Hawaii-where to go besides Aulani?

[22Tink]

We're thinking of going to Hawaii for the first time for Spring Break 2018. It will be myself, DH and DD9. (Our 3 older children ages 23, 21, 18) may join us if it works for them but I'm thinking primarily of my DD9. I'd love to go to Aulani but it's a little out of our budget for this trip so I'm looking for other suggestions. Anyone have suggestions for their favourite island and/or resort? We'd be flying out of Western Canada if that makes a difference. We've done Mexico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic but Hawaii is brand new to us!! Any help is appreciated!

 

[AnnaFloridaLover]

Maui. That's it. Forget Aulani, Maui is where it's at. We've been there many times. We are well travelled but it's our favourite place on Earth.

 

[22Tink]

Maui. That's it. Forget Aulani, Maui is where it's at. We've been there many times. We are well travelled but it's our favourite place on Earth.

Thanks for the reply! Do you have a favourite resort?

 

[AnnaFloridaLover]

Thanks for the reply! Do you have a favourite resort?

Our favourite condo resort is Honua Kai and our favourite hotel resort is the Sheraton Maui. The Sheraton is not posh but very clean and the best spot on the Island in our opinion. We've stayed many other places and I've researched a ton so ask any and all questions and I'll try to be helpful.

 

[22Tink]

Our favourite condo resort is Honua Kai and our favourite hotel resort is the Sheraton Maui. The Sheraton is not posh but very clean and the best spot on the Island in our opinion. We've stayed many other places and I've researched a ton so ask any and all questions and I'll try to be helpful.

Thank you so much!!

 

[emma'smom]

The Big Island--so much to see and do! We hopped over to the Big Island at the end of our trip to Aulani. A 9 year old would love Volcanoes National Park. It was honestly one of the most incredible sites I've ever seen.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Hapuna Beach Prince Resort on the Big Island.

 

[monsterkitty]

The Big Island--so much to see and do! We hopped over to the Big Island at the end of our trip to Aulani. A 9 year old would love Volcanoes National Park. It was honestly one of the most incredible sites I've ever seen.

I second this! I would stay at the Volcanos Lodge or the Bed and Breakfast Kilauea Lodge and explore the Hilo side of the island for 3 or 4 days. Then I would go over to the Kona side for another 3 or 4 days staying at the Marriott Waikoloa.

My family find Maui and Oahu to commercialized at this point. While we have fun on those two islands, we much prefer the Big Island and Kauai.

 

[ADLFAN]

We loooooved the Big Island! They have a cool rainy East side where Hilo is and a hotter dryer West side where Kona is, and driving around both sides is awesome. Black sand beaches and the glowing volcano crater and native flora and fauna make the Island seem like a true Paradise! There are also awesome resorts near Kona, plus rental homes and hotels aplenty. We swam with Manta Rays and Dolphins and so many beautiful colorful fish. We rented a Jeep and drove around Volcano NP, which was amazing, like nothing I have ever seen! We explored a lava tube near Hilo that went for a mile and required crawling through some tight spaces, it was sooooo cool!

We found Oahu to be much more commercial and populated by a lot more tourists, with traffic around anywhere the guide books tell you to go. While I wouldn't spend my vacation in Oahu again, I would take the same exact Big Island vacation as before!

 

[bcla]

The Big Island and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. While it might be interesting to go hiking there, they do have some serious risks though from cuts. It may seem kind of strange in Hawaii, but wearing long pants and gloves when hiking over former lava flows is recommended. If you slip and fall (and that could happen when a piece of lava rock breaks off) there is risk of cutting your palms on the rock.

They're got some amazing black sand beaches too. I remember going to one and seeing a sea turtle lounging on the sand. Didn't get too close though.

I remember on that side of the island we went to the Mauna Loa macadamia nut factory south of Hilo. Also the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. There's also the other side of the island along the Kona coast.

 

[22Tink]

Thanks everyone! That gives me somewhere to start researching!

 

[J'aime Paris]

Maui. We rented a house since we brought grandparents alone. But you can find great condos to rent as well, if you'd only need 2 bedrooms.
We stocked up on food at Costco, buy the POG it's delicious!

 

[xlxo]

I'm a Big Island lover for the volcano experience by land, sea and air.
https://www.bluehawaiian.com/bigisland/video/Big_Island_Intro

Another option is to go with the Pride of America to experience the islands in a week. It may even be cheaper than a few days in Aulani. Warning.... it's not DCL, there is no pixie dust.

