Tips flying from east coast to Hawaii

eeyoresmom

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 10, 2015
Hi everyone. I am looking for tips and advice for traveling from New England to Hawaii. Now that SW has announced it will start serving Hawaii I want to combine some SW RR points and my DVC for a late fall trip. It will be DH and I and our dates are flexible but for preliminary planning I am thinking early Nov. I am thinking of possibly staying over night in California to break up the trip. Is that more needed on the way there or the way home or both? Disney's resort is on Oahu, should we spend a night or 2 on the big island before moving on ? Really anyone who has experience, I am open to all and any advice. We could stretch the trip to 10 days if we left on a Sunday and returned on a Tuesday. I know this isn't entirely travel related but I thought this forum was the best match.
 
I can give you my experience with breaking up the trip. A few years ago we went to Hawaii, with a stop over in LA/Disneyland. I'm from Ohio, so it's about a 4 hr flight to LAX, then the 6 hr flight to Honolulu. We had the first flight of the day to LAX, got to Disneyland around lunchtime. Spent the rest of that day, and the next day at Disneyland, then flew to Hawaii the morning of day 3, and arrived in time for a late lunch. It makes the flights a touch easier (but just before that I had done an Asia trip, so anything is shorter than that). But it also made the time change a little easier. Flights didn't cost any extra either to go to both. I'll be interesting to see what Southwest ends up doing. I also liked doing Disneyland first, since that was obviously the busiest part of the trip, then we got to recover in Hawaii! We did brake it up because we wanted to go to Disneyland for vacation too, and it only made sense to combine the trips. Anyways, whenever I go back to Hawaii, I'd definitively do a quick mini vacation first in LAX or SFO, but of course do what's right for your family (price, days off work, what you want to see in CA).
 


I flew from Toronto to DC and then straight to Honolulu.
I hate flying because I have restless legs but I would not have wanted to stop overnight anywhere.
I just wanted to get there and get home so that is what I'd recommend as far as flights go.
 
We have done the BOS to Oahu flights twice a few yeas ago now.
We flew 1st class on my United miles. I also had Club access.
We flew out early AM to SFO. We had a longer layover in SFO but with club access we were able to relax, unwind and have something to eat and drink. We then continued to Oahu arriving late evening the same day. We were tired the first day. But we bounced right back.
Coming home we flew to LAX. Then we took the red eye to BOS. Being in 1st class on the over night flights made a huge difference as I slept comfortably.
I find the trip East to West harder.
 
Disney's resort is on Oahu, should we spend a night or 2 on the big island before moving on ? Really anyone who has experience, I am open to all and any advice.

I will preface this by saying I have never been to Aluani but have been to Hawaii from BOS back in 2003. We spent 4 nights with friends on Oahu and then 3 night each on Maui and the Big Island before returning to Oahu for the last 2 nights. If the lava has been/is flowing in an accessible area on the Big Island it is something that should not be missed IMO. Also if I am going that far I want to see as much as I can in Hawaii with out over doing it. Each island is different and has it's own personality. The next time we go we have already said that we will either skip Oahu, or at best spend 2 days there as there are a couple of things we didn't see, and hit a couple other islands, probably Kauai and Maui and depending on the lava flow the Big Island.

As much as I love Disney I would not go all the way to Hawaii from the east coast just to go to Aluani and just spend all my time at the resort, I can do something like that in the Caribbean. To me it would be like going to London and just seeing Buckingham Palace or Paris and just going to the Eiffel Tower. There is so much to do in Hawaii make sure you get out and see it. On Oahu there is Hananuma Bay, The North Shore, and of course Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona and so much more. Maui has the Road To Hana which is a great drive and seeing the Sunrise at the top of Haleakala and again so much more. The Big Island has Volcanoes National Park if the lava is flowing. Of course each Island has a number of waterfalls.

Also if only 10 days I would not bother with a stop on the west coast as it would take up Island time, unless you could get a late flight out Saturday and an early flight Sunday to Hawaii. We flew from BOS to Newark and the from EWR non stop to HNL and on the way back from HNL to Houston to BOS. On the way back it was nice splitting the trip up like that as it was overnight from HNL back. If you do a flight like that keep you tooth brush and deodorant readily available along with a change of shirt and maybe pants. That way you can refresh a bit on your layover, it will help tremendously as you will have been up for almost 24 hours, depending on how much sleep you get on the flight, before you get home. While on either the flight there or back make sure to get up and walk up and down the aisle every know and then to keep that circulation flowing. Unfortunately if you go with Southwest it will be a 737 which of course is a single aisle so it will make you feel a little more cooped up, we luck out and had a 767, on Continental, which has 2 aisles.

