Heading O'hana (Aulani) then Maui first timer questions..

[dis2cruise]

We will be married 30 yrs this August My dh & I want to head to Hawaii for the first time thinking of going to visit this September. Since we know nothing about either islnd maybe someone could give us some guidness

1. We are thinking flying from NYC straight through are we nuts to do this ( the furthest I've ever flown was NYC to MCO)

2. Thinking in total 11 days? is that enough to visit both islands if so how many days approximately to visit each island.

3. What island should we visit first O'hana then Maui or via versa or does it really matter??

4. Maui, what part of the island should we visit we mainly want to relax but also like to drive and sight see a but we aren't into museums.

Thank you for any information you give I really appreciate it

 

[OKW Lover]

First, congratulations on 30 years!!!

Some comments/responses to your questions:
1 Good Idea. Your alternative is to break this in two flights - NYC to west coast somewhere and then to Hawaii. Unless you plan on making a day or two stop on the west coast as part of the trip its just aggravating to do a long (5 hours) flight followed by a long (another 5 hours) flight. Do it all at once and get it over with.

2 11 days is a nice stay in Hawaii. You'll get over the jet lag in a couple of days and really get into the island rhythm for most of your vacation.

3 I don't think it matters. Plan on more time in Oahu than Maui.

4 can't really comment about Maui much. Lots of nice sights to see (as there is on Oahu) and a relaxed island to soothe your travel weariness. Having just said that, perhaps do Maui first.

 

[dis2cruise]

Thanks this will help

 

[Pete W.]

We'll be visiting Hawaii for the first time in April for our 25th wedding anniversary and we live in NJ so I can give you our perspective on flights and which order to visit the islands. We'll be spending 5 nights on Maui, then 2 nights on the Big Island (really want to see Volcanoes National Park) followed by 6 nights in a 1BR unit at Aulani. We decided to do Aulani last because we're DVC members for 20 years (BWV is our home resort) and we love the space and amenities (kitchen, washer/dryer) in the 1BR units so we want to end there rather than feel like we're 'downgrading' if we start at Aulani and then move someplace with less space and fewer amenities. Also, Honolulu has the greatest variety of flights back to NJ/NY (including non-stops to EWR on United and to JFK on Hawaiian Airlines) so we wanted to end our trip on Oahu to make the journey home slightly less painful!

Since Aulani is a 'resort on the water' we wanted to stay someplace completely different on Maui, plus we wanted to be more centrally located on the island to make it easier to visit Haleakala and experience the Road to Hana. Therefore we chose the StarWind Cottage at the Maui Tradewinds (http://www.mauitradewinds.com/) in Haiku which is on the north shore of Maui. This is a quieter, more secluded location vs. the resort areas on west Maui (Lahaina/Kaanapali) or south Maui (Kihei/Wailea) where you'll find more "Aulani type" places to stay. However if you like upscale resorts then you'll probably gravitate to west/south Maui, but you'll need to be prepared to travel a bit longer if you also want to experience Hana + Haleakala and the surrounding 'upcountry' area.

 

[cgattis]

I recommend the Oahu Revealed and Maui Revealed guidebooks. I have many books, but I found those to have the most detailed and current info. You will get a better idea of the things you want to see, and then maybe that will help you narrow down where to stay.

We ended our trip at Aulani too, because we wanted to be mostly done exploring and ready to stay and enjoy the resort.

 

[cedricandsophie]

Personally I don’t think 11 days is enough. I’d try for two weeks

Fly straight thru. Just try to relax and sleep. Definitely splurge for business class for your anniversary.

I’d fly to Honolulu. Spend two night in Waikiki. Hike the diamond head or head over to north shore and see Waianae falls.

Take local flight to Maui. Stay in Lahaina area. Take drive up to Hana. Stay 3 nights.

Local flight to big island. Stay close to airport. There’s a great Marriott. Drive to see volcano. Stay 2 nights.

Local flight the Kuai. The most beautiful island of all. Stay at Hyatt. Gorgeous. Explore the beauty, the coast line and the incredible Grand Canyon of Hawaii, Waimai canyon.

Fly back to Honolulu. End up at aulani for 3 nights. Relax.

 

[Iamaplanner]

We are doing a two week Hawaiian vacation, which begins next week (yay!). We have a long flight as well but we're just going to suck it up and do it in one stretch.

We fly to Honolulu and are staying for one week at Auluani (rented DVC points so we could get a one bedroom with kitchen).

We then fly to Maui and we rented a condo, through VRBO, on Kaanipali Beach.

Enjoy and congrats on 30 years!

