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 485276 times)

Offline jaywhy

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #640 on: January 14, 2014, 03:08:03 PM »
Time?
9:58pm HST.
Seems like to the last flight of the day departs at 9:51pm.
Only way we could get there earlier is if we manage to SDC and get on the DL ATL-HNL flight which lands at 3:49pm.

Offline Tzadik Nistar

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #641 on: January 14, 2014, 03:30:36 PM »
Reason for returning to Oahu for Shabbos is because it seems from my reading that keeping Shabbos in the Oahu hotels is a lot easier than keeping it in Kauai hotels.
Regarding Shul and food you are right its better in Oahu, but regarding hotels its very hard to find hotels in Oahu that don't have sensors in the staircase.

Offline jaywhy

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #642 on: January 14, 2014, 04:17:17 PM »
Regarding Shul and food you are right its better in Oahu, but regarding hotels its very hard to find hotels in Oahu that don't have sensors in the staircase.
Which hotels in Kauai are optimal for a Shabbos stay?

Offline Dan

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #643 on: January 14, 2014, 04:21:21 PM »
I don't think it's worth shlepping to LIH for just 2 days.  Will just have you wanting more.

I would either stay in Oahu where there's plenty to keep you busy or maybe go to ITO for 2 days where you can see the volcano and Mauna Kea and check it off your list.
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 Dan

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #644 on: January 14, 2014, 04:21:53 PM »
Regarding Shul and food you are right its better in Oahu, but regarding hotels its very hard to find hotels in Oahu that don't have sensors in the staircase.
Hyatt, Royal Hawaiian, Ala Moana, etc, etc.
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 Elgnt

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #645 on: January 14, 2014, 05:07:09 PM »
Called Delta. They wont put my bags through from the glitch tickets to a hawaiian ticket. They said even if I book the hnl-lih flight from them on miles on hawaiian Ill still have to go claim my bags and recheck them. Side point Delta does offer interisland flights for only 15000 miles round trip good way to burn those pesos

Offline jaywhy

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #646 on: January 15, 2014, 11:00:26 AM »
I don't think it's worth shlepping to LIH for just 2 days.  Will just have you wanting more.

I would either stay in Oahu where there's plenty to keep you busy or maybe go to ITO for 2 days where you can see the volcano and Mauna Kea and check it off your list.
What about if we went to LIH for 5 nights including Shabbos and spent 2 days on Oahu instead?
I'd much rather spend time in Kauai than Oahu, especially if we can split our time between St Regis and GHK.

Offline jaywhy

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #647 on: January 15, 2014, 03:36:20 PM »
How long of a connect time do we need between LIH-HNL-LAX? Assuming no interlining.

ETA: EF says 1:15 for an D/D offline connection at HNL. Does that make sense?
« Last Edit: January 15, 2014, 03:40:38 PM by jaywhy »

Offline Something Fishy

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #648 on: January 15, 2014, 06:11:44 PM »
How long of a connect time do we need between LIH-HNL-LAX? Assuming no interlining.

ETA: EF says 1:15 for an D/D offline connection at HNL. Does that make sense?

Not sure of a time, but keep in mind that you'll also have to change terminals.
Check out my site for epic kosher adventures: Kosher Horizons

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #649 on: January 15, 2014, 08:20:48 PM »
Which company is the best for snorkeling to molokini in maui?

Offline E-MAN

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #650 on: January 16, 2014, 10:31:16 AM »
Which company is the best for snorkeling to molokini in maui?
http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=4.510
No need to post in both threads ;)

Offline ringsher

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #651 on: January 17, 2014, 01:45:00 PM »
I'm not sure if I should post in this thread or a specific island thread but here goes:

I've a few questions re: Hawaii as we are going there in February (thank you Dan!!)

 We will only be there for a little more than 4 days. We are considering traveling with a 15 month old (as opposed to leaving him with grandma) and have some questions:

1) Since we booked via our phone in order to buy the tiks before the price mistake got fixed, we only were able to book for coach seats and I stupidly didn't book a seat for my baby. Do they give bassinets in coach? Would they even fit a strapping 15 month old? How do parents travel with a toddler on the lap? When we called to ask for another seat they want to charge us full price (which they claim is over $1000!)

