I have tickets on hold for my honeymoon in Aug., flying into Oahu and leaving from Maui. (We are on a budget and these 2 islands were the cheapest combo.) I have 12-13 nights, and am unsure if I want to split it between Oahu, BI, and Maui, or if that will be too much and I should just stick to Oahu and Maui. But I MUST see the volcano on the BI, so I am hoping if I decide to do just the 2 islands, I can take a day trip to the BI to see the volcano from either Maui or Oahu. Has anyone done this? Which would be easier? Could we leave early in the morning, and come back at night, so we could see the lava flow at night? Are any of the other sights on the BI do-able within that day trip -- black sand beach, Waipaio Valley, or Akaka Falls? Thanks for your advice!

Yes, we did exactly that -- stayed 10 days on Oahu with relatives, took a one-day trip to the BI to see volcanoes, black sand, etc. Not sure whether you can say late enough/far enough to see lava. Our kids were paradoxically mesmerized by the stinky sulfur vents!

There were six of us and our travel agent arranged a rental minivan for the day. An excellent outing that we're very glad we did!

I guess you could do it in a day, but I wouldn't recommend it. You wouldn't be able to see a lava flow at night and then leave since the last flight out of Hilo is probably around 5 or 6 pm. If you really want to see a volcano, you should probably plan to spend a night on the BI. Leave from HNL, spend a night on BI, and fly to OGG.

You wouldn't be able to do it in a day, esp

I've been to Hawaii (all 6 islands) many times. Here's my advice:

First of all, given your timeframe, stick with 2 islands for your lodging. Traveling between islands with luggage is a major pain in the rump and takes up A LOT of time. If you've never been to Hawaii before, then definitely go to Oahu and Maui (in that order). If you have 13 nights, I'd spend 5 nights on Oahu and 8 on Maui. Once you get to Maui, you're gonna wish you had an extra week! Your first day in Oahu is shot because of traveling (btw, don't go to bed early or that will make your jet lag worse.) Day 2, sightsee in Oahu. Day 3, take a day trip to the BI (Hilo). Day 4, sightsee in Oahu. Day 5, travel to Maui.

You don't want to do the Hilo thing on the second day as you'll be tired from your trip over from the mainland. Consequently, don't do it on Day 4 if you're traveling to Maui on Day 5.

BI Day Trip Details:

I did this exact thing (day trip to BI) on my second trip to the islands and it all worked out as planned. No problems whatsoever. We had a small backpack, no checked luggage. Rented a car in Hilo and off we went! The reason you want to do the day trip from Oahu (instead of Maui) is that there are earlier departing flights and later returning flights into/out of Hilo. Also, it's a non-stop quick flight from Oahu, whereas with Maui you'll have to connect in Honolulu anyway and you won't have enough time on the BI to do anything. Last flight out of Hilo is early afternoon (in order to make the connecting flight in Honolulu back to Maui that evening). And forget about flying into or out of Kona. The flight schedule is bad for what you want to do and where you want to go on the BI. So go from Oahu to Hilo.

There's a Hawaiian Airlines flight leaving at 5:20am and getting into Hilo at 6:11am. Also one at 7:40am and getting into Hilo at 8:31am. The last returning flight from Hilo is at 7:30pm and getting back into Honolulu at 8:17pm. I think you'll find you'll want to spend most your day at the park. I took a real early flight when I did that day trip and I had time for Akaka Falls as well. Also quickly went to a couple places in Hilo when we returned from the park. If you want to walk to the lava, wear jeans and a decent pair of hiking shoes. The lava is like glass and if you fall in shorts...well, it could get messy. I didn't walk to the lava on my day trip because at the time, the molten lava was really far from the road. Next time I went to the BI (for 2 weeks) I had plenty of time to hike there...and did! A-W-E-S-O-M-E.

Btw, if you know your dates I'd get my airline tickets as soon as possible. It used to be you could get your inter-island tickets at the last minute and still get them cheap. Not anymore. Right now you can get a Super Saver RT ticket between the islands for $138.

If you have any specific questions, just ask and I'll try my best to answer them. Congrats on your upcoming marriage!

LavaCrazy: Great ideas, thanks. We're going to Oahu in Feb. Where did you find that supersaver rate for airlines? I searched last night, and roundtrip was coming out to $150+/person from Honolulu to Hilo. Are there coupons in the entertainment book?

stillbrowns, you're right. I'm sorry, I forgot to add in the fees/taxes. The total with fees/taxes is $149/person for the "Super Saver" rate. But I'm not sure how many seats they allot at that rate for each flight. Once those are sold out it goes up to the "Saver" rate. And once those are gone it goes to the walk-up rate that HA calls the "Anytime" rate on their website. And then, of course, there's First Class as well.

I'm not sure about the Entertainment Book. Also, if you're a AAA member you can get slightly cheaper tickets through Aloha, but I don't believe their times will work well for a day trip to the BI.

Oops, I'm wrong again. LOL! I should've checked the Aloha site before I assumed anything. I do remember that when I did my daytrip to the BI, I ruled out Aloha because their returning flight wasn't late enough. However, that appears to have changed.

I just just checked the Aloha site and they have the following flights available:

HONOLULU TO HILO
Leave HNL: 5:20am Arrive Hilo: 6:10am
Leave HNL: 7:15am Arrive Hilo: 8:05am

HILO TO HONOLULU
Leave Hilo: 7:40pm Arrive HNL: 8:26pm

Aloha has a "Web Special" right now also. You book on their website and you get a 5% discount. So the ticket comes out to $142.40 (including fees/taxes). And if you're a AAA member you can get a 10% discount, but I think you have to book through AAA.

That said, I personally prefer to fly Hawaiian (for a number of reasons) but if every penny counts, you might want to look into Aloha Airlines.

which is the better airline for interisland flights? Why do you prefer Hawaiian over Aloha?

This summer some friends I met in Waikiki went on a day trip from Oahu to BI - on a tour to see the volcano. They loved it. They got picked up from their hotel in Waikiki (the Outrigger Reef) really early in the morning and were back later, making the trip in one day.

Kaymit, I prefer Hawaiian Airlines personally, but both airlines will get you where you need to go.

Hawaiian has much newer and nicer planes than Aloha. And Aloha's planes are extremely noisy; in fact, they received some sort of exemption from the noise pollution laws...that should tell you something. The sound of an Aloha Airlines jet has been likened to an Air Force jet.

I have flown inter-island many times and Aloha is NEVER on time. Hawaiian doesn't have a flawless record, but in my experience they've generally been on time. I stopped flying Aloha 2 trips ago, so maybe they've improved their record???

Also, I can get FF miles on my 2 favorite mainland airlines with Hawaiian, but I don't get any with Aloha.

My main beef, however, is the condition of the planes (as stated above). But Aloha does offer some good specials through the Web and AAA. The difference is just not great enough to make me want to fly Aloha these days.

I prefer Hawaiian as well. Their entire fleet of planes are new. Aloha, on the other hand, uses a bunch of 70s edition 737's. Not that it matters much anyways, as the interisland flight is so short that any discomfort is minimized. Either airline will make you wait through the ridiculously long security lines.