I just wanted to say thanks to you guys here on FT! I just came back from one week Waikiki and Ka'anapali and I must say the quality of information I got from you guys exceeded by far any travel guide or other website I found. Thanks to you guys I was able to go in the first place, due to the UA fare of $290 (and could even upgrade ).
Then I scored seats 1HJ and we had a perfect view of Ohahu when descending. Although on the way back I wish we would have sat further back because the galley noise was pretty loud and fairly light. We still had our Mai Tai's on the way over, on the way back the FA said they stopped it as of that flight, but she didn't sound too sure.

In Waikiki we stayed at the Hyatt and I was able to save alot on parking by using the pacific monarch parking garage for $12/day instead of the $26(?) at the Hyatt. Thanks to Priceline we got the Hyatt for $120 and a Chrysler Sebring convertible for $26/day.

We aren't usually into too fine dining, so we skipped the usual Roy's etc recommendation, but went for The House with no Key on Friday night and they had the best drinks I had during the stay. Great sunset view, the only caveat was that I tried to time it with the fireworks from the Hilton at 8pm, but you couldn't see it from their outside seating area, because some buildings were in the way.

Thanks to your recommendations we also went to Pearl Harbor as early as possible and although some tour busses dumped quite a few loads of tourists right before us, we didn't have to wait long at all.

We also did the walk up to Diamond Head and the view was great! Fortunately we did it early in the day and were back down again before it got really hot.

North Shore was a bit disappointing because we came the wrong time of the year and the waves were nothing like what you see in movies and documentaries. I guess we need to come back in the winter time.

On our way back from the North Shore we found the valley of the temples on Kahekili Hwy and were really amazed by the japanese temple. Small, but very pretty, I am glad we stopped there.

We used 5,000 United miles to fly Islandair over to Maui and did the Westin Villas stay 5 nights, pay 4 nights for 48,000 points. Great property and we got upgraded to ocean view, although none of us has status with SPG, but after labor day it was really empty there. I loved the property, only their service was a bit slow (waiters at the restaurants, bars) and they messed up our invoice which caused some phone calls/dicsussions on our last day.

We only needed a rental car for 2 days on Maui and thanks to FT and my National Executive Emerald status, we got a brand new Jeep Wrangler for the price of a standard car.

We did the road to Hana, which was one of the highlights of the trip, especially with hardly any traffic at all at that time. Unfortunately the water falls were really low on water and not as spectacular as they usually are. My other personal highlight of the trip was the Old Lahaina luau. Great location, perfect setting and they tell the story of the hula through the times from first settlers to today. I really loved the show.

We also went up to Haleakala, which was ok. I don't know if it had made a difference, but we chose to not get up at 2am to see the sunrise, instead we were up there at 10am, right in time to have a perfect view, before clouds came in. Stopped on the way back at the Kona lodge and had some nice lunch with great view over the island.

So, I hope you can tell that we had a great time and you guys helped a lot with my preparations and made things even better. Mahalo!

^^^ Glad you enjoyed it and it appears you really really paid attention to all the advice posted here. I even saw one of mine

Between the residents and the frequent visitors the advice given here is outstanding.

I think you made the right call. Not too many things are worth lots of sleep deprivation to me. Halekala at sunrise just doesn't make the cut.

I'm glad you enjoyed your trip.

Just to add my 2c, the knowledge I've gotten from being here on FT for the better part of 8 years has allowed me to take my husband and 3 kids to Hawaii 4 times (and in the process of planning a 5th)...the majority of that on FF miles, hotel points and other FT secrets....heck, when my husband needed a last minute mileage run for status in November, where did I find the best run? HNL! Poor guy

FT can be such an amazing resource. I'm glad you had such a nice trip and thanks for reminding me to say Mahalo and thanks too for everything that FT has offered that has enhanced and enriched our travel experiences.

^

HNL offers the best cpm, usually, and the destination doesn't suck either.

