Hawaii - Is HNL of for 8 nights or should we look at OGG or KOA for part of the trip?

Posting this in hopes that you might be kind enough to provide some suggestions/ ideas.

My wives (and me) are heading to Hawaii for eight nights leaving Saturday night, March 27 to PDX, spend the night and then head to HNL with an arrival at 1030 on Sunday March 38. I am active duty Army and am likely leaving for a year in May, so we are trying to make this unplanned trip nice, but on a budget.

We live outside of Chicago, and had planned to go to Jamaica or somewhere warm. My Command told me I needed 30 days notice to leave the USA, so the Caribbean was out. We found some good prices to San Diego, but the weather seemed a bit cold- we wanted warm/hot weather. We looked into Naples, FL area but could not get a waterfront hotel at a workable rate. On a fluke I checked Hawaii Army lodging. They have a hotel on Waikiki at $167 a night. They had availability the days we scheduled to travel. We checked airfare, coach from ORD to HNL, on the days we needed was about $800 per passenger. I happened to check Alaska Airlines, and discovered I had a $99 companion fare electronic coupon. First was available which offered a full refund for two passengers for a total of $1700. This was nice, as we will bring 3 bags, ad d the meals while traveling and it seemed first was cheaper than coach.
I travel a bit for the Army and earned gold status at Marriott. I did a quick check and discovered we could stay at the JW Marriott for $177 a night. I will always take a Marriott over Army Lodging, and the price seemed great, even though it is a garden room. We could only get 4 nights. I found another Marriott affiliate, Edition Hotel for the other four nights near Waikiki marina for $177 a night.

The above all sounds great, but I wondered if we should spend some of the time on the big Island or Maui, since we may not return to Hawaii anytime in the foreseeable future. We enjoy snorkeling and diving and water quite a bit. Relaxing is the focus of the trip, but we are a little concerned that Waikiki may be a little like Miami, which is ok but not our style.

Our tickets are changeable without penalty, so we can depart from OGG or KOA instead of HNL if we find an opportunity. We prefer to stay at Marriott branded lodging because we can get the deep discounted rate without a hassle, and possible upgrade because of gold status. We can also ad a day or two to the vacation.

Any tips or thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Depends on what you like to do. If you want a nightlife, then stay on Waikiki. All the islands are beautiful, but all but Oahu (and perhaps the small town of Lahaina on Maui) tend to switch to low gear after sunset.

There's plenty to do on Oahu for 8 days, including the obligatory day or two spent at the USS Arizona, USS Missouri, Fishbowl Cemetery, etc. If you can get a special tour on the MO for being in the service, that'd be awesome. Otherwise, I recommend the Explorer's Tour.

Then there's snorkeling, sailing, swimming, sunbathing, hiking, surfing, etc., etc. I believe there's a Marriott on the northern side of the island; if so, consider booking there for a few nights and exploring that side of the island. (I think that that resort will probably have much more of a Hawaii feel to it than the one in Waikiki.) If you HQ in Waikiki the whole time, you'll be battling the crowds and traffic every time you want to venture outside of the immediate area. The upside to HNL, of course, is more affordable flights in, restaurants, lodging, etc.

Me? I don't go to Hawaii to mill with crowds. So I'd personally opt for a few nights in Waikiki and the rest on the other side of the island OR I'd head over to KOA or OGG. (Note that it'll take the better part of one day to switch islands, though. Most hotels check out at 11am and check-in at 3pm. So in addition to the added expense of flying, you have lost time waiting for check-in. And you won't get a weekly break on your rental car.)

If you do decide to island hop, which island you pick is up to you:

OGG has great snorkeling, hiking, and manageable day trips because the island is so small. The two major resort areas have the landscaping and weather that most people envision when they think of Hawaii. The downside is that lodging can be quite expensive. I don't know anywhere you'd get $165 a night except perhaps in Kihei, which is the last place I'd chose on Maui. FYI, Maui is my favorite island. Ka'anapali Beach is my favorite resort area because it's active enough during the day but slows down at night.

