Anyone visit other islands during Aulani trip?

[five_mouseketeers]

We are headed to Aulani this summer but also have plans to visit other islands while we are there (probably a 1 and done to the islands for us—it’s a long haul for us). If you visited other islands, would you mind sharing a few details regarding your trip such as how many nights on each island, a general recap of your itinerary if you’d like.....really however many details you feel like sharing! I have a general idea of how many nights we will be on each island but have not booked inter-island flights quite yet and I’m figuring out our general plan of activities at this point. Thanks so much in advance!

 

[kdonnel]

We have been the Hawaii and Aulani four times and have three times paired it with another Island. As you said it is a long haul and we try to see and enjoy as much as possible. It wasn't until our fourth visit that we did only Oahu and Aulani.

We have always tried to do 3-4 nights at each island and make sure to schedule a really early morning flight for our island hopping so that we don't loose the entire day to travel. We back a day bag so that once we arrive at the new island we check into the hotel, drop our bags, and head out ready to enjoy the rest of the day.

The first trip we spent three nights at the Sheraton Kona Resort and Spa. We visited Volcanoes National Park, the South Point Cliff dive, Punalu'u Black Sand Beach, drove saddle road, and lots of waterfalls. We then flew to Oahu and spent 3 nights at the Royal Hawaiian on Waikiki. For this part of the trip we took in what is Waikiki and concentrated on visiting things on the east side of Oahu, like Robin's Nest for the original Magnum PI, Halona Blowhole, and Waimanalo Beach. We finally ended the trip with 3 nights at Aulani. Once here we concentrated on visiting things on the North Shore but also did Pearl Harbor. I ate Malasadas every chance I had.

The second trip we combined with Maui. We started in Maui. We stayed at the Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa right on Black Rock Beach for 4 nights. We drove the road to Hana, not actually making it as far as Hana, and did sunset at Haleakala National Park. We choose sunset because my wife wanted to try her hand at photographing the Milky Way. This time we spent 4 nights at Aulani and visited some of the same places as our last trip and a few new and different places. I ate Malasadas every chance I had.

The third trip we were back on the Big Island at the Sheraton Kona Resort and Spa for 3 nights. This time we drove to the top of Mauna Kea. As a family we have walked on lava, getting close enough to touch if we wanted to burn our finger off, and had an impromptu snowball fight at 13000 feet, on the same island! Making the trek to the top was the focus of this return visit. This time we also explored more of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park from park service land instead of the private tour we took the first visit. Once back on Oahu we spent 4 nights at Aulani. Exploring some of the same places in more depth and visiting a few new places. I ate Malasadas every chance I had.

The fourth trip we did 7 nights at Aulani. This is the trip we finally made it to Diamond Head and conquered the Koko Crater Stairs. We visited many beaches on the North and East shores including walking down to Cockroach Beach and walking as far into the lava tube there as we dared. Lots of long day trips. I ate Malasadas every chance I had.

 

[five_mouseketeers]

We have been the Hawaii and Aulani four times and have three times paired it with another Island. As you said it is a long haul and we try to see and enjoy as much as possible. It wasn't until our fourth visit that we did only Oahu and Aulani.

We have always tried to do 3-4 nights at each island and make sure to schedule a really early morning flight for our island hopping so that we don't loose the entire day to travel. We back a day bag so that once we arrive at the new island we check into the hotel, drop our bags, and head out ready to enjoy the rest of the day.

The first trip we spent three nights at the Sheraton Kona Resort and Spa. We visited Volcanoes National Park, the South Point Cliff dive, Punalu'u Black Sand Beach, drove saddle road, and lots of waterfalls. We then flew to Oahu and spent 3 nights at the Royal Hawaiian on Waikiki. For this part of the trip we took in what is Waikiki and concentrated on visiting things on the east side of Oahu, like Robin's Nest for the original Magnum PI, Halona Blowhole, and Waimanalo Beach. We finally ended the trip with 3 nights at Aulani. Once here we concentrated on visiting things on the North Shore but also did Pearl Harbor. I ate Malasadas every chance I had.

The second trip we combined with Maui. We started in Maui. We stayed at the Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa right on Black Rock Beach for 4 nights. We drove the road to Hana, not actually making it as far as Hana, and did sunset at Haleakala National Park. We choose sunset because my wife wanted to try her had at photographing the Milky Way. This time we spent 4 nights at Aulani and visited some of the same places as our last trip and a few new and different places. I ate Malasadas every chance I had.

The third trip we were back on the Big Island at the Sheraton Kona Resort and Spa for 3 nights. This time we drove to the top of Mauna Kea. As a family we have walked on lava, getting close enough to touch if we wanted to burn our finger off, and had an impromptu snowball fight at 13000 feet, on the same island! Making the trek to the top was the focus of this return visit. This time we also explored more of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park from park service land instead of the private tour we took the first visit. Once back on Oahu we spent 4 nights at Aulani. Exploring some of the same places in more depth and visiting a few new places. I ate Malasadas every chance I had.

The fourth trip we did 7 nights at Aulani. This is the trip we finally made it to Diamond Head and concurred the Koko Crater Stairs. We visited many beaches on the North and East shores including walking down to Cockroach Beach and walking as far into the lava tube there as we dared. Lots of long day trips. I ate Malasadas every chance I had.

Awesome, thanks so much!! Very helpful!!

 

[nkereina]

We spent 3 nights in Waikiki, 3 nights on Maui, 3 nights in Kauai, and 6 nights at Aulani. My trip report is in my signature. We also come from the east coast and this was our honeymoon, so the trip was longer than what we'd do for a "normal" vacation. We decided to book-end our trip with Oahu because it was cheapest for us to book roundtrip flights.

