Island Hopping

[Sonnyeclipse]

We have our 2020 vacation booked in July for Aulani. We are a family of five with a 22 and two 18 year olds. I have been to Hawaii (Big Island and Oahu) many times as I used to have the luxury of traveling there for work. My kids have never been and have asked if they could see more than one Island with Kauai and the Big Island being the two they are interested in.

I had debated ending the trip with a few days at one of them but wanted to get everyone's thoughts on Island hopping for a day during our stay at Aulani as we are staying there on points. Take an early flight and then an evening flight back. Their main interest is Volcano National Park on the Big Island and Waimea canyon/Napali coast on Kauai.

Has anyone done this and does that give you enough time? Any suggestions or recommendations on doing this or not doing this? We realize we won't see everything that the other islands have to offer in a day.

 

[nkereina]

People do this often. I know Aulani even offers a one day excursion to the Big Island that includes Volcano National Park.

We visited Kauai, but spent 3 days there. Personally, I don't think one day is enough to do Waimea Canyon AND the Na Pali Coast. What way do you want to see the coast? We did a sunset dinner cruise around the coast and it was probably my favorite thing we did our whole trip. It was about 4 hours long. We also did a helicopter tour which flew over Waimea Canyon and over the Na Pali Coast. Its a good, time efficient way to see both of them but it didn't compare to our boat ride along the coast.

Another thing I'd mention if you decide to add on a night or two at the end of your trip is that for us, round trip flights to and from Honolulu were cheaper (and easier) than trying to fly home from Maui or Kauai. All of those flights were more expensive and required a layover in Honolulu. Because of this, we island hopped in the middle of our trip - 3 nights Waikiki, 3 nights Maui, 3 nights Kauai, 6 nights Aulani.

 

[Nalshersmom]

We divided up our trip and went to 3 islands. We spent the shortest amount of time on the Big Island (3 nights) but it was enough for us. I would personally not spend less than 2 nights anywhere just due to airport/travel time. Our trip was 6 nights Maui, 3 nights Big Island, 8 in Oahu (3 Aulani, 3 Waikikki, 2 Turtle Bay.) I would just be nervous about delays. I am sad we missed out on Kauai.

 

[dachsie]

To be honest, you won't do yourself justice by hopping over for a day. I would tack on the time at the beginning or end of the trip or both.

 

[ScooterPie]

Although we did not stay at Aulani, we just came home from Hawaii where we actually stayed at a resort just down the highway from there. Twice we hopped on a plane for day trips to Maui and Kona. Very easy to do because we left our luggage back in our cabin. Do it. It was no problem at all. We rented a car on each island for the day and took off to explore. Highlight of our trip!

 

[corgi_monster]

I think a day trip to Kauai is very doable. It's a very short, 20 minute flight each way. The only thing you need to be aware of is that in poor weather, clouds can move into the canyon making it impossible to see anything. Also, rafts and boats can't sail to Na Pali in choppy seas. We had a couple of days with inclement weather this past July, but that is very rare.

Waimea Canyon and the boat harbor are both on the West side of the island. Kauai, especially Na Pali, is the Hawaii you see on postcards. It's an expensive day trip, but worth every penny. I'm born and raised in Hawaii and have traveled extensively throughout the islands, and I think visiting the Na Pali coast is one of the most breathtaking, inspiring experiences one can have.

 

[pjacobi]

I did Oahu, Kauai, and Big Island (4 days X 3 islands) = 12 days. It seemed like the right amount of time and fits into 2 week vacation window.

-Paul

 

[Sepo]

We did Kauai (and Aulani) this past Summer. As the PP wrote, both of those sites are very weather dependent. We did the Hanapaki’ai hike (beginning of the Kalalau Trail the east part of the Napali Coast). Best part of our trip! Would take 6 hours round trip including the round trip drive from the airport.

Waimea will be a lot of driving as well and if the clouds descend, you might feel like you wasted the day. If you plan a hike there, even the clouds can’t stop it from being amazing.

Both of those activities are essentially on opposite sides of the island. The only exception might be if you tried to drive to the canyon from the airport, then drive back down and west to the Napali coast boat tour launches (west side of the Napali coast). Then do a boat tour. Again, a long day.

I think if you consider staying overnight and make it a 1.5 or 2 day affair for those two activities you’ll be happier. You could be back at Aulani by the next afternoon and be happier. Imho.

 

[cgattis]

Keep in mind that Kauai is only 500 square miles, so driving up the canyon is really not that far. Personally if I really didn’t want to hop, and with kids that age, I’d look at the helicopter and/or boat tours, as another poster said, if you can swing it. Kauai is like stepping into Jurassic Park—it looks like it’s still totally wild. Amazing.