Beginners and Beyond

1

Hawaii recommendations for family vacation??? (Read 39 times)

redrum


Caretaker/Overlook Hotel

    So I haven't even really gone to family/friends just yet but figured an internet-based opinion is always tops, right? 

     

    Gonna take the family on a summer vacation to Hawaii as the wife is worried the kids are growing too fast & soon we won't be able to.  Soooo.......anybody got suggestions for where/when/how, etc.??

     

    FWIW, wife & I split Maui & Kauai on our honeymoon back in '95 but I'm sure things have changed a bit.  (Is Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays even around anymore....ha ha)

     

    Any suggestions/recommendations for a good time much appreciated.  (As for me, you could dump me off at Front St. in Lahaina at Cheeseburger in Paradise, leave me there for dead & I'd be just fine) 

     Randy

    Brrrrrrr


    Uffda

      Go right back to Lahaina. Do the biking down Haleakala and go on a snorkeling trip. At least that's what DW and I did for a quasi-honeymoon. Of course there's many Longboards and Mai Tai's to consume and sitting on the beach. And remember to bring your own snorkeling gear to use at your hotel. You could always try to rend a condo at the beach - it might be cheaper than a hotel. Honestly it was a great time and if I could move to Hawaii I would.

      - Andrew


      Hip Redux

        What sort of things do you like to do?  We hiked just about every major trail when we were there - so if you are into that sort of thing, I could point you in the right direction!   I must be the only person who went to Hawaii and didn't go to the beach lol

         


        Walk-Jogger

          Last time I was in Hawaii I went to Molokai (on business, took about 5 minutes to do a computer upgrade for a customer), rented a car, started driving the Kamehameha V. highway, picked up a young lady who was hitchhiking home from the hospital with her brand new baby, took her to her house which was nearly clear to the end of the road, then she wanted to introduce me to her grandfather, a local "medicine man" who supposedly could cure cancer and what ever might ail one. So I drove her to the very end of the road, stopped in the field at the edge of the trees and honked the car horn, and sure enough grandpa medicine man witch-doctor guy who apparently spent most of his time in the jungle there showed up in a few minutes. We had a short meet and greet, it was surreal, then I had to head back on the long slow drive to the airport to catch the last flight of the day back to Oahu.  OK, so that was back in 1985, so Mr. Medicine man might not be there anymore, and that little baby would be like 29 years old now.

           

          Some of the best adventures are found, and not planned . . .

          Retired &  Loving It


          SheCan

            What sort of things do you like to do?  We hiked just about every major trail when we were there - so if you are into that sort of thing, I could point you in the right direction!   I must be the only person who went to Hawaii and didn't go to the beach lol

             

            Didn't go to the beach!?!  Well I always hiked a bunch while there, but I also went to the beach.  I've been to Oahu  several times, but when we went with the kids we went to the Big Island, and I totally fell in love.  I particularly loved the NE portion of the island: the town of Hawi, Pololu Valley, and the rain forests.  But if you're there a week or so, you'll have time to explore the whole island, and go to the Volcanoes National Park and go up Mauna Kea.

            Cherie

            "We do not become the people who this world needs simply by turning our backs on anyone we don’t like, trust, or deem healthy enough to be in our presence. "  ---- Shasta Nelson

            scottydawg


            Barking Mad To Run

              Do you happen to be military associated (reserve, guard, etc?) If so you can stay in an 'all-inclusive" cabin (fully furnished and has fridge, microwave, stove, outside BBQ grill, etc) at one of the military recreation bases.  They have one on the Big Island and one on Oahu.  Very reasonably priced.  Gail and I lived in Hawaii when we met and married and we spent our honeymoon at Bellows.   It is a bit more expensive these days, but you can still stay for under $100 a night.  That is one price for EVERYONE, you can have up to 10 people in one cabin.

               

              Bellows Air Force Station Oahu:  http://bellowsafs.com/Default.asp

               

              Kilaeaua Military Recreation Camp is on the Big Island near Hawaai's volcano:   https://www.kmc-volcano.com/

              "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Theodore Roosevelt

              catwhoorg


              Labrat

                What I want to do when we eventually go:

                 

                 

                Climb the Mauna Kea  and see the stars at night

                 

                Pay my respects at Pearl Harbour

                 

                Visit Waimea and Captain Cooks Landing

                 

                I'd love to take a flight out to Midway, and French Frigate Shoals but thats almost impossible these days.