 

[Midoria]

We will be married 30 yrs this August My dh & I want to head to Hawaii for the first time thinking of going to visit this September. Since we know nothing about either islnd maybe someone could give us some guidness

1. We are thinking flying from NYC straight through are we nuts to do this ( the furthest I've ever flown was NYC to MCO)

2. Thinking in total 11 days? is that enough to visit both islands if so how many days approximately to visit each island.

3. What island should we visit first O'hana then Maui or via versa or does it really matter??

4. Maui, what part of the island should we visit we mainly want to relax but also like to drive and sight see a but we aren't into museums.

Thank you for any information you give I really appreciate it

It took me a second to realize you meant O'ahu. O'hana is the word for "family". O'ahu is the name of the island you want to visit. I do think 11 days for Oahu and Maui are perfect. Too hard to make suggestions as there are many things to see on Maui and you haven't yet said what you like to do. Elaborating would help.

I often take the NYC - HON flight and I'm fine. Yes, I get bored, but I'd rather that than have to get off the plane, putter around another airport, and reboard another flight that opens the window for lost luggage and delays.

Just try to relax and sleep.

Actually, when flying from east to west, you should stay awake whether or not you go stright through. If you leave in the morning, you will get to Hawaii in the afternoon. You then go to bed in the early evening to start the adjustment process. Sleeping on the NYC - HON route is the equivalent to sleeping during the day and then trying to go back to sleep at night.

Also, the OP said she wanted to do 2 islands in 11 days, so she wouldn't need an itinerary for Kauai and the BI.

 

[buffettgirl]

It took me a second to realize you meant O'ahu. O'hana is the word for "family". O'ahu is the name of the island you want to visit. I do think 11 days for Oahu and Maui are perfect. Too hard to make suggestions as there are many things to see on Maui and you haven't yet said what you like to do. Elaborating would help.

I often take the NYC - HON flight and I'm fine. Yes, I get bored, but I'd rather that than have to get off the plane, putter around another airport, and reboard another flight that opens the window for lost luggage and delays.



Actually, when flying from east to west, you should stay awake whether or not you go stright through. If you leave in the morning, you will get to Hawaii in the afternoon. You then go to bed in the early evening to start the adjustment process. Sleeping on the NYC - HON route is the equivalent to sleeping during the day and then trying to go back to sleep at night.

Also, the OP said she wanted to do 2 islands in 11 days, so she wouldn't need an itinerary for Kauai and the BI.

holy crap, thank you! I had no idea what they were trying to say. I almost wondered if Aulani was their home resort and they were trying to say "headed home" but even that didn't make sense.

 

[dis2cruise]

Wow thanks everyone for all your help!! This helped me and my husband a bunch for our planning stage

 

[adamak]

1. There are 2 camps of people. Some prefer to fly straight and get it over with. Some prefer to break them apart to stretch your legs. I'd say if you can find decent price, go non-stop. You don't have to worry about wasting a couple more hours on layover, weather delays or lost luggage..etc. But you need to know whether you can handle the long flights. UA coach is awful BTW. Planes going to Hawaii are generally older and narrow.

2. I always want to stay there longer. 11 days is enough but you minus 2 days going there and back + jetlag. And half a day dealing with intra-island flights / check in out..etc. Oahu has more to do. It depends on # of sights you want to hit. I would consider spend a night or 2 in Waikiki area.

3. Doesn't quite matter. Consider open jaw, flying into HNL and fly out of OGG (Maui). Then you save a little time / $.

4. I think all the main area in Maui are pretty relaxing.

Enjoy. Congradulation on 30 years.

 

[princessluna14]

We have an upcoming trip in May to Maui/Oahu, so I'll give you my opinions based on what I've planned.

1. We are flying directly from JFK. I think it's somewhere around 11 hours to Honolulu and then we have a short flight over to Maui. I wanted to fly with Hawaiian Airlines and they offered the direct flight so we decided to do it (side note: look into opening a Hawaiian Airlines credit card; we payed for one flight completely with the sign up points we got!). My ears don't like landing/taking off multiple times like you have to do for layovers, so I think it'll be a good thing for me. I figured I'll just read a lot of books on my Kindle.

2. We are doing 11 days. 5 nights on Maui first, then 5 nights on Oahu at Aulani.

3. I chose to do Maui first for the same reason mentioned by another commenter above me: I didn't want to feel like I was "downgrading" since we are staying at a vacation rental on Maui and not at a fancy resort. Aulani is our treat for the second half of the trip.

4. I chose to book a rental in Kihei, which is on the western coast of Maui. My parents stayed there last year and really enjoyed and recommended it, so that's why I chose it. According to them, it was pretty quiet and relaxing, but they also didn't have to go far to find things to do or a nice restaurant. From what I can tell, mostly everything on the island seems to be accessible in around a two hour drive or less from Kihei.