For us, the amount of time in each area worked out perfectly. Doing Waikiki first allowed us to be in that area without a rental car, which was good to avoid parking hassles, traffic, and parking costs. We were able to do organized bus tours to Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head, which are both best done early and can be difficult to park at. Being early tours were no problem for us coming from the east because we were up by 5am naturally the first few days anyhow.

We then flew to Maui for 3 nights and stayed at the Westin Kaanapali. Since our time in Waikiki was spent on the go, we enjoyed the beach and resort in Maui. We also visited Whaler's Village, Front St Lahaina, and did the Feast at Lele luau which was awesome. Two of the highest rated luaus in Hawaii are in Lahaina.

From there, we went spent three nights on Kauai at the Marriott in Lihue. We enjoyed the pool and some of the restaurants in the immediate vicinity. We did a helicopter tour over the Na Pali Coast and Waimea Canyon, with a stop at the waterfalls from Jurassic Park which was very cool. Our hotel was ideally located for this being close to the airport, and we opted for the early morning flight. We also did a sunset dinner cruise around the Na Pali Coast which was one of my favorite things we did the whole trip. We had a rental car for the first time in Kauai which worked out well.

Our last stop was Aulani. We had a rental car during this time and stopped at Target on the way - we picked up drinks and snacks since we had a studio, and at this point we also needed to replenish some toiletries and things like that. During our time at Aulani we did every other day sightseeing and visited Kualoa Ranch, Kailua, North Shore, Dole Plantation, Waimea Valley. We felt we experienced everything we wanted to on Oahu, and also felt we had enough time to experience the whole resort.

I know some will say 3 nights on any island is too few, but we did our priority things and were satisfied. Sure there's other things we could have done with more time, but we felt we got a good taste for everything which is what we wanted. The only thing I'd do differently is book my inter-island flights for either early morning or late night next time. All of ours were mid-morning, which I thought would be ideal for not having to rush to check-out and would allow for our room to be ready by the time we got to the next resort. All of this was true, but it really ate a big chunk of time out of the best part of the day, wasting most of the day. Arriving early or leaving late would give us almost a full day on the island.

 

[gregf71]

In August 2018, we paired an Aulani visit with a week (well most of a week...Hurricane Lane cut it a day short) on the Big Island. We stayed in a timeshare south of Kona. The island was amazing. I have lots of details on our trip report:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/c...lani-oahu-the-big-island-august-2018.3703678/

 

[chainkid]

I have been few times so far trying to change it up a bit but spend around 2-3 weeks each trip. First trip spent a week at the Marriott in Maui. We did ziplining(my favorite zip of all islands so far), road to Hana and the complete drive around the island . In 7 days we had enough time to do just about everything. We flew to Honolulu , rented a car and drove to North shore staying at the Turtle Bay resort for three days. Then went on a Norwegian cruise around all the islands to get a taste of all the islands for 7 days followed by three days in Wailkiki at the courtyard by Marriott. We were using Marriot points for a pretty free hotel vacation so location wasn't as important as cost. Aulani was being built and we went to see it.

Later trip we did 5 days on Kauai staying in Hanalei Bay Resort in a private condo. This was by far my favorite place to stay. We did Zodiac boat to view the caves on Napali coast,bickling in kapaa , mountain tubing , ziplining, sunset dinner cruise with Captain Andy(another favorite) . Helicopter over Napali coast. Drove the entire island and stopped at Waimea Canyon for photo op. Then we spend 7 days at Aulani in grand Villa which was awesome. We did Pearl Harbor, private 8 hour tour of entire island for our group of 4 couples. Shrimp trucks on north Shore. We did a full day at Kualoa Ranch first ziplining then 2 hour ATV (fabulous) tour. Stopped at all the tourist hot spots .

Going in june this year and spending 8 days on Big Island on the kohala coast in large rental home . Plan 3 hour ATV tour,Captain Zodiac, National Park and what ever we get to. Then we are spending 6 days at Aulani and plan to try Climbworks ziplining, pearl harbor again, playing with Grandson 5 at beach and pool. There is so much to do that its hard to fit it all in on one trip but we will be back. I thought one and done but I soon learned that for me this is my favorite vacation spot and the travel from East coast is just the price you pay. With a 5 year old we have to limit sight seeing as he will be bored to tears so plan to split rental car and take turns having a spa day and pool fun.

 

[ErinF]

Our trip is this coming June, but even though we haven't taken it yet I can still tell you what we have planned. ("We" would be myself, DH and our 3 kiddos.) All flights and accommodations have been secured and paid for so the plan shouldn't change.

We are flying into HNL and will stay 3 nights at Aulani. We are planning to just crash here, enjoying the resort and spending these days just chilling and relaxing. (DH and I have been to Oahu before so we're ok not getting out and exploring here, though we will have a rental car.). Then we fly to Kauai where we will spend 4 nights. I'm super excited for Kauai b/c I've never been and I want to see as much as possible in our time there. We plan to do a helicopter ride, some hiking, a kayak tour to Secret Falls, etc. Last we head to Maui for 5 nights. DH and I spent most of our honeymoon there in 2000 and made one other trip back in 2006. I'm really excited to get back there! We will do a lot of relaxing there as well b/c we've done some of the major tourist things like Haleakala and the road to Hana and I don't think my kids will appreciate the long drives in the car to do those things again. We do plan to do a snorkel boat trip and do a little exploring near our base in Ka'anapali.

