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Suggestions for Hawaii

LogGrad98

LogGrad98

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Next year is my 30th wedding anniversary. We would like to go to Hawaii, never been. We are also taking my parents with us, as they have never been either, and they are 85 and somewhat mobility challenged (no wheelchair, but tough time walking much).

Looking for suggestions as to where to go and what to do, considering our limitations. We really want to visit pearl harbor, so tentatively planning on like Waikiki or Honolulu. We have some flexibility for resort and such and will be there for a 7-night stay whenever we end up.

TIA
 
Congrats on the 30 years. I lived in Oahu and Big Island for about 5 years. Since there is mobility issues I would suggest:
Pearl Harbor
Tantalus Lookout (drive to a great view of Honolulu)
Drive from Honululu to Haleiwa, this includes stops at the Dole Plantation and Hawaii Cook pine trees.
Makapu’u Beach has a great view of the basalt rock, turquoise water and green mountains.
Waimanalo Beach is the best on the island. Bring chairs, a $15 charcoal grill and cook up on the beach.
Downtown Kailua is a great beach town, don’t forget to stop by the crepe place.
Lair point is a short walk

Let me know if you need any other info, Waikiki is like the Vegas strip, expensive shops, restaurants and hotels. Best part of the island is outside of Waikiki.

The best island is the Big Island but it’s more of an outside adventure island.
 
My personal take is if you're going to Hawaii, opt for either Maui or Kauai. I find Oahu to be way too crowded and it's going to feel like a city more than anything. The Big Island is far too big and spread out though seeing active volcanoes is pretty cool, but the island isn't as scenic.

Kauai is probably the closest thing to true Hawaii as it's easy to navigate the island, see some great sights with most highly accessible yet also still get some great beaches and views. It won't have quite as good as shopping as Maui if that's up your alley, but I think the smaller island size works better for those that are older anyway. If I were in your situation, that's what I would do, but a case can be made for Maui as well, just be prepared for more driving.

You could always fly into Oahu, spend a day checking out Pearl Harbor and some other sights and then taking the short hop over to another island. That's what I would do anyway. Also, you might some VRBO/Airbnb that are also quite comparable.
 
agree with Avery I'd only go to Honolulu again just to go to Pearl Harbor. Kailua beach / town in awesome but year Maui is much more cruisy .. the Kaanapali area is really relaxing and enjoyable and mobility shouldn't be a problem Big Island is fantastic if you like being active and moving around to see the volcano etc.
 
And I agree with Avery on Kauai. I go to Hawaii to get away from everything and usually find a place in Princeville on the north side of the island although I do usually hit Poipu Beach on the south shore on at least one day because I have better luck finding sea turtles there. Swimming with sea turtles is one of my favorite things in life.
 
Al-O-Meter said:
And I agree with Avery on Kauai. I go to Hawaii to get away from everything and usually find a place in Princeville on the north side of the island although I do usually hit Poipu Beach on the south shore on at least one day because I have better luck finding sea turtles there. Swimming with sea turtles is one of my favorite things in life.
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And the good thing is regardless if you stay in Princeville, Poipu, Kapaa, it’s all within an hour of each other.
 
I will have to find the pic, but one of my favorites from Kauai was in the Walmart parking lot in Lihue. Chickens run around free on the island and there were about a dozen of those and about as many cats eating something that had spilled in the back parking lot. All co-mingling and just having a good time.

I will warn you that car rental prices are through the roof right now, but they will hopefully come back to earth soon.
 
I have been to both Oahu and Maui. Both Islands are beautiful but different. I want to go to Kauai really bad. I hope it will be next year for my 62nd Birthday.
 
It has been 34 years since I went to Hawaii, so I probably can't offer much. Pearl Harbor and the hike up Diamondhead were the highlights on Oahu, although I loved the Dole plantation. I did get to eat Sunday dinner at Al Harrington's house (Alema Harrington's dad). Alema was at BYU playing football so didn't meet him. Al is an actor/entertainer and for a couple of decades had a show on Waikiki, which we attended.

I spent two days on Kauai, and it rained almost the whole time. Our boat ride around the Na Pali Coast was canceled :(. We did get to go on the Fern Grotto tour, which was lovely. But we mostly drove around the island getting on each other's nerves for hours. Still, it's a beautiful place.

I'd love to go to Maui and Molokai someday. You'll likely have a wonderful trip, no matter where you end up. The beaches are lovely, especially the less well known ones.
 
The last time we went to Hawaii was on Oahu in February 2020, right before COVID hit. Aside from a year earlier going to the big island with my wife, I've only been to Oahu. I was actually just looking at flight tickets and they're super cheap (like 295 from SLC... maybe cheaper from LAX), so book now. In any case, I'd definitely look at VRBO. Even though Honolulu is a busy city, you can still stay in small places on the island outside of that that can kinda give you that feel. Next time we go I'm definitely burned out on Oahu. We almost went to Maui back in May but then I saw that all the return flights were after 9pm, and there was no way I was doing that with 5 kids, so we did Puerto Rico instead. I'd really like to see Maui or Kauai, so now you've got me looking and flights and VRBOs. Tempting with fares <$300.
 
I wasn't a huge fan of the big island, though. I went to a conference so it was (mostly) paid for by work. Had to pay my wife's way and everything. It was about 45-50 minutes north of Kona and it's a lava field and then all deserty. It looked like Magna but with an ocean. We did go over to the east side of the island in Hilo, which was more what you think of when you think Hawaii, and we did do some hiking on the north side which was cool, but not sure if I'd go back to the big island.
 
If you’ve never been to Hawaii, you may get a lot of bang for your buck doing Oahu. Just stay somewhere that’s not around Honolulu. Maybe the east side of the island.
 
infection said:
If you’ve never been to Hawaii, you may get a lot of bang for your buck doing Oahu. Just stay somewhere that’s not around Honolulu. Maybe the east side of the island.
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We have an exchange week (7 night) through RCI using our timeshare, but a freebie through a promotion. So essentially we get a 2 bedroom condo-style resort room with full kitchen for $195 exchange fee. But likely it will be among the big hotels/resorts right in the middle of everything. But I'm not going to complain about that for sure.
 
infection said:
I wasn't a huge fan of the big island, though. I went to a conference so it was (mostly) paid for by work. Had to pay my wife's way and everything. It was about 45-50 minutes north of Kona and it's a lava field and then all deserty. It looked like Magna but with an ocean. We did go over to the east side of the island in Hilo, which was more what you think of when you think Hawaii, and we did do some hiking on the north side which was cool, but not sure if I'd go back to the big island.
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the big Island is fantastic if you love getting out and travelling around to see the wonder of nature, but for a traditional relaxing type holiday yeah not so much
 
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