Help! Our family is planning a two week vacation to Hawaii in June. I need some advice on what islands to visit and where to stay. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Tammy,

I can only comment on Maui and Oahu, although not to any great extent as I only had four nights on Maui and one on Oahu in July last year. On Maui I stayed at the Outrigger Wailea Resort, which I was totally happy with. Beautiful grounds and common areas, rooms were very nice, although not extravagent, great beach (not crowded), friendly and helpful staff, and an awesome luau.

If you plan to do some activities on Maui I would recommend contacting the Activity Owners Association. For $30 (it was only $20 last year) you can get a Gold Card membership, which will save the cardholder and up to three more people 10-25% off on many, many activities. Website is www.maui.org, I think. But the best part is after you join, you have the opportunity to save about 50% on some of these activities. I saved over $200 for myself and two companions on just the sunrise bike ride down Mt. Haleakala and the luau at the Outrigger Wailea Resort. Trilogy excursions were also offered at half off, and I wish I would have had an extra day to do this, because a lot of people on this forum have talked very highly about it. Next time I will do this. I also went parasailing with UFO Parasailing in Lahaina, but I had a different discount offer for that one. Rented a car from Dollar at the airport and drove to Hana one day, (actually had the car all days, which is pretty necessary when you stay in Wailea, but Wailea is so nice) went all the way around because the park rangers said it would be fine. It was fine, but the road was still very rough and very, very, VERY narrow and steep around some curves. I enjoyed the drastic change in landscape, though. Not what I expected to see.

Went to Oahu for one day, took earliest possible flight and arrived in time to be in the second tour group at Pearl Harbor. I especially enjoyed touring the U.S.S. Missouri (my home state!). Then happened to come across a HUGE fleamarket at the Aloha Stadium parking lot. It's only certain days of the week, but if you can find out when it is, and if you like to shop for souveniers and such, this is the place to go! This fleamarket put a slight kink in my plans to drive around Oahu in the rental car (Dollar Rent-a-Car), but did drive up to the north shore and back. Actually ended up getting on the wrong road, I think, at first, but after coming out the other end of a tunnel and seeing the beautiful green valley complete with rainbow, it was very much okay to have been lost for a short time. When I booked my trip to Oahu I talked to a travel agency in Maui (don't remember which one, found it on this forum though) and got a great package deal with RT airfare, rental car and hotel (Waikiki Parkside) stay for one night. I want to say it cost me around $120, considering my two companions shared the cost with me three ways.

Don't know if this will be helpful to your planning, but I just thought I'd share some of my experience. As stated at the beginning, I only had a very short time to spend, but believe me, every possible minute was put to use. I highly recommend the parasailing if you have never done this. It wasn't quite the "rush" I expected, rather, very peaceful and calm, but awesome all the same.

Good luck with the planning.

Sandi

Thank you Sandy! I really appreciated the complete info and it was helpful. I guess my question for you or anyone else is, How do decide which of the islands to visit? Are Maui and Oahu the most common to travel to. Do many people stay only at one place or is it hasslefree to hop around? I'm really up in the air as to what to book. Are there any packages to check into for good deals? Thanks.

Tammy,
We've been to the islands over 16 times and usually we stay in one place or at most two islands. Island hopping, while it sounds like fun, is time consuming and you lose a good hunk of your day at airports, renting cars and driving to hotels. We usually stay on Maui but have been to all the islands. For 2 weeks I'd go for Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii tho. We've been all over Maui dozens of times and I'd recommend going to Hana and Mt. Haleakala for your visit, both are utterly spectacular. We always rent a condo between Ka'anapoli and Kapalua - we prefer that to Wailea as it is much more lush and green (and looks like you think the islands should look). Wailea gets less rain and is more deserty in looks (yes, the hotels are nice down there but it's all personal preference. For hotels in the Ka'anapoli area I'd go for the Hyatt but you might want to look into condos - with kids it's nice to have more room than a hotel room allows, also a kitchen is a plus for snacks, etc. Most come with washer & dryer too, a real plus for tossing in the beach clothes! We always stay at The Mahana, all units are ocean front and the views are spectacular.

