Hawaii what to do and where to go ?

[bjstare]

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The Big Island is a lot different from Kauai. Unless the lava is actively flowing, or you absolutely love coffee, I'd much prefer to go to Kauai as it's much more lush and tropical feeling.

I posted my experience of all the major islands when I went a few years ago here (and the following page):

https://forums.beyond.ca/threads/347...85#post3915585

Agreed they're very different. I'd say the big island has more variety to offer, but like anything, the level of enjoyment is contingent on what you're into. There are lots of other things that are of interest but weren't in your writeup (e.g. going to the observatory, pololu valley, lava tubes), lava and coffee aren't even really the high points. (Well, Lava would be if you are lucky enough to be there when it's flowing, and if it's flowing at a location easy to get to. I've gone there annually to visit my parents since 2010, and not once have I seen lava. My cousin went to see them once a month after I did, and he walked right up to a lava flow.)

[msommers]

Very true, visiting the Mauna Kea Observatories would be fantastic.

[eblend]

Went to Kauai and the big island, as well as Oahu for work last year. Had two days on Big Island and an afternoon in Kauai, I must say, for me, the antisocial that i am, the big island was awesome. Felt very empty, rural feel to is, single lane highways, black lava rock on both sides, beautiful beaches. Didn't have enough time to go to the volcano but definitely will visit again. For me I enjoyed the laid back feel the most. Kauai I did the canyon drive, and it's very lush. Also did a beach a bit but the canyon drive, whatever it's called, was the highlight. Only had about 6 hours there, so didn't get much in. If Kauai is a tropical paradise, Big island is like a bare moon. Its a cool contrast. I also spent 7 days in Oahu in Honolulu as that's where our main office is, and it's just a big city really. He stayed at Waikiki beach so it was a short walk to the beach, so was cool, but we had a car so got to drive to north shore, did the old army steps hike, the big volcano hike, was fun, but it's completely different feel from the rest i visited. Overall it was $7800 i think for my portion. Wife came with but I obviously didn't bill my company for her meals. Stayed at $300-$350 per night hotels and meals + car rental on each island + flights there and in between. Just to give you an idea on costs. If i was do it it again on personal funds I would definitely spend less per day.

[2Legit2Quit]

Booked a 10 day trip for Kauai at the end of January 2022, decided to book a rental now that things are opening back up/normalizing.

Hope things don't go sideways later this year but can always cancel, holding off on booking airfare til later this year.

Anyone else got any Hawaii trips booked for this year/winter?

[killramos]

Do you guys mostly AirBnB in HI?

I’d like to do something like this next year but I’m usually more of a hotel person.

[2Legit2Quit]

I prefer house rentals on account I'm not one for hotels/resorts, so we usually book through VRBO...generally a few bucks cheaper than AirBNB due to fees.

We hit up Costco to buy our food/booze and eat like kings while we're there, way cheaper to cook most of your meals.

To each their own for preference though, we'll still go out for dinners now and then at our favorite spots but it's nice to grill some nice meals with friends/family on the trip with us.

[nismodrifter]

@kllramos. We have VRBOd in Hawaii. We've done that in Maui and love it. Being able to make my own breakfast and just relax on the balcony is a huge bonus that we really like. We regularly pack a lunch to go when we are headed for an outing, and then dinner we sometimes have out/sometimes make at home. I hate eating out for every freaking meal when on vacation.

In Waikiki we stayed at the Ilikai, in a suite that had a kitchen, but in this case you have all amenities of a hotel as well. That was good.

[npham]

Post 1st kid, the idea of having access to laundry and a full kitchen is really nice. You can always do a mix of hotels/rentals if you are checking out different parts of the island too so you get a bit of both. 1 week at the hotel and then 1 week at a rental.

[taemo]

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Booked a 10 day trip for Kauai at the end of January 2022, decided to book a rental now that things are opening back up/normalizing.

Hope things don't go sideways later this year but can always cancel, holding off on booking airfare til later this year.

Anyone else got any Hawaii trips booked for this year/winter?

booked for Oahu end of October and my parents are trying to book for Maui/Oahu at the same time.
have fun in Kauai, my favorite island for hiking!

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Do you guys mostly AirBnB in HI?

I’d like to do something like this next year but I’m usually more of a hotel person.

We booked some AirBNB and hotels in our upcoming trip, both have pros and cons but what we care for mostly is location and amenities, mostly airbnb though for more independence and no cleaners that bothers us during the day.
hotels if we want to be pampered with nice pool, view and food.

[navdeep]

we just booked for last week of October as well , hardest part is renting a car so expensive

[Manhattan]

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Went to Kauai and the big island, as well as Oahu for work last year. Had two days on Big Island and an afternoon in Kauai, I must say, for me, the antisocial that i am, the big island was awesome. Felt very empty, rural feel to is, single lane highways, black lava rock on both sides, beautiful beaches. Didn't have enough time to go to the volcano but definitely will visit again. For me I enjoyed the laid back feel the most. Kauai I did the canyon drive, and it's very lush. Also did a beach a bit but the canyon drive, whatever it's called, was the highlight. Only had about 6 hours there, so didn't get much in. If Kauai is a tropical paradise, Big island is like a bare moon. Its a cool contrast. I also spent 7 days in Oahu in Honolulu as that's where our main office is, and it's just a big city really. He stayed at Waikiki beach so it was a short walk to the beach, so was cool, but we had a car so got to drive to north shore, did the old army steps hike, the big volcano hike, was fun, but it's completely different feel from the rest i visited. Overall it was $7800 i think for my portion. Wife came with but I obviously didn't bill my company for her meals. Stayed at $300-$350 per night hotels and meals + car rental on each island + flights there and in between. Just to give you an idea on costs. If i was do it it again on personal funds I would definitely spend less per day.

Which company do you get to visit Hawaii for work?

[finboy]

My wedding looks like it actually might happen in mid October on Maui, I would imagine booking golf will be a nightmare

[bjstare]

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My wedding looks like it actually might happen in mid October on Maui, I would imagine booking golf will be a nightmare

Booking it won't be a nightmare, but paying for it will be. Exchange rate will dictate if it's a simple scary dream or full on night terror.

[npham]

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Booking it won't be a nightmare, but paying for it will be. Exchange rate will dictate if it's a simple scary dream or full on night terror.

Go baller and take the ferry over to play the Jack Nicklaus course on Lanai. The Plantation course is a lot of fun(4 putts are common) and then you get to enjoy watching the tournament each January, remembering how badly you played the hole. The other Four Seasons golf course is a lot more accessible and if you time it right, you can hit up the sushi place for their apple pie (it's amazing).

[RX_EVOLV]

Know a bunch of people who booked Waikiki for early November so we are deciding whether to tag along or go somewhere further like Europe.

If we go to Waikiki we will probably do a mix of hotel/AirBnb. Hotel for the first few nights in Waikiki so we can eat out and hit up the bars, then a house for a few nights to relax and do some outdoor stuff. The occupancy tax is making alot of the rentals look quite unattractive. All said and done it's like 25%+ for taxes and fees

[?????]

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we just booked for last week of October as well , hardest part is renting a car so expensive

Wow you're not kidding. Car rentals for Oahu seem to be 3-5x as much as it usually is.

[2Legit2Quit]

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Wow you're not kidding. Car rentals for Oahu seem to be 3-5x as much as it usually is.

The rental market is feeling the pain of chip shortages affecting new vehicles being manufactured as well.

Here's a blip on it: https://beatofhawaii.com/ten-ways-to...i-car-rentals/

State of Hawaii is down about 10,000 rental cars compared to last year/normal numbers. They most likely cycled their vehicles expecting to get new ones and unable to get them, so prices are ridonk right now.

[Mitsu3000gt]

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Know a bunch of people who booked Waikiki for early November so we are deciding whether to tag along or go somewhere further like Europe.

If we go to Waikiki we will probably do a mix of hotel/AirBnb. Hotel for the first few nights in Waikiki so we can eat out and hit up the bars, then a house for a few nights to relax and do some outdoor stuff. The occupancy tax is making alot of the rentals look quite unattractive. All said and done it's like 25%+ for taxes and fees

If I were you I'd go to Europe in November - it will be nice and quiet with kids in school, other Europeans are not on holiday, and weather will still be good. Waikiki is the single most unpleasant spot in all of Hawaii IMO unless you like insane crowds or want to shop for a new LV purse haha. Everyone and their dog is trying to go to Hawaii this Winter. Also a car rental is going to cost you around $2500 for 2 weeks from what I have seen (I looked at Kauai though - others could be different). If you really want to go, you can rent a U-Haul for cheaper haha.

We're probably going to France in September and cars are a much more normal $30 CAD/day for an Audi Q3 haha.

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Wow you're not kidding. Car rentals for Oahu seem to be 3-5x as much as it usually is.

From what I understand, the crazy car rental prices are due to lack of inventory because last year all the car rental companies got rid of most of their fleet, and now they can't re-acquiire them due to the overall CPU/vehicle shortage.

[RX_EVOLV]

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If I were you I'd go to Europe in November - it will be nice and quiet with kids in school, other Europeans are not on holiday, and weather will still be good. Waikiki is the single most unpleasant spot in all of Hawaii IMO unless you like insane crowds or want to shop for a new LV purse haha. Everyone and their dog is trying to go to Hawaii this Winter. Also a car rental is going to cost you around $2500 for 2 weeks from what I have seen (I looked at Kauai though)

We're probably going to France in September and cars are a much more normal $30 CAD/day for an Audi Q3 haha.

.
We love Waikiki. Eating some udon and doing some shopping during the day, then people watch on Waikiki beach and finish the night with a few drinks at the Duke's. Love it. At least for a few days anyway, then we go to North Shore to unwind for a few more days. Maybe 2-3 nights Waikiki, then 4-5 nights North Shore

[Mitsu3000gt]

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.
We love Waikiki. Eating some udon and doing some shopping during the day, then people watch on Waikiki beach and finish the night with a few drinks at the Duke's. Love it. At least for a few days anyway, then we go to North Shore to unwind for a few more days. Maybe 2-3 nights Waikiki, then 4-5 nights North Shore

Fair enough! Each to their own. Just look out for those car rentals though, we were going to go to Kauai in October but not if car rentals stay at $2500 for a couple weeks - usually it's $15/day or so there. Europe still has tons of dirt cheap car rentals still for this Fall last I checked. I looked at renting a Uhaul van in Hawaii and it was cheaper lol.