What's One Thing You Wish You Had Known...[before you went to Hawaii]

[memereDoris]

I think he was talking about the train at the Maui Plantation, not the Sugar Cane train.

I actually meant the Sugar Cane train. I'm not surprised that it is shut down. The train at the Maui Plantation sounds like something we should try with the grandkids.

 

[n777lt]

If you plan to hike, bring your hiking boots despite the added weight - your feet will thank you! And if you are going to the top of Haleakala, be prepared for temps 30 degrees less than beach-side - it can be chilly up there.
Silly thing - if you like to cook for yourself, stop in at Costco for wonderful fresh local fish (at least in Kahalui). We buy a bunch and make our own ceviche and poke for the week. (And that's the place to gas up the rental car too)

 

[cgeidl]

Wish I had known

My first trip was in 1959 and little did I know how much land would appreciate at that time. Of course with only a few dollars of disposable income I probably could afford only a few square feet.I have been to Oahu about 25 times or so over the years and have 4 weeks timeshare there and also am a fan of Oahu. I have found every Island even Kauai has a traffic rush problem.We usually spend two or three weeks on Oahu and one or two on the other islands. Next year so far it is two Oahu and one Big Island. Guess I like the big Island second and it is a tossup between Kauai and Maui.
I am retired Navy and Oahu offers affordable golfing and groceries are much less at the commissary so this is a major reason we like it plus I think there is the most to do and the best restaurant choices. We walk Waikiki every night almost as sunset is going down and hear from 5 to 15 different live music groups. Just writing this makes me think maybe we will make a second trip soon.

 

[GaryDouglas]

... ($) for a lei ...

I thought that was against the law....

 

[DaveNV]

I thought that was against the law....

I think that is a different variety.


Dave

 

[Tucsonadventurer]

Food

We always stop at Costco in Maui, Kauai and the Big Island straight from the airport before we head to our condo. Also local farmer's markets have great deals. Costco has great souvenirs and road shows for gifts

 

[jehb2]

Pay attention to or always check for jellyfish warnings.

Don't swim in gorgeous looking waterfalls. I had green gooey stuff oozing out of my eye immediately afterwards. Didn't see the warning sign. It lasted for about 3-4 days.

Bring only 1/4 of the cloths you intend to bring

Shop at Don Quixote & Costco for groceries. 16 sticks of butter from Costco is cheaper than 4 sticks of butter from the grocery store in the mall.

Don't rent snorkeling gear. Buy it from Costco

#3) Being homeless stinks. With most flights leaving at night, if you check-out on that day, you're homeless the rest of the day. From now on, I'm flying home the night before check-out, not the morning of check-out. Then I can enjoy that last day, head home, shower, change, and leave for the airport.

Took me years to learn this one.

 

[easyrider]

Spam musubi at the mini mart is pretty good. Don't be afraid of the local cuisine.

Bill

 

[Dollie]

Instead of losing a day in paradise...

Being homeless stinks. With most flights leaving at night, if you check-out on that day, you're homeless the rest of the day. From now on, I'm flying home the night before check-out, not the morning of check-out. Then I can enjoy that last day, head home, shower, change, and leave for the airport..

Our timeshare has lockers in the bathrooms by the pool which you can use for the day. This area includes showers and towels. Instead of losing a day in paradise, we checkout and get lockers. They will hold our luggage or we just leave it in the car. Spend the day at the pool, walking the beaches, or whatever. Shower in the late afternoon then on to a nice restaurant for dinner before heading to the airport for a night flight. Nice relaxing day before the long flight home.

 

[ThreeLittleBirds]

Shop at Don Quixote & Costco for groceries. 16 sticks of butter from Costco is cheaper than 4 sticks of butter from the grocery store in the mall.

.

So true. You can donate unused items to the Maui Food Bank, or find other TUGers that are checking in. If nothing else, I believe the housekeeping staff can take any food left behind for their own use.

How much is the snorkel gear at Costco? We are really loaded down with gear this year, and may want to consider this. If it is the same price as a rental, might as well and pass it on before we leave. We are also going for almost 3 weeks, so it might be cost effective.

 

[jehb2]

Our timeshare has lockers in the bathrooms by the pool which you can use for the day. This area includes showers and towels. Instead of losing a day in paradise, we checkout and get lockers. They will hold our luggage or we just leave it in the car. Spend the day at the pool, walking the beaches, or whatever. Shower in the late afternoon then on to a nice restaurant for dinner before heading to the airport for a night flight. Nice relaxing day before the long flight home.

Yes, our Hilton timeshares in Hawaii all have a dedicated units where you can take a shower before catching your flight and of course they hold your bags. We did this for years and loved it. But once we had kids, filling our day from 10am-9pm without a unit no longer worked for us. By chance one year we checked out the night before and discovered that worked so much better for us.

 

[jehb2]

So true. You can donate unused items to the Maui Food Bank, or find other TUGers that are checking in. If nothing else, I believe the housekeeping staff can take any food left behind for their own use.

