In my quest to visit all 50 states, We’d like to go to Hawaii at some point. Can you justify spending a week just on Oahu? My sister and I like to move around a lot, but obviously that’s not an option there.
It looks like the type of place we like to stay, a Holiday Inn Express by the interstate exist, doesn’t exist. So are you more or less limited to expensive resorts at $200 a night?
Hoping Southwest will start flying to Hawaii some time so I can afford to fly there in the first place…
I too would like to visit Hawaii but I’ve never been. If it were me, I’d consider bypassing Oahu entirely. There are more things I want to see on the Big Island and Kauai, and it seems to me that restaurants and accommodations are more reasonably priced. Then again I have unusual tastes in travel. I like hiking, camping, and nature excursions more than swanky hotels, restaurants, beaches, and shops. United has direct flights to Hilo from LAX and Lihue on Kauai has direct flights from several cities on the west coast.
By the time I graduated college, I realized that I had been in 45 states. Living in MA, I said that I’d never get to HI because warmth was a lot closer in the Caribbean. Well, my mother took ill on a flight to Australia and was in intensive care in Queens Hospital. My wife and I flew out to get her. Within 24 hours of stepping off the plane, I was hooked. Scratch off #47. We’ve been back 6 times in the past 15 years.
From HNL, there are hourly flights to many other islands. Stay on one for a few days.
Unless there’s something specific you want to go to…the Arizona Memorial, the convention center, a surfing competition on the north shore, what have you…avoid Oahu. The traffic is absolutely horrendous most of the time, and the big corporations have taken over so much that most of the place looks like any other generic haole town.
If you want the “true” Hawaii…lush palm trees, beautiful flowers, peaceful plantations, some natural landmarks, etc…my recommendation is Maui. The big island is also nice, but unless you stay in one town you’re probably going to be spending a lot of time on the road, plus there’s the occasional inconvenient volcanic eruption.
I have been to Hawaii twice. The first was when I was 5 years old and my grandparents spent a ton on that trip. We did it all over two weeks with no expense spared so I got it out of my system early.
The second time was less than two years ago. My little brother was stationed on Oahu as a Coast Guard officer. I had a free airline ticket via a frequent flyer mileage signup bonus so round-trip airfare cost exactly $10 from Boston. No, you don’t have to spend $200 a night for a hotel even in a prime part of Oahu. I have one firm recommendation for you if you are a Holiday Inn Express Type person - The Ambassdor Hotel Waikiki. This hotel was probably in its prime the same time the Hawaii 5-0 TV series was (the first one, not the second) but it is cheap and in a prime location. The rooms are large with a kitchenette but, most importantly, it is just a couple of blocks away from Waikiki Beach and the super-expensive hotels. It even has free parking if you have a rental car. I think I paid about $75 a night for it and it was a steal as long as you aren’t snooty about minor cosmetic details.
If you are like me, you can just stay in your cheap room and then just waltz right into one of the much pricier hotels nearby with beach access and live bands whenever you feel like it. Downtown Honolulu isn’t all that great in general though and it is a real city that doesn’t look anything at all like a Hawaii postcard. To make the most of Oahu, you need to get up to the North Shore which is at least an hour’s drive but it is where they have the massive waves that you associate with Hawaii. You can also snorkel in some well-known spots and surf if you are truly good at that. My favorite spot on Oahu however is Sandy Beach. It is an insanely dangerous body surfing spot but a load of fun. The lifeguards won’t even let you in the water if they don’t think you can handle it but it is great fun if you survive it.
My main point to all of this is that Oahu is well worth visiting even if that is the only island you go to. A Peral Harbor trip to see the USS Arizona is worth the trip alone. It doesn’t need to be expensive either. I spent well under $1000 total for 6 days in March but I used every deal I had. The one drawback is that it is really far away especially from the Midwest or East Coast. It is disheartening when you travel all the way across what you normally think of as the whole country, land in Los Angeles and still have to catch another connection for another 5 1/2 hour flight to Honolulu.
