Never been to Hawaii - what's the best way?
 

We are planning a trip in March, celebrating our 20th anniversary. Should we go with a package? - should we cruise the islands or take inter-island flights? I was thinking 2 nights on Oahu, 3 nights on Kona, and 4 nights on Maui - good plan?? Or is it too much? Should we go through Pleasant Hawaiian? I really don't know where to start, I keep searching the internet and getting more confused. We are on a budget - but also feel we may never get to Hawaii again. We are in our late 40's, like to sightsee and lots of relaxing with an ocean view. Any recommendations? Please help.......

Congratulations on your anniversary! We too will be in Hawaii in March! Really, Hawaii is one of the easier places to handle on your own.

We used a travel agent to book our air fare and rooms. Once there, we did our "own thing". There are a ton of free weekly attraction booklets on the street corners or the airports with discount coupons in them.

I would do just two islands in the time you have. Oahu and Maui would be good choices. You can get good bargains on rooms, food and entertainment on Oahu. We would usually eat a big brunch mid- morning and then catch the "early bird" specials for dinner.

Be sure to go to Pearl Harbor! Don't waste your money on package tour though, their boats can only go around the memorial. Only the US Navy can actually take you right on the memorial. We just took the city bus there for .50 - went early in the morning.

Other entertainment very easy to find. Kodak Hula show was excellent.

Maui is more laid back and expensive, but even there you can find great things to do for little money. We stopped at a deli and packed a lunch and went up to the volcano - it was terrific!

Good luck in planning and "hang loose" you will do just fine!

If I had nine nights to spend, I would pick two islands - the Big Island and Maui are excellent choices. Going to the Big Island I would spend a night or two on the Hilo side in Hilo or Volcano Village and the rest of the nights in one of the Kohala Resorts. Consider the Wailea area of Maui - or Kaanapali. I personally do not think a cruise is the way to go - not enough time on those divine islands!

Arrange the flights (airtohawaii.com and pandaonline.com are good sources, also hotwire and travelzoo), hotels (through their websites or expedia.com), and rental cars (discounthawaiicarrental.com or look at rentalcodes.com). Pleasant Holiday is not a bad way to go if you feel uncertain about doing this yourself.

Right now I would go buy Maui Revealed and Big Island Revealed and spend about a week researching, asking questions on this site. Then go to work. This is relatively short notice, but sometimes that's how you pick up good deals.

I would pick only one or two islands with that amount of time. My thinking is it saves money, but also I'd rather be relaxing somewhere then checking in and out of hotels, going to the airport, etc. Since likely you'll fly in and out of Oahu, the 3 island plan would involve 3 interisland flights (i guess that's obvious, sorry).

I enjoyed both Oahu and Maui very much and they fit what you describe.

A couple tiny corrections to one post above, The Bus on Oahu is $2 these days. And the "volcano" on Maui is the inactive crater of Haleakala (it's amazing don't get me wrong).

You could simply buy plane tickets and book your own hotel (or maybe a package that includes a rental car), then read a guidebook for what activities you might like to do. To keep costs down I recommend keeping things simple. There's lovely low-key things to do on the islands. Or you can burn up a ton of money doing things like dinner cruises, helicopter rides, etc. etc.

Reasonably priced hotels I have stayed at are Lahaina Shores on Maui and the Hawaiiana Hotel on Oahu (these are not resorts just small moderate hotels). Both have kitchenettes so that's a nice way you can save money too.

I have heard stories both for and against but my parents used Pleasant Hawaiian to book a 10 person reunion trip and were pleased with everything.

I'd also suggest only one island in 9 nights, maybe two islands, definitely not three. There is so much to do on any of the islands, do some research into your primary interests-- beaches, snorkeling, volcanoes, dining, hiking, etc-- and choose your island(s) destination that way.
You'll get lots of subjective advice, like one island is more expensive, laid-back, scenic, etc. But, really, it's a matter of taste. All the Hawaiian islands are beautiful, and I doubt if you'll be disappointed in any one of them so long as you do your research and know what you want. We've been to Maui, Kauai, Hawaii, and Molokai-- I'd recommend them all for a first time visit. You will love Hawaii. It's not hard to plan your own trip if you're internet-savvy, and if you use this forum for specific questions. Have fun!

P.S. I mispoke-- I wouldn't actually recommend Molokai for a first-timer, even though it's beautiful there, it's also rather sparsely developed and not a lot to do there.

If you go to the Big Island IMO three nights IN Kona is more than enough and it depends on what you are looking for. Be aware that if "sandy beaches" is one of the "big" priorities there aren't a lot of those very close to Kona; you'll get much more of that on Oahu or on Maui.

I like Maui but if you are looking for a lot of nightlife that is not necessarily the island to be on.

I would also agree with limiting myself to two islands if possible but a lot of that obviously depends on what your interests really are. You can get ocean views on any of the islands; when you get tired of just staring at the ocean then it becomes more complex.

The best way to Hawaii is to go by plane.

Greenrealtor,
Another alternative to Pleasant Hawaiian you could use either expedia, orbitz or an airline service. I know American Airlines vacations has package to Hawaii and sometimes you can get extra miles credited to your account if there is a sale. Depending on where you are flying from there is a decent time difference and we were there in December and it took us about 2 days to get used to a 4 hour difference. For 9 days you could cover Maui easily. You could do the Big Island in 9 days as well but together I would doubt it. You really need to enjoy the islands and not speed thru them.

If you are on a budget, you may get more bang for your buck with a condo or cottage rental. It is what we do most of the time and it works well for us.

I'd pick one island. Oahu or Maui would be my choices. Cheaper and simpler for the most part.

