Maui to Aulani?

[Dicentras]

We are flying into Maui next summer and I would love to be able to stay at Aulani for at least part of our trip. Is it difficult to travel between islands? Any tips I should know? Thanks!

 

[PalmettoPath]

It's not difficult with island hopping flights. I would say it's more that it takes more time than you may think for traveling to airports, transportation from Honolulu airport to Aulani and so on.

 

[SteveH]

I agree with @PalmettoPath it's actually very easy to island hop. But... after doing Hawaii/Maul and Oahu/Kauai trips we probably just do one island next trip the check in/out, rental car return/pick up, airport/TSA dance takes to much valuable time out of the trip. I would say if you're staying for a longer period, say a couple of weeks that would be different. I just found that about the time I recall got to relax we were moving on.

 

[Dicentras]

Thanks to you both! That makes perfect sense on how it eats up time - regardless, this is probably a one time trip so we definitely want to make to to Oahu if possible. I'm now wondering how long I should plan for the hop back from Ohau to Maui. If my flight back home leaves Maui at noon, is it possible to leave Ohau that morning back to Maui, or is that cutting it too close? (Should we return to Maui the night before?)

Thanks so much for your help! I'm SO SO SO excited.

 

[Lew]

I'm now wondering how long I should plan for the hop back from Ohau to Maui. If my flight back home leaves Maui at noon, is it possible to leave Ohau that morning back to Maui, or is that cutting it too close?

Have you already booked your flights to and from Maui for next summer? If not, I'd recommend flying to O'ahu first, then over to Maui, then home from Maui.

We spent time on Maui then O'ahu last winter and wished we had done O'ahu first. O'ahu was a big let down for us after Maui.

 

[Dicentras]

Have you already booked your flights to and from Maui for next summer? If not, I'd recommend flying to O'ahu first, then over to Maui, then home from Maui.

We spent time on Maui then O'ahu last winter and wished we had done O'ahu first. O'ahu was a big let down for us after Maui.

Yes, Flight into Maui is set. That’s good to know though, I was trying to decide how to balance the 10 days, maybe 6/4 instead of 5/5.

 

[monsterkitty]

I was going to type that we always island hop, but our last trip was just Oahu for a last minute Spring Break.

If we are doing Oahu with another island, we fly into Oahu for 2-3 nights and then go to the next island. If there is a direct flight from that second island back home, we just fly home from there. We also always try to do Oahu first; however, if you already have the flights booked then keep it as is unless you can change the flight for little money.

I would not fly to Oahu and then try to make it back to Maui for a flight home at noon. Unless you can link your reservation, you would have to claim your bags, recheck them, and go through security again. We just had to do this with a St Thomas-St-Croix-home flight. We could not link our reservations to our United flights because they were booked seperately.

Get on your airline website and see how much they charge to change the return flight home. It may not be as expensive as you think.

 

[SteveH]

We stayed 4 nights in Waikiki - we were mostly there to do the USS Arizona and some Tiki Bars, the balance of 6 nights we were in Kauai. For us, I could have been happy with 2 or maybe 3 nights, I am happy we had more days on Kauai - wish we could have had 2-4 more We flew into Oahu island hoped to Kauai and few out of there home.

 

[Proud Cheapskate]

We've been to The big Island, Maui and Oahu and we like Oahu the best, but I feel like we may be the only ones. We like the fact that it's urban and rural on the same island, it has something for everyone. We also feel the drive up H2 is as beautiful as any landscape we've seen anywhere, the north shore is amazing and Honolulu is a cool city.

As far as island hopping the fares from the big airport (OGG) on Maui are going to be cheaper but if you want a really cool experience fly from West Maui airport (JMH). It is the least stressful airport you could ever imagine. It's all prop planes that don't go above 6000ft so you get an amazing view on the flight over. You do not need to get there 2 hours early either, like 30 minutes max. The whole thing is like an attraction in itself. Keep in mind that the airport doesn't have any lights, so all of the flights are during the day.

 

[longboard55]

The key for island hopping is to pick an early morning or after 5 flight, those hours the airport, rental cars and hotel check in, are emptly and you zip on thru, flights are also cheaper. If you get a flight around 8am, you will be at aulani pool by 10 and not waste a day, check your luggage and enjoy your day. Do not take a flight between 11 and 3, the OGG airport will be a total mess. Yes you have to get up early, but you will regret a mid day flight