When we first started to plan our 2015 trip, we were originally just going to return to the Big Island for the entire length of our stay. As we started to plan a little more, we decided to see how easy/difficult it would be to add another Island to the stay. I am so glad that we decided to do this. Here are a few final thoughts from each of the Islands and overall thoughts from the entire trip. Hopefully some of these will help you plan your own "Journey to Paradise".
Kauai
1. Kauai is a beautiful Island with so many diverse areas. You can see beautiful beaches, colorful canyons and rugged mountains. You definitely need to rent a vehicle for at least one day of your stay on this Island so you can take a trip around to see all of these beautiful sights. Kauai is a very small Island compared to Oahu, Maui and the Big Island. This makes it very easy to get to all the major points of interest in a minimal amount of time. If you have made the decision to go there, be sure to see all that the Island has to offer!
2. Kauai is a very laid back Island and you can certainly find relaxation here. Take time to just sit back and relax and enjoy the beautiful weather. The Island is the northermost in the chain so temperatures in Kauai were slightly cooler and the weather a bit wetter than the other islands.
3. Kauai is one of the more expensive of the Hawaiian Islands. Since lodging is limited, prices tend to be a bit higher here. If I was ranking the cost of a stay in the Hawaiian Islands I would say from most expensive to least expensive: 1. Maui 2. Kauai 3. Oahu 4. Big Island.
4. We ended up staying 4 nights on Kauai. The first day was lost to travel and the last day was a partial travel day as we island hopped. So that gave us a little over 3 days to relax and explore. We honestly felt that for us this was plenty of time. Any more and we would have run out of things to do (we have a hard time relaxing and just sitting so please take that into account when you plan your own length of stay). Any less time than that and I'm not sure that we would have been able to explore everything that we wanted.
5. The Grand Hyatt Kauai was a very nice hotel. Customer Service was fantastic and the resort grounds were amazing. I would definitely stay here again and would recommend this resort to anyone traveling to Kauai. We liked that it was on the southern shore of the Island. The St. Regis Princeville is another very highly rated resort. It is located on the North Shore of Kauai and we found the weather on that shore to really fluctuate and it tended to be a bit wetter.
6. The Kauai Airport in Lihue was very easy to maneuver for both our incoming and outbound flights. If you are flying between Islands, you do not have to go through Agriculture Check so it does not take as much time to check in for your flight. The airport is modern with jetways and has a Hawaiian Feel to it but is also very modern.
Big Island
1. This was our second trip to the Big Island. Our first was in February 2014 and this one was February 2015. Both trips we stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Kona side of the Island. There were some differences in our stays but both were nice. The service that we received at the Hilton on our first stay was amazing. This stay it was a bit disappointing in a few ways. While the grounds were beautiful and well kept, the facilities themselves seemed in a bit of disrepair. While partially due to the high winds that were around for a few days, some of the things could have been fixed in a more timely way. It also seemed as though the hotel was very understaffed and service suffered a bit.
2. Having said that.....the Kohala Spa Experience was absolutely wonderful and I would highly recommend it. If you have been to the Spa Grande at the Grand Wailea on Maui, this is not quite at that level (I'm not sure any other spa is at THAT level!) it is a very nice spa and our services were amazing!
3. If you will be staying at the Hilton Waikoloa Village for an extended period of time, purchasing the dining card will end up saving you money. It is also good for their Luau so be sure to use it if you plan on making reservations.
4. Make sure you rent a vehicle when you stay on the Big Island. The Island is very large in comparison to the other islands and you definitely need to take some day trips to see all that this island has to offer.
5. If you can, make the trip to The Green Sand Beach. Allow a good part of a day for this day trip and just go and enjoy the adventure. The view was amazing! It was the one thing that we regretted not seeing on our first trip and we had to go back and see it for ourselves. Make the time to see it if you can!
