I agree that you should split the time up evenly - I tried to do just 3 days on one island in 2005 and it was a bit rushed (we're going back this June).

But don't underestimate what looks like a 6 hr time difference. 6am will seem like mid-day for the first few days. It actually works well sometime - Hanauma Bay on Oahu is empty when it opens at 5:30a, and leaving for sunrise at Haleakala at 3am is actually reasonable on your 1st or 2nd day on Maui. Unfortunately, I don't remember much to do on Kauai that early last year, though we beat the crowd at Eggberts.

Come to think of it, you probably haven't totally adjusted by then, and an early Wednesday flight with the rest of the day on Maui might actually be my choice. Arrivals tend to be later in the day, so you effectively have 6 days. S/M/T on Kauai, then early W flight leaves W,Th,F, and part of Sa on Maui (if you have a red-eye out) A 10a arrival gives you almost a full day vs. having to leave late afternoon and take 2 flights (unless there's a really late Tuesday flight and you can get in about a whole day).

Just something to think about. I'm thinking through the same 9am vs later OGG-KOA flight decision. I have 10 days on Maui and only 4 on the Big Island, but the 6am departure is bugging me too :)

We are arriving in Kauai from the mainland on a Saturday evening, and planning on flying to Maui the following Saturday...spending 7 nights on each island. Flying to Maui on a Wed. would only give us ~3 nights on one of the islands, depending on which Wed. we flew on. So while we could certainly fly LIH-OGG non-stop at 9am after spending nearly a week on Kauai (on the morning of the 7th day), it's really more of the 6am departure dilemma that's holding me back. Heck, I'd almost rather change my reservations to head to Maui a night earlier and split the trip 6 nights Kauai, 8 nights Maui, than head out that early! So all things considered, I prefer to island hop when it's dark out after getting the most out of the day.

Tenerife,

Fyi, I've moved your post about which side of the plane to sit on inter-island to the consolidated thread -- where there is much mana`o to be had!

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hawai...-mainland.html

cblaisd
Co-Moderator, Hawai`i forum

Looking back, I have no idea why I thought you were flying on a Tuesday...you can ignore my entire post. That's what I get for posting while running around on a holiday...:confused:

No worries. I appreciate the input. Happy Holidays!