Hawaii help needed please! About This Page:

[Tiggerbelle]

OK, is it just me, or is planning a vacation to Hawaii almost as complicated as planning your first visit to Disney??! PP always has everything I need for my Disney vacations.... I need a site like this for my Hawaii vacation! Does anybody have any suggestions about where to start?

[fairestofthemall]

Where in Hawaii are you going? I have been to the Big Island and Oahu. What do you want to know?

Danielle

[NanaTink]

I've also been to Oahu a few times. If I can help, holler!

[Tiggerbelle]

We don't know where we're going at all! As we celebrated our sixteenth wedding anniversary yesterday, hubby said to me "we should go to Hawaii for our twentieth!" So, even though it's still four years away, I figured it's never too soon to start planning! So I guess what I'm looking for is... how do you decide where to go? We'll probably take our two kids with us (they'll be 17 and 13 at that time). What I really want to know is whether there is anything like a Passporter for Hawaii?! My PP has everything I need to plan my visits to the mouse, so I'd love to have something similar if it exists. If not, any suggestions you've got would be great!

[Happymommy]

I honeymooned in Maui --- let me know if you have any questions.

Here's how we planned (not much on the internet in '90s, so I used travel guides) First thing we determined was which island, and did we want to pack and move to see several islands. We only had a week (since I had only been working in my teaching job for a year) so we decided one island, and the one that appealed the most to us was Maui. Then we checked out all of the resorts in Maui, and determined which was most appealing/had the best deals. We chose the Hyatt (that was 10 years ago though). I let the travel agent book that and the air and car--- though I'd probably do it myself now. Then once we got there (I was too busy with wedding plans, and working as a new teacher) we sat down with the hotel concierge, and she booked a bunch of things for us to do---- helecopter, bike ride down some volcano, snorkelin, luau. I did absolutely no planning whatsoever beyond picking the hotel. All I knew was there was a pool and a beach. My travel agent passed on some restaurants, and that's about it. I have no idea what websites are out there now, but if you find anything good-- would you mind passing along? We're thinking about going back in the next 2 or 3 years. I loved it there, I cried the day we had to leave (literally, the valet guy thought he crushed my finger in the car door because I was crying). A week is NOT enough!!! I wanted to move there LOL.

[ecuagoddess]

I can also help! I live on Oahu.

[lukeandbrookesmom]

Go to the home PPer page and click on 'Anywhere' - you'll see Hawaii listed

[minniemanor]

There is a lot of information out there both online and in print. It depends on what types of things you like to do and what you want to do when you are there (active or relaxing vacation.) Since you have time, you may want to go to your local library and see if they have some books on the different islands to help you figure out where you want to go or you can go to a book store and see if there is a travel guide that you like the format of (of course nothing will be as good as your pp.)

We went to Hawaii on our honeymoon (13 years ago) so there was no online research to be done. We decided we wanted 2 islands so we chose Kauai and Maui. Next we chose our hotels. We actually contacted the concierges at both hotels and asked them to send us information about tours and things to do. We had found a local travel agent (in the mall) to book everything at the time. I've since learned how bad of a TA she really was. Her knowledge and recommendations were awful! I don't think she actually recommended any tours or anything like that. We stayed at the Hyatt in Kauai but the Hyatt in Maui was having some construction done at the time so we stayed somewhere else.

Planning can sometimes be as much fun as the vacation!

[kewbrickny]

I have been to Hawaii several times including Jan of this year. You should have fun planning, not make it a chore. Hawaii is a great place to visit. The "official" web site is gohawaii.com. Others include Hawaiiweb.com, visitmaui.com, and 101thingstodo.com. All offer good info. Additionally, you need to decide how long you are going for and then decide how many / which islands you want to visit.
Everyone visits Oahu for Honolulu, Waikiki Beach,Diamond Head and Pearl Harbor. Kaua'i is great for its natural beauty and spectacular Na Pali coastline. Maui is always popular and has the "famous" road to Hana, the dormant volcano Haleakala, historical Lahaina, Iao Valley and snorkeling at Molokini. Hawaii, the big island, has active volcanic lava flows in Volcano National Park and amazing and varying terrain. Lana'i is a quiet retreat. Moloka'i has great coastline and beaches as well as Kalaupapa, Father Damiens former leper colony. All great places to visit. If I was to take the whole family to Hawaii I would go for 2 weeks and hit Oahu (4days), Kauai (4 days), Maui (4 - 5 Days) and the big Island of Hawaii (2 - 3 days). Enjoy planning!

[guarn3md]

Hello!
I just returned from Maui! It was my 2nd time there. DH and I went to Maui and Kauai 4 years ago, this time we just went to Maui for 10 days with our DS (6 yrs old). I have also been to Oahu twice. Of all the islands, Maui is my favorite and great for kids. We stayed at The Whaler on Ka'anapali Beach. I rented a condo on VRBO website. The condo was perfect! I have several books on Maui - I love "Maui Revealed". There is also a book on the big island, Oahu and Kauai. The website is wizardpub.com. Kauai is very laid back, not a lot of activities but a great relaxing island. Ka'anapali Beach has lots of resorts and condos with a beachwalk from one end to the other. There is a also several restaurants right on the beach and a shopping center - Whalers Village. Inside Whalers Village is the Whaling Museum. Ka'anapali is close to Lahaina and old Whaling port and very cool "downtown" area. There are plenty of recreational activities to choose from. Let me know if you have anymore questions.
Debbie

[Tigger71]

I've been to Oahu (in 2007)...no expert but love to help if I can.

[Dlandmom2]

Hi, just finally checking out the general forums and thought I'd chime in!

Are you still thinking about Hawaii? If so, I'd be happy to share my experiences.

What do you, your DH, and your daughters like to do? Golf? Eat? Shop? Swim? Snorkel? Hike? Hang out by the pool? Sightsee?

I've been to Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai, and my brother lives in Oahu. There's plenty to do on every island, but also each island has its "strengths" and "weaknesses" to a certain extent.

So if you're still looking for info, please post here or PM me! I'd love to help!!!

[sillyolebear2380]

I lived in Hawaii for 4 years so please just ask and I most likely can answer most questions. I know of some great hotels, great beaches, great restaurants,, and more.. just ask away