Hawaii anyone?

[my3kids]

I am looking for information on vacations to Hawaii. I am interested in probably 2 weeks, with beach, pool, biking, site seeing and good food. We would probably want to rent a villa, house or condo with 2 or 3 bedrooms and be in a location where we get a good representative view of the islands. I don't want to stay a day or 2 in a lot of different locations, but would rather have a home base we could take day trips from. I do not want to be in the big city, but would preper instead a gorgeous beach with lovely scenery.

Where do I begin my search? I know nothing about Hawaii. Can anyone help?

 

[minniepumpernickel]

Honolulu is gorgeous, but it may be too hectic for you. You can see a lot of sights from there. I love the beach there. I have never seen so many "beautiful" people before in my life. It has a lot of great restaurants, shops, you can get a lot of public transportation. It is an all night, walk the streets, hit the clubs type of place too. Which you may not like.

 

[monkeyboy]

I had such a horrible trip to Hawaii it wasn't even funny.

My dad was going over for business (he’s an architect) and we all joined him on this trip.
We visited the building that his firm was working on and I found a little tiki idol.

Not thinking anything wrong, I took it…and boy did the bad luck follow us.

 

[vacationman]

Next June, we are going to Hawaii for two weeks. The first week will be at the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort on Oahu and the second week will be doing the NCL cruise which goes to four of the other islands. Can't wait!

 

[DawnCt1]

What you are suggesting, having a home based condo and taking various day trips to different islands is very impractical and expensive. The cheapest interisland flights are about $140 and it is like flying anywhere. You arrive at the airport 90 minutes ahead of time, wait to board, pick up a rental car,etc. There is a ferry between Maui and Lanai and Maui and Molikai but they are time consuming. The best approach is to pick two, maybe three islands, set a travel plan and itinerary and build your vacation around that. Everyone seems to like Maui. If you go during the winter, the weather in Wailea is more predictable. If you go in the summer, Ka'anapali is wonderful, busier, more activity. Both have wonderful beaches. Kauai is the garden island. Much more laid back, no night life. Location there is important. The north shore is absolutely gorgeous. It is gorgeous because it rains a lot. In the winter it can rain for your entire vacation during the winter. Poipu is warm and dry. Poipu is where you would want to stay in the winter. Hawaii is called the Big Island because it is big! Typically, it makes sense to plan a couple of days on the Hilo side, visit Volcano National Park and then move to the Kona side. There are condos, etc available there as well. We stayed at Kanaloa at Kona one year. They were lovely. Having said t hat, there was no beach there. We had ocean, but no beach. There are plenty of other condos however up and down the Kohala coast. I would suggest that you pick up Frommers, or Fodors on the entire state of Hawaii and when you determine which islands you want to visit, buy the Wizard Publications Blue Books which discuss each island in detail. Also, Fodors.com is a great travel site for specific questions. I love Hawaii and you will to but its a bigger state than the dots on the map imply.

 

[my3kids]

All good information! I knew we wouldn't fly between islands....just that we'll rent a car and if the island we are on has a nice variety of different types of things to see, we can take a day and visit another beach, or spend the day in the mountains...or whatever happens to seem interesting.

We don't like big cities, but would love a laid back kind of place. Beautiful scenery and maybe a nice mis of geography to see....beaches, volcanos, etc.

 

[Alice28]

I think I would recommend Kauai to you. I have been to Maui, Kauai and the Big Island, and I think Kauai has the best mix of everything. Good beaches, interesting landscape (the grand canyon of Hawaii for one), large mountainous region- you cannot drive around this island in a circle though....this huge mountain/cliff range on the NE tip of the island prevents any roads going through. But there's a marvelous beach at the end of this road, north of Princeville. Poipu is the drier side....I said in Kilauea for 8 weeks as a nanny, and saw most of the island. It's very, very pretty.

I would next recommend Maui, as it has lots of great plusses too, and lots of different things to see.

Kona on the Big Island, I adored......but the actual BEACHES were few on that side of the island. Terrific snorkeling opportunities, but not as many sandy beaches on that side of the island....lots more volcanic rock. Hapuna Beach is a good one though, on the NW side of the island.

Aloha!

 

[my3kids]

Thanks again! And also to Bobby....Monkey Boy...too funny!

 

[Laz]

I am going for my 3rd trip to Hawaii this June as well. I have been to all the main islands. My family's favorites are Kauai and Maui, in that order. Our favorite is Kauai! No building taller than a coconut tree with two different types of Islands in one. In the south, Popui is desert-like yet has one of the top beaches in the world. Stay on this part of the island in the winter. For us, we LOVE the Princeville area near Hanalei bay in the summer. The Condos are great and they don't have a/c because you don't need it. Lush and tropical. Uncrowded and unspoiled. We loved going to Hanalei bay (Puff the Magic Dragon shores) because it is a beautiful beach with VERY FEW people. No motorized boats are allowed in the bay. The island is very easy to drive. Try this web site:

www.hawaii.com

 

[Papa Deuce]

1984, I was visiting a "ahem" gentlemen's club in HI. I walk out of the place and about :30 later the places is SURROUNDED by cops. Cars, Busses, beat cops...... I left in a hurry.

Next morning I have the TV on and it seems that they had the biggest drug bust in Hawaii's history ( to that point, anyway )......

 

[maci]

Another vote for Kauai! It is perfection!!
We are going back for our 10 year anniv, in 2006! With kids in tow!