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Congrats to the OP on a great trip! ^ ^

That all sounds great, but due to my deep devotion to Haleakala I must add that I don't like getting up at 4AM either, so we went up for sunset, which is almost as spectacular, plus you get to drive up, which is the part that gives me the heebies, in the daylight. The only bad part about coming down in the dark is the risk of encountering Hawai'i's only human-threatening life form, the Wild Maui Mountain Cow. (Who knew?)

I have actually sold pictures I took on the way up Haleakala, so that trip even paid for itself. Glad you enjoyed Hawai'i, can't wait to go back myself!

M

Glad you had a great time. And I'm happy that FTers helped you plan your trip.

I'm reading this thread with interest too, because I'm planning to take my parents on a tour around the islands after a work trip coming up. Will be following a lot of the same advice on restaurants/places to see -- I want them to have a good time without breaking the bank.

I managed to set up some good deals on Priceline so far, and hoping that I don't regret what we get stuck with...:

Oahu two nights, Hyatt Waikiki for $129/night, compact car for $17/night
Island air flight at 5000 UA miles each, to Kauai
Kauai two nights, Resortquest Kauai at Makaiwa for $100/night, compact car for $25/night
Island air flight to Maui
Maui two nights, Royal Lahaina at Kaanapali for $95/night, compact car for $20/night

I'm really hoping the Royal Lahaina works out, because I read that the old part of the hotel is kind of ratty. I would have liked to choose the Hyatt there too, but it's beyond a reasonable price for us I think without Priceline. (during the 2002 travel slump I managed to Priceline a room at the Hyatt for $65/night for 4 nights! what luck, no more.) But I called the Royal Lahaina up to check on the reservation, and the reservation is supposed to get a garden view in the new renovated tower that is reviewed well in the blue guidebooks.
Likewise, in Kauai, I hope the Resortquest doesn't stick us in a shabbier room because of the Priceline thing. The big thing I'm debating is whether to send my parents on the Birds in Paradise ultralight trike ride for an hour, to see the Napali coast and the canyons!

Thanks for the parking garage tip in Waikiki -- that will be a lot better than $25/night parking at the Hyatt!

TA:

For a good, inexpensive meal on Maui, try Fran's Island Grill. It's a local place, lots of nice Hawai'ian style diner food for a very reasonable price.

If your mom likes scrapbooking, it's across the street from this place, which is how we found it:

http://www.islandpaperie.com/catalog...72&catid=31911

Which is apparently Scrapbook Nirvana. Fortunately we stopped on the last day of the trip so I could say, "Honey, the flight leaves soon, two carts full is going to have to be enough." If she sews, she'd also enjoy the Fabric Mart, which has several stores throughout the islands including one only a few blocks from Maui's Kahului Airport:

http://www.fmart.com/

With that one it was the limited cubic left in the suitcases that got me out. Also, there's a big swap meet in Kahului every Saturday, which is a great place to get souvenirs (t-shirts, local crafts, etc) cheaper than almost anywhere else. If you're on Maui at the right time it's a fun way to spend a little time for almost no money. We parked at the church down the street and I think it's only a buck or two to get in.

M

thanks for the tips!

Other things I'm thinking of taking them to do --

Hanauma Bay for a morning swim/snorkel
Diamond Head climb (maybe, don't want to be too tired!)
Drive to North shore with H1 or H3 Pali lookout?
Dinner at Ono Restaurant Honolulu for real local feel and great value.
on Kauai -- Wings over Kauai air tour, which I just discovered (http://www.wingsoverkauai.com/)

Do you all have any comments on luaus? It seems pretty pricey, and the two I looked at (Royal Lahaina luau, Old Lahaina luau) get mediocre or good reviews, but are proportionally cheap or expensive to go with that. I have the feeling you're paying for a lot of people's alcoholic consumption (which is fine if you drink a lot, but we don't). I guess the show makes it worth it?

(edit. ah, found some answers here:
Does it even pay to go to a Luau?)

Please feel free to share any Honolulu advice you gained, going for my first trip in Oct (5 days) staying at the Hilton Village. Pondering jumping to another island, but only there 5 days so not sure yet. I am looking for uncrowded ways to relax (first true vacation in MANY years).

