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 484867 times)

Offline Something Fishy

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #1020 on: December 04, 2014, 03:26:08 PM »

That last part didn't mean that SFO-HNL is lie-flat did it?

There's one UA per day SFO-HNL on the 767 lie-flat. Schedule works out nicely of connecting from JFK.
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Offline Dan

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #1021 on: December 04, 2014, 03:26:23 PM »
Thing is, my impression from your TR's is that out of the 4 islands, those 2 are the least 'honeymoonish' if you will ;).
True, but you don't have many options if you need a minyan.
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 Galitzyaner

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #1022 on: December 04, 2014, 03:38:50 PM »
True, but you don't have many options if you need a minyan.
You wrote that Chabad of Kauai has started attempting to have a Shabbos minyan. Any update?
Any idea what the chances are in January?

Thanks!

Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #1023 on: December 04, 2014, 03:39:32 PM »
There's one UA per day SFO-HNL on the 767 lie-flat. Schedule works out nicely of connecting from JFK.
Thanks! When the time comes it will be good to know that if I can't find the EWR-HNL option, there is another all-lie flat route.

Offline Dan

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #1024 on: December 04, 2014, 03:45:52 PM »
You wrote that Chabad of Kauai has started attempting to have a Shabbos minyan. Any update?
Any idea what the chances are in January?

Thanks!
From what I heard he never gets a minyan.
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 @Yehuda

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #1025 on: December 04, 2014, 03:49:45 PM »
I had cousins that went this summer and went to KOA for Shabbos and there wasn't much of a Minyan. My cousin ended up "laining" for them because there was no one else to do it.

Offline Dan

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #1026 on: December 04, 2014, 03:54:06 PM »
I had cousins that went this summer and went to KOA for Shabbos and there wasn't much of a Minyan. My cousin ended up "laining" for them because there was no one else to do it.
See, the thing about a minyan is either there is one or there isn't ;)
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Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #1027 on: December 04, 2014, 03:54:56 PM »
See, the thing about a minyan is either there is one or there isn't ;)
Ok ok well there were 10 men, but none of them were prepared to lain, so it wasn't so much of a "shul", let's say. :)

Offline E-MAN

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #1028 on: December 04, 2014, 04:00:29 PM »
See, the thing about a minyan is either there is one or there isn't ;)
I learned from my shabbos stay at HNL Chabad that you can have men "davening" that you think are part of a minyan, but they aren't actually Jewish at all.

Offline efflpetzel

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #1029 on: December 04, 2014, 08:59:43 PM »
You wrote that Chabad of Kauai has started attempting to have a Shabbos minyan. Any update?
Any idea what the chances are in January?

Thanks!
you probably have a bigger chance of having a minyan at the GHK then at chabad in January



Ok ok well there were 10 men, but none of them were prepared to lain, so it wasn't so much of a "shul", let's say. :)
what do you expect? 50-60 people in shul on shabbos in KOA

Offline Something Fishy

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #1030 on: December 04, 2014, 09:08:05 PM »
Are DL's seats out of ATL on biz so much better than UA out of EWR that it's worth making a stop?!  ;) Lol!

Not that you're likely to find availability on either >:( >:( >:(...

Having flown both the A330 and 767 on my last trip (both DL, but I beleive that the UA 767 is pretty much identical) I could say that for me personally it would be worth it. The 767 just doesn't compare to the A330 in space, comfort, and privacy.
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Offline Something Fishy

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #1031 on: December 04, 2014, 09:24:14 PM »
Fishy, thank you very much for your input, I appreciate it. Firstly, we already did the Caribbean, now we're on to the next. I agree it's too little time, but for all intents and purposes I don't have a better option. I mean, how many times can we go to Miami, Cali, and the Caribbean for a few days?! We'll let this trip whet our palate for another time.

Secondly, my thought was to fly business for the very reason that we shouldn't arrive exhausted, though I know that does't always work that way...

Re. flying nonstop, sorry if I wasn't clear. Obviously I don't expect to fly direct to Maui or any other island, I meant to HNL, and from there my question was and is, which island(s) should we spend our time on, taking a Shabbos minyan into consideration (but w/o being stranded on Oahu). Re. Shabbos, we plan on keeping one day.

