Mostly off topic... (gasp, not Disney but Hawaii)

[merrily]

If you plan to shop and cook, sign up for the store loyalty card. We went to Foodland and signed up. It's free.

 

[lauraljp]

We are planning a trip in June. We will be doing 10 days--3 in Oahu and 7 in Maui. I have found a lot of great information on the Trip Advisor forums. So many knowledgeable people! I know many of them recommend one island if you only have a week and two if you have ten days or more. Island hopping is expensive and it takes away a day of fun everytime you hop to another island just because of all the time involved in air travel.

It also helps to plan ahead. We were able to get airfare for $540 RT from Minneapolis to Oahu by watching and waiting for a good fare and being flexible with the airline.

Good luck!

Laura

 

[ckmommy]

GO to the trip advisor forums.

We did our first trip to Hawaii in Sept of 2010. It was our first vacation without kids. We stayed in Oahu at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. We had a rental car the whole time. We spent A LOT of money on food. But, we did not cheap out on anything. We spent a bunch of time on the North Shore watching the big waves and surfers. If I could go back, I;d be back in a minute.

As for cost:
Airfare: $10--had miles for the flight
Hotel: $150 for 7 nights--had point from hilton
Car: $100-- had points from national
Food: $700-900 for 7 days

Not too bad!

 

[wvjules]

$35/day rental car?

Here's what our reservations currently are for our upcoming trip:

Kauai - Dec 21 - Dec 25 - $277
Maui - Dec 25-Dec 29 - $350
Oahu - Dec 29 - Jan 2 - $257

Of course we are going at a very peak time. I think these are compact cars as well.

The cost of island hopping wasn't that expensive. I think eah flight was only $65 each way.

We booked an interisland package from Hawaiian airlines. I think the price was pretty reasonable. We have airfare and hotels for all 3 islands for around $3200. Our airfare to Hawaii was $3000. We're going to be pushing it to stay under $10,000 for 3 of us.

We had thought about surfing lessons but we're like we are never going to use them again ever so why waste the money on them.

 

[crisi]

We had thought about surfing lessons but we're like we are never going to use them again ever so why waste the money on them.

It was really a highlight of our trip. My son is likely to surf again at some time (he's a "board sport" kid - skate, snow). For the rest of us, we were tourists, but we all got up, it was fun, and we can now say we've tried it.

I wouldn't rent surf boards without lessons. It isn't easy to catch a wave without a little help starting out. Plus its dangerous without someone telling you what to do - for yourself and others.

 

[punkin]

My kids loved loved loved the surfing lesson. I thought it was well worth the money. We just got lessons from some guy selling them on Waikiki and he was great. DH didn't do it because he had a bad knee and I didn't do it because I was chicken. The girls (ages 17 and 11 at the time) loved it and we even rented surf boards for them again the next day so they could practice. They had an absolute ball.

 

[wvjules]

It was really a highlight of our trip. My son is likely to surf again at some time (he's a "board sport" kid - skate, snow). For the rest of us, we were tourists, but we all got up, it was fun, and we can now say we've tried it.

I wouldn't rent surf boards without lessons. It isn't easy to catch a wave without a little help starting out. Plus its dangerous without someone telling you what to do - for yourself and others.

We don't plan on doing any surfing so no worries about catching waves.
Cowabunga, Dude!