Best way to get from Maui to Aulani ~

[Moon Child]

Hello there. We are going to Maui first and then Aulani, this will be the first 2 weeks in Nov
What is the best way to get from island to island? I believe it's just a short little flight if I am not mistaken
Thanks in advance for your help ! We are coming from the East Coast for the first time, so excited

 

[StarSeven7]

We're flying Hawaiian Airlines to island hop.

 

[AquaDame]

Same as above; its a cheap and quick flight. Lots of options every day. We have a rental car booked as we want to go around the island as well on our own.

 

[corgi_monster]

Both Hawaiian and Southwest airlines fly between Maui and Honolulu. Maui airport has been BONKERS lately so make sure you get there with plenty of time to get through security.

 

[nicstress]

Southwest starts at $39. 2 free bags.

 

[soonerdoc]

We just did this last week. Flew from Maui to Honolulu on Southwest airlines. $39 flight, and had a companion pass, so that ended up being the cost for 2 people. It was super easy. Had a 1:00 flight. Left our resort in Kaanapali at 10:30, got to the airport with plenty of time, took the 30 min flight. Rented a car at HNL and was sitting by the pool at Aulani by 3:30.

 

[Moon Child]

awesome!! Thanks all for the replies !

 

[nkereina]

We did two inter-island flights through Hawaiian. I booked them mid-day (around 12-1pm) with the thought that we wouldn't have to rush the airport in the morning and then our room would be ready by the time we get to the new place. All of that was true, but the commute to the airport, travel time, luggage, rental cars, etc really ate up the best part of the day. It was too early to really do anything before we left and too late to do much of anything by the time we got to the new place. Next time, I will book either a really early flight or a really late flight so that we at least get a full day in wherever we are.

 

[StarSeven7]

We did two inter-island flights through Hawaiian. I booked them mid-day (around 12-1pm) with the thought that we wouldn't have to rush the airport in the morning and then our room would be ready by the time we get to the new place. All of that was true, but the commute to the airport, travel time, luggage, rental cars, etc really ate up the best part of the day. It was too early to really do anything before we left and too late to do much of anything by the time we got to the new place. Next time, I will book either a really early flight or a really late flight so that we at least get a full day in wherever we are.

Hmm, this is a good point. We have 2 inter-island flights scheduled for November around those times. Maybe we should think about switching them. We can’t check into our hotel that early though….

 

[nkereina]

Hmm, this is a good point. We have 2 inter-island flights scheduled for November around those times. Maybe we should think about switching them. We can’t check into our hotel that early though….

Typically you can check into your hotel ahead of the posted check-in time, but there's no guarantees your room would be ready before that. But it would at least allow you to still use the new hotel's amenities.

The benefit of taking an early morning flight is that you get a full day in once you arrive, and if there are any delays/cancellations, there are usually several more flights going to the same place throughout the day. The con is having to get up early, but you likely wouldn't have to contend with much traffic.

The benefit of taking a late night flight is that you get the full day wherever you're leaving, although you'd still have to check out of your room by whatever the check out time is. You'd be inclined to hit traffic going to the airport so would lose a little time having to leave earlier, and you run a greater risk of your flight having issues if something happened earlier in the day and there was a downstream impact. Plus, fewer flights to move you to later in the evening in those cases.

We left the Kaanapali region of Maui, about a 45 minute drive to the airport around 10:30am for a 1pm flight (pre-Covid). Leaving at 10:30 gave us just enough time to pack up and grab breakfast, but not much else. By the time we got to Kauai, it was about 2:30 and then we had to get luggage, pick up the car, drive to the resort, check into the hotel, unpack... it was probably around 5pm by the time we got settled. We had a nice dinner, but again, no time for anything else.

 

[StarSeven7]

Typically you can check into your hotel ahead of the posted check-in time, but there's no guarantees your room would be ready before that. But it would at least allow you to still use the new hotel's amenities.

The benefit of taking an early morning flight is that you get a full day in once you arrive, and if there are any delays/cancellations, there are usually several more flights going to the same place throughout the day. The con is having to get up early, but you likely wouldn't have to contend with much traffic.

The benefit of taking a late night flight is that you get the full day wherever you're leaving, although you'd still have to check out of your room by whatever the check out time is. You'd be inclined to hit traffic going to the airport so would lose a little time having to leave earlier, and you run a greater risk of your flight having issues if something happened earlier in the day and there was a downstream impact. Plus, fewer flights to move you to later in the evening in those cases.

We left the Kaanapali region of Maui, about a 45 minute drive to the airport around 10:30am for a 1pm flight (pre-Covid). Leaving at 10:30 gave us just enough time to pack up and grab breakfast, but not much else. By the time we got to Kauai, it was about 2:30 and then we had to get luggage, pick up the car, drive to the resort, check into the hotel, unpack... it was probably around 5pm by the time we got settled. We had a nice dinner, but again, no time for anything else.

We’re staying in VRBO condos on the Big Island and Maui, so not many amenities to enjoy and I don’t think there’s a possibility of getting in early! We also have 18 in our group, so trying to change flights and car rentals is probably too much of a hassle at this point! But you make a good point about it eating up your day!!

 

[nkereina]

We’re staying in VRBO condos on the Big Island and Maui, so not many amenities to enjoy and I don’t think there’s a possibility of getting in early! We also have 18 in our group, so trying to change flights and car rentals is probably too much of a hassle at this point! But you make a good point about it eating up your day!!

Ohh yes, I agree that you likely can't check in early with VRBO and it would be way too hard changing with 18! Its not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, just something I would do differently next time. Enjoy your trip!

 

[StarSeven7]

Ohh yes, I agree that you likely can't check in early with VRBO and it would be way too hard changing with 18! Its not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, just something I would do differently next time. Enjoy your trip!

It was a great suggestion!