Advice needed: first trip to Hawaii

[laugh]

I am planning a trip to Hawaii. yay! It'll be the first time my wife and I (we are 30) visit it.

I'd like to have some advices about how to plan the trip (which island to visit, hotel/car/food tips). It will be 2-3 weeks.

When I have some general idea, I will dive into details of the plan.

Thank you in advance!!

 

[Landroval]

If you can, visit Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai, in addition to Oahu. Other than that, what type of vacation is this? Relax? Exercise? Shop?

 

[laugh]

It's a getaway from the crazy work. I need a break...

So, it is for relaxation.

 

[Landroval]

Hawaii (Big Island) is very relaxing, and there are many different ecosystems there, so you can visit all sorts of terrains. Kihei Coast of Maui is also nice if you want to lie out in the sun.

 

[Soccer55]

My family has gone to Hawaii twice (yay for frequent flyer miles) and both times we went for ~9 nights spending 2 or 3 nights in Honolulu (Oahu) and spending the remaining nights in Kaanapali (Maui). The hotels we stayed at were the Outrigger Waikiki, the Sheraton Maui, and the Hyatt Regency Maui.

As far as stuff to do, when we were staying in Honolulu, we mostly hung out on the beach during the day and walked around the area near the hotel at night. Instead of spending every day on the beach in front of the hotel, we decided to mix it up a bit by spending one afternoon scuba diving and one of the days snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. When we were in Maui, we did a bit more stuff since we were staying there for longer. It's been a while since the last trip, so I can only remember a couple of the things we did. One thing I know that we did was take a day trip to the Big Island. We went to Hilo mainly to see the volcanos, but it was pretty fun to walk around downtown Hilo as well. I think the airfare was something like $60 or $70 round trip between the islands. Another day, we left at like 3:30 in the morning to drive up Mt. Haleakala to watch the sunrise. I thought it was going to be incredibly boring, but to my surprise, it was pretty damn cool....I would recommend doing this if you're going to be near there. If you don't want to drive, they have buses that drive you up to the top and bring you back down.

Hawaii is such a beautiful place and it's such an awesome place for a vacation. I hope you guys have fun.

-Tom

 

[vegetation]

2-3 weeks stay? With that kind of time you can go to all the major islands (Big Island, Maui, Kauai, and Oahu).

 

[Ready]

There is an insane amount of hookers there i heard....

 

[Landroval]

Originally posted by: Ready
There is an insane amount of hookers there i heard....

All located on a single streetcorner

 

[Baked]

Bring money.

 

[mrrman]

Originally posted by: Baked
Bring money.

I go to Waikiki every 3 months, going in July again. Normally I stay at the Ohana chain but the hotels are getting $$$ now are they are all being reno'd. 3 months ago I paid $68 per night and now they want $136...that itself has doubled. Make sure you check out Pearl Harbour, the North Shore and if hungry, the Dole Pineapple plantation lol

 

[Confusednewbie1552]

Take the helicopter rides. I think they're fun.

 

[Neurorelay]

Hiking Diamond Head in Oahu, and the waterfalls in Kauai.

 

[laugh]

You guys are cool! Big thanks.

Any suggestion on the lodging? I browsed biddingfortravel.com , and it seems it's in $130 to $180 range. I don't mind paying a little more, if < $100 means lousy. But if there is hidden deal I'd go for it.

 

[LeonarD26]

I think you need to decide what Islands you want to visit before we can offer more suggestions...

I was there for 2 weeks on my honeymoon in May. Spent a week in Maui at the Hyatt and a week in Kauai at the Sheraton. Both were terrific. I heard good things from many people about the big island, and not so many good things about Oahu..... What are you looking to see??

 

[Landroval]

Originally posted by: laugh
You guys are cool! Big thanks.

Any suggestion on the lodging? I browsed biddingfortravel.com , and it seems it's in $130 to $180 range. I don't mind paying a little more, if < $100 means lousy. But if there is hidden deal I'd go for it.

There are some mid-range hotels that are just awful and some that are great, so you can't jusge by price. One horrid one that comes to mind is the "Maui Beach" hotel, the most foul experience imaginable. :Q A place I have enjoyed in Kihei is the Maui Coast, not expensive but good quality every time I've been there. You can also get discounts through various means, so be sure to read reviews of where you are considering. A lot of people love B & B's on the Big Island. You could also rent a condo-type facility in some areas, if you want that type of feel.

 

[flot]

Originally posted by: laugh
You guys are cool! Big thanks.

Any suggestion on the lodging? I browsed biddingfortravel.com , and it seems it's in $130 to $180 range. I don't mind paying a little more, if < $100 means lousy. But if there is hidden deal I'd go for it.

Whatever you do, READ REVIEWS OF HOTELS ONLINE. I went about a year ago (ended up staying at the sheraton waikiki, the big triangle shaped one you always see) which was a very nice place. Not worth whatever the asking room rate was, but worth the 50-60% off I paid at priceline. I wandered by some of my other possible hotel choices (the ones I had ruled out) and they really were dumps - expensive ones at that.

 

[franksta]

My wife and I had our honeymoon on Oahu 2 years ago. We stayed at the J.W. Marriot Ihilani. Seeing as how we were 23/22 at the time we felt strangely out of place there as the hotel was rather expensive. I got some super hot deal through Expedia.com.

The only thing we planned to do was see Pearl Harbor, otherwise we just got lost on the island. There was a radio report of a dead hog blocking traffic on the Like-Like (sp?) Highway that we got a huge laugh from.

Super relaxing place, you can't go wrong. :thumbsup:

 

[iamwiz82]

We go to the Big Island every year. I prefer the peace of the Big Island versus the hustle and bustle of Oahu.

 

[Landroval]

Originally posted by: franksta
My wife and I had our honeymoon on Oahu 2 years ago. We stayed at the J.W. Marriot Ihilani. Seeing as how we were 23/22 at the time we felt strangely out of place there as the hotel was rather expensive. I got some super hot deal through Expedia.com.

The only thing we planned to do was see Pearl Harbor, otherwise we just got lost on the island. There was a radio report of a dead hog blocking traffic on the Like-Like (sp?) Highway that we got a huge laugh from.

Super relaxing place, you can't go wrong. :thumbsup:

Local hunters go after the BIG, tusked hogs and sometimes hang them on the truck. I guess one fell off

 

[jalaram]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
We go to the Big Island every year. I prefer the peace of the Big Island versus the hustle and bustle of Oahu.

I think each island varies in its balance of quiet & natural vs. commercial. Oahu is the commercial/over-developed island (from what I've heard). Maui is a little better, but still has some big stores/hotels. Kauai is a nice relaxing area. I don't how the big Island and Molokai are. Did I miss any?

My favorite so far is Maui.