Also if you do arrive in Hawaii in the late in the afternoon fight the urge to even nap for a bit and try and stay up as long as you can to adjust to the time change. If you arrive at 6p and go to bed at 8 you will probably wake up at 4a. Staying up late helps that as you normal body clock will want you up earlier.
 


I have only been once. We left Sunday am from Hartford, arrived in Atlanta and then direct to Honolulu. It was 2000 so that day we ate ALOT! We had our standard MCDs breakfast before we got to the airport, got a muffin/juice on the plane to Atlanta. At lunch in Atlanta. Had a meal, actually maybe 2 meals on the plane and then we ate in Honolulu, not sure how or why but maybe from keeping us from going to bed at 7pm their time.

Anyways, I would say go longer if possible OR if you have to have the stop, do it on the return. You lose a day so why not take a shorter flight to CA and spend a day there.

But like I said I’d rather Be in Hawaii longer (we did 2 weeks).

I know for us, Oahu was not a fav, it was a stopping point. We arrived, ate, went to bed. Woke up the next morning and went to Pearl Harbor and then drove to the north shore and returned to the hotel that evening/afternoon. We flew out the next day to Kauai. We spent pretty much 2 days there since we took the earliest morning flight. That island was pretty. We saw everything we wanted to see minus a helicopter ride but that was not in our plans. Then we went to the Big Island for 4 Days. If I could do it again, I’d spend another day or two there. There were so many things to see. We had planned to see the green sand beach but because priority #1 was lava and the walk to it was never ending so we turned around and took a helicopter the next day which would of been the green sand day. We never made it to Hilo, the fern grotto but we did see the whole island including lava from the helicopter. I would of loved to go up to the telescopes. Then we did Maui for a week as it was our relaxation week, granted we did the sunrise bike ride and the drive to Hana but our days were spend on the beach.
 
We never extend the layover. If I’m going to Hawaii, I’m going to Hawaii. . I would hate to burn a day not on the islands.

If you have the ability, then do try to island hop. Oahu is nice but not 10 days nice. It’s very much like any other city by the beach.
 
I'll echo a lot of what Jimsig said above -- especially the part about not spending the whole time at Aulani. Aulani is beautiful, but it's located in the least desirable part of Oahu, 25 miles (40-45 minutes) from Honolulu and longer drives to most other places you'd want to go on Oahu.

Last time we went, we also went to Kauai and Maui. On Maui, we did the Road to Hana and did a bike ride from the top of Haleakala to the bottom, including watching the sunrise. On Kauai, we did a helicopter tour which was awesome. Maui is very developed and touristy; Kauai is more relaxed and really beautiful.

We went straight TO Hawaii, but stopped in San Francisco on the way back for 3-4 days. If you haven't been there, a 1-2 day side trip to Yosemite National Park would be another great option to combine with an SFO stop. Wine Country would be another great day or 2-day side trip in the Bay area, but with the horrific fires still burning we'll have to wait and see what's left.
 
I have visited the Hawaiian islands many times, most visits by flying out of Indiana through either Chicago or Dallas. Given the cost and time when flying, I would agree that you should stay more than one week and visit at least one other island. As for flying, the trip over is not as bad as the trip back. You fly over during the day, and you our excitied about getting there. Due to the time switch, you will wake up very early the first couple days after arrival. Great time to get some early sight seeing in. The flights back are Red eyes and your internal clock will still be on Hawaii time (5 hour difference from the East Coast). We fly cattle class. We make sure we carry neck pillows, ear and eye covers, and have easy access to an aisle so that we can get up and move around. We carry snacks and tend to shy away from the airline food they try to sell you. We stay away from alcohol and caffeine. When we land at Chicago (for example), it would be about 3-4am Chicago time. We have a bit of a layover, so we grab a good breakfast and I will shave and wash up in the bathroom.
 
