Who has done Hawaii recently (pre covid). Airfare is pretty reasonable right now and the wife wants to go. I’ve been to Maui before and literally every native on the island was an [censored] so I’m not planning to go back. Where are the best places to go/stay? Looking at later this year. TIA.

Edit: We want somewhere with a nice beach but also close enough to eat/drink away from the hotel.

PM a good friend called RedRanger.

Check rental car prices. They are crazy everywhere.

Yea no joke. I had to make a last minute trip to Phoenix this week and my rent car for three days was almost 600$. Although unlike in the continental US I doubt Hawaii was able to offload unused rental vehicles as easily.

HNL is $950 a week for a economy on dollar rental car dot com.

The Waikoloa Hilton was very nice, monorail system on property since 40-50 acres. Nice restaurants onsite and just offsite too. Two golf courses and swimming with dolphins onsite as well.

I went to Oahu, and stayed in the Waikiki Beach area. We did the island tour, beach thing, the ranch, ATV, Movie thing, toured all the beaches. Did three hikes, Pearl Harbor, USS Arizona, and Missouri. We visited the palace to learn about the native Hawaiian History. Lots of history on that island if you are into that kind of thing.

We’ve stayed in Maui, Oahu, and Kauai over the years. Much prefer Kauai. The south side is the dry side. The North side is the wet side, with lots of waterfalls. Kauai is (or was) much slower paced and enjoyable. We always stayed in Poi Pu on the south side, in condos. I think the place is called Poi Pu Kai. It was much cheaper than any hotel rooms and was a multi room condo.

We always stopped at a burger joint in Nawilliwilli. Good burger, and I wanted a Nawilliwilli t shirt. Never found a t shirt shop there.

If you stay in Poi Pu, you want to eat at least one evening at the Beach Club. Good food, great expensive wine list, and a sunset you have to see to believe.

Take the helicopter tour. Amazing. And at the top of one of the spots you can drive to is supposedly the wettest place on earth, with an unbelievable annual rainfall (900”, I think), and you can look down from there and see the tiny helicopters far below you.

And for hiking, there’s the Napali coast. Do not underestimate the difficulty of that hike. Suitable boots are a necessity.

Not going back to Maui ever again, and will only go to Oahu to change planes to get to Kauai.

You can't afford it if you have to ask the price. Just load the wagon.

We did this many years ago, did a whole lot of walking and took public transportation to most of the places we wanted to go. Borrowed a friends car to go to the luau. Would probably use UBER now, the overnight parking at the hotel was very expensive.

We did the same thing a few years back and loved it. Can’t wait to go back, but waiting for our son to get a little older before that 8+ hour flight.

Kinda depends on what you are into and how much you want to spend. And when you say “we” does that mean you and your wife or are there any kids going?

We had a trip booked for our family last summer but Covid wrecked that. The whole 2 week quarantine made it impossible. Planning on going to Kauai this summer though.

I have to agree with 603 above. Of the two islands I’ve been lucky enough to visit, it’s hands down my favorite. Completely different experience than Maui. Very green and beautiful, and things run at a much slower pace. It’s not crowded at all and everyone is very laid back. Not a ton of nightlife, but the beach at Hanalei Bay is one of the prettiest I’ve ever been to. If you wanna save some money, you can rent a home or go all out and stay at the Princeville Resort. Incredible golf course there if you play. And then there is the Napoli Coast. One of the most awesome views in the world. Amazing cliffs 4,000 feet above the ocean. On our honeymoon we took a catamaran trip, but this time gonna see it from the air. I hear they now have zip lines and an inner tube ride down an irrigation canal from the top of a mountain. Man I can’t wait to show this place to my kids!

I do not think he asked for the preteen price.

If you think Kauai isn’t crowded, you haven’t been lately.

Just try a different island every time you go.

My wife and I love Hawaii.

The flight is what killed us going back. We got tired of it.

My advice is pick a island and stay there. Headedback in September for 3 days marlin fishing

I guess it was 21 years ago, so things may have changed. Time really flies.

Many other island destinations that are better.
Might look around.

What part of "The wife wants to go," do you not understand?

Said Howard Hughes.

We did Hawaii in 2017 I think. Free first class air fare and free hotel for 10 days. We only had to pay 2 days of car rentals because we only had 8 free days. We still spent over $4,000 in 10 days, $900 of that was hotel car parking. I don’t know what we paid for random parking spots while out and about.

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Never hurts to look.
Sometimes, you learn something new.

I really enjoy Hawaii, especially the Big Island. Went in 2019 for one week. Had a great time and even got in a hunt.