Good luck planning your summer trip, I hope you have a fabulous time!!

 

[five_mouseketeers]

You guys are so helpful! Thanks so very much!! I have a few trip reports to read still and I’m glad some of you have only done a ‘sampling’ of the islands and loved it. I’m sure there’s always more to see—that’s the love in traveling . We have about 3 weeks (tad shy of) and I really want to visit each of the 4 ‘main’ islands hitting a few highlights of each and then figuring a pool/beach day at each plus travel time and it seems like most of you that have done 3-5 nights on islands saw what you really wanted to see and didn’t wish you had done things differently. We are used to living from suitcases when traveling (in this case I’ll probsbly pack a suitcase for each island plus one general one with the basics for showering, etc.). We are accustomed to resort hopping at WDW often so I don’t expect moves to be a big deal at all and appreciate the advice to schedule really early or late flights between islands to maximize sightseeing—I will plan on this as opposed to the midday I was planning which results in sort of wasted days.

 

[nkereina]

You guys are so helpful! Thanks so very much!! I have a few trip reports to read still and I’m glad some of you have only done a ‘sampling’ of the islands and loved it. I’m sure there’s always more to see—that’s the love in traveling . We have about 3 weeks (tad shy of) and I really want to visit each of the 4 ‘main’ islands hitting a few highlights of each and then figuring a pool/beach day at each plus travel time and it seems like most of you that have done 3-5 nights on islands saw what you really wanted to see and didn’t wish you had done things differently. We are used to living from suitcases when traveling (in this case I’ll probsbly pack a suitcase for each island plus one general one with the basics for showering, etc.). We are accustomed to resort hopping at WDW often so I don’t expect moves to be a big deal at all and appreciate the advice to schedule really early or late flights between islands to maximize sightseeing—I will plan on this as opposed to the midday I was planning which results in sort of wasted days.

A tip for packing - I re-wore a lot of items and never wore the jeans or sweatshirt I brought. For the most part, when not wearing a swimsuit, I wore leggings with a tank top and I had a light hoodie that I only used a few times. Hawaii felt mostly casual to me, so never needed to dress up for dinner (I would have if we went to a fine dining restaurant, but we didn't). I also did laundry halfway through our trip, on the day we arrived at Aulani. We got there around 4pm so we spent the rest of the night doing laundry and relaxing. It was free for us because we stayed on DVC points and received laundry tokens. The laundry was very fast there - washer and dryer were done in 30 minutes. Worked out perfectly for us!

 

[five_mouseketeers]

A tip for packing - I re-wore a lot of items and never wore the jeans or sweatshirt I brought. For the most part, when not wearing a swimsuit, I wore leggings with a tank top and I had a light hoodie that I only used a few times. Hawaii felt mostly casual to me, so never needed to dress up for dinner (I would have if we went to a fine dining restaurant, but we didn't). I also did laundry halfway through our trip, on the day we arrived at Aulani. We got there around 4pm so we spent the rest of the night doing laundry and relaxing. It was free for us because we stayed on DVC points and received laundry tokens. The laundry was very fast there - washer and dryer were done in 30 minutes. Worked out perfectly for us!

Thanks again for the great advice! We are DVC staying on points as well and will have a w/d in the unit (3 kids in our family so we need space and have a 2 bedroom unit) so re-wearing things might work out well and maybe I can cut our luggage in 1/2 that way. I think most of our lodging has a w/d in the unit for our entire trip with maybe the exception of our first place which is on Maui (2 standard hotel rooms) so I could do laundry at any of them really.

I do want to ask opinions on one of our transfers/flights if you don't mind.....We will have early flights booked for 2 out of the 3 transfers for sure, but I'm hung up on what to do for Big Island to Oahu transfer. We will have either 4 or 5 nights on Big Island. We have 3 days where we will explore things in the morning and then return to our condo for later afternoon/evening. We have one full free day following these partial planned days and then a full day doing a trip down to Volcanoes National Park. The day after this is when we have planned to transfer right now. My options for flights right now are 7am, 10am and 1:35pm. There is also a 5:30pm but I've ruled that one out as I think it's just too late since we will be early birds during our trip and possibly won't leave the airport until after 7:30. Here are my thoughts.....7am--normally this would be ideal, BUT I'm not sure how I feel about it after spending the prior day 'sightseeing' all day with a probable return time to our condo around dusk the night before.....10am--I almost feel like this wastes our morning,......we would need to be at the airport at around 8am so no time for anything at the condo other than packing up and leaving but then we would get to Oahu around 11, leave airport hopefully around noon---I guess it'd give us 1/2 a day to possibly see something in Waikiki area? This will be a Sunday and I'm trying not to do weekends at the beach so that kind of rules out surf lessons/canoe ride for this afternoon, etc. Possibility of maybe a late afternoon at Pearl Harbor?....prebook an afternoon tour??--really my only thought. We do not have planned hotel time at all in Waikiki--the pool is tiny and we just plan to utilize our room to sleep during these 3 days.......okay, on to 1:35pm......this pretty much wastes most of the day so I'm not a big fan of it either. We would have a leisurely morning at the condo....need to leave around 11 for flight. Would arrive in Oahu around 2:30, figure 3:30 or so to be leaving airport, hotel is about 30 min. away so we'd checkin around 4.......only thought on an activity I'd like to do that day still would maybe be the hike at Manoa Falls (website says hours are 8-4??....is this enforced?...sunset isn't until 6:30-7??)and dinner. We would wake early the next day to hike diamond head (pre-dawn) so we'd be turning in early this evening.
Now, my other thought is to stay on Hawaii Island that 5th night and take the 7am flight out the following day which is a Monday. This might be what I'm leaning towards because it gives us an additional flexible day on the the big island which is the largest and everyone recommends spending the most time here, BUT I feel it kind of cramps my plans for touring while we stay in Waikiki. If it helps any, this is what I have planned for Waikiki:
**visit to Pearl Harbor (I think we need around 5 hours here.....would like to do the Arizona obviously, but also the Missouri and our kids have never been on a battleship (we are from Missouri ) and possibly the bowfin. We are usually pretty speedy museum tourists so I think 5 hours time will be fine to tour for us
**sunrise hike to Diamond Head
**Kualoa Ranch tour (times offered for our specific tour are 9am and 1pm....allowing 3 hours for the actual tour)
**Trip around the north shore (have this figured for after our ranch tour listed above if we do a 9am....or reverse if it's a 1pm..... would like time to stop at Dole for maybe an hour?...dole whip, maze or train ride possibly?)
**hike Manoa Trail
**surf lesson Waikiki (times offered are 8:30am, 10am, 11:30am, 1:30 and 3pm)
**canoe ride Waikiki (times offered are on the hour from 9am to 3pm)
**4:30/5pm dinner at Haleiwa Joes at some point (want to go to the location on this side of island I think)
That's my list of things I'd really like to include in our plan.....only thing I haven't worked in is some time at Kailua Beach which isn't a must do, but would be nice to see it and spend an hour or so there.
Our time for the above things would be either Monday morning (if we spent 5 nights Hawaii Island) to Wednesday afternoon or Sunday afternoon (if we left after 4 nights with one of the above listed flights) to Wednesday afternoon. I plan to transfer to Aulani later on Wednesday and we'll be there for 3 nights but I don't have any plans to leave the Aulani resort (we will have a car, but just have 2 full pool days planned with an early flight out on Saturday...flight not booked yet, but it's to Kauai and I want a full day there when we arrive--I expect it to be our favorite island).
I keep going back and forth with my plans.....seriously can't decide! Any thoughts or input/schedule suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[ErinF]

