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Hawaii - Is a cruise the best way to see/experience
Posted on 6/1/16 at 9:28 pm
Posted on 6/1/16 at 9:28 pm
Going to Hawaii next year. Have been told by others that flying there and taking a cruise is the best way to see and experience most of it. Any thoughts? And when is the best time to go? Also, any recommendations on the best cruise line?
12
Posted on 6/1/16 at 10:06 pm to whg335
I disagree so so much with this. I would go so far to say that's the worst way to experience Hawaii
Posted on 6/1/16 at 10:10 pm to whg335
I agree that a cruise would be the worst way. I've been there three times. Driving and exploring is the best part. Rent a Jeep and explore.
This post was edited on 6/1/16 at 10:12 pm
Posted on 6/1/16 at 10:53 pm to whg335
Add another to against. Fly directly and island-hop. How many days weeks you got? I've done Oahu, Hawaii and Maui. Would love to do Kaui.
Gorgeous state. Avoid the cruise.
Gorgeous state. Avoid the cruise.
Posted on 6/1/16 at 11:50 pm to whg335
For our honeymoon, we flew into Maui. Flew to Big Island, then Oahu, then Kauai and flew home from there. Spent 3/4 days on each. We always booked the last flight to the next island. In the morning we would check our bags at the airport, so we could spend the day on the island. After dinner, dropped off the rental and right onto the plane. We tried to stay in all kinds of places for variety. Here is where we stayed and key activities:
Maui
private cottage at Aromatherapy Institute of Hawaii in Makawao
Bike from volcano to coast on first day (all downhill)
Convertible and the whole day on Road to Hana hitting all the stops
Beaches
Big Island
House with outdoor shower and living room in Volcano
ATV in area in NE of island (forget name)
Snorkel near Cook's Monument (zodiac guide was awesome)
Visit actual volcano
Oahu
Turtle Bay cottage on Northshore
Dole pineapple plantation tour
Pearl Harbor
Honolulu and Royal Palace
Kauai
Some condo with sand bottom lazy river on east coast
Helicopter the west coast
Red beach
Zip lining
We made it fun by collecting sand from all the different color beaches: green, red, black & white, etc. We literally drove around each island. Grab a luau somewhere as a tourist. We did Polynesian cultural center on Oahu. I can look up more details if you want about the trip. I wouldn't do it any other way for first time. Next time, probably just spend the whole time on Kauai.
Maui
private cottage at Aromatherapy Institute of Hawaii in Makawao
Bike from volcano to coast on first day (all downhill)
Convertible and the whole day on Road to Hana hitting all the stops
Beaches
Big Island
House with outdoor shower and living room in Volcano
ATV in area in NE of island (forget name)
Snorkel near Cook's Monument (zodiac guide was awesome)
Visit actual volcano
Oahu
Turtle Bay cottage on Northshore
Dole pineapple plantation tour
Pearl Harbor
Honolulu and Royal Palace
Kauai
Some condo with sand bottom lazy river on east coast
Helicopter the west coast
Red beach
Zip lining
We made it fun by collecting sand from all the different color beaches: green, red, black & white, etc. We literally drove around each island. Grab a luau somewhere as a tourist. We did Polynesian cultural center on Oahu. I can look up more details if you want about the trip. I wouldn't do it any other way for first time. Next time, probably just spend the whole time on Kauai.
Posted on 6/2/16 at 5:12 am to whg335
The first thing I would do is see how long you can/want to go for. Then, start making list of all the must do's on each island. Pick the two or three islands that has the most stuff and fill in the details. 4 days on any island will not be enough to "see it all" so depending on how much you want to do and how long you have it may give you an idea.
For example...on Oahu you could do Pearl Harbors, Hanauma Bay, Diamond Head and Polynesian Cultural Center all on their own day and not leave much time for anything else. Maui, Road to Hana, Halleakala are both easy a full day themselves.
Now if you are traveling with some elderly or small children then a cruise might be a good idea because of the on board activities they offer that they can't do on the islands but for the most part, no a cruise is not "the best" way to see Hawaii.
For example...on Oahu you could do Pearl Harbors, Hanauma Bay, Diamond Head and Polynesian Cultural Center all on their own day and not leave much time for anything else. Maui, Road to Hana, Halleakala are both easy a full day themselves.
Now if you are traveling with some elderly or small children then a cruise might be a good idea because of the on board activities they offer that they can't do on the islands but for the most part, no a cruise is not "the best" way to see Hawaii.
