copilot5

Hi there. We are planning our first trip to Hawaii for mid-July to celebrate our 1-year wedding anniversary. We have 7 days and were thinking:

3 days Kauai (Grand Hyatt)
2 days Maui (Fairmont Kea Lani)
2 days Honolulu (Moana Surfrider)

I'd love to get some feedback. Maybe do 3 days in Maui instead of Kauai? Should we skip Honolulu entirely and just do the other 2 islands?

We're mainly interested in beaches, good food, relaxation, beautiful views, and romantic stuff. Maybe adventurous stuff like zipline or snorkling if we have time. Don't really care about golfing, shopping, or clubbing.

Thanks!

bocastephen

How are you factoring inter-island travel time - is this 3 full days/2 full days/2 full days not including travel? or including travel?

If the latter, this is too much...stick with Kaua'i and Maui or Kaua'i and the Big Island, splitting equally. The Waikiki experience can be easily replicated (minus the canned Hawaiian "culture") in Florida...don't bother with it unless you have ample time to cover all 3 places.

copilot5

Thanks! Yes, that includes travel. I think we might go with just the 2 islands, as you suggest. Which one do you recommend spending an extra day on?

bocastephen

If Kaua'i and Maui, I would spend the extra day on Kaua'i...if the Kaua'i/Big Island, the extra day is on the BI.

jpetekYXMD80

I'd skip Oahu on that trip. That's just too much for a week, especially for someone looking for relaxation. However you choose to delegate the extra time, make sure you make the trek up to the north shore of Kauai.

koolr

Why is this thread not a sticky??!!

I am planning our first trip to Hawaii. I would like some feedback on my itinerary during the Christmas time. I have already made my hotel and car reservations as follows.

3 nights - Honululu (Hilton Waikiki Beach) (arrive in the evening on the first day, and leave in the morning of 4th day)
4 nights - Big Island (Hilton Waikoloa Beach) (arrive late morning on the first day, and leave in the morning on 5th day)
4 nights - Kauai (Courtyard) (arrive early afternoon on the first day, and leave in the late evening on 5th day)

After reading some of the reviews and suggestions, I am wondering if I should reduce one night in HNL and add a night in Big Island. I would also like to get some ideas on the places to visit. We love nature, and like hiking, sighseeing, volcano, falls, etc... No swimming, snorkeling, etc.

I would appreciate any feedback on this itinerary. Thanks.

rsoxtim

Planning a trip next May:
Fly into HNL, spend 1 night to see Pearl Harbor (Waikiki is unappealing to us);
Fly to KOA, spend 7 nights to do the Kona side of the big island;
Spend 1-2 nights in Hilo for Volcanoes Natl Park and that side of the island.

We are doing a rental in Kona and resorts in HNL and Hilo. Does that sound reasonable? Once on the big island, we are looking to snorkel, lay on the beach, boogie board, hiking to waterfalls, and splitting meals between cooking and eating out.

Lavarock7

Doing a resort in Hilo? Huh? Ok, your defination of a resort may be different from mine.

Other than that, I think you have a plan. Many people spend too little time on the Big Island to enjoy it and then again, they do the long trek t othe Hilo side for the day and try to fit things in, rather than stay there.

There are 3 great places to snorkle on the Kona side. Kahaluu beach, Kealakekua Bay and Two Step; the latter 2 within a couple miles of my place.

I have some day trips I will post later for those who wish to drive. They include a few things kinda local too. One involves a music event where many ladies get up and hula (just because they want to) and there is a local picnic the first Tuesday of each month, put on by a musician and his wife. Visitors and locals are welcome.

Saddle Road which crosses the island is now almost finished with only a few miles on the Kona side still old style. The new realignment will start soon, with the west sie a lot closer to Kona, thus making the bypass a lot better for us west-siders. Still Saddle Road (which used to be like taking your life in your hands) is now more like an Interstate (I call it the H-4).

You will have plenty of time to see the island and explore and certainly won't feel rushed. Still, you will have to pick and choose what you want to do and when, because nothing is close to other things here on the Big Island.

cblaisd

I had the very same thought

rsoxtim

I haven't looked into accommodations in Hilo yet so I guess I should tame my expectations for options.

cblaisd

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawai...de-thread.html

aarif1

My turn! My family (including kids who will be 4.9 and 1.75) is taking its first trip to Hawaii next April. I booked flights to OGG and returning from LIH.

How much time should I spend on each Island, and which areas of each should we focus on? Interested mostly in relaxing on quiet beaches and hiking, with a little bit of adventurous stuff for the adults such as snorkeling and ziplining. Not at all interested in nightlife or golfing.

Lavarock7

After a couple of recent events I must stress that the Hawaiian Islands can be dangerous if you are not careful. Usually common sense will prevail, but with children you must be careful.

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(KITV-4)HAIKU-PAUWELA, Hawaii - A 12-year-old San Diego boy on vacation with his family on Maui fell more than 300-feet to his death Sunday, after his family pulled over at an unofficial lookout on the Hana Highway.

According to police, Cristian Lopez rushed out of the family’s rental car at about 10:40 a.m. as it stopped on the lookout at Honomanu Bay in northeast Maui.

---

Many places on the islands are not protected and it is easy to get injured or killed. In this case, the child was excited and there was no guardrail and a cliff.

We also caution people to never turn your back on the ocean. Waves come in sets and some waves can be quite large.

aarif1

Great advice, thanks! We just got back from Yosemite, so we have some idea how dangerous places could be. Also, the Big Island (and Volcano National Park) was originally my top choice, but I decided to put it off because of the kids.

Lavarock7

Well, I don't want to scare people, but I also hate to hear they are lulled into a false sense of security. Just as you would not leave children unattended by a pool, you would also hopefully not let them aproach a hole in the ground with steam coming out of it.

The Big Island (and Maui and Parts of Kauai) have cliffs and not all of them have guardrails. I'm sure visitors to Kauai will tell you here that Kaui has a giant valley in the middle with lots of places to fall from very easily.

The incident I mentioned was a very unfortunate accident and I don't want to blame the parents because it could have happened to anyone. But because people are out of their normal environment and on vacation, they may not have their guard up as much as they could.

With that said, the Volcano National Park is a great learning experience for kids, but I think there are not a lot of things for very yound children to understand. They will see steam and smoke from the ground and see a lavatube and so on, but I'm not sure how much they will enjoy it.

However, a short ride away is the Panaewa Rainforest Zoo with a white bengal tiger. It is far enough behind the fence (and well fed) that I think that is safer for the kids than steam!

Also, we have ocean currents and hot sun and those are reasons to be cautious, however there are some keiki (kid) friendly places to snorkle and swim and enjoy the weather.

A non-obvious issue is coconut trees. NEVER lie down or sit under one, especially if there are coconuts hanging on it. When they drop (and they must) it is like a rock hurling through space right towards your head.

So if you keep these things in mind, you should be fine:

Trees, water, sun, cliffs: bad
Tiger: good