Trip Report: Oahu, Kauai & Maui

Old Oct 22nd, 2003, 11:40 AM
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LDK
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Trip Report: Oahu, Kauai & Maui

Trip report: My husband and I just got back from at 10 day trip to Hawaii. We went to 3 Islands, Oahu, Kauai, & Maui. Had a WONDERFUL time. Here are some of the highlights:

Oahu: Stayed in Waikiki. Day 1: Dove along the north shore. Beautiful scenary, stopped at a beach with sea turtles (don't know the name of the beach but it is accross from a yellow rest room facility area). Had pinapple ice cream at the Dole Plantation. Day 2: Snorkeled in Hanauma Bay, drove along the East Coast, went to diamond head (did not hike within due to a long walk to get there. .. .long story.)
Resturants in Oahu: Tikkis (GREAT!!!! located in Waikiki in one of the Aston hotels), Dukes

Kauai: Stayed in Lihue. Great spot b/c central to the north and south. Day 1: Drove up to the north shore. Hiked to Queen's Bath in Princeville (Definite highlight!), hiked on the Kalalau Trail to a bit past the beautiful view of the Napali coast. Day 2: East and South, went to Kipu falls, Wailua falls, Spouting Horn in Poipu, lifted sea clifs. Snorkeled in Poipu. Day 3: Waimea canyon. Hiked to the furthest point lookout name begins with a "P" (they closed the road to the.. .lookout so you have to walk to get to it. Well worth the walk. .. beautiful view!) Hiked the Canyon trail to the waterfalls. BEAUTIFUL vistas! Had shaved ice at Joe Joes, Went to the Glass beach and saw a monk seal. Day 4: relaxed on the beach in Poipu saw a monk seal.
Restraunts on Kauai: Breakfast: Tip top cafe (great mac nut pancakes), Dinner: Coconuts (We enjoyed it so much we ate there 2 times!!! Delicious!!), Kintaro tepanaki bar (great!)

Maui: Stayed in Wailea. Day 1: drove to Kanapali and walked in Lahina town, snorkeled at black rock, dinner at Cafe Savauge in Lahina town Day 2: sunrise at Haleakea, breakfast at Kula lodge, relaxed at hotel and snorkeled. Day 3: Road to Hana, 7 sacred pools (tip: if you go to Haleakela and 7 sacred pools in the same visit within 7 or 10 days save your receipt so you only have to pay one admission fee to the park), drove the back side . . the scenary was fabulous! We were in a convertible and had no problem. Dinner at Mamma's fish house. Made a 7:45 reservation. Day 4: snorkeled and relaxed at the hotel before evening flight.
Resturants: Breakfast: Kula Lodge, Keihi Cafe Dinner: Cafe Savauge (GREAT food!! Prob. one of our favorite meals other then cocunts), Mamma's fish house (beautiful resturant), Joes Bar and Grill (food was good but don't know if it is worth the price. We did the 2 for 1 early bird special which we were happy about because I think full price it would not have been worth it.)

Let me know if you have any questions!!
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Old Oct 22nd, 2003, 12:15 PM
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LDK: Thanks for the trip report! Did you feel like 3 islands in 10 days was too much -- where were you coming from? I am hoping to honeymoon in Hawaii in August, and I would be flying from the East Coast. (Boston) I will have about 10-13 days to spend, and want to see as much as possible but also be able to relax after the wedding! Did inter-island flights eat up a large portion of the day? Which hotels did you stay at? And, of course, the most important question for a first-timer like me: Which islands did you prefer and why? Thanks!
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Old Oct 22nd, 2003, 01:05 PM
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I recently honeymooned for 10 days on Maui and Oahu. We had a great time and there is no way I would do more than 2 islands in that amount of time if you are on your honeymoon. We are pretty active but thought it would have been nice to have spent more time on Maui- there is so much to do there alone! We loved Oahu for the North shore, Hanauma bay, and the surf culture. Ideally, we would have done 3 days on Oahu and 7 nights on Maui. I'm sure Kauai or the Big Island would also be great- it depends what you are interested in. We spent a lot of time snorkeling and enjoying the different beaches on Maui. The interisland flights are very quick and easy- we had very short waits. The problem with island hopping lies in the fact that unless you are cramming things in you won't be able to really relax and enjoy the spirit of Hawaii. Being first-timers we tried to do everything we could but since it was our honeymoon we wanted more time to relax. If you are interested in the sights and nature on Oahu, spend 3 days there to recover from jet lag in relatively affordable hotels. Then head to Maui or Kauai for a relaxing 7 days of beaches, scenery, snorkeling, eating, etc. You will love Hawaii!
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Old Oct 22nd, 2003, 01:19 PM
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I think that if you are going on your honeymoon I would recommend only 2 islands, Kauai and Maui. Unless you really wanted to see Pearl Harbor. In which case you could spend one full day on Oahu.

In terms of where we stayed: Oahu we stayed at the Radisson. Great location and very clean. It is not on the water but we were not looking to be on the water in the city. Also very reasonably priced. In Kauai we stayed at the Radisson Resort in Lihue. This was on the beach (although the water tends to be rough on the east side so you may not be able to swim but they have pools). We got a great rate here too via the entertainment book! In Maui we stayed in Wailea at the Rennissance resort. This was a great hotel as well and we also got a great rate with the entertainment book. All of these hotels are online so you can see them.