On the Big Island you would not want to miss Volcano Nat'l Park - also Akaka Falls. The cattle ranching country is also interesting. We've stayed on the Kona side and driven all around several times - it is a big island tho (just as the name says!) and you really do need a car to get around.

Kauai is nice too, but I don't think there is as much to do as on Maui (again personal preference). Oahu can be fun (Waikiki) but be prepared for a huge city, crowds, and wall to wall hotels. If that is what you want - go for it, we've spent time there too and enjoyed it as well. Pearl Harbor is a must see on Oahu.

Again, tho for 2 wks I'd pick two islands - but bear in mind you do lose time with the traveling back and forth.

Have a great time!

Tammy:
I agree with Lori and recommend staying on Maui and the Big Island. If you've looked at previous posts, you'd know that I highly recommend the Hyatt in Kaanapali (stayed there 4 times)..its the nicest hotel in the Kaanapali resort area. There are also nice hotels further south in Wailea, but I enjoy the convenient location of the Hyatt, its excellent pools, public areas and general feel of the place.
On the Big Island, you may want to consider the Hilton Waikoloa (especially good choice for a family vacation), though almost all of the hotels on the Kohala Coast are of top quality (and pricey, but worht it).
On Maui, make sure to drive "upcountry" to view horse country, the flower farms, the Tedechi Winery, and the beautiful counrtyside (it makes for a nice change from the beach). The usual "musts" include Hana (overrated, in my opinion) and Haleakala. The new aquarium in Maui is nice but very expensive ($16 admission, I believe).
On the Big Island, make sure to drive up the North Kohala Mountain Road (#250) to Hawi, it is one of the most spectacular vistas imaginable. Also go horseback riding in the Wai'pio Valley.
Enjoy!

I would visit the islands of Oahu and Maui. If I were to stay anywhere on the island of Maui I would probalbly consider such places as the Embassy Suites. Some other places that you might wnat to consider would be the Hyatt or Grand Wailea Resort. I can give you more info. if you would like. All of these resorts are nice.

If you want more information please feel free to contact me at anytime!

Tony Olson
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/...254/index.html

Hey there Tony the travel agent, in case you didn't see what just happened to MauiHeidi, she and all her self-promoting/advertising posts for her travel agency were removed by Fodor's after a number of complaints. Go drum up business for your travel agency elsewhere -- this is a foum for TRAVELERS and it prohibits ADVERTISING!!

Hi Tammy, my family is planning a vacation to Hawaii in June, also. This will be the third time. The first two times were to Oahu and Kauai. This time it will be to Kauai and Maui, for a week on each island. I enjoyed Oahu, but only in small doses. It is very busy and commercial. The first time we stayed on Waikiki Beach. Tons of traffic and wall to wall bodies on the beach. Had to head north to find a place to spread our towels.(Kailua Beach is great). The last time on Oahu we stayed at Punaluu, and enjoyed it, but again lots more going on. I truly love Kauai. My first time I stayed at the Cocoa Palms, which was a true dream, but is now closed. The last time was at Poipu at the Nihi Kai. Great location and value. We are again staying at the Nihi Kai for $525 a week for a 2BR 2BA unit!! (from the Canadian owner). Kauai is so layed back and lush. I am looking forward to Maui this time, and am staying at the Nohonani, which is one mile north of Kannapali, on the west side. We always get a condo. Good luck and have fun. Vicki

The great 'Ruth'([email protected])said something like, "Even Waikiki can be wonderful for a few days".

Whatever happened to Ruth? She was a great Hawaii poster.

Noah, Maybe Ruth left because of the tone this forum has taken lately and felt it wasn't worth the hassle anymore?