I’ve been to the big island once and Oahu several times on business.
I can easily spend a week on Oahu, but then again I am into military history.
If you do go to Oahu go to the swap meet at the Aloha bowl on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
If you go to the big island the Hilo side is more lush. If I go again I would not stay in in the resort area north of Kona.
If you go to Kona paddle out and snorkel at the Capt Cook monument and get a mac nut pie
There is some awesome hiking at the north end of the island.
There’s enough of interest to occupy a week.
What’s hard to justify is being so close to what most consider the more appealing islands without setting foot on them. My favorite is the Big Island, one of the more remarkable places on earth. (I could not possibly get within a 30-minute flight of there and pass up another chance to visit to the volcano park and the current lava flows.)
But if you don’t visit other islands you won’t really know what you’re missing, and Oahu, though a bit crowded, certainly isn’t bad. And with just a week it’s a mistake to move around too much (2 islands is probably the practical maximum in that time).
I heartily endorse your quest for 50. I was considering settling for the 48 contiguous when I found a bargain fare to Hawaii (this was back in 1999, I don’t know that there are any bargains in air travel these days) and knew that I’d make it all the way.
There’s plenty to do on Oahu, but I definitely wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to island-hop. When I went, you could buy a coupon booklet for inter-island flights which was very affordable. I don’t know what options are available now, but if you’re going to spend the money to get to Hawaii, stretch yourself a little further and get around Hawaii. It’s 100% worth it.
As for lodgings, I definitely remember having to pay more than I would have normally paid on the mainland.
There is a lot of info on Hawaii in past threads - that may help you decide where to go. Oahu is okay, but I would never spend a week there. You can eat good Asian food, visit the Arizona Memorial, climb up Diamond Head, take a surfing lesson, drive around the island to see some great scenery and fabulous waves, and (if you like tacky) go to the Pacific Cultural Center. That’s about it, as far as I know.
As I’ve posted in past threads, our US home is on the Big Island (not that we actually get to live there much; we’ve been working abroad the whole time since we decided to make it our American home base in 2002). So I can confirm: As others say above, the Big Island is wonderful if you love nature and hiking.
Yes, you WILL spend a lot of time in the car but it is gorgeous! To my mind the Hamakua Coast is at least as beautiful, probably more so, than the famed road to Hana on Maui, and it is a helluva lot less dangerous. And the driver gets to enjoy the scenery too.
Maui is pricier than the Big Island, in my limited experience there, but steel yourself: NOTHING is cheap anywhere in the state (at least not Maui/Oahu/Big Island - maybe Kauai or Lanai is cheaper but I tend to doubt it).
Rental cars are reasonable if you go off-season to the Big Island. Food and accommodation are killer expensive. If you like hiking and can figure out where to go on your own without expensive tours, you can entertain yourself pretty cheaply. But heaven forbid you sign up for any guided trips - it’s nuts.
My (much more limited) experience matches CairoCarol’s. A good guidebook, of which books from this series are IMO the best examples, can suggest many excellent do-it-yourself options. But the tour operators (along with just about everyone else catering to tourists) are used to getting fancy prices.
One example from several years ago: if you’re competent driving down steep slopes on good roads, you can take any sound 2WD car to the top of Mauna Kea (13,803’) and have a really interesting time exploring. Or you can pay something like $200 per person to be hauled there in a van. No doubt the guide gives interesting explanations, has jackets to keep you warm (there’s snow up there in winter), hands out sandwiches, etc. - and probably everyone come home happy. You then need to plan what $200 attraction will fill the other half of your day.
I second the book nomination! Another good one is: Hawaii Trails: Walks Strolls and Treks on the Big Island (Hawaii Trails: Walks, Strolls & Treks on the Big Island): Morey, Kathy: 9780899974125: Amazon.com: Books
About the Mauna Kea stuff: we’ve gone as far as the Visitor’s Center in our own car, but I dislike driving that myself. Maybe a jeep is okay but when I did it in our Forrester the brakes stunk to high heaven (so to speak!) on the way up. (So did everyone else’s car - it was eau-de-mechanical-problem at the Center, which made me feel a little better about my driving skills on steep terrain.) I was terrified driving in low gear on the way down (2 am, just me and my 6 year old sleeping in the back seat) though we did make it just fine with no evident damage to the car.