Thanks again for the great advice! We are DVC staying on points as well and will have a w/d in the unit (3 kids in our family so we need space and have a 2 bedroom unit) so re-wearing things might work out well and maybe I can cut our luggage in 1/2 that way. I think most of our lodging has a w/d in the unit for our entire trip with maybe the exception of our first place which is on Maui (2 standard hotel rooms) so I could do laundry at any of them really.

I do want to ask opinions on one of our transfers/flights if you don't mind.....We will have early flights booked for 2 out of the 3 transfers for sure, but I'm hung up on what to do for Big Island to Oahu transfer. We will have either 4 or 5 nights on Big Island. We have 3 days where we will explore things in the morning and then return to our condo for later afternoon/evening. We have one full free day following these partial planned days and then a full day doing a trip down to Volcanoes National Park. The day after this is when we have planned to transfer right now. My options for flights right now are 7am, 10am and 1:35pm. There is also a 5:30pm but I've ruled that one out as I think it's just too late since we will be early birds during our trip and possibly won't leave the airport until after 7:30. Here are my thoughts.....7am--normally this would be ideal, BUT I'm not sure how I feel about it after spending the prior day 'sightseeing' all day with a probable return time to our condo around dusk the night before.....10am--I almost feel like this wastes our morning,......we would need to be at the airport at around 8am so no time for anything at the condo other than packing up and leaving but then we would get to Oahu around 11, leave airport hopefully around noon---I guess it'd give us 1/2 a day to possibly see something in Waikiki area? This will be a Sunday and I'm trying not to do weekends at the beach so that kind of rules out surf lessons/canoe ride for this afternoon, etc. Possibility of maybe a late afternoon at Pearl Harbor?....prebook an afternoon tour??--really my only thought. We do not have planned hotel time at all in Waikiki--the pool is tiny and we just plan to utilize our room to sleep during these 3 days.......okay, on to 1:35pm......this pretty much wastes most of the day so I'm not a big fan of it either. We would have a leisurely morning at the condo....need to leave around 11 for flight. Would arrive in Oahu around 2:30, figure 3:30 or so to be leaving airport, hotel is about 30 min. away so we'd checkin around 4.......only thought on an activity I'd like to do that day still would maybe be the hike at Manoa Falls (website says hours are 8-4??....is this enforced?...sunset isn't until 6:30-7??)and dinner. We would wake early the next day to hike diamond head (pre-dawn) so we'd be turning in early this evening.
Now, my other thought is to stay on Hawaii Island that 5th night and take the 7am flight out the following day which is a Monday. This might be what I'm leaning towards because it gives us an additional flexible day on the the big island which is the largest and everyone recommends spending the most time here, BUT I feel it kind of cramps my plans for touring while we stay in Waikiki. If it helps any, this is what I have planned for Waikiki:
**visit to Pearl Harbor (I think we need around 5 hours here.....would like to do the Arizona obviously, but also the Missouri and our kids have never been on a battleship (we are from Missouri ) and possibly the bowfin. We are usually pretty speedy museum tourists so I think 5 hours time will be fine to tour for us
**sunrise hike to Diamond Head
**Kualoa Ranch tour (times offered for our specific tour are 9am and 1pm....allowing 3 hours for the actual tour)
**Trip around the north shore (have this figured for after our ranch tour listed above if we do a 9am....or reverse if it's a 1pm..... would like time to stop at Dole for maybe an hour?...dole whip, maze or train ride possibly?)
**hike Manoa Trail
**surf lesson Waikiki (times offered are 8:30am, 10am, 11:30am, 1:30 and 3pm)
**canoe ride Waikiki (times offered are on the hour from 9am to 3pm)
**4:30/5pm dinner at Haleiwa Joes at some point (want to go to the location on this side of island I think)
That's my list of things I'd really like to include in our plan.....only thing I haven't worked in is some time at Kailua Beach which isn't a must do, but would be nice to see it and spend an hour or so there.
Our time for the above things would be either Monday morning (if we spent 5 nights Hawaii Island) to Wednesday afternoon or Sunday afternoon (if we left after 4 nights with one of the above listed flights) to Wednesday afternoon. I plan to transfer to Aulani later on Wednesday and we'll be there for 3 nights but I don't have any plans to leave the Aulani resort (we will have a car, but just have 2 full pool days planned with an early flight out on Saturday...flight not booked yet, but it's to Kauai and I want a full day there when we arrive--I expect it to be our favorite island).
I keep going back and forth with my plans.....seriously can't decide! Any thoughts or input/schedule suggestions would be appreciated!

