Ready to start planning my first Hawaii trip 2008! Where do I start?

[DorotaG Member Find all posts View Profile Close DorotaG]

We have never been to Hawaii before. Would like to go in summer 2008. Since it is a long way from Indiana, we will probably stay 2 weeks. It will be myself and DH, DD ( 14 in 2008) and DS (8 in 2008). We will be trading through RCI (probably points since my weak trader in "Weeks" is not seeing much).
I have many many questions, read through some reviews, but what would you recommend for a Hawaiian newbie? I would like to get 2 different resorts, but should it be the same island? or should we island hop? Would it be very difficult? We will try to book FF tickets with either Delta or United. Of course this brings up another problem, FF ticked have to be booked before I can book resort in points (330 days ahead as opposed to 303 days ahead).

What do we "have to" see as first timers? We love the beaches, snorkeling and swimming, would enjoy hiking to see vulcanoes, sightseeing.... Not sure if we want to stay in Honolulu, maybe for a day or two...
Please help me !!! I would like to make this trip special since we may be not coming back for a while!

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

If you're not going back for a while you might want to do two islands. You lose most of a day travelling but we did two islands for our first two trips there and I think I would do it again that way.

The active volcano is on the Big Island. There are nice resorts in Kona on one side of the island and Waikoloa on the other. Everyone seems to like FF Kona Hawaiian Village, we liked it but we're going to try Mauna Loa Village on our next trip. We snorkled on a beach about a mile from KHV. The black sand beach is halfway between Kona and the volcano. We only spent a day in Waikoloa the first time so we're staying there for a week on our next trip in March. I'll let you know what I think.

Maui has an inactive volcano that is very cool called Haleakala and the road to Hana. You can ride a bike from the 10,000 foot summit of Haleakala down to the bottom. The best luau we ever went to was on Maui, it's called Old Lahaina Luau. There are two timeshare areas there, too, on opposite sides of the island, Kaanapali/Lahaina and Kihei. Kaanapali is busier, Kihei is more laid back. We stayed in Kaanapali and drove to Kihei for a couple of day trips. We liked the beaches in Kihei better. Didn't do any snorkeling on Maui but I'm sure it's good all over Kihei.

Kauai was our first Hawaiian Island and because of that I think it will always be our favorite. Princeville is on the north side, Lihue and Kapaa are in the middle and Poipu is in the south. We've stayed in Lihue and Poipu and liked both spots. Princeville can be rainy or it can be perfect but I think the nicer resorts are there. Did some fun snorkeling at Poipu Beach. Walked to the bottom of a big waterfall near Lihue, that was fun. Going down was anyway, thought I was gonna stroke out on the way back up, it started to rain while we were at the bottom and the trail turned into mud, deep mud. We also took a cruise along the Napali coast which really showed off some of Kauai's breathtaking scenery.

If volcanos are interesting to you, I would pick Maui and the big island. If their not such a big deal, flip a coin, you can't go wrong!

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

Our first step we we went in '99, was to accidentally see an exchange online. You might want to see if you can do an exchange, and what for.

Maybe compare with others here.

When I search I search all of Hawaii.

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

Forgot to say that except to use it as a hub for flights to the mainland, we have stayed away from Oahu on purpose. This is due to people we know that say 'Honolulu is nothing but a city with a beach, you can go to city without a 10 hour flight'. Do others out there have the same opinion??

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

When we went to Hawaii, yes we flew into Oahu. Only stayed a day and a half tho. We walked along Waikiki, and downtown Honolulu. The following morning as soon as we got up, we went for breakfast, then over to Pearl to tour the Arizona. Very moving. After a few hours, we flew to Maui. Honolulu is a big "cement city", but we actually did the two things there that we wanted to. If it weren't for those two, yes, I would've skipped Oahu also. JMO though!

Whatever you decide, like was stated before, you can't go wrong. Have a great vacation!!

Sue

[dboy1 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dboy1]

Yes Honolulu is a city with a beach but it is a HAWAIIAN city with a beach!! WE love all the islands of Hawaii and our favorite one is the one we are on at that time.For a 2 week stay 2 islands is a good idea but involves the dreaded island hopping which we prefer to avoid--bin dar don dat-do'nt want the T-shirt.The important thing is that you are going to Hawaii and will love any island you end up on!!

[Arkansas Winger Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Arkansas Winger]

I agree with most that you can do about all you will want to do on Oahu in a couple of days. I personally prefer spending my time on the Big Island but they are all beautiful and make for great vacations.
Dale

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

The first thing to remember about deciding on islands to visit - and to remind yourself whenever you're feeling confused - you cannot make a bad choice!!! Repeat over and over - there is no way you can screw it up.

Now, with that said here are a few guiidelines:

• Take any nice resort and don't worry about which island it is on. They are all enjoyable.
  
• When booking FF miles, you are likely to find that you can't match available seats with check-in days at resorts. Don't worry. Be happy!. Just fill in the extra couple of days with a few nights at a bed and breakfast in an area you wouldn''t otherwise be able to get to conveniently.
  
  On the Big Island, spend those couple of extra nights on the south or southeast sides of this island. That will make it much easier to visit the volcanoes. And there is much to do and see in the Hilo area, and there are many fewer tourists.
  