6. Whale watching on the Big Island was much better than on Kauai. I'm not sure if it was just the time of year but we saw many more whales on the Big Island. The whale watching trip offered by Ocean Sports is a terrific way to see the whales up close and personal. I would just caution you to check the weather before you sign up for it. This year's choppy waves made for a less enjoyable experience. Make sure you take Dramamine or something similar if you are prone to seasickness. I would actually encourage you to take it even if you aren't or don't know if you are.....there is nothing worse than spending a couple hours at sea feeling miserable.
7. The conditions at the Volcano change rapidly. Our first trip we had great views of the caldera at night. This year it rained and the whole area was filled with VOG so viewing was terrible. Recently the lava lake inside the caldera has risen and is giving quite the show. Make sure you check the Hawaii Volcanoes Website before you go. It will help you plan the best way to view the area.
8. If the weather isn't cooperating on one side of the Island, check out the other side. This island is large enough that the weather varies from side to side.
9. While there isn't the high end shopping that you find on Maui or Oahu, you will find more shopping here than on Kauai.
10. Take time to relax and enjoy the beautiful contrasting colors of the turquoise ocean, blue skies and black lava rocks.
11. The Kona Airport is pretty much an outdoor airport. There are a few covered areas if there is rain but not many. Also, they do not have jetways so don't be surprised when they roll the steps up to your plane and have you walk across the tarmac. Security lines tend to get long as many flights depart around the same time of day. Be sure to arrive early in order to get through security and agriculture check. There is only one restaurant and a couple gift shops with a few sundries. If you want to eat before your flight, get there even earlier or find something outside of the airport.
Final Thoughts
This was our 5th trip to the Hawaiian Islands. We have made 2 to Oahu, 1 to Maui, 1 to the Big Island exclusively and 1 to both the Big Island and Kauai. If you would like to see some of my past blogs comparing the Islands, please click on the links here.
A Comparison of Oahu and Maui
A Comparison of Oahu, Maui and the Big Island http://travelswithmel.blogspot.com/2014/06/which-island-is-for-me-comparison-of.html
1. My thoughts on Kauai are that while it is a great Island to visit and I would highly recommend it, I don't know that I would plan an entire stay there. For me, there just wasn't enough to do to sustain a weeklong stay and with the higher expense of staying there, I just don't know that it would work for me as a complete destination. That being said, it is an amazing place and not to be missed so I would recommend combining it with another Island.
2. Island Hopping: This was the first time that we had tried Island hopping. Here are my personal thoughts on it:
a. It was easier to do than I thought. You simply book your flight through Hawaiian Airlines, make your way to the airport and end up on a new island. Flights are relatively inexpensive, are usually on time and there are many per day so it can easily fit into any schedule.
b. While it is easy to do, Island hopping still takes time. You have to make your way to the airport and return your rental vehicle on one island, get through security, very possibly make a connecting flight in Honolulu, land on your new island destination, pick up a rental vehicle and make your way to your new lodging. I would plan on spending at least half a day involved in some sort of travel associated with the island hopping.
c. Taking all this into account I'm not sure that I personally would do the Island hopping again. It worked well in this case because we wanted to split time on two of the islands. However, I didn't really like losing travel time in the middle of the vacation. It is certainly a great option if you want to visit more than one island on one vacation.
3. Sometimes when you go back to the same place, it isn't quite as you remember it. While we had a very nice stay at the Hilton Waikoloa Village and had a nice whale watching tour with Ocean Sports, I believe that our first experience (2014) was a little better. It wasn't as though this stay was bad by any means. It was still very beautiful and we had a wonderful time. There was just a little something missing this time around. Weather was a little different this time also and may account for some of the overall difference. I would just say to be flexible....each vacation is different and just be ready for new experiences.
4. I love the Hawaiian Islands. All of them are wonderful in their own way. Oahu gives you that big city with a beach feeling. Maui is romantic and tropical. Kauai is so diverse and intimate. The Big Island has so many amazing things to see and is more affordable. Out of all of the islands though, Maui is my personal favorite. There is just something so special about Maui. I'm saving all my hotel points and airline miles in order to make that a possibility once again!!
Coming Next: Colorado National Parks
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