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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 484903 times)

Offline alpicone

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #880 on: July 31, 2014, 04:21:51 PM »
As I said, everyone I've seen who has posted about actually trying it has written that HA sent the luggage on through, even post-6/1/2012.

Just did it from LIH-LAX-JFK as recently as 7/8/2014. No issues of questions. I just gave them both printed itineraries from HA and DL and they tagged it all the way through.

They even use a nice little green tag that says interline that lets them know which bags need to be transferred.

Offline joey123

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #881 on: August 06, 2014, 02:32:02 AM »
Don't have the time to read through this whole thread now, but I am starting to plan a trip to Hawaii. What's the cheapest way to fly with miles in business? Any help would be Appreciated. I have a lot of diff types of miles, so that shouldn't be a problem
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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #882 on: August 06, 2014, 08:58:41 AM »
Outdated, but close enough:
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/22142
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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #883 on: August 06, 2014, 12:16:33 PM »
Outdated, but close enough:
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/22142

Much appreciated. I knew there must have been something written about it, but couldn't locate on the forums. YOu can never forget about DDMS :)
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Offline skyguy918

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #885 on: August 07, 2014, 10:20:43 AM »
I almost made a big mistake booking my inter-island flights. I have around 12k in an AA account and 100k or so in a UA account, so I was planning on booking one way with AA (10k for the 2 of us) and the other with UA (12k for the 2 of us). But I was spacing out, waiting to long to pick exact times, and after booking OGG-HNL on UA without issue, I tried to book HNL-OGG with AA only to realize that flight is within 21 days and would require $150 in fees (the OGG-HNL is still more than 21 days out).

Luckily someone reminded me about the UA 21 day fee trick, and I was able my OGG-HNL UA booking to HNL-OGG on the earlier date, without incurring any additional fees. Then I just booked the OGG-HNL leg with AA. Phew.

Offline dvol

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #886 on: August 12, 2014, 12:48:38 PM »
Just did it from LIH-LAX-JFK as recently as 7/8/2014. No issues of questions. I just gave them both printed itineraries from HA and DL and they tagged it all the way through.

They even use a nice little green tag that says interline that lets them know which bags need to be transferred.

Did you check in online or only at the airport?

Offline alpicone

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #887 on: August 12, 2014, 01:47:00 PM »
Did you check in online or only at the airport?

At the airport.

Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #888 on: August 27, 2014, 10:57:53 AM »
OK Gentleman (and Ladies), it's time to start thinking about HI.

We're talking winter time - hopefully January - for a week. I'm not sure which dates will work yet with work, but I hope to be able to take off a week. But dates later, now, let's talk about the where.

I know nothing about HI other than there is way more to do than just a week's worth, but that's all we'll practically be able to have. At the same time, for this trip, we have no interest in doing activities - jeeping or Dole or whatever else there is to do. We want to sit on the beach every day for a week. :) What I would ideally ideally like (and I don't know if this exists in HI with points) is a place that gets us access to a private beach. Does that exist? What's our best bet?

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #889 on: August 27, 2014, 11:10:20 AM »
OK Gentleman (and Ladies), it's time to start thinking about HI.

We're talking winter time - hopefully January - for a week. I'm not sure which dates will work yet with work, but I hope to be able to take off a week. But dates later, now, let's talk about the where.

I know nothing about HI other than there is way more to do than just a week's worth, but that's all we'll practically be able to have. At the same time, for this trip, we have no interest in doing activities - jeeping or Dole or whatever else there is to do. We want to sit on the beach every day for a week. :) What I would ideally ideally like (and I don't know if this exists in HI with points) is a place that gets us access to a private beach. Does that exist? What's our best bet?

If all you want to do is sit on a beach for a week it is pointless (IMHO) to fly 11-12 hours each way for that.  I'd rather go to Florida or the Caribbean. 
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Offline Something Fishy

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #890 on: August 27, 2014, 11:12:17 AM »
We want to sit on the beach every day for a week. :) What I would ideally ideally like (and I don't know if this exists in HI with points) is a place that gets us access to a private beach. Does that exist? What's our best bet?

No such thing as a private beach per se in Hawaii; all beaches are state-owned. There are however many beaches where you could be the only person in sight for hours and hours.

If all you want is quiet beach time check out Lanai. You'll feel your bones melting as soon as you get there. You could drive a jeep right up to the sand on Shipwreck beach and have it all to yourself, all day. There are countless turtles, lots of shade, beautiful views of Moloka'i across the channel, and it's often swimmable (all this as opposed to, for example, Polihale on Kauai).
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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #891 on: August 27, 2014, 11:13:15 AM »
If you just want to sit on a beach for a week then find a private house in FL on VRBO or airbnb that's on the beach.
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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #892 on: August 27, 2014, 11:13:27 AM »
If all you want to do is sit on a beach for a week it is pointless (IMHO) to fly 11-12 hours each way for that.  I'd rather go to Florida or the Caribbean.

Actually was just gonna add that as an ETA to my post. There are plenty of nice beaches which are closer and cheaper.
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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #893 on: August 27, 2014, 11:20:38 AM »
I thought that Hawaii beaches were incomparable?

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #894 on: August 27, 2014, 11:21:10 AM »
But there's so much else to do. & that's a lot of flying to just sit by a beach.

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #895 on: August 27, 2014, 11:26:11 AM »
I thought that Hawaii beaches were incomparable?
There's no beach worth flying 12 hours for IMHO.  The beaches are the icing on the cake.
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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #896 on: August 27, 2014, 11:29:10 AM »
Okay, but we also don't want to be running around even close to how we were in Europe. I'm not sure what kind of activities there are to do, but we're not looking for hikes or other "active" activities.

So let's say we have a day or two with nothing planned as beach days, what place would be best to do that and also be close to activities for the other 2-3 days?

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #897 on: August 27, 2014, 11:31:17 AM »
Okay, but we also don't want to be running around even close to how we were in Europe. I'm not sure what kind of activities there are to do, but we're not looking for hikes or other "active" activities.

So let's say we have a day or two with nothing planned as beach days, what place would be best to do that and also be close to activities for the other 2-3 days?

I'd suggest reading the threads dedicated to specific islands.  Everyone has their own opinion as to which island is best. 
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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #898 on: August 27, 2014, 11:31:34 AM »
Okay, but we also don't want to be running around even close to how we were in Europe. I'm not sure what kind of activities there are to do, but we're not looking for hikes or other "active" activities.

So let's say we have a day or two with nothing planned as beach days, what place would be best to do that and also be close to activities for the other 2-3 days?

Maui has some great "passive" activities. Whale watching, Road to Hana, Haleakala sunrise, etc.
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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #899 on: August 27, 2014, 11:33:14 AM »
I'd suggest reading the threads dedicated to specific islands.  Everyone has their own opinion as to which island is best.

Well this is the "which island to visit?" thread :P...
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