Unplanned travel from Honolulu to other islands after NCL POA

[DCwom]

Looking for anyone experienced with travel to other islands "on the fly". I'm the planner type, spreadsheet & all, so this isn't in my comfort zone, but I'm wondering about the feasibility of going to another island after docking in Honolulu. What I'm thinking is, we might see an island we really like on the cruise, how hard is it to just "go there" with little planning after we're done with the cruise. I know airports, TSA, etc. all suck time, but is it like taking a bus, i.e. show up grab the next flight or is it the ticket game of different prices for different seats, times, bla, bla, bla? What about baggage fees, since we'll have the big suitcases from the cruise, island hopping sounds more like a carry on activity.

[princeton123211]

11 minutes ago, DCwom said:

Looking for anyone experienced with travel to other islands "on the fly". I'm the planner type, spreadsheet & all, so this isn't in my comfort zone, but I'm wondering about the feasibility of going to another island after docking in Honolulu.

The short answer is that it is very easy and fairly inexpensive to island hop. Multiple airlines offer near hourly service between Honolulu and the other islands. Hawaiian Airlines has the most options, but you can also fly Southwest as well as Mokulele Airlines (which services smaller airports with Cessna Caravans). 

 

13 minutes ago, DCwom said:

I know airports, TSA, etc. all suck time, but is it like taking a bus, i.e. show up grab the next flight or is it the ticket game of different prices for different seats, times, bla, bla, bla? What about baggage fees, since we'll have the big suitcases from the cruise, island hopping sounds more like a carry on activity.

You can definitely be a little more spontaneous-- there are departures about every hour on most intra island routings. I wouldn't necessarily just walk up (although I suppose you could). We tend to book intra island flights a couple days out-- sometimes there are lower fares than on the day of. 

 

Also the only issue with doing everything last minutes is less about the airlines and more about where you are going to stay. Hotels in Hawaii are expensive and planning in advance can help you save a lot. Just showing up could put you in a spot where you are paying significantly more for the hotel (if there is even availability where you want to go). 

 

18 minutes ago, DCwom said:

What about baggage fees, since we'll have the big suitcases from the cruise, island hopping sounds more like a carry on activity

Hawaiian charges $15 per bag intra island (if you sign up for HawaiianMiles). Southwest bags are free. Mokulele I think charges $25 per bag but its a small plane. Hawaiian tends to be a little less expensive than Southwest, so even with the bag fee it tends to be a wash (and I think Hawaiian is a nicer airline/experience). 

 

Mokulele can be fun because you can access much smaller airports closer to where you want to be. For example, flying to Maui from Honolulu, you can land at Kapalua Airport which puts you very close to Kapalua, Kaanapali, and Lahaina. Depending on their routing you sometimes get a free tour of the cliffs on the backside of Molokai. 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 5/12/2023 at 1:32 PM, DCwom said:

Looking for anyone experienced with travel to other islands "on the fly". I'm the planner type, spreadsheet & all, so this isn't in my comfort zone, but I'm wondering about the feasibility of going to another island after docking in Honolulu.

 

It is not as easy as it once was.

 

How many nights do you think you'd spend on another island if you go back to one you liked? What month will this be? What kind of things would want to make you go back? You might be able to figure out in advance, which island you are not seeing enough of based on what you like and if you are struggling to pick excursions or prioritizing which sights to see if you are exploring on your own.

 

I think getting a rental car and finding accommodations that are reasonable and available might be your biggest issues. Make no mistake, other than Oahu, a car is needed on all the other islands.

[DCwom]

On 5/14/2023 at 6:50 AM, scottca075 said:

 

It is not as easy as it once was.

 

How many nights do you think you'd spend on another island if you go back to one you liked? What month will this be? What kind of things would want to make you go back? You might be able to figure out in advance, which island you are not seeing enough of based on what you like and if you are struggling to pick excursions or prioritizing which sights to see if you are exploring on your own.

 

I think getting a rental car and finding accommodations that are reasonable and available might be your biggest issues. Make no mistake, other than Oahu, a car is needed on all the other islands.

Good points by Princeton & yourself about accommodations, I've got to avoid "mainland" thinking. We're planning on May, an allegedly slow month, and I'd probably plan some alternates in advance. Also likely only 1 island since flying takes some time, in fact can someone check my math here?

 

Assuming average times, obviously distance to airport and flight times can vary.

Flight times - 30-45 min,

Travel time to airport /TSA - 90 min,

Claim luggage, rent car - 45 min,

Pack/unpack - 30 min

 

4 hours? Call it roughly half a day to hop to another island, and of course another half day back to Honolulu to fly home.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

2 hours ago, DCwom said:

Also likely only 1 island since flying takes some time, in fact can someone check my math here?

 

To or from the airport depends on where you stay. For example, on Maui, OGG to Napili Kai Beach Hotel is 45 minutes sez Google Maps, but in reality you need to allow an hour drive time, an hour for TSA plus car drop-off time. Four Season Wailea is only 30 minutes drive time, but you need to allow 45 minutes. All the neighbor islands have very limited roads between towns (as in one road usually) so any hiccup can send things to heck in a hurry.

[CruiserBruce]

4 hours ago, DCwom said:

Good points by Princeton & yourself about accommodations, I've got to avoid "mainland" thinking. We're planning on May, an allegedly slow month, and I'd probably plan some alternates in advance. Also likely only 1 island since flying takes some time, in fact can someone check my math here?

 

Assuming average times, obviously distance to airport and flight times can vary.

Flight times - 30-45 min,

Travel time to airport /TSA - 90 min,

Claim luggage, rent car - 45 min,

Pack/unpack - 30 min

 

4 hours? Call it roughly half a day to hop to another island, and of course another half day back to Honolulu to fly home.

One thing you could do to simply this is to fly home from the outlying island, rather than flying back to HNL. This is particularly a good option from Maui, as probably the widest range of flights from the out island to the mainland.

 

As an FYI, Hawaii doesn't operate on such a strict time line as you suggest. A common phrase in Hawaii is that everything is done according to "Hawaii time". Which means "no rush".

[lovecruzin]

One option if you are seriously considering this is to book a hotel with a liberal cancellation policy on a couple of the islands and also book a car for the same days then cancel if you decide not to revisit.

[princeton123211]

30 minutes ago, lovecruzin said:

book a hotel with a liberal cancellation policy

Aren't many of these anymore. Even some of the ones that had more liberal policies on Maui now have to be cancelled 3 days in advance in order to not lose a 2 day deposit. Some of the top properties are even stricter with 7 day cancellation policies.