2) Is the weather appropriate in February to bring our baby to the beach? Will we be able to go into the water? From what I've researched it averages 70-80 degrees but I don't know if the water is warm enough.

3) We have already been to Waikiki before baby. So we wanted to go somewhere else. Does anyone know of a HOTEL which a kitchenette and has a beach suitable for children? I'm trying to see if there are any hotels I can use points for which have kitchens instead of shelling out for a condo. If Waikiki is the only beach that's suitable (due to the calm waters) for the baby then we will stay there again.

4) What do families do about renting cars? Apparently there's parking fees everywhere we looked.

Offline Ergel

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #652 on: January 17, 2014, 01:51:28 PM »
I'm not sure if I should post in this thread or a specific island thread but here goes:

I've a few questions re: Hawaii as we are going there in February (thank you Dan!!)

 We will only be there for a little more than 4 days. We are considering traveling with a 15 month old (as opposed to leaving him with grandma) and have some questions:

1) Since we booked via our phone in order to buy the tiks before the price mistake got fixed, we only were able to book for coach seats and I stupidly didn't book a seat for my baby. Do they give bassinets in coach? Would they even fit a strapping 15 month old? How do parents travel with a toddler on the lap? When we called to ask for another seat they want to charge us full price (which they claim is over $1000!)
No way a fifteen month old will fit. Leave her with grandma

Quote
2) Is the weather appropriate in February to bring our baby to the beach? Will we be able to go into the water? From what I've researched it averages 70-80 degrees but I don't know if the water is warm enough.
You'll probably be more sensitive to the water than the baby. They are adaptable creatures

Quote
3) We have already been to Waikiki before baby. So we wanted to go somewhere else. Does anyone know of a HOTEL which a kitchenette and has a beach suitable for children? I'm trying to see if there are any hotels I can use points for which have kitchens instead of shelling out for a condo. If Waikiki is the only beach that's suitable (due to the calm waters) for the baby then we will stay there again.
Get off HNL. Go to LIH or OGG

Quote
4) What do families do about renting cars? Apparently there's parking fees everywhere we looked.
Rent and pay the parking fee?
Life isn't about checking the boxes. Nobody cares.

Offline ringsher

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #653 on: January 18, 2014, 10:55:46 PM »
Lol thank you Ergel! I'm sure you're quite right about leaving him home but I can't bear the thought. Plus I imagine I'm going to get calls 2 days later begging us to come back!

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #654 on: January 18, 2014, 11:28:00 PM »
Lol thank you Ergel! I'm sure you're quite right about leaving him home but I can't bear the thought. Plus I imagine I'm going to get calls 2 days later begging us to come back!
It's good for your marriage. Just do it. You'll never regret it
Life isn't about checking the boxes. Nobody cares.

Offline Elgnt

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #655 on: January 23, 2014, 10:47:02 PM »
Which airline will be the best to fly to hawaii in Business. Obviously united direct from Ewr to HNL but if there is never saver award availabilty. Are there any other good business class ways to go from NY. I know Hawaiian first is really just a glorified regular class and might as well just fly regular and buy a exit seat for $75

Offline skyguy918

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #656 on: January 23, 2014, 10:56:23 PM »
Which airline will be the best to fly to hawaii in Business. Obviously united direct from Ewr to HNL but if there is never saver award availabilty. Are there any other good business class ways to go from NY. I know Hawaiian first is really just a glorified regular class and might as well just fly regular and buy a exit seat for $75
Are you asking specifically direct? Those are the only 2 options for that (United from EWR and Hawaiian from JFK).

Offline daganster

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #657 on: January 23, 2014, 11:00:22 PM »
Which airline will be the best to fly to hawaii in Business. Obviously united direct from Ewr to HNL but if there is never saver award availabilty. Are there any other good business class ways to go from NY. I know Hawaiian first is really just a glorified regular class and might as well just fly regular and buy a exit seat for $75
If it's not direct you can fly via Lax on AA's A321 which is quite nice.

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #658 on: January 23, 2014, 11:04:40 PM »
Obviously united direct from Ewr to HNL but if there is never saver award availabilty.
Lol. Had no problem booking 5 saver seats on several days recently.
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.

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #659 on: January 23, 2014, 11:08:08 PM »
What's the best way to fly from tel aviv to Hawaii coach.
We don't have enough points but possibly part of trip since we end a stopover in phl/newark on way up or back