OT....Help with vacation to Hawaii

[wmackleit]

I don't know where to start....we are thinking of going this summer. Is there a website like this for Hawaii discussion. And does anyone have any ideas of where to stay. we are going with are 3 kids and my brother and his kids (ages 18,15,11,7,4)

Thank you

 

[meeskamouska]

When we went to Oahu as a large family unit, we stayed in a beach house on the North Shore. It took about an hour to get to Honolulu but we actually only went twice. The small tourist town Haliewa was a joy to spend time in and we had a beach right out the back door..not a tourist beach. It was amazing!!!

 

[c&m]

First thing, IMHO, is to decide on the island(s) you want to visit. We went to Kauai last year, and we chose it because it's the least developed island, the most quiet, and offered a lot of hiking trails. That suited us just fine. Other islands offer different things that may appeal to you more.

I found Tripadvisor.com's Hawaii forum to be most helpful as well. The posters there introduced me to the blue books -- Ultimate Kauai, Maui Revealed, The Big Island Revealed -- which helped greatly in our planning.

If you decide to go to Kauai, we really enjoyed splitting our stay between a resort and a condo close to the beach. We chose to stay on the south side of the island called Poipu Beach. We stayed at the Grand Hyatt (amazing and breathtaking!!!) and in a condo rented through Kauai Regency. If you want more info, let me know.

Hope that helps!

 

[sklimuck]

We are going toHawaii this summer, also. Taking a week cruise and then have a house on the north shore of Oahu rented for an additional week. We got it on a website called Vacation rentals by owner. The other site is cyberrentals. Both are geat for houses and condos.

 

[LovableGluttons]

If you go to Oahu, try to do the Atlantis sub. That was terrific! Also The Polynesian Cultural Center was a fun all day event. Don't for get the Dole Pineapple Plantations. They introduced us to pineapple chili. Good stuff!

I liked the Hawaii.com message boards lots of island crazy happy people there just waiting to share the wisdom. We WILL go back. Maui and tbe BIG Island await!

My family went from Sept 23 - Oct 8th and loved Kauai the best.

If you go to Kauai there is a batamaran boat rise up the Na Pali coast (we wentwith Captain Andy's). It was amazing!

 

[bradleysnana]

Let us know what you would like to do and we can help you with some ideas. I have been 3 times and am probably going back in 2008. I have been to all 4 islands and each of them are fun in their own way. With kids, you may want to stay in Oahu, but the big island of Hawaii is awesome. You can see a real volcano, it is beautiful scenery and depending on your budget, the Hilton there is incredible. What I have done is stayed on Oahu since it is the least expensive island and does have the most for kids. Then 2 or 3 times during the week, we would go to the airport in the morning and catch an early flight to the one of the other islands (with the time zone difference, you wake up at 3 in the morning thinking it is late). The flight would take about 20 minutes. When you land at the other airports, they may only have 1runway and the gate is even outside at some of the airports. The car rental is a walk across the street. We would rent a jeep and then go tour the island on our own. I did research of where the tour buses went and then did it on my own. There is really only 1 main road (except for Maui and Oahu) so we would hit it and just drive. We found waterfalls, black sand, turtles, rainbows and for the kids McDonalds that sold spam and pineapple (they thought this to be hysterical). Then we would catch the next to last or last flight home. Let me know if you want additional information.

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

We've gone as a large group and if you're going budget then Ohana hotels are great we've stayed there and they're owned by Outrigger. Very basic but we had great housekeeping. Hilton Hawaiian Village is also great if you're spending more. If you just want a place to sleep I'd save the money & go Ohana. Keep in mind that food on Oahu was way expensive. Dole Pineapple Plantation is fun. Go to Matsumoto Shave Ice in the North Shore and Kua A'ina has great burgers.
Have Fun

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

Great question Op. I would like to know this as well since my DFi and I want to go on our Honeymoon to Hawaii. We are debating right now between either taking the cruise or staying on the island.

 

[DMRick]

We loved doing this by cruise ship. We got to see so much more, without paying to fly from Island to Island. It was so cheap to rent a car, and three of the days we did just that. We got to see way more than the tours, since their big buses couldn't go up quite as far, and they had to use so much time on bathroom breaks for tons of people. It was great, going to sleep each night and waking up at a fresh island. We would do it that way again in a heartbeat.
Since it American flagged ship (which unfortuneately gave us poor dining room service..how sad was that?) we were able to take food off the ship. We ordered wraps and fruit each night via room service (we brough baggies and glad containers) for our fridge each night (no cost) and a fold up cooler and had picnic's on some great beaches. We also ate from the oyster trucks which was wonderful.

