We are going in JUNE

[smudgemass]

Hey all, just booked for June 5th to the 14th 2017 to celebrate our daughters graduating HS and College.
We are flying from the Boston area. Any suggestions on flights, airlines, stopping in SF or west coast for a day B4 flying over to HI?? Also, Is 9 days too long for one resort. Suggestions on things to do, eat or see.

Thank you and we are super excited for this trip, our first!

 

[OKW Lover]

We've flow to Hawaii three times so far, one of which was from the Boston area. Even though we no live in FL, the logistics and choices are similar. We are Delta fliers and have tried flying to ATL then non-stop to HNL, as well as flying to LAX and then to HNL.

When we book again, we're going to stick with the ATL>HNL flight option as long as the price difference is reasonable. We prefer to suffer through one long flight rather than two shorter (but still long) flights. Also not thrilled with LAX, which we've flown to several times on other trips.

 

[Amw1064]

We will be there June 7-16 and possibly a few days longer. (Trying to decide if we should go to Maui for a few days after) we have gone the past 2 summers. Stayed 10 nights/11 days the first trip and 11 nights/12 days the second. My answer is no, your trip is not to long. Our first year we only left the resort a few times but last summer we did 3 or 4 all day trips around the island. So much to see and do. As for flights we have taken American (never again) and Delta which we loved. (Well as much as you can love the super long flight from Florida)

Things to do: Walk over to Paradise Cove lagoon and see the sea turtles and possibly a monk seal. The luau there was pretty fun as well. Go to Pearl Harbor. We love Lanikea Beach up at the North Shore because there are tons of huge turtles and we love looking for sea glass. Stop at Matsumotos for shaved ice even though my daughter likes it better at Aulani. Stop at Dole Plantation for a dole whip. Hanauma Bay is great for snorkeling and we loved Lanikai Beach. It was absolutely beautiful. We did Lanikai, Hanauma Bay, Pali Lookout and the blowhole in one trip. We went over to the mall in Waikiki and then took the shuttle to the beach. Again very pretty over there but not exactly my style. Reminded me a Hawaiian NYC. While we had fun, I liked staying way better at Aulani. We haven't tried Kuaola Ranch yet but that is on our list for this summer.

Please excuse all my mis spellings. Didn't want to look up each Hawaiian word.

 

[cgattis]

Personally, I wouldn't want to stay at the same place for 9 days. There is so much to see on the other islands too. If I had 9 days, I'd do two islands. But if you've seen the other islands already, maybe that's not a priority.

 

[happymommy]

I don't think 9 days is too long, but we've been from Maryland 10 times. We own at the Marriott Ko Olina, and last 3 trips we went for 2 weeks. Next summer I'm going for a month, LOL! We own two weeks, so I locked off the studio from the one bedroom, so first two weeks it's just me and DD in the studio, then DH and DS are coming and we move to the one bedroom (if we get Hale Kona it has a sitting room as well which fits a roll away bed).

Coming from the East Coast, it used to take us a day or two to get settled in with the time change. A couple times we've stayed in Waikiki for a couple nights first, but Waikiki isn't the same as it was years ago, and to me I agree it's too much of a city feel.

It's not just about sight seeing for us; we truly enjoy the resort. We relax, take the free exercise classes, grill for dinner overlooking the ocean, and just truly have a nice time "home".

We always use airline miles, so it depends on where I have a stash for each trip! American through Dallas, Delta through SLC or Atlanta. Sometimes we can snag first class (next summer we did on AA through DFW so the lie flat seats coming home will be nice). I typically have our flights booked 10 - 11 months prior to the trips.

I would start looking for flights now, and when you find a fare you're comfortable with get it booked.

 

[SevenWonkas]

We are Marriott owners too ( ), so we always stay at Marriott's Ko Olina also. We have our fourth trip booked for next year. And this time we are tacking on a few days at Aulani at the end!

Anyway, on our first trip we stayed 10 days in Ko Olina. This was nice, because we were able to do lots of sight-seeing while still having a lot of time to relax! For the most part we alternated... sight-seeing one day, and relaxing the next. (On our next two trips we did one week in Ko Olina and one week on another island. Next year we'll do 10 days in Ko Olina again).

Overall we didn't have issues adjusting to Hawaii time, it's coming home that's hard! On our last trip we got a hotel overnight in California on the way home and it worked out well. Truly, on our first night in Hawaii we just stay up as late as possible. It may only be until 8PM or so, but we do our best.

 

[buffettgirl]

I fly Boston to Hawaii a few times a year now. My favorite flight is Bos > ATL > HNL The atlanta to honolulu flight on Delta is just a wonderful flight.

I tend not to suffer from jet lag, but I would say that the day you arrive here from the east coast, just stay up as late as you can manage, then go to sleep around 10 or 11. You be superbly tired at that point, so you probably won't wake too early. Going back to the east coast is a little harder IMO.

 

[SevenWonkas]

I fly Boston to Hawaii a few times a year now. My favorite flight is Bos > ATL > HNL The atlanta to honolulu flight on Delta is just a wonderful flight.

And *bonus* on the direct flight from Atlanta on Delta.... it looks like they now provide meal service to everyone.

 

[happymommy]

We are Marriott owners too ( ), so we always stay at Marriott's Ko Olina also. We have our fourth trip booked for next year. And this time we are tacking on a few days at Aulani at the end!

Anyway, on our first trip we stayed 10 days in Ko Olina. This was nice, because we were able to do lots of sight-seeing while still having a lot of time to relax! For the most part we alternated... sight-seeing one day, and relaxing the next. (On our next two trips we did one week in Ko Olina and one week on another island. Next year we'll do 10 days in Ko Olina again).

Overall we didn't have issues adjusting to Hawaii time, it's coming home that's hard! On our last trip we got a hotel overnight in California on the way home and it worked out well. Truly, on our first night in Hawaii we just stay up as late as possible. It may only be until 8PM or so, but we do our best.

Not to hijack the thread, but when are you going to Ko Olina? I'll be there June 17 - July 17!

 

[SevenWonkas]

Not to hijack the thread, but when are you going to Ko Olina? I'll be there June 17 - July 17!

We'll be gone by then! Jealous of the whole month in Hawaii! I'm sad that Chuck's is gone! I don't know about you, but I don't think Italian when I think of fancy Hawaiian dining!

 

[happymommy]

We'll be gone by then! Jealous of the whole month in Hawaii! I'm sad that Chuck's is gone! I don't know about you, but I don't think Italian when I think of fancy Hawaiian dining!

Sorry we'll miss meeting another Dis-er there! I never ate at Chuck's (we grill from meat we buy at Costco, so it didn't seem worth it to me). The new place looks way overpriced. My favorite thing to enjoy on Oahu is sushi at Sushi Bay in Kapolei and fish from the store that we can grill anyway! We honestly don't eat at Longboard's even - last few trips we had tried it once each trip and didn't have good meals, so last year I even avoided that. Even for drinks - I make my own & bring it down to the pool most of the time, LOL!