Oahu only or multiple islands?

[WinterSolider]

Multiple! There are so many great things to see and interisland flights are easy. The same beach and restaurants at the same resort get boring for us more than 4 or 5 days.

That's such a false dichotomy though.

You can very easily spend a week or more on the same island and not repeat anything. You don't have to change islands to have variety.

 

[monsterkitty]

Multiple! There are so many great things to see and interisland flights are easy. The same beach and restaurants at the same resort get boring for us more than 4 or 5 days.

That's such a false dichotomy though.

You can very easily spend a week or more on the same island and not repeat anything. You don't have to change islands to have variety.

I believe jrub was making reference to those who spend 10+ days at Aulani without ever leaving the Ko'Olina area.

I do agree with you that you can spend a week or more on one island and never repeat anything. Especially on the Big Island.

 

[OKW Lover]

I believe jrub was making reference to those who spend 10+ days at Aulani without ever leaving the Ko'Olina area.

Agree that staying in the Ko 'Olina area for 10 days would be too much. We do spend that amount of time at Aulani, but many of those days are spent exploring about the island.

 

[yoshikitty]

If it's your first time on Oahu, it's probably better to just stay there. If not, definitely island hop.

 

[PoppyJ]

I would only island-hop if I had at least 2 full weeks. We like Kauai and we're doing the Big Island for the first time in February, but we view those as separate trips. There's more than enough to see and do on each island where I feel like adding another flight in the middle of your trip isn't worth the hassle.

I just booked the big island for next year. My first time too. I haven't booked a hotel yet, looking at Kailua-Kona or Waikola areas. Where are you staying?

 

[PoppyJ]

We've been to Hawaii a lot (for coming from the East Coast), and when we went to Aulani last year, we rented a car* and stayed on Oahu for 10 days (split with Royal Hawaiian on points for 3 nights). We had toyed with island hopping as Kauai and The Big Island are our favorites, but ultimately what stopped me was feeling like we wouldn't have had enough time on the other island either (Maui, Kauai and Big Island were all under consideration). If it's your first visit or first in a while, I'd stay on Oahu. Generally I feel like at least a week in 1 place is a minimum - it takes so long to get there from the East Coast.

Also, as Aulani first timers, and given how many points it is (!!!!!) we wanted to use the resort for more than a place to sleep. I think we would have gone off campus one more day (for 3 out of 7) if we hadn't booked spa and other things all over the week. Also my kids were a little young to spend the amount of time at Pearl Harbor I'd want to spend, although our experience at the WWII museum last April makes me think that they are ready now.

*we rented an electric car and as DVC members parking is free and the electric car chargers are very close to the elevator. Win win.

Where do you recommend staying on the big island?

 

[monsterkitty]

Where do you recommend staying on the big island?

We break the island stays into two: We fly into either Kona or Hilo. If we start in Hilo, we spend 2 or 3 nights at the Kilauea Lodge in Volcano or Volcano House that's inside the park and on the rim of the crater.

We then drive to the Kona side for the remainder of our trip and fly out of KOA. We're Marriott VC members so we've stayed at Waikoloa Beach Marriott. The Hilton Waikoloa Village is right there as well. The Hilton is incredibly big, and I think overwhelming. It's like a Vegas resort. The Hilton does not have a good beach so many people walk down to the Marriott beach area, which is a good beach for children and families.

Like the Marriott Waikoloa, the Westin Hapuna Beach Resort is on a great beach for children. It isn't in a great location for shopping, but it's still an easy drive to Hawi or to the Kailua-Kona area.

There are some really nice resorts in the Kailua-Kona area, but it's congested, and I don't think as relaxing.

The Lava Lava Club next to the Marriott Waikoloa is a required stop for dinner on the Big Island.

 

[monsterkitty]

I just booked the big island for next year. My first time too. I haven't booked a hotel yet, looking at Kailua-Kona or Waikola areas. Where are you staying?

When are you planning on going to the Big Island? If you are going in October, be prepared for Ironman triathletes taking over everything. The World Championship is usually in mid-to late October, but athletes arrive early to train. There will also be road closures the day before and race day. It's a huge pain and I say this as an Ironman triathlete who is very embarrassed by the attitudes of many of the athletes racing.

 

[PoppyJ]

We break the island stays into two

This is an interesting idea, I didn't think about breaking up our stay like that.

We're Marriott VC members so we've stayed at Waikoloa Beach Marriott.

I have been watching this on Redweek for something during our dates. Nothing yet.

The Hilton Waikoloa Village is right there as well. The Hilton is incredibly big, and I think overwhelming. It's like a Vegas resort.

The recent reviews are not very good.

There are some really nice resorts in the Kailua-Kona area, but it's congested, and I don't think as relaxing.

That's what I was thinking, Waikiki vibes...

The Lava Lava Club next to the Marriott Waikoloa is a required stop for dinner on the Big Island.

We loved the Lava Lava on Kauai!

Thanks for your tips, they're very helpful!

 

[PoppyJ]

When are you planning on going to the Big Island? If you are going in October, be prepared for Ironman triathletes taking over everything. The World Championship is usually in mid-to late October, but athletes arrive early to train. There will also be road closures the day before and race day. It's a huge pain and I say this as an Ironman triathlete who is very embarrassed by the attitudes of many of the athletes racing.

Luckily not October! We'll be there September.

 

[monsterkitty]

Luckily not October! We'll be there September.

It will get more crowded towards the end of September. More than a few age groupers will go several weeks before the race.

 

[_19disnA]

I think the choice to do multiple islands depends on how long of a vacation it is and what exactly you like to do. Do you like to sit at the beach, shop, sightsee or take various tours? We have been to Hawaii twice, each time a different island and stayed for a week and never left that island. There are lots of things to do on each island and the transportation to/from another island would take up time if not staying very long.

If you are from the Central/Eastern part of the US, it takes a LONG time to get to Hawaii. Probably one of the last things I want to do while in Hawaii is take yet another airplane somewhere else.

 

[WinterSolider]

I just booked the big island for next year. My first time too. I haven't booked a hotel yet, looking at Kailua-Kona or Waikola areas. Where are you staying?

We're doing 5 nights at Hilton Grand Vacations Club Kings' Land Waikoloa, then 3 nights at a house rental in the village of Volcano itself.

We're a family of 5 and none of the regular hotels had units big enough for us so we focused on villa-type accommodations rather than booking separate rooms somewhere.

 

[panfan2507]

I would split the stay between more locations on Oahu if you don't have enough points for entire trip !! Each spot has its own beauty. One of the best trips we took was last year . We were supposed to do Maui/ Oahu split but the fires happened 3 days before we were to leave.

We ended up with 4 nights Ko Olina ( four seasons/ not Aulani this time ) , 3 nights Turtle BAy on North Shore and 3 nights Waikiki BEach. It was the BEST !! We love all locations and we did activities based on location etc.

At least split between Aulani and Waikiki .

Good Luck!