 

[bopper]

Hawaii and Budget are incompatible!

 

[wmackleit]

Thank you...

I am debating between Maui and Kauai.

 

[aclov]

I love Hawaii! I pick up the travel brochures just to look through them and one day hope that I can plan my next trip. If you go to this website which is the official tourism site they will send you brochures on each island. http://www.gohawaii.com/

You can also try fodors. com and frommers.com, they have discussion boards.

 

[grlpwrd]

We've gone as a large group and if you're going budget then Ohana hotels are great we've stayed there and they're owned by Outrigger. Very basic but we had great housekeeping. Hilton Hawaiian Village is also great if you're spending more. If you just want a place to sleep I'd save the money & go Ohana. Keep in mind that food on Oahu was way expensive. Dole Pineapple Plantation is fun. Go to Matsumoto Shave Ice in the North Shore and Kua A'ina has great burgers.
Have Fun

I like the Ohana hotels, too. I have family back home, but I gotta have my privacy and space. lol

My fave is the Ohana Maile Sky Court which is on the edge of Waikiki. They have a 1 bedroom suite with 3 daybeds and a fridge in the living area that works well for us. It's not fancy or too pricey, but it works.

I haven't tried renting through www.vrbo.com, but it's worth a look.

Have fun!

 

[sklimuck]

Last tip to Hawaii- we went to Maui and Kauai. Kauai was prettier, but there was more action on Maui. The beaches were nicer- the ocean more swimable-better snorkeling-more to do. We rented a condo, stopped at Costco, rented a car- and it actually wasn't too horribly expensive. But- being the budget minded group we are- I stuck a jar of peanut butter in my suitcase- no problem going over with it. We had heard peanut butter cost like $100 a jar in Hawaii- well- it didn't- and we never used it. On the return flight- I stuck it in my husband's bag- for some reason- he had room left in his- I didn't- I wonder why- well anyways- when his bag hit xray- they yanked it off and called for him- he looked rather puzzled when they asked what he had in his bag. Well, I meekly informed them it was most probably the peanut butter- Guess it xrays same as plastic explosives- Guess I don't put anything in his bag without informing him- well- until next time I don't have any room.

 

[fabshelly]

I'm from Hawaii, and started Touch of Gold Tours with my partner. It's a good company and a good website - tells you all about the tours, menus, what to wear, what it will cost, what to bring.
http://www.touchofgoldtours.com

if you're looking for the Hawaii Visitors Bureau, be careful. Hawaii.com takes you to a commercial site disguised as the real thing.

Now I'm all homesick.

 

[mookie]

You can actually do a search on the DIS for Hawaii trips too...lots of information...I know I've personally posted on several threads. If you need help finding them, let me know.

IMHO, I LOVED Maui!!!

 

[accruise]

I guess the first questions would be budget, what you wanted to do and do you need to be on the beach. What do you want to do while you are there.
The islands are so different. The big Island..the volcano. Kauai STILL not ruined, Maui has more commercial thing to do. Oahu is a big city with Pearl
Harbor and lots to see. It is alot less commercial past Diamond Head. It really is important to decide how many islands and time you can be gone.
Audrey

 

[mrsklamc]

What airline/ what time of year has anyone seen the best airfare?

 

[aclov]

Anyone ever stay at any of the ResortQuest (formerly Aston) properities? They look very moderate, would like to hear opinions.

TIA

 

[undertheradar]

We are going in August, as my son's high school football team is playing a game at Aloha Stadium. We are there for 5 nights and have decided on Ko Olina Beach Club. The room rate is $350.00 night plus tax, but this is a Marriott Vacation Club property. We reserved a 1 bedroom unit that includes kitchen, lr, dr, w/d, etc. When we were comparing hotels/resorts, the cost of eating every meal out added $150-200 per day to the cost of our trip for 4(son is staying with his team at the Park Shore-looks old and dumpy!). Adding roughly $1000.00 to any hotel/airfare package made the Ko Olina the obvious choice. I like the idea that Waikiki is a 30-45 minute drive away and the quieter parts of the island are what interest us the most. We booked airfare through a tour company, adding our rental car and got r/t airfare from LAX for $350.00 per person. Waikiki looked way too congested and packed together for us.