Hmmm, I understand your qualms about sort of losing a day in transit for that Sunday and thus considering the 7am flight on Monday morning. But in looking at your list of things you want to do, I think it's too much for just the rest of the day on Monday, Tuesday, and only 2/3 or 3/4 of Wednesday. I would think you'd feel awfully rushed with everything. If it was me, I'd do the 10am flight. I think that's more reasonable than 7am and will still give you a lot of the day Sunday to do something. Maybe the surf lesson at 3pm? I know you said you wanted to avoid the beach on the weekend, but I would think late Sunday afternoon wouldn't be awful. But I'm not a local so I'm not for sure! I also think you could consider doing a drive to the north shore from Aulani, during your time there. It could make sense if you can't fit that in on your other days when you're based in Waikiki. Just my thoughts!! Sounds like an amazing trip!!

 

[princessbride6205]

I would add that "crowded" on Hawaii beaches is nothing if you've ever been to the Jersey shore or other densely populated beaches. I wouldn't worry too much about an organized beach experience on a weekend, like canoe or surf lesson. I agree with ErinF that you've got a lot to pack into the Waikiki time, so I'd do that 10am flight from the Big Island to Oahu.

We did a split stay last year in March (our first trip as a family to Hawaii, though DH and I have been there 3 other times).
The Big Island - our theory was to make the Volcanoes our main focus, but some of the things we did in the park are closed indefinitely since last year's volcano eruption.

Day 1: Travel Minneapolis to Kona, arriving quite late, picked up our rental car, and stayed at a motel nearby that night.

Day 2: In the [early] morning, we found a local breakfast spot and then started our drive . It's a 2 hour drive from Kona to the main entrance to Volcanoes National Park. I had a few stops planned to break up the drive and see signature sights on the island. We went to Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historic Park. This was a surprise hit - my daughter loved just exploring. Next, we stopped at the Kona Coffee Living History Farm, which is set up like a 1920s coffee farm and house. We spent 60-90 minutes touring, doing little activities, and sampling coffee. Then we continued our drive south, stopping to hike down the the southernmost point of the United States. (We never found a marker or sign so I hope we actually made it to the official spot! LOL) We arrived at the Volcanoes Nat'l Park in mid-to-late afternoon. We were a bit late to do any of the drives or hikes through the park, so we went to the Visitor Center and the Jagger Museum [now closed]. We ate dinner at Volcano House (the historic hotel inside the park). After dinner it was dark, and we were able to see the glow from the volcanic crater. We then drove out to our airbnb, with a stop at a grocery store on the way.

Day 3: We visited the Kapoho tide pools [now under lava] that were walking distance from our place. In the park, we hiked the Nahuku-Thurston Lava Tube [now closed], and then watched a hula performance and did some traditional Hawaiian crafts with Ti leaves (it was a Saturday so the park had extra cultural activities going on). We left the park to find some food for lunch. Back at the park, we started our biggest hike into the giant crater - the Kilauea Iki Trail [now closed]. Then we got back in the car and drive down the Chain of Craters Road. We stopped to walk out to the Pu'u Loa Petroglyphs. And finally, at the end of the road we saw the Holei Sea Arch. We didn't get to see flowing lava because at the time it was about a 6 mile journey, if I remember correctly. Food options are really limited near the park, so we ended up driving into Hilo for dinner.

Day 4: We visited our tide pools again in the early morning. We drove up the eastern side of the island for a couple experiences on our final day. We went to Umauma Falls ZipLine Experience. All 3 of us had a great time! We ate at an adorable cafe in a little 4-building Main Street nearby. Our final stop on the Big Island was Akaka Falls State Park for a 3/4 mile loop hike to see an amazing 442-foot tall waterfall. We had a 3:30pm-ish flight from Hilo to Honolulu. 3 hours later (delay, flight time, get rental car, drive), we were drinking tropical beverages at Aulani.

Aulani was our hub for our Oahu portion of the trip. Outside Aulani, we went to Waimea Valley (family hated!), the North Shore, a luau, snorkeling, and a private tour including a hike and a less touristy beach. At Aulani we tried all of the restaurants, Mickey shave ice, paddle boarding, the spa, pool, beach, Menehune scavenger hunt, fire pit storytelling, ukulele lesson, and other activities in the community room.

 

[angelbrd]

Hawaii/Aulani First timer here. We were debating the same. Original plans were to fly from Toronto to Oahu for 8 days but on the recent Southwest island to island hopping fares, I quickly changed it from Toronto to Maui. We will be there for 3 nights and then fly to Oahu ($77 total!!!) and do 5 days. Maui will save me on nightly Aulani resort rates and I get to see another island that I didn't originally plan. (Rental car through AAA Hertz was also only $34 a day on Maui).
Now if I can only pick a luau and Ill be pretty much set!

