Hawaii Vacation Specialist-Chris

With 4-5 nights –suggested just one island
6 + nights–2 islands
9+ nights–3 islands
12+ nights–4 islands

Unless doing a hawaii cruise.  The shortest length of cruise is 7 nights for hawaii and will begin and end in oahu and go to maui, kauai and the big island (both kona and hilo).  So if wanting to see as many islands as you can in the shortest period of time a cruise is the way to go.  With 7 nights air/land package it is not possible to see that many islands in that period of time.

But how do you chose which island or islands you would like to visit?

Well for starters if you don’t know what island you want to visit we generally ask some questions to get a better feel for what you are looking for.

Things like..

*are you traveling with children? and how old are they?
*Are there any main activities that you really wanted to see while in hawaii?
*Do you want to stay away from the city and prefer a quieter island? or do you like the nightlife aspect as well as seeing the beauty of hawaii?
*Is a great beach in close proximity important to you?

These sorts of things are important in deciding which island you should visit.

For Oahu it is the most citylike.  So for those wanting away from a city oahu is probably not the place to go unless you chose to stay at the few resorts outside of waikiki, however if you are looking for a more moderate or budget price then waikiki for price sake is the best way to go.  Sometimes though people don’t want too much city but they want to see many things that are only found on that island such as Pearl Harbor, Polynesian Cultural center, diamond head crater and recently a lot of requests to do the swim with dolphins activity which is at sea life park on oahu, then well if most of those things are on your list for hawaii then really you will have to go to oahu.  If you are having enough time to do 2 islands though you can certainly go to oahu to see all those activities in which you had wanted and then fly to a quieter island next.

Generally traveling with children I suggest oahu or maui as those 2 islands normally have more for children expecially younger children to do and keep busy.

If beach is a big factor then generally I go with maui and oahu also.  The big island is more so known for their active volcano and not so much their beach.  There are a few properties that have beautiful beaches, but often times you will find while a hotel may be oceanfront, doesn’t necessarily mean the beach is swimmable sandy beach on their property.  Kauai there are also many places where the beach is not swimmable because of the reef and sometimes the currents also tend to be strong.  I say down in poipu area the beaches are the most swimmable (south kauai).  Maui has so much beach and many properties in maui are oceanfront or very close to it as well as oahu you can find swimmable beaches just about anywhere you go.  There are many surfing beaches such as the north shore and sandy beach so again you need to watch for posted signs of very high surf as if you are inexperienced it could be dangerous for you.

I think of kauai as kind of an outdoorsy island.  You see a lot of lush greenery, but there are many outdoor activities to do there.  Tubing adventure, hiking, ziplining, ATV riding and horseback riding.  This island would be great for people who are active and like to do things like that as well as romantic, quiet for those honeymooners and anniversary couples who really want a quiet romantic vacation with great scenery.

For maui I think of it is a great place to enjoy beach as well as a little city life.  It’s definately not as citylike as oahu is though.  With a lot of great beaches to go , yet being able to go to lahaina on front street for some oceanfront shopping and dining, kihei with outdoor shopping as well.  They have a place there that is great for sounvenier shopping, I kind of compare it to a miniature international marketplace that is in waikiki.  As well as great bars and grills located right there in the area.  I know a lot of people say I’m not there to go shopping in hawaii, but it’s not typical shopping like at a mall.  There are even some things that you can’t find other places.  I know my favorite store in maui "serendipity" is only found on the island of maui and they make beautiful hawaiian print clothes for women.  The nice thing is they are not touristy clothes, they are the kinds of things the locals would wear so you could very well take them home and use them where you are from as well for a nice evening out.

For Oahu it is the most citylike and well for me personally my two favorites are maui and oahu.  Oahu will always have a special place in my heart because that is my home.  While it may be citylike it has so much to offer and really is a beautiful place.  You can find just about anything and everything you want on oahu.  Shopping is great, nightlife is great, beaches are great, food is wonderful!  So for those wanting some of both I suggest oahu.  While a lot of people say I don’t want to go to the city, I do get my share of those that say I dont’ want something too quiet and I do like nighlife as well.  Then definately oahu would be my choice of islands.  Also generally if you are on a budget oahu tends to be the least expensive island to visit.

The Big Island.  The Big Island for me is for those wanting to see an active volcano.  maybe go star gazing at the NASA scope.  Enjoy some rounds of golf. Not a lot of night life, not a lot of shopping, not a lot of city.  But again if you are looking for a lot of beach time and just want to walk out of your hotel and be at the beach, unless you are willing to spend a little more for some place like the hapuna beach or maybe the marriott then the big island is not the place for you.  If you are okay driving a little ways to get to the beach and don’t have to be necessarily able to walk right out from your hotel then the big island would be fine for you.  However also we do get a lot of inquires for " all inclusive" hawaii. 

As we have gone over many times, we do have an all inclusive oahu package 6 nights/ 7 days, includes, transfers, meals, and activities.  There are multi island all inclusive packages depending on the length of stay will depend on what islands they visit.  9 nights usually oahu, kauai and maui, 12 nights usually oahu, kauai, maui and the big island.  However generally with air those packages can run about $3500.00 per person.  The resorts used are nice 5 star properties in those packages.  Or the kona village resort which is located on the big island in kona.  This resort is all meals included, non motorized water sports, they have a beach on property and they also offer their luau at a very discounted rate for their guests.  Many people do inquire about that property and if wanting something like that then the big island is where you will have to stay.

Lanai is known as the luxury island.  Molokai and Lanai I say if you want to get away from it all.  Go to someplace very quiet, you love to golf, and just want to sit out and relax on the beach with just about no one around to bother you then molokai and lanai may be the place for you.  Keeping in mind there are 2 hotels in lanai.  So if you are looking for a budget vacation then lanai is not the place for you.  Both properties in lanai are four seasons so you won’t find a "budget" hotel there.

So when deciding a travel agent can help you make those decisions, but it helps if you think about what you want to do beforehand.  I get so many that say I just want to go to the beach.  Well I mean you could do that on many islands so it doesn’t exactly help us to help you choose which island if that is all we have to go on unless you already know which island you want to visit.

Day trips are also a possiblity.  I have done many day trips for people adding them to their itineraries.  I have had people staying in oahu, but wanting to see the volcano so I get them a roundtrip flight from honolulu to hilo and a car for the day.  People going from oahu to kauai to do the movie tour they really wanted to do in kauai, so same there.  I have even had people staying in maui for a wedding, but wanting to do the dolphin encounter on oahu.  So we booked their flights, got them a car and booked their dolphin swim for them…when they were done they flew back to maui that evening and continued the rest of their trip.  So it’s not unheard of to do a day trip to another island just for that day.  The flights are short only about 35-45 minutes depending on which island to which and if doing a day trip, probably no bags makes the travel even easier and quicker for you.  That is usually what I suggest if majority of the things you want to do are on one island, but there is just one thing you want to do on another island.

So if you have done your research and know what you want to do that is helpful for travel agents to help you decide which island(s) you should visit.