Spring break short trip?

[Shadowfan]

So I am contriving our spring break plans and I wonder if Oahu traveling families might provide insight-

I am the travel planner and enthusiast, DH is not but he has warmed gradually to some travel over the years. He truly does not like to break from work/routine. He will take 5 week days off over spring break and 5/6 week days in summer. We have 2 children, older elementary and middle school aged.

Here is a scenario that might give us a slightly gradual way to Oahu and back to the Eastern time zone, all within the span of 8 1/2 days:

Friday, after work and school: fly to Denver (a bit over 3 hours for us) and spend a night
Saturday: fly from Denver to Oahu, United. Rent a vehicle, check in at Aulani.
Sunday: tour Pearl Harbor, either with Disney excursion or on our own. If that does not take the entire day, then plan accordingly.
Monday: tour the North Shore. Again not sure if this is an entire day or partial.
Tuesday and Wednesday: remain within Aulani to enjoy the resort.
Thursday: fly from Honolulu to LAX. Utilize a pickup from the airport (perhaps Disney transfer) to Disneyland lodging.
Friday: spend at Disneyland
Saturday: transfer back to LAX for the flight to Ohio
Sunday: try to recuperate a bit before the routine on Monday

I realize that there is so much to see and do on Oahu but we simply cannot spend much longer than what I described. We travel in short-ish time frames and if we truly love it, we will find a way to return.

Thank you!

 

[nkereina]

I think your plan is fine. If it were me, I'd rather have the time in Hawaii than in Disneyland. What time is the flight from LAX to Ohio on Saturday? You could fly from Hawaii to LAX on Friday, stay the night in LA, and fly home to Ohio Saturday morning. It would give you more time in Hawaii and more recuperation time.

I think your plan allows you to ease into the time zone, but you're still going to be adjusting to the time difference and jet lag. We flew straight from ATL to HNL and had a 6 hour time adjustment, and were wide awake at 5am the first 2-3 days. We adjusted after that. Coming home was much easier for us.

 

[dachsie]

I kind of agree - I would skip Disneyland and fly back home on Friday. Take a night flight and get into LAX Sat morn, then fly home and use the rest of Sat and Sunday to recuperate. Also - you could do Pearl Harbor and the Aloha Swap meet on Sunday if you drive yourself. We are planning to do the Swap meet for a couple of hours and then Pearl Harbor

 

[Shadowfan]

Thank you! It is nice to know that an additional day on Oahu could be preferable to a day at Disneyland!

 

[alohamom]

I am also thinking to skip Disneyland.
I would not usually say this because I am fan of breaking up the travel and easing back into your time zone to help with jet lag.
However since you are limited with time I feel you are wasting a precious vacation day on travelling on the Thursday.
Plus, there is sooo much to do and see on Oahu. I would be happy spending a week going to a different beach every day and still feel I didnt have enough time.
I do like the idea of giving your self a day or two at home to catch up, it really does help in getting back to your regular life

 

[nkereina]

One more thing I'd add about Disneyland - its a busy time with SWGE being open now. One day there for both parks isn't enough time to do either of them justice. Plus, you're inclined to be tired from your week in Hawaii and the travel. So these are other reasons I would skip DL.

 

[pjacobi]

It's easy to do short trips within the same time zone, i.e. NY to FL. Crossing time zones is more difficult because of jet lag.

As a general rule, it takes your body 1 day per time zone to fully recover from jet lag, although most effects are gone in about half the time. From the East Coast, Hawaii is 5 time zones away. After 5 days, your body will fully adjust to Hawaii time, just in time to screw it all up with the return flight. Most people find jetlag worse flying east, so plan a rest day at home after returning from Hawaii.

Because of jet lag, I consider 14 day as minimum for Hawaii or Europe. Why spend your entire vacation fighting jet lag? I suggest waiting until your can spend more time in Hawaii. It's just too far for a short trip.


-Paul

 

[jodybird511]

It's easy to do short trips within the same time zone, i.e. NY to FL. Crossing time zones is more difficult because of jet lag.

As a general rule, it takes your body 1 day per time zone to fully recover from jet lag, although most effects are gone in about half the time. From the East Coast, Hawaii is 5 time zones away. After 5 days, your body will fully adjust to Hawaii time, just in time to screw it all up with the return flight. Most people find jetlag worse flying east, so plan a rest day at home after returning from Hawaii.

Because of jet lag, I consider 14 day as minimum for Hawaii or Europe. Why spend your entire vacation fighting jet lag? I suggest waiting until your can spend more time in Hawaii. It's just too far for a short trip.


-Paul

And remember, depending on when your Spring Break is (i.e. late, as opposed to early), it can be a 6 hour (instead of 5) difference, as Hawaii does not observe Daylight Saving Time.

 

[tankin]

@Shadowfan We're flying about the same distance... Personally I'd skip the stop in DEN and the LAX stop. Not enough time to partially adjust and more hotel $.
You should be able to go CVG, CMH, DAY or CLE to HNL in one day (early morning flight so based on drive time might need the hotel stay...) and then come back thru ORD, DEN or IAH... All of which have flights that leave HNL in the evening so you can effectively get another whole day on Oahu (that's what we've done in the past.. flights leaving in the 7 - 9 realm).

 

[Shadowfan]

Ideally we would stay for 10 days to 2 weeks! Realistically we'll both be retired before that happens . . . . .

I thought by breaking up the trip (on the way back) we'd eliminate the night flying on the return to Ohio. I mean, if we fly to LA and spend the night we might at least sleep some in a bed rather than practically sleeping none on an overnight flight.

 

[alohamom]

Ideally we would stay for 10 days to 2 weeks! Realistically we'll both be retired before that happens . . . . .

I thought by breaking up the trip (on the way back) we'd eliminate the night flying on the return to Ohio. I mean, if we fly to LA and spend the night we might at least sleep some in a bed rather than practically sleeping none on an overnight flight.

Oh I totally understand your perspective. We travel from Toronto to Hawaii on a fairly regular basis and have been doing it for many years. Often I think it seems like a waste to go that far and not stop at Disneyland. We have done the California stop a couple of times. Once we did our Disneyland portion on the way there and then just slept at an LAX hotel that was very close to the airport. That helped with the jet lag but we didnt really have a choice, that was the way the tickets were configured and I made the best use of that route by taking the time to break up the long flight with the sleepover stop. If it was the same price or less, I would almost always stop half way, get a hotel for sleeping and then travel the other portion the next day but only of I had the time. I cry when I leave Hawaii so I want to maximize my time there. Do you think maybe you should do a Disneyland only vacation instead? Just a thought.