (more cloudy than morning) but it was the best snorkeling conditions we have seen in HI. Suggest you pick up "Hawaii-The Big Island Revealed" if you have not done so already (available at Borders/Barnes&Noble etc)
Website:http://www.wizardpub.com/bigisland/bigisland.html

Not sure why you wouldn't take day two at HHV and have a chance to relax there. The logistics of checking out AND visiting Pearl Harbor crammed into one morning right after your long travel day seem unnecessarily busy.

Also, on Mauna Kea Observatory is much closer to Hilo and would be better to do the evening of your arrival there. The Hilo Hawaiian Hotel is a tourist hotel, not really romantic. I would try a bed and breakfast in Volcano instead.

I would also vouch for staying in Volcano over Hilo.

Thanks John! I will be checking into that Fairwinds cruise ahead of time! I plan on booking everything next week once we have our plans finalized. Thanks again for all your great tips! Yes we will definitely take the video cam then. My husband complains we don't use it enough anyway!

Pat - yes we are rushed in Oahu - truth is we didn't really want to go there to begin with, but that is how our free flight (with miles) worked out - so we figured we would squeeze one thing in in Oahu as long as we are there.

I was torn between Hilo and Volcano. I did a lot of searching for B&B's in Volcano and I didn't find anything I was sure about. Most of them got bad reviews for being old, musty, etc. so I played it safe with Hilo - who knows, I will probably regret it though! Thanks for your post.

I think Oahu gets a bad rap. I did the same thing for honeymoon... wasn't planning on going to Oahu but got free tickets through Continental using miles. We ended up staying 5 nights there and loved it. We then went on to Kauai and Maui.

Puddy - you are right - I'm sure we could easily spend 5 days in Oahu and have a blast! But I had to go with Maui and the Big Island for the activities we had in mind.