So, which island? :)

TIA!

Then I'd recommend KOA.

- Possible Minyan
- You could see most of the major sights within your time limits
- You'll see both sides of Hawaii - the wild, barren one and the lush, paradise one. Whetting your palate indeed ;)
- The lava flow being very active now makes for perfect timing and the potential for very interesting memories

A possible itinerary would be:
Wed. - arrive KOA and stock up.
Thu. - relax, snorkel/dive the otherworldly Kona beaches, sunset and stargazing on Mauna Kea.
Fri. - explore the north side and prepare for Shabbos.
Sha. - Shabbos.
Sun. - Volcanoes National Park. Overnight on the Hilo side.
Mon. - explore the lush coast, Waipio Valley, etc. Leave from ITO.

Some variance maybe depending on whether you want to spend one night in a different place, one-way car issues, or if you'd rather do Mauna Kea towards the end (may work out better jet lag-wise).
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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #1032 on: December 05, 2014, 12:51:29 AM »
Then I'd recommend KOA.

- Possible Minyan
- You could see most of the major sights within your time limits
- You'll see both sides of Hawaii - the wild, barren one and the lush, paradise one. Whetting your palate indeed ;)
- The lava flow being very active now makes for perfect timing and the potential for very interesting memories

A possible itinerary would be:
Wed. - arrive KOA and stock up.
Thu. - relax, snorkel/dive the otherworldly Kona beaches, sunset and stargazing on Mauna Kea.
Fri. - explore the north side and prepare for Shabbos.
Sha. - Shabbos.
Sun. - Volcanoes National Park. Overnight on the Hilo side.
Mon. - explore the lush coast, Waipio Valley, etc. Leave from ITO.

Some variance maybe depending on whether you want to spend one night in a different place, one-way car issues, or if you'd rather do Mauna Kea towards the end (may work out better jet lag-wise).
Thank you so much Fishy!  You're super!!!
Would just note, we won't be doing any water sports. So that should loosen the proposed schedule a bit. (BTW, is the beach water pleasantly warm in the winter?)

Do you think I can stick in a day of Kauai? Or Maui?

Offline Something Fishy

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #1033 on: December 05, 2014, 12:53:27 AM »
Thank you so much Fishy!  You're super!!!

Pleasure.

(BTW, is the beach water pleasantly warm in the winter?)

Yes.

Do you think I can stick in a day of Kauai? Or Maui?

You gotta be kidding :P.
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Offline Galitzyaner

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Offline Something Fishy

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #1035 on: December 05, 2014, 01:02:15 AM »
Nope! 8)

Oy oy...

Sure you could; you could also spend 4 hours on each of the Hawaiian islands if you choose to. But gosh, why? You won't enjoy a single one if you're constantly running around.
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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #1036 on: December 05, 2014, 01:23:06 AM »
A possible itinerary would be:
Wed. - arrive KOA and stock up.
Thu. - relax, snorkel/dive the otherworldly Kona beaches, sunset and stargazing on Mauna Kea.
Fri. - explore the north side and prepare for Shabbos.
Sha. - Shabbos.
Sun. - Volcanoes National Park. Overnight on the Hilo side.
Mon. - explore the lush coast, Waipio Valley, etc. Leave from ITO.

So cool to have the trip all planned for you, Galitzyaner it's meant to be.

Offline Something Fishy

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #1037 on: December 05, 2014, 01:48:27 AM »
So cool to have the trip all planned for you, Galitzyaner it's meant to be.

@Galitzyaner, you now owe me $20.
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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #1038 on: December 05, 2014, 02:09:44 AM »
@Galitzyaner, you now owe me $20.

Lol :D You still gotta find him the award space to get there..

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Re: Hawaii Master Thread: General Questions And Which Island To Visit?
« Reply #1039 on: December 05, 2014, 03:49:16 AM »
Anyone have idea on how 2 PP can go from NYC - Hawaii (visit 2 islands) + hotel/apt rental leaving on Thurs 1/15 and returning on Sat night 1/24 for $2500-3000?