In terms of the inter island flights they are VERY short. Like 1/2 hour each. So no they did not interfear with the days at all. I scheduled most in the early mornings so when we arrived at the new island we had the whole day. They did not interfear at all. You don't have to get to the airport way in advance b/c the aiports are so small. You will have a wonderful honeymoon there. We were there on our 2 year anniversary.
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Old Oct 22nd, 2003, 01:21 PM
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Oh forgot to mention. .. .we came from the east coast as well. We flew over so that we arrive around 7 pm in hawaii and when we came home we took the red eye to San Fan and then got home around 5 in the afternoon. It worked out great!
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Old Oct 22nd, 2003, 01:22 PM
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Sorry one more thing. I agree that the north shore of Oahu is beautiful by in Kauai you have a whole island of beauty so that is why I would chose Kauai over Oahu.
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Old Oct 22nd, 2003, 01:48 PM
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I STILL don't get everyone's fascination with Kauai!

Thx LDK. I just drooled over my keyboard thinking about the lobster raviolis at Coconuts.
Time to sniff the Coppertone to make me last these next 67 mo' days.
Kal
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Old Oct 22nd, 2003, 03:03 PM
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Thanks for your advice dreamathers and LDK. I think I do want to keep the honeymoon to 2 islands, I definitely want to do maui for about 7 days, but I change my mind everyday re: spending the rest of the time on Oahu, Kauai, or the BI. Each has things I'm interested in! Anyways, LDK, thanks for the hotel suggestions. Where did you buy the entertainment book? Everyone keeps talking about it on this board, and I don't know where to find the Hawaii version. Thanks!
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Old Oct 22nd, 2003, 03:43 PM
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augustlily: Sounds to me like you have more than one trip to the islands in you, so don't sweat your choice on the second island. Pick one and then plan to do the others some other time. There will be another time!
 
Old Oct 23rd, 2003, 04:38 AM
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augustlily - you can buy the entertainment books at entertainment.com or check local nonprofits/schools in your area. I don't think you have to have Hawaii version to get good deals on hotels. I have book I bought from our school band (they make money off selling them) but I can still get hotel discounts as well as many local discounts.

LDK - right now I have a Mokapu room booked at Renaissance for $310/nt. I thought that seemed like a good deal. I would love to hear more about this resort - esp what are rooms like and just how close is that Mokapu building to water/beach (we want to be close!)

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Old Oct 23rd, 2003, 05:22 AM
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Miscrapper - I am not sure where that part of the building is at the Rennisance. It is a very large hotel. But the entire hotel is on the water. Basicly I think from any room though you have to walk past the pool area and some grass to get to the beach. But you are on the beach. If you want to litterally touch the sand with your toes right outside your balcony/terrace you will not be able to. The hotel is beautiful though. All lobby is a big open area open to the outside with a lovery terrace where you can watch the sunset. Many of the eating places in the rennisance are written up in Maui Revealed. I would def. recommend staying there.

Augustlily - like miscrapper said you do not need to have the Hawaii entertainment book to book the hotels as the hotels are in any of the entertainment books. Note: Both hotels did ask for the card so be sure to remember to bring that with you. And like Augustlily said you can buy the book from a local organization or go to the website. Be sure to get the 2004 edition. Also since you will not be going until August you could book the hotel saying that you have the entertainment book and then buy the book in Feb or March when the price drops from $30 a book to $15 a book if you don't think that you would use the coupons for anything else. I personally get the book every year b/c you def. save the $30. There are movie coupons etc. Check out the website.
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Old Oct 23rd, 2003, 05:53 AM
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miscrapper- We stayed next door at the Marriott/Outrigger Wailea and spent a couple days at Mokapu beach. The Renaissance looked lovely and the Mokapu wing rooms were pretty close to the beach. It looked like a nice place to stay. We had an oceanfront deluxe room at our hotel for about the same rate and chose this over the Renaissance because we were literally about 10 feet from the water. From our bed all you could see was the ocean, no land! However, some people don't like that the Marriott is next door to the beach vs. directly on it. If you are looking to spend a lot of time at the beach at your hotel instead of other beaches on the island then I would stick with your current reservation.
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Old Oct 23rd, 2003, 01:37 PM
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We stayed at the Mokapu a few years ago and loved it! My dh estimates that it is about 50 yards from the ocean. You could definately hear the waves crashing! I loved to wake up to that sound each morning! Also, the breakfast was included in the price and a special section on the lawn to "lay out". It also has its own pool but it's pretty small and cold. The room was nice but nothing ritzy. We truly loved it!
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Old Oct 23rd, 2003, 06:24 PM
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You might be able to obtain an entertainment book on Ebay for less than full price.
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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 04:05 AM
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Has anyone stayed or heard any reviews for:
Poipu Plantation Resort-Poipu Beach, Koloa?
Prices seem very good, basic amenities but short walk to beach.
Thanks
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