FT'ers wonderful breadth of knowledge is making me feel very at ease right now.

I scored some of the MSP-HNL $322 AI tickets for February and in an attempt to keep costs down, my wife and I decided to stay on O'ahu only for a week. We used points for 5 nights at Turtle Bay due to its location away from the big city and the seemingly awesome surroundings.

I was starting to doubt the wisdom of not going to any of the other islands and that we might be "depriving" our children, 5 & 8, of some other neat experiences, such as Volcano National Park. It appears in doing some research that there will be plenty of activities, sights, etc. on O'ahu.

A few questions for this group:

I only had enough points for the aforementioned 5 nights, so I'm wondering if anyone would suggest that we stay right there for our final 2 nights of our vacation and pony up out-of-pocket there or if there any suggestions for other areas/lodging? A secondary question is on this topic is do we really need to spend ANY time in Honolulu/Waikiki?

Does anyone have any favorite "insider" activities, sights, etc. on the North Side of the island? Any "not-to-be-missed" activities, sights, etc. ANYWHERE on the island?

I've done quite a bit of research online, but sometimes that info can be hit or miss and I'm developing a real trust and admiration for the info that FT'ers provide. ^

Mahalo nui loa!

Aloha Kakou

Puu O Mahuka heiau on the North Shore is awe inspiring. Take the road that goes up behind Foodland. Make a right just before you get to the town on top. Check out this website: http://www.alternative-hawaii.com/special/nco.htm

You might not want to hear this but your kids first trip to Hawaii probably won't be their last.

My kids loved it SO much that we've gone 5x since 2001, and are planning yet another trip. (And yes, all on miles and points, thankfully!) So while you might want to cram everything into this trip, if you see the possibility of going back again sometime in the near future, it might help you to plan more intensely for this trip.

I think the fact that each Hawaiian island is so different from the others is what gives Hawaii much of its allure.

Well then,

MAHALO NUI LOA!

I appreciate everyone's words of encouragement. And flyerswife, thanks for the input on the 2 Hilton properties. My 9 year old is absolutely fascinated with penquins (although I don't know why!) so he will enjoy seeing them in Hawaii.

FLYINBELLS,

There is plenty to do on Oahu for a week. Pearl Harbor (inclusive of the USS Arizona, USS Missouri, USS Bowfin, etc), Hike Diamond Head, Circle Island Tour (Drive yourself), north shore, whale watch, swimming, snorkling, golf, etc There is plenty to do.

One option for the Big Island. You can take a day trip to the Big Island to see Hawaii Volcano National Park. Park the car at HNL for the day, round trip airfare @ $70/person (before tax and fee's) or so, worse case senerio $100 for one day auto rental. I would take first flight out of HNL and fly into Hilo. On the return, either the last or second to last flight.

You mentioned staying getting two more nights. Another option, you can either stay on Oahu and do the above mentioned activities or you can spend two nights on the Big Island over in Hilo, thus cutting down on travel time to the volcano.

Is there such a thing as too much time in paradise?

I didn't think so.

Happy travel.

Will be in Oahu in two weeks. Looking forward to it.

The local airlines (at least Hawiian Airlines) still have cheap internet fares from $39 between the islands. I have seen them as cheap as $19 in the past, but those days may be over.

FWIW, whenever we are on Oahu, we never seem to have enough time to do the things we want to do.

Enjoy!

DD

We will be sure to check this out.

Mahalo!

I hope you're right! We were going to tell the kids about this trip for Christmas, but Grandma let it out of the bag this weekend. They are SOOOOO excited!

This is one of the options I was considering if there are any lava flows when we go in February. It appears not much is going on right now in the way of volcanic activity. You don't think this would be too much for one day?

Thanks, DD! This is what I need to hear to put my mind at ease.

It is all about time management. My wife and I left Maui @ 6:00 a.m. and flew into Hilo (when they offered non stop back in 1998), picked up our car rental, went to Hilo airport to do a helicopter flight over the park, then drove ot the park. Yes, it is alot in one day but if you are strictly focusing on the National Park, then it should not be an issue. Then we left on the 8:30 non stop.