hawaii vacation

[cbedics]

Can anybody give advice on which is the best way to see hawaii. A cruise or island hopping myself since this would be my first time. Thanks.

[CruiserBruce]

A cruise is a good way to get an introduction, but there rarely enough time in a port to actually "know" a location.

 

If you have a serious interest in something- golfing, snorkeling, lying on the beach- it is going to be somewhat more time consumering to chase that interest, as you are, generally, in a different location every day.

 

Knowing it is a serious trip for many to get to Hawaii, I won't be against a cruise. However, having been to Hawaii many times, I am glad we were able to explore it island by island, rather than in a cruise format. With no time or money restrictions, I would recommend spending a week on each island. But I know that is not possible for everyone.

[jillyfish]

We went to Hawaii for the first time last June. We chose to do a land vacation and we are glad we did. We had time to explore AND relax. Personally, we thought cruising would be too stressful in trying to see and do everything there is to do. We thought our trip was a once in a life time trip. But we enjoyed the islands and the people so much that we are looking forward to returning someday for another land vacation.

[Captain Canuck]

depends..

how much time do you have...been to Hawaii 10 times..once on a cruise round the islands...have spent most of our time on Oahu but have visited most of the other islands...Maui is a local favourite..lots of folks from here have condos on Maui..its more laid back than oahu..but you really need a car...and its more of a beach holiday..waikiki has the beach but also tourist stuff including history and Pearl Harbor.

 

I would recommend doing the cruise to the islands..then spend a little time there before flying home....but thats if you have the time and the money...

 

cruise was really good for us but since we had been day trips off the ship were enough...that being said its a good intro so you could do that and go back to your favourites....

 

all in all..its Hawaii...hard to go wrong

[Cruisin' Chick]

I have been to Hawaii four times now, two land vacations (one was an organized tour to three islands in 9 days, one was my honeymoon to just Kauai and Oahu) and two were the RTs from LA. All excellent. If I just wanted to see Hawaii, I would do the land trips and forget the local cruise, utilizing the quick flights or ferries to go between islands. For a whole experience with a cruiseship (and avoiding flying), I would do the cruise from the west coast.

[sceptic]

We've been to Hawaii over a dozen times, all land. And now we're considering a cruise, basically for a different view - both figuratively and literally - of the islands. I personally don't think a cruise is an especially good way to get to know the islands, it's sort of like going into a good restaurant and taking a good, long sniff at the delicious scents and discerning which kitchen and cuisine is thus most appealing. You get a notion, but not immersion. Frankly, it took us at least a few days on an island to get into the gestalt of the place. But now we've been to HI quite a few times I think it's time to enjoy it from another perspective, and I hope to get both a sense of wonderful familiarity and a fresh approach on a cruise.

 

If this is your first visit to HI just know that a cruise is a cruise. That sounds like something obvious, but it objectively little different than a cruise stop in Barbados or St. Kitts, and I doubt any of us think we 'know' an island after 8-16 daylight hours there.

 

If you inherently love cruising then do the Hawaii cruise. You'll almost surely love it, and there's nothing wrong with getting back on the ship at the end of a day at Hilo thinking, "I wish I had more time here..."

 

Because getting to Hawaii is for many of us extremely difficult, I encourage people to make the HI trip as long as possible, and take a couple of days after (or before - whatever) the cruise on Oahu and then ONE other island for another few days. Which island? That almost doesn't matter.

[GypRasc]

I leave for Hawaii in 21 days and it will be my 1st and most likely only trip there. Because I don't anticipate being able to go back I did want to see more than 1 island and I didn't want to spend my time checking in & out of hotels & flying from island to island. Because of this we have chosen to do the POA cruise around the islands. We will have 2 days on Maui, 2 days on the Big Island, 1 1/2 days on Kauai and we're spending an extra 4 days on Oahu pre- & post cruise combined. We have alot planned as I do want to take advantage of as much "land" time as possible.

 

Knowing that I probably am not going back I would not want to spend a good part of my time on a cruise sailing from CA as there would just be too many days at sea & not enough on the islands. This is definitely something you need to consider if you're planning a cruise. Again, the POA cruise just circles the islands (more like a hotel on water) with no sea days.

 

I'll be writing my review as soon as I get back at the beginning of April.

