Feeling discouraged in the time difference

Surprised to hear negative reviews on Hawaiian. I’ve never flown it but I’ve always understood that it’s probably the best quality domestic airline in the US…


It was from Seoul to Honolulu, then Honolulu to Las Vegas (then onto BWI with another airline; we took a week at Ko Olina on our way back from Korea). Their older planes sucked; the “amenity kit” was earplugs and a face mask in first. There were only maybe two rows of first class, and the flight attendants were noisy the whole flight both times. Very uncomfortable (unlike lie flat seats, which I believe they now have on their Newark to HNL nonstop).

I’d fly them again, but they don’t fly near me to HNL (and I’d make sure I had lie flat seats), For us, we do Delta through Atlanta or Detroit in Delta One, or AA through Dallas. I won’t fly that route in coach ever again (I have a few times, when we don’t have enough airline miles to pay for first, but now I’m older and can afford it, and it’s all about experiences for me rather than things).
 
I’m just not sure we can handle a 737 all the way. No seat back entertainment, right? Plus my son is 6’ now, with about 5’ of that in legs, so I’m not sure we’d enjoy it. I mean, I could read a book and be fine but the rest of my crew want movies all the way. We usually do fly SW because Delta is so high, but for the long hauls we go Delta.

And thanks to Covid, I now have my season ticket money refunded to use toward my next Hawaii trip! Grrr but I guess there’s that silver lining. Roll Tide!!
I've done a 737 twice (once on Alaska and the last time on Southwest) and an A330 once (on Hawaiian). Honestly, I preferred the 737's. The way SW and Alaska have them set up, we had more legroom than we did on the A330 (you can check SeatGuru for specific planes).

As to entertainment, on SW, they have free WiFi access to their app (or at least they did on our flights) and on there app they had live TV or a selection of Movies, but you do have to watch on your own pad or phone...

And yes, RTR!!!
 
For people flying from the east coast, Southwest doesn't have many options with only one layover. If we were to fly Southwest from Buffalo, we'd have to layover in Baltimore, then layover in one of the west coast cities, then fly to HNL. Unfortunately, Southwest only seems to make sense if you live on the west coast or can find a flight that has one layover.

We went from BHM to SJC, overnighted, then on to OGG last year. Next year, we are BHM to SAN, overnight ,then on to HNL. It's not bad and has the extra benefit of getting an In-N-Out burger fix...
 
We went from BHM to SJC, overnighted, then on to OGG last year. Next year, we are BHM to SAN, overnight ,then on to HNL. It's not bad and has the extra benefit of getting an In-N-Out burger fix...
Well come over to the Questions about Maui thread and share your fave things from that trip!
 


Well come over to the Questions about Maui thread and share your fave things from that trip!
Well, I would, but quite honestly, we didn't enjoy Maui as much as we enjoyed the Big Island on a prior trip. Maybe some of that was where we stayed. We stayed at the Kaanapali Beach Club, which, while fine, wasn't "in" the resort area there in Kaanapali. It was more of a one and done for us. We did enjoy sunrise at Haleakela and the breakfast the followed at the Kula Lodge.
 
We live in Vancouver, but all of my family lives in eastern Canada (Nova Scotia, Newfoundland). The first couple of times that they joined us at Aulani, they were wrecked on arrival day, asleep by 5pm and up at 3am. The last couple of times, they have arrived at the Vancouver Airport mid to late afternoon and spent the night at the Fairmont hotel that is located right in the airport terminal. They hit up the health club, pool and sauna, then have a relaxing dinner at the hotel restaurant and early to bed. When they wake up they just take the elevator down to departures and they are good to go! There are usually on the 8am flight out and sitting by the pool at Aulani by 1pm Hawaii time fully refreshed and enjoying a cocktail.
 
We went from BHM to SJC, overnighted, then on to OGG last year. Next year, we are BHM to SAN, overnight ,then on to HNL. It's not bad and has the extra benefit of getting an In-N-Out burger fix...
In n Out is certainly a benefit! From our perspective, we only have limited vacation time and just want to get there. We'd also have to book the legs separately which just adds some logistics. And its honestly not that much cheaper for us than flying with one layover on Delta for us, especially when factoring in the hotel. Definitely a personal preference depending on how much time you have to work with and your tolerance for the time change.
 


I've been twice now and going is easy. Sure, you are ready for bed in the late afternoon, but just make yourself stay up until at least 8pm Honolulu time, which will be 1 or 2am EST. You will be so happy to be there, it honestly wasn't hard. The first couple days we went to sleep early and got up early...like up and ready to go at 5am! LOL! But we didn't care about that. We got more done this way honestly.

Going back home, whole other animal! The first time we went, it was a solid week getting back on track...it sucked! The second time though it was a lot easier. Not sure why. First time we went it was summer and then winter...so wasn't a 6 hour difference, just 5. But it's all worth it! Go, and have the best time!
 