Plus even in summer it’s C-C-C-COLD at the summit. The tour gives you much-needed down jackets, mittens, food, and hot chocolate. After sunset at the summit, you stargaze with some knowledgeable astronomy buffs who answer your questions and share fun cosmology info.
A long way of saying that the the only one crazy-priced tour I do recommend is Mauna Kea. But the other stuff - flying fox, rafting, horseback riding - nah, use those books and figure out your own fun outdoor stuff.
Oh, one more thing - Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is fairly reasonably priced, I think (hard to remember as we get the local rate). If you are there long enough you can buy a pass and drive in and out every day at no additional charge. You can also pitch a tent at the campground across from the park, or rent a cabin for a reasonable fee (this must be arranged in advance though).
Here’s a thread with some advice, including my favorites:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=643901&highlight=stones+oahu
Remember to bring back lots of Kona coffee and those chocolate macademia nuts. They are cheap there.
When we went we stayed at youth hostels. Dont know if they are still there.
I second Maui. Easy to spend a week there and do something different every day. Reasonable accomodations ($150 or less per night, directly on the beach)can be had most any time of the year. The “road to Hanna” is a must do!
Pick a couple things on Oahu that you explicitly want to do, spend a day or two, then go Hawaii and Kauai.
:rolleyes: And while you’re at it, ship or bring back on the plane with you an entire freaking case of pineapples.
You know…the exact same pineapples you can but at your grocery store in a week.
I did read the other thread. Neither one of us can swim so surfing, snorkeling and such are out, but we do enjoy lounging around on the beach. I want to see Pearl Harbor, so I’m thinking maybe Oahu only or Oahu and Maui. In either case we would rent a car.
I lived in Honolulu for 2-1/2 years and disagree with the notion that Oahu should be bypassed entirely. Each of the islands has its own flavor, and everyone has his or her favorite. But I’m a city guy, and if we ever live in Hawaii again, which is something we keep considering, it would be in Honolulu.
But it’s not just urban. There are good hiking trails on the edge of the city. Many people don’t think of Hawaii and/or Oahu as mountainous, but it is. Honolulu is squashed onto the shore by a mountain range. I can’t recommend accommodation, as the wife and I always stay at the East West Center on the university campus up in the Manoa Valley, where the wife has lifetime privileges for staying, and that’s pretty cheap. [The Manoa Valley is beautiful. That’s probably where we would want to live. It’s where George Clooney’s character lived in The Descendants (2011).]
Honolulu is also the only place with decent bus service. Any of the outer islands, you will pretty much have to rent a car. And there are two circle-island routes – one going clockwise and the other counter – that take about four hours and just for the cost of normal bus fare. A great deal. If you have a pass – good value if you’re staying any length of time – then just hop on and off at different places. There’s regular public bus service straight to Pearl Harbor too, and it’s easy. Just check out the schedules.
The wife and I are planning another trip to Hawaii in the next couple of years, and I think we’re just going to hang out on Oahu this time. But the outer islands are worthwhile if you’ve never seen them.
And it’s a close call, but I think Kauai might be my favorite non-Oahu island.
And speaking of The Descendants, while George Clooney lives in the Manoa Valley in Honolulu, the family land in question in the movie is on the North Shore of Kauai. We love that film.
If you are not physically active and just want to lie on the beach, don’t go to the Big Island. It’s very young and there is very little sand beach there. Absolutely incredible natural beauty, though. Stunning.
A very similar thing is the case with respect to Puerto Rico in the Caribbean. There are a few interesting things to see in San Juan, but not many. The real charm is outside, and you find that the interior of the island is very mountainous. There are also wild chickens everywhere to the point where you actually do wonder why that chicken just crossed the road again.