Traveling to Hawaii, looking for advise.

Nick_f

Nick_f

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Hey guys

The wife and I are going to be going to Hawaii for 2 weeks in May. Just looking for tips from people that have traveled there.

Probably flying out of Buffalo or Detroit, and spend time in a condo with a kitchen. We will be going to Oahu island.

Just looking to tour the island , take some surfing lessons, and rent a car and tour the island.


Any advice or were to book, places to stay would be great!
 
All I can say is the best beach on that island is Kailua; absolutely stunning and not over run with tourists. The beaches in and around Waikiki are rocky and the north shore is your surfing mecca. Have fun
 
I was there in August. If you can make a change, dump Oahu and head to a different Island. Honolulu is a bit trashy and Waikiki is a mega tourist trap - think Niagara Falls on steroids.

We ended up in West Maui and had a really nice beachfront condo for $100 a night. Walking distance to grocery store etc.
 
great advise, i will look into that as well

Did you just take a boat over or did you just fly to the island?

I just spent the weekend in Niagara falls for the ice wine festival and told my wife that i will never go back, way to expensive for simple things like a cup of coffee.

Do you know the name of the condo you stayed at?
 
Been to Oahu, Maui and the Big Island (Hawaii).

You can fly into Oahu or Maui direct (usually from LAX if you are starting in US, but flights between islands are cheapish and quick).

Oahu - Waikki is like Niagara Falls. Depends on your thing. I spent a couple days there as a hub to explore the island (as it was cheap). Hiking up Diamond Head, snorkling at Hanauma Bay, drove out to the north shore when the surf was up to Pipeline (awesome to see), hiked to a waterfall, went to Pearl Harbour. Got a surfing lesson right on Waikki beach, just walk up and go. Went to Kailua beach and yes, it was awesome.

I had a blast, but yes, it's the busiest island and you aren't going to be secluded. No matter what, it will be more touristy than any of the other islands.

Maui - No nearly as busy as Oahu. Most people are doing the more relaxing, rent a condo for a week in Maui. Stayed in South Kihei in a nice condo with kitchen (can't remember, but there are many many companies). Beach was a short walk. Spend a lot of time playing on the beach, boogy boarding. Snorkled a fair amount as well and saw a load of sea turtles. Road my bike up Haleakala crater (though most people get a tour and just ride down). Drove the road to Hana, went to a Luau, pretty touristy, but normally a good feast.

Big Island - Compared to Oahu, very calm and quiet. Spend 3-4 days and drove around the entire island. Black sand beaches were amazing. Stayed up in elevation at a cool little B&B, hiked the lava flows. Much more just calm exploring on the Big Island. Certainly more of a make your own entertainment. Did a snorkle tour as well.
 
OP, I started my trip in Maui and I can highly recommend it. It's not as touristy as the big island, but you wouldn't have explored it all in a week like Kauai.

The recommendation for staying in Kihei is a good one. If you're a younger couple, you might like Lahaina better.

Tons of twisties but you may or may not like riding as the roads are smooth, but there are a lot of yield signs and people crossing over into your lane.

If you can give me a budget, I can direct you to a specific town in the island. Kaanapali is the most resort-like. Ho'okipa beach is probably where you'll end up surfing once you get the basics down...but you can pretty much learn in most of the towns. If you're looking to tour, Kahului makes a good central point. I stayed there/Wailuku most of the time and just did day trips to every part of the island (it took me about 2 weeks to do it all).
 
I went with the fam and my favourite part is def the snorkling at Hanauma Bay.

Man, I miss that weather
 
Thanks for the posts guys!

Me and my wife are in our late 20's (i'm 28 she is 29)

Budget would be about $6000 round trip (from the moment we leave home to when we come back)

only spending 12 days there, but i do want some R&R, but also do things like snorkelling, surfing, hiking etc

We prefer to have a kitchen to save some money and not always eat out (breakfast, and mostly lunches)
 
any island that ends in "EE" will be great.. like, Maw'ee , Moh low keenee, Ka Why eee , Ha Why ee, see if you can get a copy of the Blue book... Maui revealed..
 
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Nick_f said:
Did you just take a boat over or did you just fly to the island?
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We flew from HNL to West Maui, not OGG. It brought us to the non-touristy part of the Island.

Do you know the name of the condo you stayed at?
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I just looked it up, it was the Aston Paki. My partner found it and booked it on Expedia.
 
revrandy said:
We flew from HNL to West Maui, not OGG. It brought us to the non-touristy part of the Island.



I just looked it up, it was the Aston Paki. My partner found it and booked it on Expedia.
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wife really likes the place you guys stayed, especially having hiking trails, and a lot of exploring to do in that area!

Thanks for the info!

Did anyone do any whale watching while they were there?
 
Thanks for all the advise guys

Just waking up in our condo at Lahaina, Maui
 
Nick_f said:
Thanks for all the advise guys

Just waking up in our condo at Lahaina, Maui
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I just left Hawaii. Make sure you take the ferry over to lanai. I stayed at the lodge at koele its a nice place to visit and there's lots of stuff to do on the island, visit manele bay for the beach as well....Make sure you go up Haleakala on Maui too, vist paia and eat at the fish market for lunch. Right nearby is hookipa beach.
 
I'm jealous. Enjoy!

also, a +1 for Haleakala. Since you guys like hiking, there's a couple of great trails in Haleakala. Sunset, sunrise, and star-gazing at the peak are all equally amazing and can easily be reached by car if you don't want to hike.

I would also recommend the bamboo forest (perfect if you hate the sun) and its nearby waterfalls. There's a 5-tier waterfall with the 5th one requiring a swim to get to.

& don't forget to try the fish tacos in Lahaina!
 
Cheeseburger in paradise ! The Banyan Tree , Costco, Wal-Mart for souvenirs, ABC Store,
There is a Gallery that is worth the Drive.. it is in Kahakuloa, Kaukini Gallery, talk to Diane for a deal. They have all kinds of interesting "art" from painting to lava sculptures, to jewellery, to unique fun local items worth bringing home.. not too expensive..
Also, very good snorkelling at the Black Rock ,on the beach by Sheraton , go around the point.. the turtles hang out at the end of the rock... and the sand on the other side is a nice beach too., Whalers village is right there,
Have fun,, lol

Just in case you are reading, and not at the beach!,,If you need a motorcycle while you're there.. I would talk to Ken at hulahogs in Kehei [FONT=Techno, Arial, Helvetica]808.875.7433 before renting anything from Aloha Toy Store... but.. ymmv[/FONT] hulahogs has other than harley avail.. and better rates, and equip imho
 
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spent 2 weeks on the big island, if you get a chance check out kona, there is lots to do and it's pretty laxed
 
Nick_f said:
Thanks for all the advise guys

Just waking up in our condo at Lahaina, Maui
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http://www.mauibrewingco.com/mbc/MBCHome.html

If it's close enough walk there. Then crawl, stagger or taxi back to your condo.

Try the nachos. And try the craft beers.


http://www.bluewaterrafting.com/

A great experience. See the volcano from a different view. Get inside some caves. Snorkel with turtles.




http://www.zipline.com/locations/kaanapali

Okay, but not mind blowing.





http://www.leilanis.com/

Great food. And superb location. They used to run a happy hour with half price food. started around 5pm I think. Big advantage was that you could watch the sun go down while eating. I took the pic from our restaurant table.
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