[cbedics]

How do you set up the ferries or flights between the islands ahead of time? Is it more expensive for the land option with having to book all the hotels and pay for all your meals?

[UATLB]

i liked cruising the islands because i got to see alot and saved alot of time unpacking and packing to goto the next island. i would suggest to do research on all the island pick what would work best for u and go from there:D

[CruiserBruce]

How do you set up the ferries or flights between the islands ahead of time? Is it more expensive for the land option with having to book all the hotels and pay for all your meals?

 

Generally yes. But careful arrangements can ease this.

 

You probably want a condo in Hawaii, as opposed to a hotel. The rates are usually pretty good if you shop around, and a condo probably won't be more costly then a hotel. This gives you a kitchen to cook in, so food gets cheaper, if you aren't eating 3 meals out every day.

 

If you are a Costco member, there are Costcos on at least 3 islands- Maui, Oahu and the Big Island. All are very convinent to new arrivals, usually pretty close to the airport, or on the main road into town from the airport. Again, some savings there. Yes, standard food in a standard grocery store is more expensive, but it has, in most cases, been shipped a long way.

 

I heard a travel agent say recently one of the cheapest places to rent a car is in Hawaii. The cars can only go so far, and no dropping them at some distant location.

 

Inter-Island flights used to be like local bus service- one came by every 20 minutes to an hour. That has changed a little, but not a lot. Airfares are fairly cheap, all things considered, and there are several airlines to chose from. You can book airfares on line just like any other airline. I have never done the Inter-Island ferries. There are some controversy going on with the main ferry service, and it isn't in service right now. There ares ome smaller ferrys in limited service.

 

Overall, based on a standard cabin on a ship, it is probably a little cheaper being on a cruise. But being on land allows you to see so much more.

[cleobella]

We did a cruise with a 3 day pre stay in Waikiki. I felt this was the best of both worlds-time to relax and take in Oahui and then the opportunity to get around the different islands to see some variety. With NCL we had 2 days in Maui and Kauai which gave us some time to explore and 1 day in Hilo and Kona. Hilo is all about the volcano so one day is enough time there and Kona is smaller and more quaint so I thought one day was enough time there too.

[cruzn single]

I have been on a cruise (NCL) strictly through the islands, a cruise R/T from San Diego (HAL) and 10 land trips. We go every year (missed 2011 because of hospitalization) and that is our favorite!

 

However, for a sampling of each island, I would heartily recommend a cruise. You then get an idea of what you like about a particular island, and then can plan a longer trip to one or two islands. Island hopping is not the best idea because you have to fly between islands, which eats up a good part of a day for each plane trip and becomes quite expensive! Superferry no longer operates between Oahu and Maui or Oahu and Kuaui. There is a small local ferry from Maui to Lanai and Molokai.

 

I actually preferred the NCL because you are longer on Maui and Kuaui and have 2 stops (Hilo and Kona) on the Big Island. NCL is fine if you consider it as a "floating hotel" and use it to explore each island at least a little bit.

[Umbarger]

Can anybody give advice on which is the best way to see hawaii. A cruise or island hopping myself since this would be my first time. Thanks.

 

I've been to Hawaii so many times I've lost count. Done 5x on cruises and also done a lot of land trips.

 

There are pros and cons for each. A cruise is a great way to see a lot of islands in only 7 days. However, after the cruise I needed a vacation. We were always on the go.

 

Doing Hawaii by land is also nice. It is much more relaxing and you tend to see much more in depth about the island you are on.

 

One thing to think about is expense. The cruise is very economical since it includes all your lodging, meals and entertainment. On land you have to think about inter island air costs, meals and accommodations.

 

Personally, I would do the cruise with several days in Honolulu before and after the cruise at a hotel. The best of both worlds.

[whale-watcher]

For our first trip, we knew we wanted to spend time on Oahu, but could not agree on which other island to visit. We ended up combining a land vacation on Oahu (relaxing and playing at Turtle Bay on the north shore and visiting pearl harbor and other highlights around Honolulu) with a cruise on the POAM. We thought the NCL itinerary was excellent, with the overnights allowing a decent amount of touring time on Maui and Kauaii plus 2 days on the big island, not to mention the scenic cruising and bonus whale watching time. Plus it was easy and efficient.

 

Next time we will probably spend additional time on a different island, but will still probably opt for another week on the POAM for the additional varied touring options it provides