7 weeks in Hawaii overkill?

[Sydney Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close Sydney]

Just love the Big Mac Index. I found this 2013 Australian menu (unfortunately I don't know if it is accurate) can you comment on the prices please. (I'm hoping Sydney might know some prices)
http://principletraveler.blogspot.co...rice-list.html

Not sure. Our kids hate Maccas and refuse to eat there. 'The burgers are better at Hungry Jacks'.

Wanna adopt a 52 year old who never grew up?

Sure! We can hide you in one of our luggage.

I think you will really enjoy 5-6 weeks in Hawaii. I would do two weeks on the Big Island, then one to two weeks on Maui, one week each on Kauai and Oahu. Maybe come to SF or LA for a week or two in between. Be sure to let me know if you decide to come to SF. I would love to meet you and your family if I am in town

Definitely will do, if we end up in SF Lisa.

I would do it, especially in the winter. I seem to like warmer weather better than cold anymore. My wife wouldn't as she likes to visit the kids often. The only drawback for me is I might miss my dog.

We're leaving beautiful weather Sydney for the cold climate in the Northern hemisphere. One of our boys said he wants to travel Australia for 7 wks instead. But I just think that's a waste of long service leave!

Food and even supplies go to Oahu first then get boated to the other islands. A loaf a bread at a supermarket will shock you. Big Mac 3X the price as in NY

Just as well we don't like Big Macs then!

VERY expensive

I don't know that it has the best snorkeling in the world. I believe there are many Caribbean locales that are better.

If snorkeling and the volcano are important then you want to visit the Big Island. The west side of the Big Island has the best snorkeling, because that is where the water is clearest. Next after that would be the west side of Maui.

We usually spend 2 to 2-1/2 weeks on Hawaii when we go. I find that is enough time to relax, and after that amount of time I personally feel as if I"m ready to get back home. When we went for a week it seemed to go by too quickly - I felt like I never really settled in. When we extended it to two weeks, I felt as if I could really appreciate the time. But that's about where I'm ready to head back. But the next year I'm rarin' to get back.

Thanks Steve! Will keep that in mind.

[Dori Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dori]

We are just winding up our week on Kauai. We have loved our stay at Bali Hai, and have done a ton of sightseeing, including a fabulous small-plane air tour, and a wonderful luau. It is an incredibly beautiful island, but we are ready to leave. Things are very expensive here, even everyday groceries are out of sight. The tours we took wer ealso very costly, so I hate to think what it would cost for a family with children to do some of these actiivities. JMHO.

Dori

[tniel Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tniel]

We spend 8 weeks in Hawaii every other year. We love Hawaii and have to be somewhere besides Illinois in the winter. We usually split the time between 2 or 3 islands and don't get tired of being there. It is always sad leaving and coming back to still cold weather at home. If you are planning vacation type activities everyday, 7 weeks might be too long. We do some activities but spend a lot of the time just enjoying being able to get outside, taking long walks and just taking advantage of being able to get outside.

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

I think how long you'll want to be there depends very much on how devoted you are to beaches. I care nothing about beaches and prefer to do different types of sightseeing, so I'd really rather be in cities with lots of variety. When I'm going "nature sightseeing," I like to see things I haven't seen before, and for me, beaches just don't do it (of course, I live on a beach half the year even though I don't spend any time actually on it).

For us, Hawaii is really not a return destination; we've been three times for a couple of weeks each time and visited several islands, but they really hold no appeal (liked the volcano and Pearl Harbor and the Missouri, and snorkeling and the canyon and several drives); we'd go crazy with 7 weeks there.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

I don't recall thinking the Big Island was too expensive as compared to Maui and Kauai. Am I wrong?
Syd, have you guys already done Indonesia? That could be a nice stop on your way home if you want to cut your time in Hawaii. Split between Hawaii, Thailand, Bali.... ?
There is really good snorkeling in Hawaii, and different than some other places, but it can be somewhat specific - on the Big Island there's a place where you can swim with hundreds of turtles, and you can do a night snorkel with rays. There are some other good spots, too. We did some decent snorkeling on Maui but I think the Caribbean can be equally good or better, and the water there is generally warmer

OR what about heading for some skiing/snowboarding on the West Coast of North America before you hit Hawaii? Or did you already do that?

