Which island for one day excursion from Oahu

[wishiwasindisneyjen]

Looking for recommendations. We are visiting Aulani for 10 nights in early December. This is our fourth trip, so we've spent quite a bit of time on Oahu and at Aulani previously. We'd like take a day and fly over to one of the other islands but we are having trouble deciding which one. We've spent time in Maui but it's been a while, we are trying to decide if we should go back to Maui or go to the Big Island and visit Volcanoes National Park (and black sand beach) or Kauai and visit the Canyon and waterfalls.

I'd love to hear any recommendations for any of the other islands. We will rent a car and love to just drive and see sights, but short hikes are good. Trying to decide which island would be the best choice for approximately 8-10 hours of sight seeing.

I know the first question will be why aren't we just doing a split stay. We do not want to stay longer on the other islands on this trip as we are using DVC points for Aulani which is making it possible for us to stay. This trip is mostly a relaxing type of trip but one day of travel to another island is something that sounds like fun to us.

 

[bbn1122]

I don't have an answer, but that is something I would like to do too.

On the Big Island, I have been seeing reports about the volcano and lava flow!!!

I have always leaned towards looking into Kaui. I think because it is less populated and I thought maybe get the feel of Hawaii before all the development.

Good luck!

 

[o&smom]

We are on the big island right now for vacation! I would recommend Kauai to see the Grand Canyon of the pacific and waterfalls. This is our third time on the big island, and are having a great time...amazing snorkeling. I would pass on this only because of time constraints...the big island is BIG. It would be almost impossible to fly over, get a rental car and drive the long distance to the volcano and black sand beach to make it back for a flight back to O’ahu. Kauai is our favorite island, it is easily driveable and very beautiful. Have a great trip!

 

[cedricandsophie]

We go to aulani every year and never leave. But if I were going to another island for a day it would be Kauai. It’s much smaller than the big island, easy to drive around. The canyon is beautiful. It’s called the garden island for a reason. It’s stunning. Go as early as possible. Maybe drive to canyon first to get there early. Then I’d suggest the south shore. Stop on the beach for lunch. Or you could go to otinceville. Visit the westin. Very pretty
Consider a helicopter ride to go over the part of island you can’t get to. Some of the most breathtaking scenery. Where parts of Jurassic park was filmed.

 

[Great3]

I have to agree with the others. For the same day return trip, Kauai is probably best. Although I personally like Big Island better than Maui and Kauai, it's won't be as relaxing and as enjoyable for essentially only a day trip. The drive to VNP is 2 hours from Kona airport (unless you fly into Hilo airport) without stopping to enjoy anything along the road. It easy to spend a full day at VNP if arriving at 7-8am'ish.

So, Kauai is my vote.

Great3

 

[jimmymc]

I would do Kauai. Rent a car and drive out to Waimea Canyon.

Editing to say that the big island is also great, but you need more than a day. There's too much to see and longer drives.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

We are on the big island right now for vacation! I would recommend Kauai to see the Grand Canyon of the pacific and waterfalls. This is our third time on the big island, and are having a great time...amazing snorkeling. I would pass on this only because of time constraints...the big island is BIG. It would be almost impossible to fly over, get a rental car and drive the long distance to the volcano and black sand beach to make it back for a flight back to O’ahu. Kauai is our favorite island, it is easily driveable and very beautiful. Have a great trip!

Actually - I did exactly that in May and loved it. We even ended up taking an earlier flight back than planned as we got to do what we wanted.

 

[wishiwasindisneyjen]

Actually - I did exactly that in May and loved it. We even ended up taking an earlier flight back than planned as we got to do what we wanted.

Your trip report is what really got me thinking of doing a day on another island!

 

[monsterkitty]

Kauai and the Big Island are our favorite islands so this would be a toss-up for us.

The deciding factor would be when are you going? During the rainy season, Kauai gets a significantly more rain than the other islands. It can cause flooding and time-consuming travel by car. If the weather says rain, believe it.

So, if it's rainy season, I suggest the Big Island. If not, then Kauai.

ETA, I see you said early December. I would wait closer to your travel dates to look at the forecast. Possibly reserve cars on both islands and then wait to purchase your inter island flights.

 

[OADad]

I've seen a number of comments that a day trip to the Big Island is too short. How would you feel about a one-night stay? We are visiting Hawaii for the first time in May, and I've booked one night at Volcano House (in sort of the middle of our trip, after a couple nights at Waikiki and before finishing with 5 nights at Aulani). Seeing VNP is important to me, and I figured we could visit a couple more sights the next day before heading to the airport sometime late afternoon.

 

[bennifer]

I think a one night stay to the BI is much better than a day trip, but if you get away with 2 or more nights, that would be even better!

 

[Brian Noble]

One thing about Waimea Canyon: The clouds have a habit of rolling in early there. Unless you are on the o-dark-thirty morning flight, that might be an iffy proposition.

How long are you at Aulani, and have you been to Oahu before? I might be tempted to spend some time on the North Shore there rather than take the flight to Kaua'i, especially in December when the rains can come as others have mentioned.

As a plug for the Big Island--if you fly into Kona and drive north, the landscape is very different from what you'd see on Oahu. Because it is the youngest island, there is still a lot of lava rock that hasn't yet been pounded into sand/soil.