Re: Coco Palms-I heard they finally settled the problem with their insurance co. and started to plan the rebuild. The last I heard is the locals
are trying to stop the rebuild due to some changes in the design that may affect ancient burial grounds.
Go Locals!

I agree that burial grounds need to be respected. This has been a problem in Israel, where archealogists desecrate cemetaries.

If this is your first trip to Hawaii, by all means spend some time at Waikiki. It is very beautiful in spite of all the hotels, the people, and the T-shirt shops. See Pearl Harbor, the Nuuani Pali, Haunauma Bay State Park, the free Kodak Hula Show in Kanaapali Park, eat once at the world's prettiest Denny's at the upper end of Waikiki. Same food, but it is open air, on the second floor, looking out over the beach. We did a four-island trip last summer and liked the Big Island the least.

Tammy,

Have you considered a private cottage or house rental instead of staying in a hotel or condo.? I have been looking at many of the ones which are listed on the Official Hawaii Convention and Visitor's Bureau website (gohawaii.com) and have found quite a few which look very nice and are much better values than the other types of lodging.

In addition to the other islands, I just found some in the Lanikai/Kailua area of Oahu which they claim are 25 min. to Waikiki yet it is a far more secluded and tranquil area.

I realized I never gave my standard, general reply to your question:

Learn as much as you can about each island. Get some Hawaii travel books and do some web-surfing. Then evaluate each island according to your priorities and decide which one(s) you want to see.

Here are some websites to get you started:

The Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau: http://www.gohawaii.com (official
site)

'Best of Hawaii-Top 10 Hawaiian Hot Sites':
http://www.bestofhawaii.com/hotsites.htm#load

'Planet Hawaii': http://planet-hawaii.com


'The Aloha Insider' : http://www.theinsider.com/aloha/index.html

http://www.discoveringhawaii.com/

American Hawaii Cruises: http://www.cruisehawaii.com/

http://www.surfhawaii.com/index_cover.shtml


'Virtually Hawaii':
http://satftp.soest.hawaii.edu/space...ndex_orig.html

Maui Webcams: http://www.mauigateway.com/~rw/video/video.htm

Sheraton Waikiki Webcam: http://hawaiilive.sheraton-hawaii.com/sw-camera.cfm

'Travel Hawaii': Vacation Packages & Airline Tickets:
http://www.travel-hawaii.com/

'Discover Hawaii' http://www.discoverhawaii.com/frame.html

http://www.discoveringhawaii.com

www.cruisehawaii.com

Oahu Transit Services, Inc.: http://thebus.org/index.asp

http://www.surfhawaii.com/index_cover.shtml

Keep us updated.

You can order a lot of free brochures from http://www.desteo.com

Ok Noah,how big of a kick back are you getting from all of the web sights that you're pushing at everyone???You're just as bad and as unwanted as all of the"travel agents".Maybe everyone should get wise to you,so how does it feel to be on the short end of the stick??By the way does your kick backs come as cash or free services,it can't be travel perks because you haven't left your PC in two years.

I agree with Lori's post.
I'd do go to Maui and the Big Island. Save Kauai for another trip. I avoid Oahu because I don't think it's as interesting as these other islands.

In Maui, I recommend staying at a condo in Kahana particularly if you have a family going. If you're looking for a change of pace, I highly recommend the Lahaina Inn, which is a wonderful, small, renovated Inn in downtown Lahaina. Small rooms, no TV, no phone, but great history, fantastic staff, and unforgettable atmosphere.

The Big Island has unbelievably varied geography. Again, I've stayed at the Shores at Waikoloa (a condo) and loved it. The Hilton Waikoloa is kind of like Disney-land - huge with mini-tram and lagoon.
The Big Island is less touristy than Maui. Don't miss the drive that goes from North Kahala to Waimea. It goes through ranch country and you get a breaktaking view of the mountains and the entire Kohala coast.
Have a great time.