This post was edited on 6/2/16 at 5:16 am
Posted on 6/2/16 at 6:12 am to whg335
I much prefer to go to my destination and explore
Posted on 6/2/16 at 9:03 am to LSUfan4444
quote:
4 days on any island will not be enough
Agree 100%. We hit the high points of each island to know where to spend most of our time on the next visit.
Posted on 6/2/16 at 10:02 am to OldHickory
If you want to see all the islands the cheapest way would be a cruise. You will feel too rushed and not experience as much as you can on one island.
There is enough to do on each island to make it worthwhile to stay somewhere long term.
I would not recommend doing that if you want to experience Hawaii at it's best. You can see two islands with a flight between islands, we went to Oahu one day and stayed on Maui.
There is enough to do on each island to make it worthwhile to stay somewhere long term.
I would not recommend doing that if you want to experience Hawaii at it's best. You can see two islands with a flight between islands, we went to Oahu one day and stayed on Maui.
Posted on 6/2/16 at 10:03 am to nicholastiger
I'll be honest, when we considered taking our 6 year old the cruise was the only way we could make it happen. But like I said, unless I was traveling with someone too old to do alot of what the island(s) have to offer I wouldn't consider a cruise at all.
Posted on 6/2/16 at 10:25 am to whg335
I will also recommend against trying to do multiple islands in 1 trip. There is so much to do/see on each island. You will miss out on all those things and will waste most of your time at airports, flying, checking in/out, driving to/from airports, waiting for bags etc. I spent a week on Kauai and still thought I missed out on a couple things.
Posted on 6/2/16 at 10:35 am to AmeriKop45
I wouldn't go that far. You can do 2 islands over say ten days I just wouldn't do less than 4 on any specific island.
Posted on 6/2/16 at 1:07 pm to AmeriKop45
I've been to the Big Island (Hawaii) twice and Kauai once. This last time was in January to Hawaii again. We were there 6 days and still didn't get to see everything. We went to the volcano park, up to the 14,000 foot elevation on Mauna Kea to see the astronomy observatories, hiked down Waipio Valley, went on a whale watching cruise, went to a luau, stopped by several parks, beaches, a coffee plantation, and even had time to force ourselves to sit through a 4 hour time share presentation (just to get the half price excursion tickets of course).
Posted on 6/2/16 at 4:57 pm to OldHickory
quote:
Add another to against. Fly directly and island-hop
This is most preferable if you can afford it...and if you can afford a cruise, you can probably afford this or just a great resort for a week.
Depends what you want. Explore or relax.
Been 3 times, island hopped once (which was cheaper) and one time just went to probably the best island - Kauai (so much to do there) - Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa...and another the big island - Mauna Lani...(Mauna Kea is also popular) if you just want the relaxing resort experience on the best island then this is so recommended. If you want to explore...just stay at decent priced places and take flights.
Posted on 6/3/16 at 1:45 am to whg335
(no message)
This post was edited on 1/10/21 at 9:32 am
Posted on 6/3/16 at 1:46 am to whg335
That's a long damn boat ride.
Posted on 6/3/16 at 9:05 am to LSUfan4444
quote:
I just wouldn't do less than 4 on any specific island.
We did 2 days in Kauai as part of our Hawaii trip. We could have used more days there, but I felt that we saw a decent portion of the island. We did an 11 mile hike along the Na Pali coast the first day, and drove out to Waimea Canyon the second.
Posted on 6/3/16 at 9:12 am to whg335
quote:
Is a cruise the best way to see/experience
Haven't been to Hawaii, but a cruise is the worst way to see/experience anything. Anywhere.
Posted on 6/3/16 at 9:44 am to AbitaFan08
I would not recommend the cruise as everyone else has suggested...
Did you end up figuring out your flights for Puerto Rico? San Juan an option? Can bump the other thread if you need assistance
:hijackoff:
Did you end up figuring out your flights for Puerto Rico? San Juan an option? Can bump the other thread if you need assistance
:hijackoff:
Posted on 6/3/16 at 9:47 am to CuseTiger
quote:
Did you end up figuring out your flights for Puerto Rico? San Juan an option? Can bump the other thread if you need assistance
I haven't yet, but that's only because I am now hoping to coordinate with other people going to the wedding and seeing if we can all fly into San Juan separately and split the cost of a rental car. Unfortunately the cheapest flights I've seen are around $300, which isn't bad except for the fact that it's Spirit.
Good looking out buddy, thanks.
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