                 

                 

                I'd also like to go to the South Point of the US, but thats because I like odd little elements of geography.  Its really not any more special than many other headlands there

                5K  20:23  (Vdot 48.7)   9/9/17

                10K  44:06  (Vdot 46.3)  3/11/17

                HM 1:33:48 (Vdot 48.6) 11/11/17

                FM 4:13:43 (Vdot 35.4) 3/4/18

                 

                redrum


                Caretaker/Overlook Hotel

                  Crap.....I forgot about Pearl Harbor! (How could I???) 

                   

                  But, yes, Maui was great & I'd have no problem doing it again.

                   

                  Scotty ---- Unfortunately, no, I'm not military but that sounds spectacular!!!!

                   

                  I'm up for hotel suggestions.  I've already been suggested the Westin Kaanapali which sounds nice.  (Heck I wouldn't mind golfing either but wife & kids would rather gouge out their own eyes, I'm sure)

                   

                  So maybe Honolulu or Big Island would be better for the kids??  (Hmmmmm)

                   Randy


                  Walk-Jogger

                    What I want to do when we eventually go:

                     

                     

                    Climb the Mauna Kea  and see the stars at night

                     

                    Pay my respects at Pearl Harbour

                     

                    Visit Waimea and Captain Cooks Landing

                     

                    I'd love to take a flight out to Midway, and French Frigate Shoals but thats almost impossible these days.

                     

                     

                    I'd also like to go to the South Point of the US, but thats because I like odd little elements of geography.  Its really not any more special than many other headlands there

                     

                    OMG, that's some serious synchronicity right there!!!!!

                    I was in the US Coast Guard back in the mid-1970's and we had a Loran base at French Frigate Shoals. I could have spent a year there but chose to go to Costa Brava in Spain for a year instead.      I haven't even THOUGHT about French Frigate Shoals in decades, but then this morning while surfing the web I cam across photos of it, something that also has never happened before. And now an hour or two later, you mention it. NOBODY else has ever mentioned French Frigate Shoals to me, in my 38 years of post-Coast Guard life. And here I get it twice, not just on one day, but in a couple of hours!

                     

                    French Frigate Shoals

                    Retired &  Loving It


                    Chasing the bus

                      We love Big island. Took the kids there many times as they grew up. Beaches are farther apart, and the best ones are hike in only, but often deserted. Rent a 4x4, rent a vacation condo or house near the NW tip if you prefer good weather and beaches, or S. of Kona if you prefer volcano's, Capt. Cook, and south point, and explore.

                      “You're either on the bus or off the bus.”
                      Tom Wolfe, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test


                      You Rang?

                        I've been to Oahu and the Big Island and enjoyed the Big Island more.  Oahu was work and that's all I did while there.

                         

                        the airport in Kona is fun.  No jet bridges.  A stair truck drives up to the side of the plane.  Think of all the arrival photos of the President disembarking off Air Force One.  It's like that.  And with the exception of the TSA security shack and the restrooms, there are no walls at the airport.  It's all out in the open.

                         

                        On the Big Island, rent a car (you'll need to do that anyway) and drive Saddle Road from Kona to Hilo.  Be sure to read the rental contract.  Some of the contracts specifically prohibit their cars from driving Saddle Road

                         

                        The black sand beach on the south end of the island is fun.

                         

                        My daughter enjoyed Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and the Mauna Loa Nut factory tour.

                         

                        Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays is still around.  It's called Pleasant Holidays now.  I got a room through priceline.  $80 and three star bid got me the Sheraton south of Kona.

                         

                        Aloha!

                         

                        Rick

                        Rick 

                        PR: 5k 25:01 (10/15) 10k: 57:44 (7/14) HM: 1:57 (5/15) FM: 4:55 (1/15)


                        Chasing the bus

                          “You're either on the bus or off the bus.”
                          Tom Wolfe, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test


                          Hip Redux

                            Oh, and buy this book before you go...best guide ever.

                             

                            http://www.amazon.com/Hawaii-Big-Island-Revealed-Guidebook-ebook/dp/B00929900Q/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1398805946&sr=8-10&keywords=hawaii+travel+guide

                             

                            +1

                             

                            We bought these for all the islands we went to.  Awesome tour books!