 

[aprilchem]

We just got back from 3 weeks in Hawaii - it was our second trip there, and it we've already planned to go back again next year. Hoping to move there for a year for a sabbatical two years from now!

We do not stay at resorts in Hawaii - to me, the best way to get the true experience of Hawaii is to rent a home (I use Homeaway). We've stayed on the big island (Hawaii), Oahu, and Kauai. My favorite is probably the big island and my least favorite is Oahu, but if you like big cities you might prefer Oahu.

 

[Shanti]

We're thinking of going to Hawaii for the first time for Spring Break 2018. It will be myself, DH and DD9. (Our 3 older children ages 23, 21, 18) may join us if it works for them but I'm thinking primarily of my DD9. I'd love to go to Aulani but it's a little out of our budget for this trip so I'm looking for other suggestions. Anyone have suggestions for their favourite island and/or resort? We'd be flying out of Western Canada if that makes a difference. We've done Mexico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic but Hawaii is brand new to us!! Any help is appreciated!

We stayed at the Makena resort in Maui, and it is wonderful. Lovely resort right on the beach, with lots of available activities on the water. It's away from the touristy area. Very beautiful. Drive the road to Hana while there- it's magnificent. Maui also has a tropical forest you can hike through.

 

[Ariel Wanna-be]

This past summer, we traveled to Hawaii and visited the Big Island, Oahu, and Kauai. We stayed five nights on each island. The most beautiful was definitely Kauai (helicopter tour was the highlight of the entire trip), but if we go back we will probably spend all of our time on the Big Island. There is sooooo much variety there in terms of geography, climate, and experiences. Scuba diving, snorkeling, gorgeous beaches, lava, rain forests, sub-freezing stargazing at the top of a dormant volcano, watching the glow from an active volcano...we could have stayed another two weeks and still not experienced everything the island had to offer.

I'm probably underrating Oahu. Although I knew it was probably a mistake, we stayed in Honolulu because I couldn't find anywhere decent to stay on the rest of the island (we tacked Oahu onto our trip at the last minute). We did not like Honolulu at all, and spent a lot of time in traffic. However, when we ventured out of the city, the island was beautiful, particularly the North Shore. So if you decide to go, I'd forgo HNL and stay somewhere else.

 

[elphaba91]

Maui is absolutely my favourite place on earth! We love the Royal Lahaina, although there are certainly more upscale resorts that I'm sure are wonderful if they're in your budget! I'd definitely recommend Ka'anapali though; the beaches are wonderful (and I'm an Aussie - we love our beaches).

I wasn't too keen on Honolulu. It is very busy and commercialised. Waikiki beach is extremely crowded and there's actually very little sand to even sit on. It was also impossible to get into a restaurant without reservations.

We said that after nearly a month in the States Maui was like a foreign country while going to Honolulu was like going back to the States. Unfortunately for me, any future trips to Maui will involve at least 1 night in Honolulu!

If you want to island hop then I highly recommend Mokulele Airlines. They only fly small planes so fly a lot lower giving amazing views, can fly out of smaller airports (e.g. Kapalua Airport which is about 10 minutes from Ka'anapali) and no TSA (apart from HNL I think). I'm a nervous flyer but LOVED them and grinned ear to ear the entire flight; I figured as I could personally see both the pilots (and they weren't worried) and all the instruments (and there were no alarms or flashing warnings) then everything was safe!

 

[stsomewhere]

cruise- NCl- Pride of America. We love NCL.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

I have been to Oahu (Wyndham Waikiki Beachwalk - great location a block from the beach), Kauai (Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas) and Maui (Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas, Marriott Maui Ocean Club, Wailea Beach Marriott and Royal Lahaina Resort).

Out of all 3 islands Maui is my favorite and the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas is my favorite place to stay. We did island hop on one trip in order to spend 4 days on Oahu because we wanted to see Pearl Harbor, hike Diamond Head, sail off of Waikiki Beach, visit Hanauma Bay and Iolani Palace. It was worth it! One of these days we'll make it to the Big Island. The rest of my family went and other than the active volcano, they liked Maui better.

 

[AppleDumpling]

It's been many years since I've been there (long before Aulani was built), but my favorite island was Kauai. And as pp mentioned, best thing we did there was a helicopter ride over Waimea Canyon and the Na'pali coast. Worth the expense. We didn't go to the big island; it's on my bucket list!

If you go to Oahu, you don't have to stay in downtown Honolulu, but should visit the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor. Also, take a drive to the Polynesian Cultural Center on the north shore. It's very touristy, but a must-see, IMO.