Aloha!

 

[nkereina]

Thanks again for the great advice! We are DVC staying on points as well and will have a w/d in the unit (3 kids in our family so we need space and have a 2 bedroom unit) so re-wearing things might work out well and maybe I can cut our luggage in 1/2 that way. I think most of our lodging has a w/d in the unit for our entire trip with maybe the exception of our first place which is on Maui (2 standard hotel rooms) so I could do laundry at any of them really.

I do want to ask opinions on one of our transfers/flights if you don't mind.....We will have early flights booked for 2 out of the 3 transfers for sure, but I'm hung up on what to do for Big Island to Oahu transfer. We will have either 4 or 5 nights on Big Island. We have 3 days where we will explore things in the morning and then return to our condo for later afternoon/evening. We have one full free day following these partial planned days and then a full day doing a trip down to Volcanoes National Park. The day after this is when we have planned to transfer right now. My options for flights right now are 7am, 10am and 1:35pm. There is also a 5:30pm but I've ruled that one out as I think it's just too late since we will be early birds during our trip and possibly won't leave the airport until after 7:30. Here are my thoughts.....7am--normally this would be ideal, BUT I'm not sure how I feel about it after spending the prior day 'sightseeing' all day with a probable return time to our condo around dusk the night before.....10am--I almost feel like this wastes our morning,......we would need to be at the airport at around 8am so no time for anything at the condo other than packing up and leaving but then we would get to Oahu around 11, leave airport hopefully around noon---I guess it'd give us 1/2 a day to possibly see something in Waikiki area? This will be a Sunday and I'm trying not to do weekends at the beach so that kind of rules out surf lessons/canoe ride for this afternoon, etc. Possibility of maybe a late afternoon at Pearl Harbor?....prebook an afternoon tour??--really my only thought. We do not have planned hotel time at all in Waikiki--the pool is tiny and we just plan to utilize our room to sleep during these 3 days.......okay, on to 1:35pm......this pretty much wastes most of the day so I'm not a big fan of it either. We would have a leisurely morning at the condo....need to leave around 11 for flight. Would arrive in Oahu around 2:30, figure 3:30 or so to be leaving airport, hotel is about 30 min. away so we'd checkin around 4.......only thought on an activity I'd like to do that day still would maybe be the hike at Manoa Falls (website says hours are 8-4??....is this enforced?...sunset isn't until 6:30-7??)and dinner. We would wake early the next day to hike diamond head (pre-dawn) so we'd be turning in early this evening.
Now, my other thought is to stay on Hawaii Island that 5th night and take the 7am flight out the following day which is a Monday. This might be what I'm leaning towards because it gives us an additional flexible day on the the big island which is the largest and everyone recommends spending the most time here, BUT I feel it kind of cramps my plans for touring while we stay in Waikiki. If it helps any, this is what I have planned for Waikiki:
**visit to Pearl Harbor (I think we need around 5 hours here.....would like to do the Arizona obviously, but also the Missouri and our kids have never been on a battleship (we are from Missouri ) and possibly the bowfin. We are usually pretty speedy museum tourists so I think 5 hours time will be fine to tour for us
**sunrise hike to Diamond Head
**Kualoa Ranch tour (times offered for our specific tour are 9am and 1pm....allowing 3 hours for the actual tour)
**Trip around the north shore (have this figured for after our ranch tour listed above if we do a 9am....or reverse if it's a 1pm..... would like time to stop at Dole for maybe an hour?...dole whip, maze or train ride possibly?)
**hike Manoa Trail
**surf lesson Waikiki (times offered are 8:30am, 10am, 11:30am, 1:30 and 3pm)
**canoe ride Waikiki (times offered are on the hour from 9am to 3pm)
**4:30/5pm dinner at Haleiwa Joes at some point (want to go to the location on this side of island I think)
That's my list of things I'd really like to include in our plan.....only thing I haven't worked in is some time at Kailua Beach which isn't a must do, but would be nice to see it and spend an hour or so there.
Our time for the above things would be either Monday morning (if we spent 5 nights Hawaii Island) to Wednesday afternoon or Sunday afternoon (if we left after 4 nights with one of the above listed flights) to Wednesday afternoon. I plan to transfer to Aulani later on Wednesday and we'll be there for 3 nights but I don't have any plans to leave the Aulani resort (we will have a car, but just have 2 full pool days planned with an early flight out on Saturday...flight not booked yet, but it's to Kauai and I want a full day there when we arrive--I expect it to be our favorite island).
I keep going back and forth with my plans.....seriously can't decide! Any thoughts or input/schedule suggestions would be appreciated!

How far is your condo from the airport on the Big Island? Keep in mind that save for Honolulu airport, the other island airports are very small. Personally, I don't think it's necessary to arrive a full two hours before your flight at the other airports. So, with that in mind, I'd still go with the 7am flight. You're arriving back the day before around dusk you mentioned and will likely be tired from the day's activities, so I would think going to bed early would be in order anyhow. Plus, I find it easier to get up and get going on little sleep on vacation than in real life

The other thing I'll mention is that unless you have pre-ordered tickets for a specific tour time for Pearl Harbor, you'd need to get there very early day-of to secure a tour time. We did an organized tour from Waikiki so the tour time was set for us, but it was still an early day - our tour time was 9:15 but we were picked up around 6:15am.

