Which island would you add to this itinerary?

[ciaoaloha31]

First time to Hawaii and I will be going solo for a race. I am planning backwards from race day. My current general game plan is:


Sat or Sun: Travel Day
Mon: ???
Tues: ???
Weds: Flight back to Oahu???, Check into Aulani
Thurs: Aulani activities (lazy river, beach, character meal, etc.)
Fri: Check out of Aulani, Check into Hotel in Waikiki, race packet pickup
Sat: Touristy stuff and pre-race dinner meetup with other runners
Sun: Race, pool/beach
Mon: Travel Day

I would like to visit at least 1 other island besides Oahu. I was thinking Kauai or Maui but would consider the big island as well. Which would you choose and how many days would you spend there? TIA!

 

[nkereina]

I would choose Kauai, but we did not visit the Big Island so I can't compare. I think it would depend on what you want to do and what you're into. The big draws on the Big Island are Hilo for Volcano National Park and Kona where a lot of the coffee farms are. They're on opposite sides of the island, and you don't have much time to begin with, so you may not want to waste the time driving around. Also, its my understanding that entry to Volcano National Park isn't a sure thing as its dependent on what the volcano is doing at the moment.

Kauai is a bit smaller and easier to navigate in a short amount of time. The Na Pali Coast was one of my favorite things we saw in all of Hawaii, and Waimea Canyon is another big draw. We did a sunset dinner cruise and a helicopter tour, and would recommend the cruise to anyone (if you're not prone to motion sickness). Kauai was the most exotic and remote feeling of the three islands we visited, and also the warmest and most humid. Would love to return and explore it some more one day.

IMO, Maui would be most similar to Oahu. It's fairly commercialized and populated, so this would be my last choice.

 

[chainkid]

Having been to all the islands, based on your limited timeframe, I would stay in Hanalei Bay area on Kauai. It is absolutely breath taking and the town is so cute. My favorite island is the big island by far but it requires a lot more time to fully explore and appreciate it. Be prepared for going back again and again

 

[ciaoaloha31]

Thanks for the feedback. Any accommodation recommendations for Kauai?

 

[Hannahinwonderland]

I live in Kauai! Definitely would recommend visiting here

 

[chalee94]

I stayed at the Marriott Kauai Beach Club on a trip in May. Nice "central" location near the airport if you want to drive west one day and visit Waimea Canyon and north to Hanalei Bay for a boat tour of the Na Pali coast. Be aware that Kauai speed limits are pretty slow so it might take an hour to drive 30 miles, or possibly worse if traffic is bad. (Third picture is from the Marriott room's balcony.)

https://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-photos/lihka-marriotts-kauai-beach-club/

 

[chalee94]

Helicopter rides are a bit scary but maybe this youtube video will give you some ideas:

(You can see the Marriott at 1:25 - the Jurassic Park waterfall at 9:45 - I think you start hitting the Grand Canyon of the Pacific at around 13:45 - the waterfalls around 19:00 are more Waimea Canyon proper, I think (I've been 1 time - not an expert but definitely a fan) - 26:55 starts my favorite area of the Na Pali coast from the air)

Given the limited time, I would vote for a drive to Waimea Canyon and at least check out the lookout points since you won't have time to hike very far. "Kauai Revealed" is an excellent guidebook and I agree with them that if you only do 1 boat tour of the coast, a morning snorkeling tour from Hanalei is the best bet (I think we did Napali Catamaran - water gets too choppy in the afternoons for later tours from the north.) Dinner cruises from the south are nice but not as epic. (But if an evening cruise fits your schedule, Captain Andy's nicer yachts are very popular.)

 

[nkereina]

Thanks for the feedback. Any accommodation recommendations for Kauai?

We did Captain Andy's sunset dinner cruise around the Na Pali coast. It was about 4 hours long, and they served an amazing steak dinner while idling in front of the beautiful coast. On the way back to shore, they had open bar while we watched the sunset. It was awesome, and the food was outstanding, especially considering they cook it on the boat! I believe the company offers a few different tours, and I would do any of them.

We also did the helicopter tour that lands at the Jurassic Falls. Its through Island Helicopters. I think all helicopter tours will fly over the falls, but this one has a contract with the private land owners where the falls are to land there and allow people out to walk up to the falls and take photos. The total tour length was about 90 minutes, with about 15 minutes at the falls. The rest of the tour flew over Waimea Canyon and around the Na Pali coast. The helicopter was a cool experience, but I'm not sure it was worth the hefty price tag.

Between the two, we preferred the boat ride and found it a better way to see the coast.

 

[chainkid]

We stayed in a condo thru Parish realty at Hanalei Bay resort. It was really cheaper than a hotel room and we were ocean front. I would stay here again in a heart beat. We did Mountain tubing, Captain Andy dinner Cruise, Zodiac boat thru caves of Napali coast, helicopter tour, and a lot of great hiking. I loved Princeville . so much to do and so little time it seems

 

[pjacobi]

Captain Andy has great food and drink on-board! If you suffer from motion sickness, you might not enjoy it as much.

Be sure to check out Red Dirt Shirts in the harbor area as featured on "Dirty Jobs".

-Paul

 

[ciaoaloha31]

So what I am hearing is that I should have Saturday as travel day #1 from the East Coast and then have Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday on Kauai?

 

[FredPinsocket]

I have to throw in my vote for Kauai as well. We stayed in the Poipu area this year and enjoyed every minute of it. The Grand Hyatt was incredible!

 

[nkereina]

So what I am hearing is that I should have Saturday as travel day #1 from the East Coast and then have Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday on Kauai?

So you would arrive in Kauai some time on Saturday? Keep in mind that coming from the east coast, you pick up time so the time when you arrive will likely be in the afternoon (assuming you leave in the morning). So if this is the case, it would give you a full day Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday in Kauai. Also keep in mind you'll have a solid day or two adjusting to the time difference - we were up by 5am and ready to crash by 8-9pm those days, but we found Hawaii doesn't have much night life so it worked out ok.

I think that itinerary works well. I'd also say you could plan to fly back to Oahu late Tuesday night so then you have a full day at Aulani on Wednesday. It would give you most of the day Tuesday to do something in Kauai, and by flying to Oahu in the evening, you could make the commute to Aulani with little to no traffic to contend with. I always prefer this over an early morning flight. Whatever you do, I would advise against booking an inter-island flight mid-day. We did this for all three of our island hopping flights, and found that it ate up most of the day so it was a waste - no time to do anything on the one island in the morning, and little time to do anything on the new island after you arrive and are settled.

 

[cedricandsophie]

I too would vote for Kuai. It’s called the garden island for a reason. Incredibly lush and beautiful. My favorite island.

 

[Napuaoalani]

I’ve been to all the islands and agree, Kauai is a must to visit.