The Bay Club now has a dedicated area near the lobby where you can bring all unopened food and they'll donated to the local food band

So How much is the snorkel gear at Costco? We are really loaded down with gear this year, and may want to consider this. If it is the same price as a rental, might as well and pass it on before we leave. We are also going for almost 3 weeks, so it might be cost effective.

I'm sorry I can't remember the exact price but I think it's something like $24.99

 

[dash]

If you have a flight that connects in HNL, good luck, the directions, assistance and signage are poor at best. We were shocked to see what dismal condition
the airport was in when we arrived and departed. It felt like a third world country.

 

[KauaiMark]

Ditto under estimating the sun.

We had an exchange student from Finland stay with us several years ago. She went to Hawaii with us and wanted a nice tan, used only SPF4 sunscreen dispite our telling her that sun exposure in Hawaii isn't the same as Helsinki.

Well...you know the result.

 

[Blues]

Yeah, same thing with my step son. Ouch, was he red. I could only suggest, not force him. But I could insist that his daughter, my granddaughter, lather up (over strenuous objections). A couple of days later, when she saw what her dad was going through, she was much more compliant in following directions

-Bob

 

[sun starved Gayle]

I wish I would have know to only take natural fiber, breathable clothing, no synthetics. They were way too hot for me. I am not used to such humidity.

 

[Lydlady]

We didn't notice any humidity on Oahu or Maui but noticed it this past May when we were in Kauai for the first time. I don't know if it's normally that humid there.

 

[DeniseM]

We didn't notice any humidity on Oahu or Maui but noticed it this past May when we were in Kauai for the first time. I don't know if it's normally that humid there.

It depends on the season, the weather, and your location - all the islands "can" be humid. It also depends on what you are used to at home.

 

[KauaiMark]

Trade Winds...

We didn't notice any humidity on Oahu or Maui but noticed it this past May when we were in Kauai for the first time. I don't know if it's normally that humid there.

Trade Winds make the difference. We don't usually notice the humidity on Kauai but the one year the trade winds weren't blowing, it hit us like a ton of bricks when we exited the airport. Fortunately it picked up a few days later.

 

[vacationtime1]

Two things I have learned:

1. One island per trip. It is easy enough to split a ten day or two week vacation between two islands, but you lose most of a day in the process. Between packing up, driving to the airport, turning in the rental car, going through security, waiting for the plan to leave (assuming it leaves on time), the flight itself, getting the new rental car, going to the next grocery store, and finally driving to the next timeshare or hotel, consumes most of the daylight hours of a day.

2. Bring your mask and snorkel; rent flippers. That way you can still go to Hawaii with carry-on baggage but have the benefit of your own higher quality equipment. Renting flippers for a week costs exactly $8 at Snorkel Bob's.

 

[SMHarman]

FLIPPER IS A DOLPHIN.

Rent Fins. Not Flipper.

 

[sdbrier]

8 days isn't enough. 10 days isn't enough. I'll never go for less than 2 weeks anymore. Other than that, have fun!

Oh, and have Tropical Dreams ice cream!

 

[Alaskaliz]

Avoid bright flowered beach towels due to bees. Last trip came out of the ocean after snorkeling and started to dry off and got a bee sting on my eye lid. Not a fun day. In recent trips I am packing my oldest beach towels and will just donate them at the timeshare at the end of our trip.

Pack Keens/water shoes that fit well and are comfortable. Avoid thin flip flops- some of those occasional big nasty thorns and other unseen hazards, sharp lava rocks, coral, are in and out of the water and on the trails to many beaches in Hawaii.

Have a secure waterproof place to attach your keys/id to yourself if everyone is planing to go in the water. I found that a neoprene camera bag worked well to ziploc keys, ID ,CC in. I also have lanyard pouch for my Iphone if I am bringing it.

Buying boogie boards at Costco if you are going more than a week and plan to use them will be worth it Check for loaner first. Don't buy cheap on at the convenience store.

Favs- Love Lampert's Ice cream-Kauai and Maui, Hula Dog in Oahu, Maui-Da Kitchen-Kalua Plate lunch (luau food, ono$), Geste Shrimp Truck, Ualani's shave ice, Purple Taro bread rolls-from Big Island factory in loaves, can buy at Kahalui Costco

 

[VacationForever]

Hawaii is not a lot more than California, but people from the mid-west often suffer sticker shock in Hawaii.

I was always puzzled when people said Hawaii is expensive and it costs the same back home. Guess that explains where that perception about Hawaii being expensive came from.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Funny, this is an old thread. I don't think I had much to add to the thread before this, but now I do know a lot more about getting to Hawaii than I did before. It definitely falls under the category of "wish I had known," for us.

The Ultimate Rewards through Chase have been our way of getting flights for our hundreds of thousands of points each year. I wish I would have known about miles and points years ago. It would have saved a lot of money over the years, and I would have been able to help the kids with their flights, too. Nonetheless, it's been great over the last few years. The Alaska Airlines' companion ticket was good for a long time. I was disappointed when they stopped allowing us to book 1st with that CP, but we found other ways, since we got spoiled by the 1st class experience.