 

[Mommy2Logan]

We are headed to Aulani this summer but also have plans to visit other islands while we are there (probably a 1 and done to the islands for us—it’s a long haul for us). If you visited other islands, would you mind sharing a few details regarding your trip such as how many nights on each island, a general recap of your itinerary if you’d like.....really however many details you feel like sharing! I have a general idea of how many nights we will be on each island but have not booked inter-island flights quite yet and I’m figuring out our general plan of activities at this point. Thanks so much in advance!

We are doing first trip to Aulani next month. We are doing 4 nights and then going to Kauai for 4 nights. I've been to Kauai numerous times so doing a shorter trip there works for us.

 

[cgattis]

We went in June 2017–me, DH, and kids 16&13. We spent two nights in Waikiki at the Marriott using reward points. We used those days to see the free hula show on Waikiki Beach, hike Diamond Head, snorkel at Hanauma Bay, and take surf lessons. We also got lucky enough to catch part of the King Kamehameha day parade . On our checkout day, we went to see the King Kam statue all draped in leis (awesome!!) and Iolani Palace. We then boarded the Pride of America cruise for 7 nights.

On Maui, we did the road to Hana, going as far as Hamoa Beach and back the same way. We stopped at several waterfalls, the free botanical garden to see rainbow eucalyptus, (my favorite part) Waianapanapa Beach, Koki Beach, and Hanna Beach. On our second day, we drove up to Haleakala, but not for sunrise—we just didn’t want to do that early day. It was still awesome. We then drove upcountry to see all the cattle farms (DH raises cattle) and had lunch at Ulupalakulu Ranch. We also did a little wine tasting across the street. We popped into Makawao on the way back and got donuts on a stick

On the Big Island, we did VNP—watched the lava in Kilauea crater, hiked Thurston lava tube, and had lunch and souvenir shopping at Volcano House. We went into Hilo to see Rainbow Falls and the giant banyan tree there. We also did a little shopping and mailed some postcards. On Kona day, we were planning a canoe tour, but the beach was closed due to a sewage spill We hit Kona Brewing Co (my favorite beer) for lunch anyway and did a little more shopping. We got back on the ship early to do a kukui nut lei making class.

On Kauai, we snorkeled at Poipu Beach, where we saw three monk seals snoozing and hanging out! Plus numerous chickens LOL. We also drove up Waimea Canyon and all around the island, which is absolutely gorgeous. We were going to do some ditch tubing, but it was canceled due to heavy rain the day before. Our second day was just a morning, and then the ship slowly cruiser up and down the Na’pali Coast—ahhhhhhmazing!!

By this point, we were pretty tired, so Aulani was to be our “hang out and relax” time, which we totally did. But we still did Pearl Harbor and the swap meet one day, and one North Shore day. We were seriously tempted to do Hanauma Bay again, but Aulani was too awesome to leave much . We did the Paradise Cove luau also.

That’s probably way more than you wanted to know, but it was epic and I can not WAIT to get back!! Maui and Kauai next time...

 

[five_mouseketeers]

Perfect, thanks again everyone!! All very helpful! I think I've decided to go ahead and stay that 5th night on the Big Island (mostly because I want 5 nights there anyway which gives us two flexible unplanned days........we have our own condo in a quiet resort neighborhood that we can walk to the beach from, I already see us loving the location (bunk beds for the kids-so extra fun for them, lol)......although I think we'll like Aulani--(because we love Disney so why not?, LOL), I do not think we'll like the crowds/lines of visitors everywhere on Oahu BUT there are things on the island that are must-do's for us while heading all the way to Hawaii so we are going to make the time to get them done....busy days to see the sites but 2 rewarding days of playing in the pools and dining in the Disney bubble as well) I'm also worried we'll hate the bustle of Waikiki on Oahu so I've tried to minimize our time there---we are very much a small town family and enjoy traveling outside of the crowds. I've chatted with DH and if anything we are extending our trip by at least a 1/2 day with a flight change coming home (possibly an extra full day) to allow sufficient time on both Oahu and Kauai. I'm confident we'll wish we had another week on each island but we'll do what we can with the time we have This is what I think I'm doing with our time once we get to Oahu......please give me your thoughts if you don't mind:

**Arrive Mon shortly before 8am (taking 7am flight from KOA).....we will grab our rental and head to Waikiki to check-in......I do not expect a room to be ready but we'll leave our bags with bell services, etc. For this day I think we'll do the Kualoa Ranch tour at 1pm. If we left our hotel in Waikiki around 10 would we have time to stop at Dole and proceed up (NOT making additional stops...I have this on another day) through the north shore to get to Kualoa by around 11:30?....technically don't need to be at the ranch until around 12:15 but I thought we'd grab lunch first before the tour and peek around the store there. After the tour (max of 4pm....I think it's a tad shorter than this) I think we'll dine at Haleiwa Joe's (the eastern/newer location)---appears to be conveniently located on the map----please correct me if that's wrong!--do I need to make a reservation for this dinner at 4:30/5 or will we be fine getting a table at opening on a Monday evening?

**Tues.....sunrise hike at Diamond Head, trip around island starting at Kailua Beach and heading through North Shore (stops at Ted's Bakery, 3 tables for snorkeling, sharks cove, turtle beach, etc.) Possible late afternoon hike at Manoa Falls to end the day if we are back before 4pm.

