Help me choose which island to visit in Hawaii

Alan_Bowen

I don't want to rain on your parade but I thought Maui was grossly over commercialised and on repeat visits, never went back. I do think you should do two islands and my vote for the most authentic yet relatively easy to get around is Kauai, known as the Garden Island. Loads of waterfalls, the Waimea Canyon (the 'Grand Canyon' of the Pacific) and the Na Pali cliffs on the north shore. I also loved The Big Island with the Volcanoes National Park but I did three islands every time since the journey is not one to be repeated too often, the first time we only changed planes at LAX and didn't do a stopover, the jetlag was worse on the way back than from Australia, lesson learned

claire16c

Dustykitten wrote: »

Thanks again everybody. We have booked our flights! Have taken your advice and gone for Maui flying out via Vancouver for a few days which will be fun as it is one of my favourite cities.

Slightly worried about the flying home, but I did not know about airport day rooms, I guess you can leave the airport too if you want to, we have about 12 hours between the flights.

Only other worry is we arrive in Maui late at night, how easy will it be to get a car and travel to our accommodation at that time - I guess lots must due to the times of the arrivals.

Next job is to book accommodation. We were thinking 7 days in a house/condo and then 3 days in a different area at a hotel resort as the kids fancied using the pools, sports etc. Does that sound a good idea or not?

Thanks again.

We've always booked a day room a few days before (if you walk in the price will be sky high) - sometimes you can book online but sometimes they'll only do the days rooms over the phone and you might have to ring a couple of times - some hotels seem to only let you book them quite late. It's really nice to be able to sleep on a flat bed for a while and perhaps use the pool! Especially as you've basically missed an entire nights sleep.

I probably wouldn't bother changing accommodation because you spend a day checking out and in of accommodation. We once had 1 week in kihei and 1 week in lahaina on one trip but not sure it's worth it for 3 days. The pools are attractive looking I know but as long as you gt a condo with a pool you will really just find the hotel pools are full of kids a lot younger than yours. But if you do decide to do it I'm sure you'd have fun . They are more expensive though!

Arriving at night is ok, the roads are pretty easy to navigate and condo owners normally give very detailed instructions.

Lots have lock boxes on the doors for you to get the keys etc

claire16c

blindman wrote: »

I bought the book Maui Revealed and did the road to Hanah:D getting to the waterfalls, plus other trips from that guide.

Yeah I have that book too. It's a bit controversial but it does tell you about some good things to see. Just ignore the parts in it where it tells you it's ok to go past no trespassing signs etc, it's peed off a lot of Hawaiians. I even read on trip advisor not to leave it showing in your car! But I have a few of the revealed books and used them appropriately. Id recommend buying it as it does give a good over view of the island and the maps are good. You can also get free driving maps at the airport.

One of the nice things to do is watch the sun rise come up over the clouds at the top of Haleakala. You need to leave the condo around 2/3am so best to do on one of the first nights you are there when you'll be up at that time with jet lag anyway. Bring some warm clothes and beach towels it's freezing! But we got some amazing photos and a guy up there sings a Hawaiian chant/prayer as the sun breaks through the clouds and everyone goes quiet, it's pretty cool.

For surfing lessons the best places are kihei and lahaina as there are big stretches of shallow water for when you repeatedly fall in

Dustykitten

Thanks for all your extra comments.

I appreciate the jetlag coming home will be vile but only DH will need to be back in work and he travels a lot so is used to it. The boys and I have the rest of the summer break to enjoy!

I'll see if we can book a day room at the time of departure for on the way back, great idea.

I think we will need it a bit touristy at times because of the age of the boys and I'm sure we can find lots quieter places too.

With 4 long flights already and 5 of us travelling I think island hoping flights are possibly beyond our budget.

If the boys are hooked they can travel more in the future.

I'll get the book but will use in secret with care.

blindman

Dustykitten wrote: »

Thanks for all your extra comments.

I appreciate the jetlag coming home will be vile but only DH will need to be back in work and he travels a lot so is used to it. The boys and I have the rest of the summer break to enjoy!

I'll see if we can book a day room at the time of departure for on the way back, great idea.

I think we will need it a bit touristy at times because of the age of the boys and I'm sure we can find lots quieter places too.

With 4 long flights already and 5 of us travelling I think island hoping flights are possibly beyond our budget.

If the boys are hooked they can travel more in the future.

I'll get the book but will use in secret with care.

PM me your address and I'll post it-Postage free:cool:

claire16c

Dustykitten wrote: »

Thanks for all your extra comments.

I appreciate the jetlag coming home will be vile but only DH will need to be back in work and he travels a lot so is used to it. The boys and I have the rest of the summer break to enjoy!

I'll see if we can book a day room at the time of departure for on the way back, great idea.

I think we will need it a bit touristy at times because of the age of the boys and I'm sure we can find lots quieter places too.

With 4 long flights already and 5 of us travelling I think island hoping flights are possibly beyond our budget.

If the boys are hooked they can travel more in the future.

I'll get the book but will use in secret with care.

That's a good idea to see if you can book it then. Saves calling!

Maui will be great, Kauai is lovely and so is the big island but I think it will be nice your kids can get about by themselves a bit more in Maui if they wanted to do something different from you one day (there is a bus if they wanted to go out by themselves) and everything is closer together, you can always go back like you say

The book is great for back ground info about Hawaii too
And explains all the legends/tales etc

Contessa

I stayed on the Big Island last month ( a too short holiday). There is an amazing contrast in scenery-tropical and barren volcanic areas. Trips are expensive but worth doing (we only did the whale watching one ) Travelled a lot with our hired car.
I'd like to explore some of the other islands if I could ever afford to go back there.

I bought the Hawaii Revealed guide book and it was really useful.

blindman

Dustykitten wrote: »

I'll get the book but will use in secret with care.

Book will be in the post tomorrow.

Dustykitten

Thank you so much for the book Blindman, it is great, lost 2 hours to it this morning. To start with I though oh no have we made a mistake with this island, and glad we have not choosen accommodation yet but now I realise it should help us have a great trip. I can see why the book is not popular with 'the locals'.

blindman

Dustykitten wrote: »

Thank you so much for the book Blindman, it is great, lost 2 hours to it this morning. To start with I though oh no have we made a mistake with this island, and glad we have not choosen accommodation yet but now I realise it should help us have a great trip. I can see why the book is not popular with 'the locals'.

Remember it's a "guide" book.

Make up your own mind and have fun.

And yes, when you park the car up :- hide the book :eek: