Topic Wiki

Please post your questions in the correct thread. This thread, as the title clearly states, is for general Hawaii questions only.

If you have any questions that pertains to a particular island, post it in the appropriate island thread. See below for links to all island threads.

You'd get far better answers there, and chances are that your issue was already discussed at length too.

DansMeals: Hawaii For The Kosher Traveler:
-Part 1: General Info And The Island Of Oahu
-Part 2: The Big Island of Hawaii
-Part 3: Maui
-Part 4: Kauai

Related DD Posts:
-Ultimate Hawaii Mileage Chart and Everything You Need to Know About the Hawaiian Islands (2015)
-Trip Notes: Maui No Ka ‘Oi (2014)
-Trip Notes Kauai: Heaven On Earth (2014)
-The Hawaiian Islands. (2011)
-Traveling To Hawaii…With A 5 Month Old (2011)
-View From The Room (2011)
-Pearl Harbor…70 Years (2011)
-Shaloha! (2011)
-Hawaii Trip Notes: Kauai (2009)
-Hawaii Trip Notes: Oahu (2009)
-Which Miles To Use To Fly To Hawaii?

Related DDF Destination Threads:
-Big Island Of Hawaii Master Thread
-Kauai Master Thread
-Maui Master Thread
-Oahu Master Thread
-Lanai, Molokai, and Niihau, Hawaii Master Thread

Background on Hawaiian Islands
You've probably heard of Honolulu. That's the state capital and is located on island of Oahu, the main island with the largest airport. Honolulu hosts the famous Waikiki Beach and if you look at pictures, it looks like Miami. One long beach with a strip of hotels. Most DDFers say to go to one of the other 3 main islands which are less touristy and the hotels are more spread out. In no particular order, the other islands are Maui, Kauai and Hawaii (yes, that's the name of one of the islands. It's also known as The Big Island - confusing because Big Island sounds like it's the "Main Island", but Oahu is the main island). Direct flights from NYC only go to HNL. You can get direct flights from other cities (LAX, SFO, OAK, SJC, SAN, DEN, DFW, PHX, SEA, ORD as examples) to the other islands. Hawaii is amazing - have fun! The main airport codes are:
Oahu: HNL
Maui: OGG
Kauai: LIH
The Big Island: KOA, ITO (2 airports on 2 different sides of the island)

Interisland flights:
Hawaiian is the main interisland carrier and flies HNL, LIH, OGG, KOA, and ITO. They have countless flights each day and are nearly always on time - often even early. Never book a tight connection hoping that the interisland flight will be delayed.

Go and Island Air fly from HNL. Mokulele flies from HNL and KOA, as well as to Kapalua (JHM), Hana (HNM), Molokai (MKK), Lanai (LNY), and Waimea-Kohala (MUE) on the Big Island. Hawaiian's subsidiary Ohana flies HNL to MKK and LNY.

You can also use 5k AA, 6k UA or 7.5k HA miles each way to fly interisland. You can use 15k DL pesos for a RT interisland. United allows a free stopover on a round-trip, so for instance you can fly HNL-LIH-OGG-HNL for just 12K miles.
HA has several tiers, similar to DL, the lowest tier is the only one that's available using partner miles, but with HA miles you can purchase tickets that are otherwise unavailable for additional miles.

@Yehuda's thoughts on deciding between Kauai and Maui:
Here's a list of the main activities on both islands. Decide what interests you, and then you'll know where to go.

Kauai has what many say to be one of the best hikes in the world - Kalalau Trail. Most people will only do the first part, but it's still very highly regarded. The views atop Waimea Canyon are breathtaking, yet Maui also has breathtaking views at Haleakala. Kauai also has some supposedly awesome off-roading on Miloli'i Ridge Road. Sunset at the 12-mile long Polihale Beach is supposed to be quite the sunset. A helicopter tour of Kauai is generally said to be much better than a heli tour of Maui. If the water is calm, Queen's Bath, which is a natural pool in the ocean you can swim in that's protected from the ocean's force by hardened lava, is SICK, but Maui has the same thing by the Olivine Pools. Kayaking down the Wailua River to "Secret Falls" is supposed to be great as well. Of course, the luxurious, tropical amazingness of the Grand Hyatt Kauai is a huge boost for Kauai, except for its beach, but the great Po'ipu Beach is 5 minutes away.