  On Maui, spend a couple of nights near Hana or upcountry.
  
  On Kaua`i, if your timeshare is on the south shore, spend a couple of nights on the north shore. Of if your resort is north, spend the couple of extra nights on the south shore.
  
  On O`ahu, spend the nights on the north shore.
  
• Get copies of the Wizard Publcations guidebooks for whatever islands you do visit.
  
• Don't overplan your trip and activities. Leave time to relax and just poke around.

[DorotaG Member Find all posts View Profile Close DorotaG]

Wow, you guys are great! So, from what you say, I should just book in a nice resort and plan my activities around it? And is island hopping really this cumbersome? Remember, we are shooting for two weeks, so it would not be different island every 2-3 days...
Right now this is what I can see for 2008: Kahana Falls (#2788), Kona Billfisher (#0029) and Paniolo Greens (#3977). If I look with points (at points resorts) I can see only 2007 (303 days ahead) and there seems to be good availability but most of these resorts are WAY TOO MANY POINTS!!! PAHIO at the Shearwater is 166,440!!!! This equals to about four weeks worth of my points!!! Lawai Beach Resort (#5080) in "ONLY" 82220 points, for 1 bdrm, PAHIO at Kauai Beach Villas (#3681) starts at close to 90,000 for 1 bdrm., PAHIO at Bali Hai Villas (#3031) a little over 90,000 for 1 bdrm. I am starting to wonder if I should try for a least one week with SFX - anybody had an experience exchanging with them into Hawaii?

[iceeu2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close iceeu2]

I love it when you say, "We will not be back for a while". Believe me, you will start planning and trying to decide just how fast you can get back!

For one of our weeks, we are using HTSE (Hawaii Timeshare Exchange). They are really friendly and knowledgable and have lots of great exchanges. Look for them here under exchange companies and you can see how to view their site as a guest.

As others have said, you cannot go wrong with whichever island(s) you choose. There's lots of good sites for finding all about Hawaii. Try fodors, frommers, travelerstogo.

Happy planning

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Wow, you guys are great! So, from what you say, I should just book in a nice resort and plan my activities around it?

Yes.

And is island hopping really this cumbersome?

Visiting two islands in two weeks is fine. But spending two weeks on one island is also fine. I would let the availability of resorts and ability to make reservations from the mainland drive the decision.

I am starting to wonder if I should try for a least one week with SFX - anybody had an experience exchanging with them into Hawaii?

I've not used SFX for Hawai`i, but I have used Trading Places (trade into Mauna Loa Village on the Big Island)) and Hawai`i Timeshare Exchange (trade to Moloka`i).

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

Pahio @ Shearwater is only 109,000 points, not 166,440.

You are seeing about the same weeks that I am seeing with my kinda weak trader. What resort are you searching with? When I look with my one bedroom Bali Hai, there are dozens of resorts available.

I keep thinking about buying the two annual Pahio @ Bali Hai one bedrooms on myresortnetwork.com. I bought one week from the same reseller already (he is actually a TUG member, Jim in Cancun and owns a company called Caribbean Timeshare Resales) and have been tempted because I can pull Shearwater with my one bedroom EOY @ Bali Hai. So I am thinking, "Why not save the MF's and just buy the two weeks and trade up." The price is cheap and includes closing costs.

[DorotaG Member Find all posts View Profile Close DorotaG]

In my "WEEKS" account I don't see anything for either summer (2007 or 2008) but the only thing left to trade with I have right now is my little Sudwala (SA) week... Don't expect much from it and will be using it for PFD very soon... 2008 weeks I was talking about I see going through my "POINTS" account but searching in weeks: for 2008 I can see several different resorts, but not as many as in points for 2007.
Searching in points I can see many more, but I can only search till June 28, 2007. PAHIO at the Shearwater (#2638) is one of them but I can only see one week:
2 Bedrooms 6/6 Full 06/28/2007 07/08/2007 166,440 Ouch!!!

[Carol C Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Carol C]

My fave islands are Kauai, Big Island, Maui, then Oahu. You can easily piggyback two weeks. Example, in Nov 07 I'm going to Big Island first, then two nights of lag time will have me staying in Hana on Maui unless I am forced to fly via Honolulu in which case I may stay at a B & B on north shore or try for a Marriott promo stay. Then I have my week on Maui. I've done piggybacked trips with no trouble both times in past 10 yrs or so, once in April and once in Nov, and I'm going back Nov 07. You'll have no problem since you're starting so far ahead.

My fave must sees per island... Kauai's Waimea Canyon and Kokee State Park (you also can camp in their cabins a couple nights, kids will love it), Maui's Haleakala Crater for hiking, and Big Island's Volcanoes Natl Park (I stayed at My Island B & B near Volcano and loved it there). Have fun!

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

We are here on Maui, did one week on Big Island first. No problem to island hop over here, you can definitely do two islands in a week.

We got one week on each island through SFX.

Something to keep in mind if you come to Maui... we did it for our second week when we were already 'on Hawaii time..' Would probably have fared better doing it first since many activities here are optimal early in the morning due to calmer seas, lower wind (wind and surf pick up on the west side in the afternoon). Not a big 'make or break' thing, just something to keep in mind if you aren't morning people.

Have fun planning your trip!