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

Just love the Big Mac Index. I found this 2013 Australian menu (unfortunately I don't know if it is accurate) can you comment on the prices please. (I'm hoping Sydney might know some prices)

http://principletraveler.blogspot.co...rice-list.html

Much more expensive than here in California. Don't know about Hawaii because we don't eat fast food when we go there.

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

Steve, haha. Thanks everyone for the very helpful replies!
I read that Hawaii has some of the best snorkelling in the world. Admittedly, I think it was a US travel survey and didn't include the Great Barrier Reef in Oz. Anyway, that kind of piqued our interest. The fact that there is a volcano to check out is pretty cool for our boys too. But I just don't want to be spending 7 wks hanging out at the beach or in the same part of the world. Maybe we can fly to the mainland via Hawaii and spend a wk or 2 there then?
Has anyone stayed at a Worldmark there? Which timeshare through RCI would you reccommend for a family of 7? And which island for one a wk or 2? Thanks again!
Frank, so Hawaii is expensive hey? Drats.

Expensive is relative to what you are used to. I expect that Hawaii, at least Oahu is not more expensive than Australia.

The big Island is definitely more expensive than Oahu ( Waikiki ). We found that you could find reasonable priced restaurants in Waikiki. You can get coupons for 2 for 1 etc. in the free tourist magazines that are all over. The Shorebird is very good and very reasonable with the coupons and is located right on the beach at Waikiki. Grocery prices are very expensive compared to the US mainland.

The odd thing is that I bought rechargeable batteries for my camera at the Walmart on the Kona Coast on the big island and the price was pretty reasonable.

We don't like the Big Island so a day was too long for us. However we do love Oahu, especially Waikiki though I suspect that anything over 3 weeks would be too much for us. Can't say for the other islands as we have no interest in visiting them.

[eal Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close eal]

We spend 4 weeks in Hawaii every November, and I could happily stay longer. We only come home because Christmas traditions and family are a big draw. Others have suggested combining Hawaii with a trip to the US mainland - if you do that I would suggest San Diego. Lots to do there with kids, including the wonderful zoo, SeaWorld, etc.

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

We spend 4 weeks in Hawaii every November, and I could happily stay longer. We only come home because Christmas traditions and family are a big draw. Others have suggested combining Hawaii with a trip to the US mainland - if you do that I would suggest San Diego. Lots to do there with kids, including the wonderful zoo, SeaWorld, etc.

I strongly recommend San Diego as well. We lived in San Diego for 20+ years and now live just an hour away.

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

The best snorkeling I have ever seen was at the live reef by John Pennecamp State park at Key Largo Florida. It was like being in a salt water aquarium with tons of different very colorful fish and sea life. I even came face to face with a Barracuda.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I just love Hawaii bagtags at the golf course.

Today a couple had Poipu Bay, Kapalua and Ko Olina.

[Hoc Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Hoc]

I spent a good 21 years there, and I can honestly say that 7 weeks is not overkill.

[Sydney Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close Sydney]

Things are very expensive here.... I hate to think what it would cost for a family with children to do some of these actiivities. JMHO.
Dori

Expensive is relative to what you are used to. I expect that Hawaii, at least Oahu is not more expensive than Australia.

Dori and JWC, Sydney is pretty expensive so maybe Hawaii won't seem too steep for us then? My husband was saying that a work colleague recently went to Hawaai and didn't mention how expensive it was but he is single so maybe didn't notice.

We spend 8 weeks in Hawaii every other year. We love Hawaii and have to be somewhere besides Illinois in the winter. We usually split the time between 2 or 3 islands and don't get tired of being there. It is always sad leaving and coming back to still cold weather at home. If you are planning vacation type activities everyday, 7 weeks might be too long. We do some activities but spend a lot of the time just enjoying being able to get outside, taking long walks and just taking advantage of being able to get outside.

Thank you tniel. We generally like to mix relaxation in with sight-seeing and just spending time together so a slower pace suits us.