Maui has the Road to Hana, which is an incredible drive through what feels like a rainforest with tons of opportunities to take small hikes to waterfalls and pools. It's just wow wow wow. Sunrise at the top Haleakala is not to be missed. A boat trip to snorkel by Molokini Crater offers what is supposedly some of the best snorkeling visibility in the world. Warren & Annabelle's Magic Show is supposed to be a great night out. The hotels are also magical, perhaps to a lesser degree than GHK, but the beaches by the main hotels are a big plus over GHK's beach. EDIT: The Grand Wailea in Maui is a gorgeous hotel that rivals the GHK (and its lazy river actually moves as opposed to GHK's ). Add in the fact that its beach (Wailea Beach) is swimmable and doesn't require the albeit short drive to Po'ipu Beach that the GHK does, I'm not sure that the GHK should be a reason enough to tip the scales in favor of Kauai over Maui anymore.

So, pick the types of activities you'd want to do and then you'll have your island. I personally liked Maui better mostly because of the Road to Hana, but to be fair, I did miss out on the Kalalau Trail in Kauai due to weather.
« Last edited by jj1000 on December 25, 2023, 10:30:33 AM »

Author Topic: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?  (Read 485072 times)

Offline enwhycee

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #2180 on: May 23, 2018, 01:25:47 PM »
Booked for late August:

LAX-HNL DL 26K
Hilton Hawaii Village Waikiki HH 52K
HNL-KOA AA 7.5K
Timeshare (wedding gift)
KOA-OGG AA 7.5K
Waldorf Astoria HH 95K
Airbnb $232
OGG-LAX BA 12.5K

Can't Wait!!!

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #2181 on: May 23, 2018, 01:48:55 PM »
Booked for late August:

LAX-HNL DL 26K
Hilton Hawaii Village Waikiki HH 52K
HNL-KOA AA 7.5K
Timeshare (wedding gift)
KOA-OGG AA 7.5K
Waldorf Astoria HH 95K
Airbnb $232
OGG-LAX BA 12.5K

Can't Wait!!!
Congratulations, but 2 days in Maui is very little, you might want to stick to one Island

Offline enwhycee

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #2182 on: May 23, 2018, 02:11:07 PM »
Thanks. Will be 3 days in Maui.

2 nights in the Airbnb.

$85 per night plus fees.

Offline mordechain

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #2183 on: June 13, 2018, 08:52:25 PM »
There isn't necessarily any more vog now. Even if there's a catastrophic explosion, it'll be a steam explosion and won't last long.
Any thoughts on going next week? Today, Air quality in Kona is moderate or 68. New York is 17 Fwiw

Offline farmbochur

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #2184 on: July 03, 2018, 02:35:56 PM »
Booked Thurs-Thurs RT to KOA. Think it's worth visiting Maui as well?
Risk is opportunity

Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #2185 on: July 03, 2018, 02:37:00 PM »
Booked Thurs-Thurs RT to KOA. Think it's worth visiting Maui as well?
The general recommendation is to only do 1 island unless you're going for closer to 10 days.

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #2186 on: July 03, 2018, 02:38:57 PM »
The general recommendation is to only do 1 island unless you're going for closer to 10 days.
+1.
More than enough to do on TBI for a week.
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline farmbochur

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #2187 on: July 03, 2018, 04:28:28 PM »
What are the go-to hotel options on the big island?
Risk is opportunity

Offline shaulyaakov

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #2188 on: July 03, 2018, 05:05:56 PM »
Booked Thurs-Thurs RT to KOA. Think it's worth visiting Maui as well?
If you've never been, you could do a day in Honolulu on the way back for pearl harbor and Waikiki.

