Planning trip this summer to Hawaii!! Need Help (Honolulu, Waimea: where to stay, rentals)

[cameron6590]

Ok so my wife & I are in our early 30's and we would like to visit Hawaii. We have 11 days to spend here, we are playing late July/Early August and are thinking it be Maui...

We were thinking of doing a resort but from reading recommendations on here and the fact that we can go to beaches elsewhere like florida we want to know where to stay? What island to spend most of the time on? What island to fly to? etc. I mean we would like to spend at least 2 or 3 days on a nice beach so....

Please help! Some of the packages on Orbitz for instance look very encouraging and include airfare for about $2500 per person....Anyone reccommend those?

JuliaHuff: Saw yours pics - awesum!

[whynot?]

It's kind of hard for us to know what to recommend unless we know the kinds of things you and your wife are interested in: water sports, golf, hiking, driving tours, history, agri-tourism, etc. It's also hard to recommend which island -- or which part of an island -- for your stay. Each has its own personality. And different areas have different weather, believe it or not. Finding a good beach is the least of your worries.

Are you planning to stay 10 days on one island? At the same resort for the whole time? (Isn't that how the packages work, usually?) We'd be guessing which Orbitz destinations you were looking at based on the $2,500/person price, but if you want to list some specific properties you're considering, we probably can tell you about them and the areas in which they're located.

I would recommend trying to fly direct to the island you'll spend the most time on, if more than one.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

All of the islands are fantastic. In a nutshell:

Oaho has Honolulu and Waikiki, but you need to get to the other parts of the island if you want to get away from the crowds. The Polynesian Cultural Center there is wonderful.

Maui is a little step down from the crowds, with crazy traffic in the tourist areas. But it does have the really fun drive to Hana (and a red sand beach) and it has Haleakala.

Kauai is the smallest. It has great beaches and the really beautiful Waimea Canyon.

The Big Island is the biggest with the most variety. The Kona area and north of there is where all of the nice typical Hawaiian beaches are. It has the volcano, which is doing some crazy things right now, like pumping out lots of steam and gases. Depending on the winds it affects different parts of the island. The Big Island also has black sand and green sand beaches.

Eleven days on one island would be perfect. Or, you could split it between two islands. I suggest finding a vacation rental, through a website called Vacation Rentals By Owner. Then you can shop at the local farmer's markets and cook your own food.

[cameron6590]

I hear what you are saying; we would like to do alot of site-seeing; waterfalls, wow these various color sand beaches, volcano, hiking, we love to drive, also we'd like to see pearl harbor. well thats the thing we can't decide on where to stay b/c so many places. BUT I think we will gear towards Dreaming of Hawaii's idea and go for a Vacation Rental but which island should we choose? Maybe 5 days at 1 island then 5 at another? Was thinking of flying to the big island, staying there for 5 days then from there going to another island...wow so your saying 11 days on 1 island would also be great and there would be lots to do & see! dam should we increase our trip to 14 days? we would like to try to see at least 2 islands and get the most out of our trip... thanks so much for the info!

[JuliaHuff]

Cameron, i would not get the package-because when you get there, you will change your plans. we ended up moving 5 times, and changing flights, we could not leave Maui. there is no problem with finding a hotel-we did it without any reservation, and never paid more then $100. we rented the whole house in Hana for $95. i would just pan your trip yourself, without a package, so you can have flexibility.
No matter how long you stay-you wont see everything. there is just too much, on each island. Oahu is amazing, and Maui too. Kauia is also great, so is Big Island.
I would not stay 11 days on the same island though.
As for the nice beach-i actually really loved Waikiki, it is full of tourists, but it is so nice, it has a great vibe, very relaxing, and just gorgeous.
thank you for your comment about our pictures! If you like waterfalls and hiking-you should definately stay in Hana for a couple of days.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Cameron, if you can extend your visit, then go for it. We fly from Colorado to the Big Island, and we basically lose a day on both ends for travel. We can't afford the direct flight, so it's layovers in LAX or SFO. Makes for a very long day of travel, and you need recovery time. We won't go for less than two weeks.

[cameron6590]

JuliaHuff: thanks, yes we decided not to do a package just as Dreaming of Hawaii mentioned. The thing with the packages is that they look soooo good & sometimes the beaches in the resorts look so much better than public beaches; I guess they do exceptional photography...so we are thinking of seeing the Big Island & Maui for this trip.

Dreaming of Hawaii: we may just extend the visit to 14 days. your absolutley right on losing days in getting over there. We are in NJ so even further, but we will fly direct to the Big Island, the average flight is about 10.5 hours from here...but we do gain 6 so not that bad.

Another thought was: buying a timeshare in Hawaii (some of those range from $4500 cheapest Ive seen to well over 20k)- Any advice on that? We were initially going to go July 31st but now we are moving it further into August, thinking the last two weeks in August.

[whynot?]

Just a note: all of our beaches in Hawaii are public. If you stay at a resort, you share the adjoining beach with anyone else who cares to be there.

[HappyMontrose]

The Best... spent alot of time on Oahu ..Great place to Visit ..but kinda choke people (alot)

I have a place on Maui ..and go there for the Winter..
Fell in Love with Maui many years ago.

Big Island is nice also ,Luv the killa Volcanos and openess.

HMHappy Maui..

[hotzcatz]

Cameron, the beaches at the resorts ARE public beaches. The beaches belong to the people of Hawaii, nobody has private beaches in this state. Also, just because you aren't staying at the hotel doesn't mean you can't wander through them and see all their sights and eat at their restaurants and such. Ooops! Just noticed WhyNot already mentioned all the beaches are public beaches. Oh well, you can still go slumming in the hotels.