bethjb1

My husband and I are trying to plan at trip either the week before or after Memorial Day to visit Maui and Kauai. We have never been to Hawaii and were wondering which Island to go to first to minimize travel time. Any suggestions on where to fly into and how to get from once island to the other

Suzie

From some west coast airports you can fly directly to Maui. That would cut down on your initial travel time. Many flights go directly to Honolulu where you then take an interisland flight to the island you've chosen. Typically interisland flights do not land after a certain time at night so if you arrive in Honolulu later in the evening you may have to wait untilt he next day to get to Maui or Kauai. Where will your trip originate?

bethjb1

We are flying from Connecticut

Suzie

Well that's a long flight isn't it? Plus you'll have a 6 hour or so time difference. I imagine that from Connecticut you may only have the choice of going to Honolulu unless you change planes on the west coast that allow you to fly directl to Maui. I know that you can do that from LA, SF, and Oakland. If your flight goes directly to Honolulu you'll have to hop on the interisland flught ot get to either Maui or Kauai. Both are really short flights and mostly available on Aloha or Hawaiian Air. You'd be able to check your luggage allthe way through to your final destination but you'll have to change planes inHonolulu which means yo have to make your way from one terminal to another. Not to worry as it's not that hard. Many travelres do this. I guess you need tostart with looking at what your flight options are. Is a direct flight from Connecticut to Honolulu available or would you prefer to fly to an airport on the mainland that has a direct flight to Maui? There are very few dirsct flights to Kauai but they can be found.

NYJets

You can fly direct to either maui or kauai...you ain't flying direct from connecticut at any rate so you might as well connect to an airport that will allow you to avoid honolulu.

We flew out of JFK, connected at Dallas and flew straight to Maui.

After a week we went to kauai via Honolulu (there are some direct flights but very rare).

When we returned home, we flew from kauai to LAX to JFK.

So as far as I'm concerned either island is fine to fly into/out of depending on what your mainland connection is.

annahead

Last year I spent the week after Memorial day on Kauai, it was heaven. I'm currently planning a trip to Maui for that same week, so I can't compare the two but I can give you some info on Kauai. I highly recommend the North Shore(Princeville and Hanalei) this time of year. The water is calm and the weather is perfect, much cooler than the Southern areas (Poi Pu). Unlike the southern areas, the north shore has passing showers, don't worry they only last a minute or two, just long enough to keep the temperature cool and the waterfalls plentiful. During my trip we had planned to spend a day at Poi Pu, it was so hot and windy that we turned right back around and headed back north. Hanalei Bay is gorgeous, Tunnels and Princeville Beach have excellent snorkeling, Hideaways also. For a laid back beach try Anini. A good rule of thumb for Kauai is Winter go South, Summer go North. Enjoy!

bashfulLV

Since you're coming from so far away, you might want to consider flying in to LAX the day before and sleeping over in a hotel and then boarding a morning flight from there to Maui - there are direct flights out of LAX. That way you wouldn't be so worn out from such a marathon-long flight from CT and also your luggage would be with you and you wouldn't run the risk of its getting separated from you if you just change planes. Leaving LAX for Hawaii at about 9 a.m. will get you to Maui a little after noon Hawaii time - if you're not coming all the way from CT, you'll be fresh and ready to conquor Maui.

dantheman

I agree totally with bashfulLV. Breaking the trip up is even better for the flight home. I travel from the midwest and the flights home are brutal, especially if you don't sleep well on a plane. You leave Hawaii in the afternoon, fly all night and land early morning.

kanunu

One thing that I wish I could easily do
over again. We will be flying back to the mainland from Maui, but are in Kauai the 2nd week. Our flight from Kauai to Maui is late, so it has to be on IslandAir, as Aloha only has direct flights earlier. As a result, we are forced to stop at Honolulu for a while, then on to Kahului. We might as well have booked our trip straight back from Honolulu, and then saved the extra trip back to Maui. I guess that's a problem with flying on air miles, you have to book flights so far in advance, that you lose some flexibility and efficiency. On the other hand, an extra couple hours in Hawaii isn't all bad! In your case, keep an eye on all the various schedules, and it might save you a bit of hassle. Good luck!

bethjb1

I found a pretty good fare to fly into Maui and back out of Honolulu. Since we can get into Maui we will stay there and vist for 5 days and then fly over to Kauai for 5 days. Any advice on best carrier to fly from Kauai to Honolulu? We are not big fans of having to leave an airport stay one night somewhere and then go back to the airport so I think we will go with the flight which starts in CT and either has a 1hr layover in Chicago or Dallas then onto Maui.

