Rate the Islands

[ebenmax]

Our family of 7 (5 adults, 15 year old and 1 year old) are planning to visit Hawaii and Aulani for 14 days next summer. We know we want to spend half of our trip at Aulani (for expense purposes and seeing the resort), but we also want to island hop the other half. Can we get to Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii in one week? Or should we pick only 2 additional islands?
That being said... which island (including Oahu) gets your top
all-around vote? We like to relax some but not the whole time. We also like to explore, shop, sightsee, etc.

Thank you for your thoughts!!

 

[pitpat]

Kauai
Maui is also great
I'm sure the Big Island is amazing too, but I haven't been there yet

and I would limit it to only 1 or 2 other islands.

 

[cgattis]

You could get to all three of those in a week if you did the POA cruise. We're giving it a shot.

 

[ebenmax]

We definitely looked into POA (which looks awesome!) but unfortunately, our budget won't permit us. We can use a friend's timeshare points on the other islands to get decent room rates.

 

[happymommy]

I lived on Oahu, and honestly every island is so different.

We went to Kauai, and could see and do everything in a weekend.

Spent a couple weekends plus one week on Maui, but just to be pampered at resorts and hike a bit. It's where to go to enjoy resorts (we did Wailea once and the Ritz Kapalua twice, but we got Kamaaina rates of $179 a night).

The Big Island we spent a week, and could have spent more time.

We go every other year (or more often) since we moved back 18 years ago. Next time, I'm going with DD for a month (we own at the Marriott Ko Olina), and DH and DS are joining us after two weeks (we split it up so first two weeks are a studio then next 2 are a one bedroom, which comes out to roughly $100/night in maintenance fees). We added 3 extra nights cash stays.

DD and I are going to the Big Island after the boys come, both so she can see Volcanoes Nat'l Park, and also I have a friend from childhood who lives there, and is an underwater filmographer (he did the videography on Mission Blue, amazing movie, plus Sea of Hope, a National Geographic Channel movie, plus a new one directed by Leonardo Di Caprio).

She wants to experience the park, so we'll spend a night in Kona to see him, then do the drive to Hilo, and stay at least 2 nights at the park.

If you want to see Volcanoes National Park, I'd suggest doing a WEEK (sorry not meaning to shout) on the Big Island. It will be amazing.

 

[ggc]

Is that 14 days total, or 16 including travel? Time spent on another island is an excellent idea. Two extra islands would be very tight.
Leaving Aulani for Maui, my first choice, you will spend the better part of a day travelling and getting to the new hotel.

Maui has the most to offer, great restaurants, plenty to do and see, without the fast pace of Oahu. You will need to rent a car or two or a van.
There aren't that many roads so getting around is not a big deal. Last time I went with priceline and was quite cheap.

You could add Kaui or the Big Island. But, I would shorten the stay at Aulani by two/three days to pull off the triple play.
You can fly home from any of them without connecting in Honolulu, gives you some extra time.

Just remember if you go to Kaui make sure you have AC where you stay. Electricity is expensive and many places forgo
air conditioning. Makes for a nasty humid nights sleep.

The cruise sounds good but you will never take in the islands with so little time on each.

 

[ebenmax]

Is that 14 days total, or 16 including travel?

We have not determined if the 14 days will include travel or not. We would like to have the extra days in Hawaii for sure!!

 

[Midoria]

Can we get to Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii in one week?

You can, but I think the question is what you hope to get out of your trip here. Don't forget that each time you move islands you need to offer up 4-5 hours for the drive to the airport, rental car drop off, security, flight, baggage claim (I'm assuming such a big family will have to check bags), rental car pick up, and travel to the new hotel. 3 islands in 7 days is more mission-driven and you may not want to deal with having to hustle in order to keep up with that sort of schedule. Plus there is an issue of quality versus quantity.

I'd honestly pick one other island - either Maui or the Big Island.