Offline farmbochur

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #2189 on: July 03, 2018, 05:08:14 PM »
If you've never been, you could do a day in Honolulu on the way back for pearl harbor and Waikiki.
Flying non stop between main land and KOA in both directions.
Risk is opportunity

Offline Aerial Dag

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #2190 on: July 03, 2018, 05:25:05 PM »
Is there an updated post on getting to hawaii with award travel? Dan's post is from 2012 (http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/22142)

Offline mmgfarb

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #2191 on: July 03, 2018, 05:49:04 PM »
Any way to get free bags on an award ticket with HA?
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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #2192 on: July 03, 2018, 05:50:05 PM »
What are the go-to hotel options on the big island?
i stayed in the Hilton pre DDF and liked it.

Offline farmbochur

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #2193 on: July 03, 2018, 06:02:54 PM »
i stayed in the Hilton pre DDF and liked it.
I probably would've liked it pre DDF as well :)

Now that I'm post DDF, this itinerary doesn't seem so up my alley:

2 hour drive to CLE
CLE-EWR-LAX-KOA coach
7 nights at Hilton Waikoloa Village
KOA-SFO-CLE in coach
2 hour drive home

Thinking I'd rather save my limited vacation days for something more aspirational once the new SPG chart kicks in.
Risk is opportunity

Offline shaulyaakov

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #2194 on: July 03, 2018, 06:11:34 PM »
I probably would've liked it pre DDF as well :)

Now that I'm post DDF, this itinerary doesn't seem so up my alley:

2 hour drive to CLE
CLE-EWR-LAX-KOA coach
7 nights at Hilton Waikoloa Village
KOA-SFO-CLE in coach
2 hour drive home

Thinking I'd rather save my limited vacation days for something more aspirational once the new SPG chart kicks in.
What's wrong with 7 nights in Hawaii?

Offline jomaster28

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #2195 on: July 06, 2018, 12:50:38 PM »

Offline E R K

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #2196 on: July 06, 2018, 04:37:38 PM »
What are the go-to hotel options on the big island?

Fairmont Orchid - Absolutely Fabulous!

Offline mmgfarb

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #2197 on: July 12, 2018, 11:01:13 PM »
So as of now, I'm flying into KOA on a Monday at around 2:30 PM and flying out of HNL on Sunday morning, I'm thinking of actually changing my plan and doing OGG instead of KOA so I can stay there until M"S and only have to spend one night in HNL before leaving. My question is whether I should fly directly to OGG on Monday or stay one day on KOA and just fly to OGG early Tuesday morning. The earliest I could get into OGG is 4:10 PM on Monday which wouldn't give me a lot of time to do much that day anyway. Does it make sense to do one day in KOA or am I overcomplicating this?
"JS [is] a fetid cesspool of unvarnished linguistic manure, with lots of useless drivel and post-padding." -Moishebatchy

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #2198 on: July 12, 2018, 11:13:56 PM »
So as of now, I'm flying into KOA on a Monday at around 2:30 PM and flying out of HNL on Sunday morning, I'm thinking of actually changing my plan and doing OGG instead of KOA so I can stay there until M"S and only have to spend one night in HNL before leaving. My question is whether I should fly directly to OGG on Monday or stay one day on KOA and just fly to OGG early Tuesday morning. The earliest I could get into OGG is 4:10 PM on Monday which wouldn't give me a lot of time to do much that day anyway. Does it make sense to do one day in KOA or am I overcomplicating this?
I wouldn't  bother with traveling back and forth to the airport. 410 is a fine time to land and get to the hotel to sleep and then maybe go to Haleakala for sunrise. Jetlag could work in your favor here.

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #2199 on: July 12, 2018, 11:17:28 PM »
Could drive up Mauna Kaa for sunset.
Or take a heli tour of the volcano.
Definitely what to do for a night.

Why OGG over LIH?
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.