Excellent ideas here. I would suggest you stay as long as possible. We've been to Oahu 3-4x? Maui 2-3x, Kauai 3x and Big Island 2x now. (Ok, seeing that written out, I guess I am a HI addict) With kids, we stop over in LAX on each way from NYC. We fly AA, and there are early AM flights to HI that leave LAX that get you to HI in the early afternoon. With kids, for example, we will take a Saturday AM flight from NYC, get to LAX by noon, have lunch, stay at an airport hotel with free shuttle (the Sheraton is the best), and have some pool and hangout time and then early to bed. Early flight out of LAX on Sunday AM, arrive in HI early afternoon on Sunday with a head start on the jet lag already. On the way home, it's usually harder to stop over in LAX because the flights out of the islands are either early AM or late afternoon (or only late afternoon). When we were on the Big Island in January, our 4pm flight got continually delayed and we landed at LAX at 1AM (with 2 kids), then transferred to the Sheraton for a 4 hour nap and then an early flight back arriving in NYC late afternoon.

Since you're 2 adults no kids, I'd say on the return, it's probably worth it to take a redeye back to the East Coast, then you have a full day in HI before you leave. When we traveled to HI before kids, we would layover in LA and overnight (you don't really lose much time, and save 1 night's hotel in HI!) on the way there, but take a redeye on the way back. Keep in mind that you'll most likely be renting a car when you arrive and may drive significant time to get to your resort, so it helps to be somewhat fresh on your way in. Less so on the way back.

If you go for at least a week, I would suggest AT MOST 2 islands, preferably 1. And agree with PPs that you do not want to fly all that way only to spend it at your resort. IF you decide to use DVC points at Aulani, I might do 1-2 nights at the beginning if SW only flies to HNL, and then spend the rest of the time on another island. The Big Island is my favorite, but it's REALLY big. We have been 2x, once for a week with little kids, and once for 4-5 days without kids, and feel like we've only barely scratched the surface. I also really love Kauai because it feels so relaxed. Oahu and Maui are the most touristy and have the most people, so we've gone there less on recent trips and tend to spend time on Kauai and the Big Island. The Big Island is so big that when we went without kids, we flew into Hilo, stayed a few nights at the volcano, and then went to Kona for a few nights and flew out from there. And still missed everything in between.
 
Hi everyone. I am looking for tips and advice for traveling from New England to Hawaii. Now that SW has announced it will start serving Hawaii I want to combine some SW RR points and my DVC for a late fall trip. It will be DH and I and our dates are flexible but for preliminary planning I am thinking early Nov. I am thinking of possibly staying over night in California to break up the trip. Is that more needed on the way there or the way home or both? Disney's resort is on Oahu, should we spend a night or 2 on the big island before moving on ? Really anyone who has experience, I am open to all and any advice. We could stretch the trip to 10 days if we left on a Sunday and returned on a Tuesday. I know this isn't entirely travel related but I thought this forum was the best match.

Just noticed this part of your question - to be clear - Oahu and the Big Island (aka Hawaii) are 2 different islands. I would spend only a few nights on Oahu (if that). You could spend a week on the Big Island and still not see it all. It has 2 mountains, an active volcano, rain forests, plus beaches and coffee plantations. It has 2 airports that service flights from the mainland (one flight we took without kids was direct Kona-JFK and the weather can be dramatically different between Kona and Hilo.
 
But like I said I’d rather Be in Hawaii longer

1) Yes.
2) Always give me another day at my destination.
3) I could spend it any way I wish.
. . . in bed
. . . on vacation activities
. . . at restaurants
4) Choice is always preferred.

NOTE: I used to travel to Europe and to Asia quarterly for my manufacturing plants. Sometimes Jet Lag killed me, and I would spend the next day in bed. Other times, I was fine and would go about my duties. At least I had options.
 
I live in Upstate NY and flew to Hawaii this past summer. There is a direct flight on Hawaiian Airlines from JFK to Honolulu and I can't say enough good things about it. They feed you twice, have plenty of in-flight entertainment and if you pay a little extra for comfort seats it's well worth the extra $$. Flying between Islands is pretty easy and inexpensive through Hawaiian Airlines and some of the other carriers that have inter-island flights.
 
Flying between Islands is pretty easy and inexpensive through Hawaiian Airlines and some of the other carriers that have inter-island flights.

Loved hearing the Captain of the 727 we were on to fly between Honolulu and Maui announce, "Ladies and Gentlemen welcome aboard Aloha flight 236- non-stop to Maui, we will be cruising at 18k feet and the flight time is 18min" I think we were on the runway taxiing longer then the 18 min flight time :D
 

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