 

[DawnCt1]

Originally posted by my3kids
All good information! I knew we wouldn't fly between islands....just that we'll rent a car and if the island we are on has a nice variety of different types of things to see, we can take a day and visit another beach, or spend the day in the mountains...or whatever happens to seem interesting.

We don't like big cities, but would love a laid back kind of place. Beautiful scenery and maybe a nice mis of geography to see....beaches, volcanos, etc.

With the exception of Honolulu, all of Hawaii is pretty laid back. I am just curious as to why you don't want to experience more than one island on your vacation. Two islands within two weeks is very comfortable. It does involve packing up and moving but its not difficult. This past summer we spent three nights in Honolulu, 5 on Hawaii and 7 on Maui. DH and I took a day trip to Molokai because I have always wanted to visit Kaulapapa. Of course that was a couple of days more than two weeks so I would probably limit my travels to 2 islands with only two weeks.

 

[raidermatt]

I understand not wanting to move in the middle of your trip, but the flight it short, so its not too bad.

We've taken several trips each to Oahu, Maui and Kauai, and recently purchased at the Westin Villas on Maui.

Oahu has some quiet spots, but they are harder to find than on the other islands. Honolulu/Waikiki is pretty busy. Not NY or LA busy, but still.

Maui has a great variety of scenery. There's a dormant (not extinct) volcano, rain forests, beaches, snorkeling, etc. It also has some great restaurants and shopping, though much less than Oahu.

Kauai is beautiful, very green. I'd say it doesn't quite have the variety of scenery as Maui, and has less in the way of shopping/restaurants. But it is even quieter and less populated, and as I said, is simply beautiful.

Haven't made to the Big Island, but we do plan to. From what weve heard, you need to plan to do much more driving due to the size. Pretty quiet, and it does have the advantage of having an actively erupting volcano.

If you are really looking for the most quiet and laid back experience, I'd go with Kauai, though Maui does offer the advantage of being able to take day trips to Lanai or Molokai, whcih of course are the quietest of all.

If you want quiet and laid back, but still want a little "action", go with Maui. (Believe me, its all relative... by mainland standards, Maui and even Oahu are still very laid back.)

 

[my3kids]

Thank you all so much. Now one more question.....for those who have also been in the Caribbean, is Hawaii a totally difference experience? We are on the south east cost, so it is whole lot easier to get to the Caribbean than to Hawaii. Is it a similar vacation experience, or so totally different that I shouldn't even consider a Caribbean islans as an alternative?

 

[my3kids]

Thank you all so much. Now one more question.....for those who have also been in the Caribbean, is Hawaii a totally difference experience? We are on the south east cost, so it is whole lot easier to get to the Caribbean than to Hawaii. Is it a similar vacation experience, or so totally different that I shouldn't even consider a Caribbean islans as an alternative?

 

[DawnCt1]

Originally posted by my3kids
Thank you all so much. Now one more question.....for those who have also been in the Caribbean, is Hawaii a totally difference experience? We are on the south east cost, so it is whole lot easier to get to the Caribbean than to Hawaii. Is it a similar vacation experience, or so totally different that I shouldn't even consider a Caribbean islans as an alternative?

Hawaii is a very different experience. All the islands are absolutely beautiful. There is really no where in the Caribbean that I would want to stay for more than 3 or 4 days. I could spend weeks in Hawaii. After reading your goals for a vacation however, which seems to basically enjoy the beach and the area with a few days trips, I do wonder why you would want to incur such a long flight and expense if you weren't going to visit the other islands? If I only had a week, I would certainly stay in one place but two weeks really gives you an opportunity to add comfortably to your itinerary.

 

[Pop Daddy]

I do laundry, will you take me

 

[my3kids]

Originally posted by Pop Daddy
I do laundry, will you take me

If you do laundry, absolutely! Also, you don't talk much. With 3 kids, quiet is good! Welcome aboard.

Dawn: Not positive of anything yet. Might end up 2 villas in 2 weeks on 2 different islands. I just know it isn't going to be island hopping and hopping some more to see it all in a couple of weeks. For us, that isn't much of a vacation.

 

[DawnCt1]

Originally posted by my3kids
If you do laundry, absolutely! Also, you don't talk much. With 3 kids, quiet is good! Welcome aboard.

Dawn: Not positive of anything yet. Might end up 2 villas in 2 weeks on 2 different islands. I just know it isn't going to be island hopping and hopping some more to see it all in a couple of weeks. For us, that isn't much of a vacation.

I think two different islands is still very relaxing. Unless you are really into rushing, three can be a bit tiring. I would consider condos rather than private homes. The condos are often individually owned but there are also in locations that are quite desirable. The Ka'anapali Alii are very spacious and roomy, but tend to be pricey. The Whaler Village is in a very convenient location and a bit more affordable. There are the Ka'anapali Shores, Villas, nice condos in Napili and of course the same is true for Wailea. Kauai offers the same. If I were going to Kauai however in the summer I would look for a beach house on the north shore. Try VRBO.

 

[Jeafl]

I second trying vrbo.com (vacation rentals by owner). We found a beachfront, top floor, full ocean view condo with balcony at the Aston Ka'anapali Shores for $120/night. It's owned by an older couple who live there 6 months a year and rent it out the other 6. It was completely remodeled in July, and the pictures look great. If you go on the Aston's website, the same condos on lower floors with no view are over $250/night. It's definitely worth checking into.