I think how long you'll want to be there depends very much on how devoted you are to beaches. I care nothing about beaches and prefer to do different types of sightseeing, so I'd really rather be in cities with lots of variety. When I'm going "nature sightseeing," I like to see things I haven't seen before, and for me, beaches just don't do it (of course, I live on a beach half the year even though I don't spend any time actually on it).

Thanks Pstreet1, we're not into visiting beaches either while overseas. The reason being that there are plenty of beautiful beaches here and we usually go to the beach for a holiday once a year.

I don't recall thinking the Big Island was too expensive as compared to Maui and Kauai. Am I wrong?
Syd, have you guys already done Indonesia? That could be a nice stop on your way home if you want to cut your time in Hawaii. Split between Hawaii, Thailand, Bali.... ?
There is really good snorkeling in Hawaii, and different than some other places, but it can be somewhat specific - on the Big Island there's a place where you can swim with hundreds of turtles, and you can do a night snorkel with rays. There are some other good spots, too. We did some decent snorkeling on Maui but I think the Caribbean can be equally good or better, and the water there is generally warmer

OR what about heading for some skiing/snowboarding on the West Coast of North America before you hit Hawaii? Or did you already do that?

Glitter, I mentioned Bali to DH and he said no. I think Bali has a somewhat negative reputation among some Aussies who see it as too touristy and full of Aussies. At least, that was his reason. We'd like to add a side trip to Thailand as a friend opened up an orphanage there that we support, so we'd like to visit at the beginning of our trip if possible. Depends on the ticket available.

DH suggested going around Asia for the full 7 wks, but I'm a bit nervous about the kids catching something and getting sick. It may be a bit difficult with a large family such as ours to avoid illness, although we've never had any problems before in all our travels. We go to the snow every July for a week with friends. We may go to the snow if we end up somewhere cold but wouldn't go specifically for it. The swim with turtles and snorkelling sounds fabulous. Kids also want to do another Caribbean cruise.

I wouldn't mind a repeat of our 2005 trip but DH thinks the US is boring because it is English speaking and similar to Australia. I've been trying to convince him that you Americans are a totally different culture and you do not speak English as we know it. I mean, you can't even spell "snorkelling" right!

We spend 4 weeks in Hawaii every November, and I could happily stay longer. We only come home because Christmas traditions and family are a big draw. Others have suggested combining Hawaii with a trip to the US mainland - if you do that I would suggest San Diego. Lots to do there with kids, including the wonderful zoo, SeaWorld, etc.

That might be what we end up doing eal. Thanks.

The best snorkeling I have ever seen was at the live reef by John Pennecamp State park at Key Largo Florida. It was like being in a salt water aquarium with tons of different very colorful fish and sea life. I even came face to face with a Barracuda.

We may visit Florida again as our youngest hasn't been, so I'll have to keep your suggestion in mind. Thanks JWC.

I spent a good 21 years there, and I can honestly say that 7 weeks is not overkill.

Thanks Hoc. Why did you leave then!?

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

Dori and JWC, Sydney is pretty expensive so maybe Hawaii won't seem too steep for us then? My husband was saying that a work colleague recently went to Hawaai and didn't mention how expensive it was but he is single so maybe didn't notice.

Here is a cost of living comparison between Sydney and Honolulu.

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living...Honolulu%2C+HI

Consumer prices are considerable lower in Honolulu, especially restaurant prices and clothing and of course going to a movie.

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

Be careful. With seven weeks there you might end up Going Native.

I agree. The longest we have stayed there is five weeks or even a little longer but then on more than one island.

We're deciding where to go for 6-8 weeks over Dec 14-Jan 15. Could you spend 6-7 weeks in Hawaii over Winter or is that just overkill? Kids said they want to go somewhere not cold and prefer it to be warm.
Hubby wants to do Europe again and I wouldn't mind spending that time on mainland USA but it's just so cold at all the places we want to visit there.

Sydney, you may want to stay several weeks on each island except for Molokai and Lanai. Each island is different but Hawaii has an active volcano. My SIL didn't like driving there in the beginning because it is erie but then it grew on her and seeing the lava flow is well worth seeing. You also can go star gazing in the snow some time of the year.

Island hopping is getting expensive now unless you do it at in the beginning or at the end of the trip. We used to go from one island to the other but not anymore.