**Wed.....breakfast at hotel, surf lessons 8:30am, canoe ride 10am, shop around hotel area and checkout with move to Aulani. Luau for dinner at Aulani 5:30pm

**Thurs and Fri....both pool/beach days at Aulani

**Sat....early checkout from Aulani at sunrise and head to Pearl Harbor...plan to arrive around 7:30, with tickets already reserved for 11 but will grab earlier ones if available when we arrive. Plan to book flight to LIH around 4pm so would need to leave Pearl Harbor around 2pm to return car, etc.

Anyone see any issues if this is our general plan? Obviously some things are flexible and we 'could' always leave Aulani for sightseeing but I'd prefer not to.

 

[five_mouseketeers]

We went in June 2017–me, DH, and kids 16&13. We spent two nights in Waikiki at the Marriott using reward points. We used those days to see the free hula show on Waikiki Beach, hike Diamond Head, snorkel at Hanauma Bay, and take surf lessons. We also got lucky enough to catch part of the King Kamehameha day parade . On our checkout day, we went to see the King Kam statue all draped in leis (awesome!!) and Iolani Palace. We then boarded the Pride of America cruise for 7 nights.

On Maui, we did the road to Hana, going as far as Hamoa Beach and back the same way. We stopped at several waterfalls, the free botanical garden to see rainbow eucalyptus, (my favorite part) Waianapanapa Beach, Koki Beach, and Hanna Beach. On our second day, we drove up to Haleakala, but not for sunrise—we just didn’t want to do that early day. It was still awesome. We then drove upcountry to see all the cattle farms (DH raises cattle) and had lunch at Ulupalakulu Ranch. We also did a little wine tasting across the street. We popped into Makawao on the way back and got donuts on a stick

On the Big Island, we did VNP—watched the lava in Kilauea crater, hiked Thurston lava tube, and had lunch and souvenir shopping at Volcano House. We went into Hilo to see Rainbow Falls and the giant banyan tree there. We also did a little shopping and mailed some postcards. On Kona day, we were planning a canoe tour, but the beach was closed due to a sewage spill We hit Kona Brewing Co (my favorite beer) for lunch anyway and did a little more shopping. We got back on the ship early to do a kukui nut lei making class.

On Kauai, we snorkeled at Poipu Beach, where we saw three monk seals snoozing and hanging out! Plus numerous chickens LOL. We also drove up Waimea Canyon and all around the island, which is absolutely gorgeous. We were going to do some ditch tubing, but it was canceled due to heavy rain the day before. Our second day was just a morning, and then the ship slowly cruiser up and down the Na’pali Coast—ahhhhhhmazing!!

By this point, we were pretty tired, so Aulani was to be our “hang out and relax” time, which we totally did. But we still did Pearl Harbor and the swap meet one day, and one North Shore day. We were seriously tempted to do Hanauma Bay again, but Aulani was too awesome to leave much . We did the Paradise Cove luau also.

That’s probably way more than you wanted to know, but it was epic and I can not WAIT to get back!! Maui and Kauai next time...

Definitely not more than I wanted to know! It was actually quite helpful and sounds epic!! I love the info on upcountry Maui......my dad still raises cattle (I'm a farm girl ) and my oldest has dreams of raising cattle when he grows up. I have added in some plans to see the cattle farms up that way while we are on Maui as well! Originally we were only visiting some ranches on the Big Island but we'll fit in upcountry Maui as well---couple places I had on my list for dining there so it'll work great (including the Ranch Store!). Thanks again!

 

[five_mouseketeers]

How far is your condo from the airport on the Big Island? Keep in mind that save for Honolulu airport, the other island airports are very small. Personally, I don't think it's necessary to arrive a full two hours before your flight at the other airports. So, with that in mind, I'd still go with the 7am flight. You're arriving back the day before around dusk you mentioned and will likely be tired from the day's activities, so I would think going to bed early would be in order anyhow. Plus, I find it easier to get up and get going on little sleep on vacation than in real life

The other thing I'll mention is that unless you have pre-ordered tickets for a specific tour time for Pearl Harbor, you'd need to get there very early day-of to secure a tour time. We did an organized tour from Waikiki so the tour time was set for us, but it was still an early day - our tour time was 9:15 but we were picked up around 6:15am.

Our condo is about 30 minutes from KOA I think (assuming no traffic to get there and I don't expect any at 5am)....in the Mauna Lani area if that helps any. I do love the 7am time because there's actually a 'day' left to do something once you arrive at the new location. I feel the 4 nights really cuts us short on the Big Island so I am going to go ahead and opt for the 5 night stay but I think we are extending our full trip by a 1/2 day to help with sightseeing time on Oahu. I remember the other airports being smaller but DH and I were there almost 20 years ago so it's been a LONG time and that was prior to 9/11. I wasn't sure with TSA how long the process takes at the smaller airports. We do have precheck which should help as well, but I didn't know if they all have separate lines or not. Any thoughts on how long we really should allow to arrive at the smaller airports prior to departure?

I do plan to preorder tickets for 11am to tour Pearl Harbor. Our trip is mid-summer so I know it'll be a busy season and would rather not gamble on there being earlier tickets when we get to Pearl Harbor. If we can't get anything earlier than the 11, we will go ahead with touring the Missouri and the Bowfin prior to our Arizona tour and we should have plenty of time to get the 11am Arizona in before we need to leave around 2 for the flight.

Thanks again!!

 

[nkereina]

Any thoughts on how long we really should allow to arrive at the smaller airports prior to departure?

I would do maybe 75-90 minutes in advance with TSA pre-check. 90 minutes may be a little overestimated, but I always prefer to do that when dealing with the airport. We didn't know what to expect and arrived two hours prior which was overkill. Took us 15 minutes max to get through everything, without precheck, in Maui and Kauai.