If I am researching a trip and I'm not that familiar with the particular hotel/condo properties or the areas, I sometimes start with expedia, travelocity, orbitz or others and see what properties pop up in the package price range that I'm looking for. Then I go to tripadvisor and read reviews of those properties to further narrow it down. Then I go to the property's website and look that over. It is amazing how much I learn, not just about the properties, but the actual destination by doing this. I usually end up booking things seperately though, becasue I have found I can save money by doing it that way.

-Bill

Green,
My recomm for first timers is to consider the four island cruise, where you fly into Hawaii, Honolulu, I think and then cruise among the four islands for 7 days. NCL has several of these. Inside cabin would be more reasonable than hotels and food I believe.

We did this for our first trip 20 yrs ago and still glad we did. No messing with luggage or worrying about where to eat. We got a small taste of Maui with two days there, one day in Kona, one in Hilo, and one on Kauai. We then went back to Kauai for two more nights after the cruise and then back to Honolulu for two more nights. By this time, we had some feeling of the islands and what the differences were between them. We chose Maui for our next trip 10 yrs later and spent a month there. On our next trip we also went to Maui for our son's beach wedding. We just returned from our second trip to Kauai where we spent 2 weeks to really see what all we remembered or missed the first time.

If this is not doable, I agree with those that say to chose one or two islands for the trip and plan to come back for the other islands on another trip. Or else you need more days.

Forget the cruise. It doesn't do Hawaii justice. You would be limited to sometimes only a hald a day to see an island.

With 9 nights, I'd limit the visit to 2 islands.

Oahu 5 nights & Maui 4 nights. Many hotels throughout the islands offer the fifth night free. Whatever island(s) you choose, try to take advantage of the free night.

There is so much more to do & see on Oahu that the other islands.

Lots of Oahu info. Many of the websites are good for all islands:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34696831

Maui:

www.mauihawaii.org Great site from Maui Jon

www.visitmaui.com

Big Island:

www.bigisland.org

Kauai:

www.kauaidiscovery.com

www.kauai-hawaii.com

Hawaii on a budget info:

http://www.budgettravelonline.com/bt...081901179.html
You can click on Snap Guide for a free (pdf) download.

http://www.budgettravelonline.com/bt...aii/index.html

We went to Hawaii in July/August for our 25th Anniversary. We went with a package through Liberty Travel. We visited Maui for 1 week, Kauai for 4 days & the Big Island for 3 days. I would suggest 2 islands Maui & Kauai(with an interisland day trip from Maui to the Big Island to do a tour of the Volcano National Park)It was too much packing up & going to airports. The Bolcano was the highlight.However, we loved Maui. Spending a week was just the right amount of time.We stayed at the Sheraton Maui. It was an excellent choice.There is so much to see & do around the whole island. Kauai was so beautiful and restful. It is the natural beauty that is unreal(with lots to explore & see).However, for your anniversary, stay at the Princeville(Splurge for this event).It was beyond words. Pampering is an understatement. This was a 5 star place with unbelievable service & ammenities. I hope this helps. Happy Anniversary & enjoy.
PS Price around.. Originally, I tried doing a package through my own pricing, then with Pleasant, then AAA & finally I ended up with Liberty. We saved more than $8000.00 by shopping around for airfare, inter-island flights, hotel & car rentals packages. Some gave us free breakfast buffets & car rentals. So way it all out.

Thank you to all for the great info, I had never even been to this site before, it's been really helpful. One question - if we fly directly into Honolulu and then want to go on to Maui, do you book the maui leg separately with an interisland airline? When I check travelocity directly to Maui, the price nearly doubles with NOrthwest Airlines. The more I read, the more I think maybe spending the full 10 days in Maui may be best - I hate to miss the Pearl Harbor sightseeing though.

Hi Greenrealtor! Since you say you may never get to Hawaii again, and also that you hate to miss Pearl Harbor, I really, really think you should see both Oahu and Maui. Agreed--two islands (not three) in 9 days, and agree with Dusty about Oahu. There's soooo much on Oahu. You don't say exactly what kind of sights you like, but Oahu has beautiful relaxing ocean views, as well as sights of historical interest, lush mountain range, stunning white snad beaches. I love Honolulu (including Waikiki) but Oahu is much more than just that wonderful city, just as Homolulu is much more than just Waikiki Beach. Once you decide on which island(s) ask even more questions here. You'll get loads of great replies!!

Ooops--what's a "white snad beach"??
Here's a current Fodors' thread about Pearl Harbor--one of many that have been posted over the years here:
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...amp;dirtyBit=1

A package tour is great if you don't want to deal with the arrangements yourself, but you won't get the best deal. Also the packages have a limited selection of places to stay so if you are particular about your accomodations then do it on your own.

Almost all of the interisland flights are done by Aloha, Hawaiian and Island Air - Northwest is just codesharing. You can book your interisland separately from your flight into the mainland.

As for going to Maui and seeing Pearl Harbour, if you need to transfer in Honolulu, why don't you do a day trip on arrival or when you are leaving. For example if you can get a late flight back to the mainland you can take an early flight to Maui to Honolulu and then spend time at Pearl Harbor and then back to the airport.

I also vote to skip the cruise unless you want a cruise experience and not a Hawaiian experience.

Alan

I leave for Hawaii next week, on a Norwegian cruise. (Pride of America). The ship stops in all ports either most or all of the day, or even overnight in 2 ports. I have already been to hawaii 3 times, but my sister hasn`t. I wanted her to see as much as possible, as she probably won`t be able to go again. The price of the cruise was very reasonable and we will have a balcony.

Pat
I would be interested in hearing how you enjoy your cruise - I am taking it in February.

JCV