Then you have Big Island, which has the advantage of an active volcano. How often are you going to have a chance to see that in your lifetime? If I went to Big Island, I'd fly into Hilo and stay at an affordable B&B for a minimum of 2 nights. (I chose Aloha Junction, which was quite affordable but certainly not 5 star. However, it was literally a 5 minute drive to Volcanoes National Park.) Note that Hilo is on the wet side of Big Island and you'll need long pants and jackets. Don't expect 78 degrees and sunny.

After exploring the volcano, I'd head over to the Kona side of the island for the rest of the time. Kona's weather is great, but the area isn't nearly as beautiful as the resort areas on Maui, IMO, because life hasn't found its way on the still-young black lava. However, the resorts are nice. I stayed at the Marriott Waikoloa for 2 nights and it was fine, though not nearly as nice as a JW Marriott. Besides snorkeling and sunbathing, the one activity that I highly recommend in Kona is the night snorkeling trip with the manta rays. Be fairly warned that Big Island is, indeed, big and you'll be spending much more time in the car than you will on either of the other islands if you want to do anything other than hang out at the resort.

Hint: If you do something like this, be sure to book your flights and rental car to fly into Hilo and out of Kona.

If you want some R&R in a nice setting definately go for another island. Waikiki has a very crowded, narrow beach and is very touristy. Maui is very pretty with not much to do at night, I've never been to Kona.
As for hotels in HNL, if your choice of Army lodging is the Hale Koa it's in a great spot and it looks like a nice place on the outside - you should check it out if it'll save you enough money to make it worth it.
The Edition is new, very trendy and just at the edge of Waikiki so you'll have to walk to the beach.
The JW Marriott is away from the crowds, big tourist areas etc. I've never been to that part of town so I can't advise you.

Agree with the other posters- HNL is nice to start to see the cultural things like Pearl, but the other islands are much more laid back, so to avoid the Miami stigma pick them... KOA would probably be the most laid back of the two you mentioned, LIH would even be more laid back, but then expense would probably increase a bit. I like the idea of flying into ITO and drive over to KOA for departure- requiring only a single OW flight, but can add expense to rental cars, not sure the drop fee. If you like driving the Big Island is the way to go IMO, as it offers the most diverse landscape, everything from a tropical rainforest, to dry desert, and ative volcano. And its a great deal with the companion cert, as you found out- be sure to check out the BR in SEA.

I like the idea of flying into ITO and drive over to KOA for departure- requiring only a single OW flight, but can add expense to rental cars, not sure the drop fee.

FYI, Alamo doesn't impose a drop fee for picking up at KOA and dropping off at ITO or vice-versa.

Thanks for all the great ideas. We are searching for available Marriott lodging now, and also looking at Craigslist for any private options....

Thanks for all the great ideas. We are searching for available Marriott lodging now, and also looking at Craigslist for any private options....

If you are thinking about the Big Island you should check out www.konaweb.com They have a very active visitors forum.
If you want to stay in the town of kona where you can walk to almost everything. The Kona Reef Resort ( which are condo's) and also the Royal Kona Resort offer a DOD rate. There is also the Waikoloia Marroitt Beach Resort about 18 miles north of airport.

On the Hilo side of the Big Island I can recommend this private home:

http://www.vrbo.com/135795

Couple blocks from the water, though not swimmable (not much Hilo side is) and a perfect location to hit VNP, waterfalls north of Hilo, and black sand beaches, lava viewing and the volcanically heated pool to the south.

No vested interest in the place, but stayed there last year and staying again mid-April. Great rates.

If it were me I would not even go to Honolulu. Waste of time if you ask me. Go to Big Island or Maui or Kauai or do two of three. Nice Marriotts at any of them. You would also easily be able to priceline a room for less than $177 at any of those places and get a pretty high end resort.

There is also the Waikoloia Marroitt Beach Resort abour 30 miles north of airport.

FYI, Waikoloa Beach Resort is 18 miles north of the airport. About 25 miles north of Kona-town.

Thanks again for taking the time to respond, I am working to get to Maui now instead of HNL, seeing if I can get seats on the days I have leave...