 

[alldiz]

Great question OP.
Like a PP said, if possible shorten Aulani by 2 days if you have your heart set to do 3 islands. If not I think your family will love Aulani for a full week!( I can't wait for my 1st stay this July )plus there is so much to see on Oahu for your family.

If going for 2 i would pick Maui. Multiple airports in a week might be too much travel with a 1 year old. Even for the best behaved baby
Happy planning
Kerri

 

[GooglyBear808]

Have you taken into consideration airfare, rental car, hotel costs, food costs if you did choose to visit 3 islands on your own for your second week stay? I understand POA is awful pricey, especially in the summer! But, it does include you room for 7 nights and food, which is expensive in Hawai'i! As far as choosing an island, I'd say definitely have one of your stops include the Big Island. Between the Hawaiian history and volcano's in Hilo to the beauty of Waimea and the beaches of Kona, Big Island is absolutely gorgeous!! Hiking, Mauna Kea, black sand beach, green sand beaches, Hawai'i island is a must see.

 

[nkereina]

We were in Hawaii for a total of 16 days - we did 3 nights in Waikiki, 3 in Maui, 3 in Kauai, and 6 at Aulani. We were very happy with how everything turned out. My trip report is in my signature.

When booking our trip, we did consider POA and priced that out. We ended up finding it cheaper for us to island hop on our own than it would have been to cruise on POA. The negative to cruising is that you are limited on time at each island. The negative to island hopping on your own is that you have to waste some time "taking care of business" - flying, driving to the airport, renting a car, etc. You'd also get to visit the Big Island on the cruise. We found it to be too much to add in the Big Island to our plans, so we stuck with Maui and Kauai.

We loved Kauai the most. We thought it was the most exotic and was the least commercialized of the places we visited. Waimea Canyon and the Na Pali Coast were incredible. Maui was also fun, and was a good mix of commercialization/touristy things and natural beauty. We did find Maui to be windy and less humid, which made our beach time a little dicey. Kauai was noticeably hot and more humid. Oahu is a mix of everything. The North Shore and Kailua gives a laid back, less touristy feel yet you can drive for an hour to Waikiki and do some shopping and all the tourist things. And we thought Oahu had the best weather!

 

[kaseyC]

We are doing 14 days late June/early July this summer. We decided to focus on only two islands since we really wanted this to be a relaxing vacation. We are doing a week in Maui, rented a two bedroom at Honua Kai and a week on Oahu...2 nights at the new Hilton Grand Islander in Waikiki and 5 nights at Aulani.

 

[ehrawn]

After living on Oahu for many years, and vacationing and working on the other Islands, here's my recommendation:

If only one Island for your trip: Oahu. It's the most diverse in experiences, has the best beaches and most supportive of general enjoyment activities. You can spend years here and not do it all (as I am realizing now, ticking off things I want to do this weekend).
If two, add the Big Island for its active volcano and underwater life. Plus it has nearly all of the world's climate zones, and thus the scenery to go with it.
If three, depending on your preference for how active of a vacation you want, add Kauai for adventure or Lanai to be forced to do nothing.
Maui and Molokai are also nice, but I find it hard to spend too much time on either island for various reasons.

 

[ebenmax]

All of your advice is excellent!! Thank you so much! We are now considering only 2 addt. islands other than Oahu. It seems like the airport stops will eat away quite a bit of touring time, so 3 addt. islands doesn't sound too practical. If we fly home from an airport on an island other than Oahu, which one has the most Options for flights back to the mainland?

We have not chosen the other 2. Our ears are still open to hear more thoughts and opinions!

 

[aero99]

We are doing 14 days late June/early July this summer. We decided to focus on only two islands since we really wanted this to be a relaxing vacation. We are doing a week in Maui, rented a two bedroom at Honua Kai and a week on Oahu...2 nights at the new Hilton Grand Islander in Waikiki and 5 nights at Aulani.

Wow, great minds think alike! We are doing 14 days in July this summer, 5 nights at Honua Kai, 2 nights in Waikiki and 6 nights at Aulani.

