Hawaii

Smudge's_Lot

Good afternoon to all,

I am thinking of going to Hawaii in May next year with a possible stay of 3 weeks in order to see and do as much as possible. The plan is to fly from LAX.

I have never been and was wondering if anyone had any tips or advice on where to stay/things to do or see. Any advice very gratefully received.

many thanks

TELLIT01

When looking for a hotel, check for 'resort fees' as these are over and above the room rate and charged on a daily basis.  They can be extremely high.  When we were looking pre-Covid the highest I saw was $50 per room per night.  Very little explanation of what the fee covers, but it is not something you can opt out of, other than by staying somewhere else.

47Revisited

When we went in 2019 we split between Wakiki & North shore. Rented for a week in each. They've changed the rules now. If you are staying for 3 weeks you will only be able to get a rental in resort type areas. Think they changed to 30 day rentals minimum or even longer was planned in non resort areas.

Alan_Bowen

Don't stay on Oahu for your whole holiday, Waikiki Beach is just like any major city, with skyscrapers and shopping malls, admittedly with a decent beach. My favourite island by far was Kauai, only a 30-minute flight away, far more laid back and less developed, wasn't keen on Maui which was too commercialised for me, Molokai is probably the least developed and one of the smallest islands, but the only car available to rent was an open top and got seriously sunburned and did not feel well. Finally don't miss the Big Island with the Volcanoes National Park, lots of decent hotels around Kona on the west coast.

Starting from LAX it's around 5 to 5 and a half hours to Honolulu, the first time we went we travelled the whole way in one day, around 19 hours in total from London and that is not to be recommended, the second time we stopped overnight which is a much better option. Hotels are not cheap nor is food since most of it, apart from pineapples, has to be imported. Be are despite the length of the flight, most airlines do not include meals on the flight to Hawaii unless you travel business class, there have been some very good fares this year due to a fall in demand and a glut of extra seats from airlines such as Southwest and Hawaiian. 

HillStreetBlues

I haven't been for years so can't say about accommodation.
Been twice, once in backpacking days, went for 3 weeks stayed 3 months, and then a 3 week holiday.
It's hard to recommend stuff to do as what one person likes another doesn't. I hiked a lot my 3 week holiday, as had already been a beach b*m. What hikes would depend of how fit you are (I was very fit back in the day). The most interesting hike was to see the last house standing, to see this one house surrounded by lava was remarkable, but think I read it has also been swallowed up.
The most fun was a cattle round-up  where you get to be a cowboy for a 1/2 day (beans not included), all these were on Hawaii (or as we call it Big Island).
For more non-active on Oahu, Diamond Head, the USS Arizona, Dole plantation see a show, visit the North shore. There also shopping, ( I managed to get a RL leather jacket for 100 bucks, best deal I have ever got).
If you eat meat, try traditional kalua pig, it's divine, although I'm not a great fish eater I did enjoy Mahi Mahi
You will need to check what you still can do, as some could be out of date. Decided what you want to do and pack accordingly. Hawaii (Big Island) has 4 out of the 5 major climates, that shows how diverse it is

I totally agree with the above, do island hop, I flew into Maui and returned from Oahu. I also found the the flight there a total killer, 20 hours including a 3 hour layover at LAX (I only ever got jetlag on the outbound leg) If you decide on a longer layover and want a day sightseeing there , see if you can go via San Fran as much more compact so you get to see more.

TELLIT01

Alan_Bowen said:

Starting from LAX it's around 5 to 5 and a half hours to Honolulu, the first time we went we travelled the whole way in one day, around 19 hours in total from London and that is not to be recommended, the second time we stopped overnight which is a much better option.

I absolutely agree with that advice.  We made that mistake on our second visit to Hawaii.  My wife didn't have a problem, but I could barely function for about 2 days.

Smudge's_Lot

Thanks for the comments.

We are flying to LAX for a month and had built in a week in the LA area before we fly to HNL.

Will look into accomadation and will definitely be exploring the 3 bigger islands.