I guess I am in the minority here, but I thought the Haleakala Sunrise was well worth it. The drive up (in a convertible UG) was cool; the leather heated seats were actually used- watching the stars initially when leaving Kihei, and the pastels mix as we increased our altitude. One thing that helped was the time zone change, as our bodies were used to waking up earlier, so it was good to do our first day. The colors were amazing, and to witness the sun rise over the ocean of clouds at approx 5K feet, (while standing at 10K) - amazing! I have visited Haleakala before, and it is ok... but the sunrise was perfect! Plus, on the return, stop in at T. Komoda Store and Bakery in Makawao for Cream Puffs is a must!!!

Sunset sounds nice too, will need to try that next time!

Lehava:

If you do do a jump, a day trip to the Big Island to see the volcanoes is probably the one "must do" thing for a Hawai'i trip that you can't do on Oahu. That's one of the big things associated with the islands and if you don't know when you'll be back, you'll be glad you saw them as there are few other places on Earth to experience something like that.

Otherwise, if you can pull an overnight on Maui, the Road to Hana is just one big "Oh, wow.' I wouldn't try to do it as a day trip, though. If you get very lucky, you might be able to find a hostel or cabin in Hana that has an open night (that's what we did) or otherwise you can try to get a room at the one hotel in town.

TA:

We did the Feast at Lele in Lahaina. Unlike most lu'aus this is a table-service meal. While it's expensive, the food is unbelievable, and the show is stunning. We went on our anniversary and they gave us a table front-row center. If you and/or your parents haven't been to Hawai'i before, a lu'au is one of the classic island experiences and as our hotel guide pointed out, a trip to Hawai'i is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most visitors.

While it's not cheap either, if you want to see some of the sea life and aren't big on diving, I also highly recommend the Atlantis passenger submersible tour in Lahaina. There're coupons and stuff for it if you look around.

M

TA: your planned trip sounds similar to our original plan. I am glad we skipped parts of it and spent (only) two nights in Honolulu and extended our stay on Maui to 5 nights. We decided that with the intra-island trips you would lose too much valuable time. Although the flights are short, you always need to take the waiting time, transfer to rental car, stuck in traffic, check into hotel etc into consideration. Plus you need to be aware that some (most?) resorts have a 11am check out time and if your intra-island flights leaves later in the afternoon, you are kind of stuck.

As for Maui, I can only recommend the Westin Villas one more time, great stay there and at the moment they are fairly slow and we got the nice upgrade. (Plus you have a full equipped kitchen and even washer and dryer, which can help save on the food bill, if you want to). If you have the SPG points, well worth it.

Another highlight I forgot to mention (and of course I got the tip on FT) was the Hula Pie desert at Kimo's (we actually had it at Leilani's at the Whaler's Village, but same ownership). Awesome!!

Oh, and another tip: If you need snorkel equipment (and if you don't stop at Costco and co) you are still better off if you rent it from a dive shop, rather than at the hotels. We paid $16 for two days for full equipment at the Maui dive shop @Whaler's village (vs $16 for one day at the Westin).

Hanauma Bay is fine (except on Tuesdays, when they're closed). ^
Diamond Head is fine ^ (my 10 year old did it in ~15 minutes on a hot July afternoon, even counting stopping for pictures and waiting for dear old dad to catch up ).

But, just to be clear, driving to the North Shore by way of the Pali lookout almost qualifies for the "you can't get there from here" observation.
I love the Pali Lookout (I have climbed straight up the hill past the WW2 marker to your right as you look out at Kailua) and recommend it to anyone for the awesome views.

I guess you could hit the Lookout, go down the Pali to Kam highway, turn left, hop on H3 Honolulu-bound and then rejoin H1 toward the North Shore, but I don't know that I'd go with that as my first choice.

If you want to get to the North Shore from Waikiki, take H1 West to H2 to Kam Highway to Haleiwa and follow that south around Turtle Bay to Kaneohe. Then hop on H3 and go home.

Good luck; search this forum for ideas for food on the NS, try some Kona Brewery beers while you here, and enjoy!
Aloha,
Ted