The Travel

The HNL Airport

You need to decide on which islands you want to visit as the first step for the travel. Even the smallest one needs a minimum of 2 days. A good plan, if you are tight on time is, 2 islands for 7 days. Best would be a week for an island. We did two for a week and chose the Big Island and Oahu for the visit. It takes around 5.5 hrs of travel time, gate to gate from LAX, so you need to account for the flying time as well in the plan. Travel goes hand in hand with the stay. For example staying in Waikiki over a weekend could be expensive than staying in Big Island. So you need to decide from which island you want to fly back and how you want to hop. We went to HNL first and then returned from Kona with one hop. At the end of it I wished I went to Kona a day earlier than I did.

Right outside the HNL airport in the Taxi Area

It will be helpful to understand the general weather of each island, especially in the location of your stay and the activities you will be doing and pack accordingly. We packed based on our plan but I took woolen jacket instead of my ski jacket. It would have come in handy when there was an unexpected rain and the shops ran out of ponchos. The December evenings were mild but was chilly on one night especially when there was a rain shower. A light sweater or jacket helps. Packing light is good for hopping islands and avoiding delays in airport and checkins. With one big and small suitcase in the end we felt 2 small would have been more than enough. And Towels, most resorts give their own towels for pools in Waikiki, use them it will save a lot of space.

If you have decided on the resorts, call each of them and inquire on their amenities, extras, the events and activities they offer. Hilton Village is the biggest one for a nominal price and closer to the beach, but there are others lining the coast. Everything from local resorts to Sheraton is there on Oahu Waikiki area. It is well connected to other places through buses and cabs so it is easy to stay here and visit the surroundings. I will explain more on this in the Waikiki post.

The KOA airport - feels like a open Kerala (India) style temple

The Big Island on the other hand is really big, By car it will take around 12-14 hrs of continuous driving to go around the island. It has 3 major towns. Kona is closer to one of the two airports and Hilo is on the other side of the island with Waimea to the north. There is lodging at the Volcano park as well. Again what you decide to do here determines where you stay. Hilo is closer to the Mauna Kea observatory, the volcano national park and the water falls, on the other hand the town has a small downtown area and I did not feel it was all that charming. I liked the Kailua-Kona town with the nice Hawaiian charm. There is also a Waikoloa village which has resorts and a huge outdoor shopping mall with a lagoon lining the coast. I felt a evening here is good but stay makes it commercial even without the city feel of Waikiki and also the farthest from the Volcano. We stayed in Kailua-Kona all three days instead could have stayed in Hilo for the last day which would have made it easier to cover the island, but our plan was a bit more dynamic :).

There are several sites like Priceline and others that seem to give discount prices. Although, the effective way is to use one of these and also the actual hotel site to compare the difference and if there isn't any difference book through the hotel directly. If the hotel is part of the chains like Hilton groups or Sheraton, try to become a member (use a non critical email id) and then book for added advantage. There will be perks like free parking, a free gift or the like. It is not worth jam-packing the trip trying to cover everything. A good plan is to have one activity per day with the evenings for relaxation, a morning run/walk, a short hike, a historic exploration and a grand dinner with importance to enjoying. 

The Anticipation

The Anticipation .. on the other side of the tunnel

I like to plan any visit in advance, especially when it involves a new place and lot of money :). Most websites suggested that the planning should start atleast 6 months earlier. That is very good if you have the luxury to make a plan that far in future and still make it. I started mine 2 months before. This is like a marathon, everyone has their unique training plan as each person is different even though they run the same miles, their goals are different, their health and their personality.

It takes some effort to get everything booked. Flights, stay and the different activities. Before you start with the booking you want to identify what you want to do in Hawaii  and in which island. All the islands offer almost all the activities. There are a few unique things in each island though. Kauai is the green island with the Napali coast and if you are big on the hiking and beaches this would be a good place. Molokai has a small town setting, still has the Hawaiian charms and has not given in to modernization so much. Lanai is more of a plateau than mountain and has desert regions and plantation coasts. Maui is the Valley Isle with a lot of resorts and still has a good town setting, offering a lot of activities. Oahu has a rich north side and an urban Waikiki area famous for surfing and every activity you can imagine with all kinds of resorts. Finally the Big Island is the biggest of all with lava still spurting out of one of its 5 mountains, with an observatory at its tallest peak. All the islands are actually made of volcanic mountains.

I picked Oahu because of the many activities and the active Waikiki with a relaxing resort and Big Island for its observatories and volcano park. Another combination would be Maui and Molokai or Kauai. It did a lot of good to make a list of what you want Vs what the island has and then decide on the place. Spend 2 hrs atleast to analyze each island and then make your pick.

The Finances...
As far as the flights there are a few direct flights from other parts of US, but a lot on the west from CA and AZ. Airlines like Allegiant also has some good discounts which can help keep the price lower especially if it is a bigger group. The total expense is spent on 4 categories travel, stay, food and activities. Majority is spent on the travel (30%) and stay (30%). The food depends on what your plans are and your likes and may go above the rest if not planned. The activities again depend on your taste. Before you begin further make sure you plan for a $1000 per day on an average if you are planning for 1 week. If it is longer than that, it will be around $700- $750 a day. This is for the peak season. If you are planning in the summers this may come down to $650 a day, not any less. I started out with a spreadsheet with the four categories and after I returned I tallied them up with the planned amount. It was very close.

Stepping In

Depending on which island you land Hawaii can be very different, each island with its own unique features, set of climates and natural wonders will give a whole new perspective to the visitor. In this blog I will discuss everything I experienced and some of the tips and tricks for the first time visitor.

From the lava lands of Mauna Kea looking at the peak of Mauna Loa

I can only speak for Oahu and Big Island as I have not witnessed the beauty of the rest of them but I am sure they all have a similar effect. Why another blog?... Well, why not? Everyone who visits this place is mesmerized by its  wonders , some take pictures, some write about the hikes, some about the hotels. I wanted to offer a flavor of them all in one place so that a new visitor would know what to expect. It also will give me a chance to give words to the many beauties that I could not contain in a photograph.

Enjoy the posts!