 

[wishiwasindisneyjen]

One thing about Waimea Canyon: The clouds have a habit of rolling in early there. Unless you are on the o-dark-thirty morning flight, that might be an iffy proposition.

How long are you at Aulani, and have you been to Oahu before? I might be tempted to spend some time on the North Shore there rather than take the flight to Kaua'i, especially in December when the rains can come as others have mentioned.

As a plug for the Big Island--if you fly into Kona and drive north, the landscape is very different from what you'd see on Oahu. Because it is the youngest island, there is still a lot of lava rock that hasn't yet been pounded into sand/soil.

All of this information (weather/clouds etc) is very helpful. We plan on taking the first flight to whichever island we choose. We have 10 nights at Aulani and we don't want to spend a full night on another island ($$). This is our third trip to Oahu so we've visited most of the sites and would just be re-visiting sites and relaxing on this trip.

 

[jozette]

I have been to Kauai, Maui, and the Big Island and without a doubt I would recommend Kauai. It is the most unique and easiest to navigate for sure. I would also pick one or two things to do for the day - just like any of the islands, there is really one big/main road that goes around the island, and that road can get busy. However, there is a section of the road (the north west corner of the island) where you cannot drive/is inaccessible. So know that if you're going from one end to the other!

I would recommend driving up to Hanalei and then winding your way back - that was my favorite place. Waimea canyon is also amazing, but is at the other end of the road. If you are interested in doing any kind of helicopter ride, Kauai is where I would absolutely recommend you do it. That's the best way to see all the sites in a short period of time - and there is so much we wouldn't have been able to see except on that helicopter ride.

 

[WinterSolider]

I've seen a number of comments that a day trip to the Big Island is too short. How would you feel about a one-night stay? We are visiting Hawaii for the first time in May, and I've booked one night at Volcano House (in sort of the middle of our trip, after a couple nights at Waikiki and before finishing with 5 nights at Aulani). Seeing VNP is important to me, and I figured we could visit a couple more sights the next day before heading to the airport sometime late afternoon.

I'm planning 8 nights on the Big Island in February and it feels like not enough.

Volcanoes NP is, itself, two days.

I wouldn't island hop with anything less than two full weeks, unless I had mega budget for something like a chartered full-day helicopter.

I wouldn't island hop with anything less than 2 full weeks and I DEFINITELY wouldn't do the
Big-Island-between-two-Oahu-stays thing. Isn't that going to cost hundreds of extra dollars in flights? Plus a whole additional travel day. If you island hop once it's Home to Oahu, Oahu to Hilo, Hilo to Home. If you island hop back and forth you have to do Home to Oahu, Oahu to Hilo, Hilo to Oahu, Oahu to Home.

 

[WinterSolider]

One thing about Waimea Canyon: The clouds have a habit of rolling in early there. Unless you are on the o-dark-thirty morning flight, that might be an iffy proposition.

How long are you at Aulani, and have you been to Oahu before? I might be tempted to spend some time on the North Shore there rather than take the flight to Kaua'i, especially in December when the rains can come as others have mentioned.

As a plug for the Big Island--if you fly into Kona and drive north, the landscape is very different from what you'd see on Oahu. Because it is the youngest island, there is still a lot of lava rock that hasn't yet been pounded into sand/soil.

Kona driving North doesn't work if the plan is to see VNP.

 

[monsterkitty]

All of this information (weather/clouds etc) is very helpful. We plan on taking the first flight to whichever island we choose. We have 10 nights at Aulani and we don't want to spend a full night on another island ($$). This is our third trip to Oahu so we've visited most of the sites and would just be re-visiting sites and relaxing on this trip.

Is it possible to change your Aulani length of stay, decreasing by maybe 2-3 nights, then renting those nights out on one of the legit sites? The profit could pay for a few nights plus airfare on the other island. There are several people who would rent for 2-3 night stays at Aulani through a legit site.

We have enough weeks through our Marriott VC that we rent one week out and that pays for all of our maintenance fees for the year and sometimes more, depending on what resort we get to rent.

 

[Great3]

I've seen a number of comments that a day trip to the Big Island is too short. How would you feel about a one-night stay? We are visiting Hawaii for the first time in May, and I've booked one night at Volcano House (in sort of the middle of our trip, after a couple nights at Waikiki and before finishing with 5 nights at Aulani). Seeing VNP is important to me, and I figured we could visit a couple more sights the next day before heading to the airport sometime late afternoon.

If seeing VNP is important to you, an overnight stay is most excellent, then you can really explore without feeling so rushed. That would be my minimum to island hop to the Big Island.

Great3

 

[Great3]

Kona driving North doesn't work if the plan is to see VNP.

Ha, now we are talking about a multi-day Big Island trip, to do other things besides VNP, which in itself is not a bad idea, since Big Island is my favorite island!!!

Great3

 

[monsterkitty]

Ha, now we are talking about a multi-day Big Island trip, to do other things besides VNP, which in itself is not a bad idea, since Big Island is my favorite island!!!

Great3

When we do our Big Island trips, we fly into Hilo and spend 3 or 4 nights there. We then drive to the Kona side, visiting South Point of course, and finish our stay there. We then fly out of Kona.