And to answer the OP question, we loved Kauai. Just make sure you don't do Waikiki last. We went from Kauai to Waikiki last time with nothing at the end and would not do that again. Kauai is so laid back and relaxing (the exact opposite of Waikiki). We figure by doing Aulani last we should be relaxed by the time we leave.

 

[Midoria]

All of your advice is excellent!! Thank you so much! We are now considering only 2 addt. islands other than Oahu. It seems like the airport stops will eat away quite a bit of touring time, so 3 addt. islands doesn't sound too practical. If we fly home from an airport on an island other than Oahu, which one has the most Options for flights back to the mainland?

We have not chosen the other 2. Our ears are still open to hear more thoughts and opinions!

If you're doing two extra islands, I wouldn't go to the Big Island. That's over 100 miles of driving if you want to see Hilo, VNP, and Kailua-Kona. Of course, you can always drop KK and stick with Hilo and the VNP which are "only" 30 miles from each other. VNP/Hilo and KK are about 80 miles apart.

In terms of flights, OGG is the second busiest airport but still only has 1/4 of the flights that HNL provides and that includes inter-island. I would assume that you're going to have go through HNL on your way home and plan accordingly.

 

[pepperandchips]

It doesn't answer your question about rating the islands but we are flying back to LAX from Lihue (Kauai) as it was much more convenient to do an open jaw flight and get more time on Kauai. Our delta flight leaves around 9:00 pm from Lihue and you can connect to basically anywhere from LAX. I've only been to Oahu and it was about 20 years ago. Good luck deciding! Really tough choice. We picked up a few used (1 yr old) guidebooks for a couple bucks each on Amazon and upon seeing Napali we were sold on Kauai.

 

[ebenmax]

Since we are hoping for a broad look at the islands and we will be staying on Oahu for sure, would you say the Big Island and Kauai are the more unique experiences when comparing to Oahu?
From what I'm reading, Maui sounds most like Aulani/Ko Olina?

 

[heybets30]

Big Island. Hands down. It is just spectacular. Yes, it is big, yes, there's a lot of driving. For Hawaii, at least - compared to regular driving on the mainland, 2 to 2.5 hours isn't that daunting. It takes ~2 hours to get from Hilo to the Fairmont Orchid where we stayed, about 2-2/1 to Kona. That's not a lot of driving if you stay in Hilo for a day or two, then drive to Kona. It's just absolutely gorgeous - the terrain, driving across the volcanoes. Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens is, I think, one of the most beautiful places on earth. Kona is so much fun - some of the best eats we had in all of Hawaii (including staying at Halukelani, Four Seasons, and the like) are on the Big Island - 3 places to be exact: Lucy's Taqueria in Hilo, Kohala burger in the Kohala Coast, and TJ's BBQ by the Beach in Kona. Unbelievable fresh, good food. The differences between the lava fields on the Kona/Kohala coast vs. the lush tropical vibe in Hilo is a wonderful contrast. Also on the Big Island, take a day & venture around the coffee plantations. SO MUCH FUN!! Hula Daddy was exceptionally cool to visit. Our then 8 & 6 year old had so much fun too. Hubby and I, if we were to go back just the two of us to HI, would go to the Big Island without hesitation and stay at the Fairmont Orchid. We went during an Oahu school break to Aulani, so came away very disappointed at the crowds and how small and on top of each other everything was. The Big Island you feel room to stretch out without being crowded at all.

 

[nkereina]

Since we are hoping for a broad look at the islands and we will be staying on Oahu for sure, would you say the Big Island and Kauai are the more unique experiences when comparing to Oahu?
From what I'm reading, Maui sounds most like Aulani/Ko Olina?

I would say so. We didn't do the Big Island, but Kauai was the most unique and exotic compared to Maui and Oahu, from our perspective. If/when we return to Hawaii, we'd split our time between Aulani and Kauai next time.