*Hawaii HM*

kls114

Hi girls! I am a July 2011 Knottie & we are looking into Hawaii for our HM.

I have read through alot of the Hawaii posts & got some great information.

Just a couple questions....

1. TA or no TA? If no, which site do you recommend the highest?
2. How do you figure out where to go & which islands are best? Base it on what you want to do (more relaxing HM vs. more adventure?!?)
3. Which are the hotels you prefer & why?
4. What is an medium estimated budget for Hawaii?
5. How many days do you suggest for the entire stay?

TIA!

kls114

OMG not sure why it is huge & bold! Sorry about that!

jemmini6

all of the islands have very different things to offer, so it really depends on what you want to do.  we use tripadvisor.com to plan all  of our vacations and it hasn't steered us wrong yet.  it's good to plan hotels, meals, activities, etc.  the budget also really depends on what you want to do.  if you are just a lay on the beach and relax kind of person, it won't cost you much money.  however, most of the activities/excursions average about $100 pp depending on what it is.

in the end, it really is a very diverse place and you have to decide what you really want to do, then you can plan from there...

kaesha

Do your research first - pick up the ~~Revealed series from the library to do the basics.

http://wizardpub.com

I don't like telling people which island to choose... they're all so different, and really you've got to figure out which one suits your personality best.

Depending on where you're flying from, airfare will vary greatly.

To save money, get a condo. VRBO is a great resource.

If you're going for 7 days, I say do one island. If you're going for 10, you can see a fair bit on two. 3 or 4 nights just isn't enough to see one though! Every time I go back, I seem to stay longer and longer. Last year, we were on Maui for 3 weeks, and I still hadn't done everything I wanted to do!

girl2bewed

We booked our Hawaii HM on samsclub travel - they had way better deals then costco and I couldn't beat the price of the hotel & fligt by doing it seperately, and it beat out expedia also.

We chose Oahu because we both really want to see Pearl Harbor and do more of the touristy activities, but Maui is a more romantic less touristy island. GL

benmel31

we did all our own research online and through suggestions.  since you are not going until next year, you have time.  

we chose oahu because of pearl harbor and because we want to skydive there.  we are staying in waikiki for 5 nights.  we chose the big island because of the adventures and exploring we hope to do.  we are staying in a B&B and a hotel on the big island for 7 nights total.

my only regret was not looking into the other islands a little more.  i may have chosen to visit kauai somehow.  even so, i am so excited!

point being, check out what there is to do and what captures your attention on the various islands.  and only keep in mind your budget.

fallbride1109

We chose Maui because we felt like it had a nice combination of romance and relaxation, but still with stuff to do.   I have a review in my biio.  We booked our package through Travelocity after doing all the research online.  We stayed 9 days.

kaesha

Oh! Contact airlines directly - a couple of our wedding guests went through WestJet (a Canadian airline) and got an insane deal on airfare + hotel + car.

king26

It's an expensive plane ride from the East Coast-I'll start by saying that because we just did it, and that was the most expensive part of the trip.  We chose to go to Oahu (because of pearl harbor and waikiki) and then to maui.  We loved them both.  Waikiki was a good party place and had fabulous restaurants.  Then Maui was quieter with so many things to see.  We really enjoyed both locations.
  Also, we had a hotel in Waikiki and a condo in Maui-we were glad we picked both.  The condo allowed us to each breakfast and lunch for cheaper then we splurged on dinners.

kls114

Thanks SO much girls!!!!