I agree about coming home used to be harder than going there! First time I took my kids back (my oldest was born there), they were 4 and 6. My oldest had the hardest time adjusting when we got back home.

When we lived there and I had to travel back to CONUS (over 20 years ago), melatonin was my best friend. I never had jet lag taking it.
 
I agree about coming home used to be harder than going there! First time I took my kids back (my oldest was born there), they were 4 and 6. My oldest had the hardest time adjusting when we got back home.

When we lived there and I had to travel back to CONUS (over 20 years ago), melatonin was my best friend. I never had jet lag taking it.

Flying west always easier than flying east. That's the rule to remember.

Flying over the north pole from New york to Singapore, 19 hours, that's just BAD even though its neither east nor west!
 
I have fly all over the world and mostly to the Southern Hemisphere countries and Hawaii. My best advice for Hawaii is sleep when it’s dark and stay awake it’s light out even if you tired. Most people I travel with including young ones adjust in the first night/day if they follow that rule. I will say that it’s not always easy to do but it’s great when you can do it and rough when I don’t make it happen.
 
In 4 trips to Hawaii never had a problem there, other than waking up around 4AM. The flight back always kills me though as I just can’t sleep on a plane
 
One thing I do when dealing with big time zone changes is to start adjusting at home. So for a Hawaii trip, I would stay up later and sleep in later. I also find going west easier to manage than going east. I wouldn't start the trip 2 days earlier unless it means you're getting more time to do things that you want to do.
 
Feeling a bit discouraged today about the time difference from the East coast to Hawaii. Not sure why. Was thinking of adding two days to the beginning of the trip in Waikiki to a five night stay at Aulani, but will that be enough? Should I just do a couple days in California first? And I am not even thinking about coming home.

The time change will throw you off for several days. I try for at least 10 days if possible. I know it’s costly, but if you’re going that far, stay a little longer if you can. I used the weekends on both sides of my trip when I was working. I didn’t stay in California first, though I did think of it. i usually flew Delta..non-stop from Atlanta. It’s a long flight, no way around it. Enjoy your trip! Wish I was going.
 
We travel from the Midwest, so one hour less difference. I will say, the jet lag is rough. We typically stay about 10 days for so, and I don't know that we ever fully adjust. Although we usually stop waking up at 4 am after the first couple of days, we usually remain early to bed for the entire trip. The return trip isn't nearly as bad for us. For our upcoming trip, we've actually planned to stop off in California for three days on the way there, in hopes of curtailing some of the super early morning waking. The jet lag is one of the main reasons why we don't even consider a trip shorter than 10 days. We are two adults in our mid-40s, a 10 yo, and a 17 yo, fwiw.

The jet lag is a killer. I spend 10 days and by the time I start adjusting its time to fly back. I love Hawaii, but it’s not an easy trip.
 
Feeling a bit discouraged today about the time difference from the East coast to Hawaii. Not sure why. Was thinking of adding two days to the beginning of the trip in Waikiki to a five night stay at Aulani, but will that be enough? Should I just do a couple days in California first? And I am not even thinking about coming home.
I would not do the flight for a five night stay unless it was for a special occasion. We are a bit older so that may figure in. We currently live in Hawaii and have done the flight a few times. Stay a couple extra days if you can. The ocean and breezes do have a way of helping. Our last flight we had about a two hour layover in Denver, Honolulu-Denver-Orlando. We felt okay.
 
I think people think about time changes too much! Honestly, going to Hawaii from the East Coast works in your favor. You are up super early the first few days and can catch some amazing sunrises!

As for going home, a couple days of jet lag messes with you a bit but you get back on regular schedule in no time. Our family has been to Hawaii and Europe several times and just know to expect it goes along with traveling that far. We make sure we hydrate a lot, get out in the sun to reset our internal clocks, take Melatonin at bed time, and are thankful for all the amazing experiences that traveling to those far flung destinations provides!
 
To me the jet lag is the trip home. dealing with the time change when we got there was much easier for us. We try to arrive by mid afternoon. We tended to go to bed earlier, since theres not a lot to do at night. Yes we woke up early but sunrise and getting a chair at the pool early works for me. We also dont plan on doing much on our 1st full day (day 2) and just hangout and relax. We have stopped in CA at beginning and end of trip. At end of trip was very helpful for jet lag.
 
I flew from ATL straight to HNL when the volcano was active a few years ago. I spent a week at Aulani before island hopping over to the big island. I flew Delta and it was fine. I had zero issues but did book night flights coming and going and that helped. It was long. Honestly, it was the jet lag back that got me. I stayed on east coast time when I arrived and did some cool things. Day one I did a 10 hour photography tour with O'ahu Photographers. We did the sunrise and then went around to cool sites. It was awesome. Plus I was not tired because my body was used to getting up at that hour. Slowly I became used to HI time. Look into some fun excursions and things. It makes it fun.
 

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