As far as Kauai, is the south really that hot two weeks before Memorial Day? most people have recommended staying south and visiting up north. After visiting maui, we will want to stay where its not too toursity and the beaches are the nicest.

annahead

Hi Beth, Re: Kauai south shore...We found the south shore to be too hot for our taste Memorial Day week. We're from Chicago, so we're used to hot humid weather, but it was unbearable in Poi Pu the day we went. Another reason I would avoid the south shore during summer months is the surf is higher and choppier on that part of the island. We had booked a SNUBA tour and ended up cancelling because the water was so choppy and murky. We figured, why waste the time and money when the waters up north were calm and clear? I found the north to be much more scenic, much less touristy, much less crowded, just all-around more relaxing. I wouldn't consider staying up north during the winter months due to the high surf and heavy rains, but if you're looking for a tropical paradise in the summer the north wins hands down.

crazy4Hawaii

We stayed at the Hyatt on the south shore last June and did not find it to be too hot. Poipu Beach was wonderful and Waimea Canyon (not to be missed) was not a far drive away. Having said that, if I went again, I would stay on the north shore, or perhaps, the more central east shore. I believe the north part of the island is the most beautiful part and we just didn't end up getting to spend much time up
there because we had an aversion to spending time in the car.

We flew to Maui from LAX going and took Aloha Airlines from Maui to Kauai six days later. Coming home we had to fly Kauai to Honolulu to LAX and then on home. WHEW! Wore me out. Next time I will break up my trip by spending a night on the west coast...

carbogilligan

We jsut returned from the north shore of Kauai. I highly recommend stopping at the Princeville hotel and take in the view from the lanai. It is absolutely spectacular! You can have lunch at the hotel or cocktails before sunset or just stop by for a quick look. DON"T MISS IT! You won't be sorry!

beachgirl86

carbogilligan: We are going to Kauai in August (2nd time to Hawaii, 1st to Kauai) and are staying 5 nights in a condo on the North Shore and 3 at the Hyatt in the South Shore. I hope you are planning on posting a trip report

kalunchi

beachgirl, did you already book the hyatt in kauai? did you book it through the elite certificate for $249/night?

beachgirl86

kalunchi: Yep, I booked the Hyatt, but I did it through their website. I totally forgot about the elite certificates until you just said that!

They actually lowered their rate a little on the website for dates after Aug. 14. $340/night for a Garden View, BUT there is a breakfast buffet for 2 included every morning.

This is easily the most I have ever spent on a hotel, but I figured at the end of 8 nights in Kauai, it evens out price-wise because we are staying at a cheap condo for 5 nights ($125/night) and we will save money by eating in at the condo, plus having breakfast included at the Hyatt.

Let me know if you book using those certificates!

connecticut_lady

Beth;
My husband and I have flown to Hawaii starting from CT a number of times. There's no question it's a long trip no matter which way you do it. Most times we fly out of Westchester airport into Chicago, but twice we've gone out of Hartford (also to Chicago). From Chicago we fly either to LAX, or SFO and last year on a Saturday we were able to fly to Denver and then directly into Kona. United has direct flights to all the islands, so check their schedule. American probably has them as well, but I'm not sure about to Kauai. United has a direct flight from Chicago into Maui, check out flight #3. We've left very early in the morning and managed to get into Hawaii by 4:00-5:00, depending on connections. We've also gone through Honolulu but don't do it unless we are going to stay on Oahu for a few days. The wait at Aloha seems extremely long after flying the entire day. We did this twice and one of those times our luggage arrived late and was delivered to our hotel the next day.
In terms of the return trip, United's flight 3 returns to Chicago via the Big Island. The reason I'm suggesting this flight is that it's on a 777, very comfy aircraft.
In terms of hotels on Kauai, we've stayed at the Hyatt, love it. Been there in August, hot, but that's what you expect in the tropics. The north shore is indeed gorgeous, you're not going to go wrong in either area. The Hyatt is closer to Waimea Canyon, a "must" in terms of exploring the island. The beaches in the north are lovely and as someone said up-thread if you go to the Princeville look from your lanai (or from their lobby look-out or from Cafe Hanalei) for a breath-taking view. Even if you don't stay there, go for breakfast and wait for an outdoor table. What you eat won't matter, just take in the view.
Hope this helps...
CT Lady

kalunchi

beachgirl,
I just booked the Hyatt for 8/21-8/23 for two nights at the rate of $249/night. it was great. I did it last night rather quickly b/c i initially wanted to stay at the Hyatt at the beginning of my stay in kauai, but those dates were not available using the elite certificates, very fortunately the dates for the latter 2 days of my kauai stay was available. So I'm all set for the Hyatt.
I'm still looking for 3 nights in the north side of Kauai. since princeville is SO EXPENSIVE and not affordable for us, my friends and I are looking into pu'u poa or pale kai. which one do u guys recommend?

ajcolorado

Do you have any extra frequent flier miles laying around? We used some old Northwest miles we'd gotten from our phone service to fly between islands (Maui to Oahu, in our case). It only was about 5000 miles for a flight. We also used some of my daughter's United miles that were about to expire the same way. One airline partnered with Hawaiian Airlines and the other on Aloha - I don't recall which was which. But it might be a possibility worth considering for your inter-island flights.

kalunchi

I was considering that, but after much calculation, I dont think it's worth using 10,000 miles for 2 interisland flights since those two flights cost me $140 total. I figure with 35K points, I can fly roundtrip to Hawaii, and the ticket usually costs me around $700. $140 * 3.5 times is $490, so I rather pay $140 for the interisland, and accumulate 35,000 miles to fly to hawaii that would normally cost me $700+.
Hope I wasn't too confusing.