Honeymoon in Hawaii Suggestions?

[aeroguy]

My fiance and I are planning a honeymoon around May 19-26 in Hawaii and are looking for good things to do. I think we're going to do 4 nights in Maui and 3 nights in Kauai. Our budget is about $3000 when all is said and done. Questions:

1) Are there such thing as all inclusive resorts there? Worth the money?
2) How much do meals cost?
3) How much extra cash will we need to do stuff?
4) Are helicopter tours worth the $$, if so, which island should we do it on?
5) Does anyone have any experience with the hotels on these islands? We can't afford anything super fancy, and here are some that looked good in our price range in the brochure. If you can recommend them or tell me that they're crappy so I can mark them off that would be great. Other reccomendations are also gladly accepted.

Maui
Maui Coast
Sugar Beach Resort
Outrigger Royal Kahana Resort
Kahana Beach Resort
Royal Lahaina Resort
Aston Kaanapali Shores
Maui Kaanapali Villas
Aston at Papakea Resort
Maui Kamaole
Maui Kai
Aston at the Maui Banyan

Kauai
Kauai Coast Resort
Radisson Kauai Beach Resort
Hanalei Bay Resort
Kauai Coconut Beach Resort
Aston Islander on the Beach

Thanks in advance,
Nick

 

[TapTap]

Hawaii=$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Helicopter tours are SUPER. Until you start to feel queasy....
Maui Beach Kannapali-yes
Free Honeymoon advice:
Give her a day at the spa--sneak out and get some golf in. Just rent the clubs, dont lug yours all the way to Hawaii.

 

[Sukhoi]

Go post in the Distributed Computing forum. Someone there (I'm thinking IsOs or IBHackinU) is from Hawaii, and might even run a travel website.

 

[alm99]

Where are you flying from? tickets = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[Queasy]

My suggestion, create a vacation that follows the adventures of the Brady Bunch's Hawaii Vacation.

 

[SCSIfreek]

got my tickets from ATA for $200 round trip per person. I'm leaving from san francisco I'll be going back home to hawaii (honolulu), Oahu. Check it out at american transit airline.


--Scsi

 

[slycat]

i just got back from maui and honolulu
maui = hyatt resort
...try to stay at a nice place in maui coz theres almost nothing to do there.

 

[Jfur]

MAUI COAST <-----

 

[Jfur]

Originally posted by: Jfur
MAUI COAST <-----

in Kihei

unless you want to be in Kaanapali

 

[AmigaMan]

Wow, the timing of this thread. Anyways, I just ordered my tickets from Orbitz a couple hours ago to go from Raleigh/Durham NC to Kona HI. We'll be staying on the BI for almost two weeks and then we're flying over to Kauai for another week and then flying back to kona to go home. Tickets are expensive though from the east coast.

I don't know if there are any all-inclusive resorts though in HI.
Meals are a little more expensive, but it all depends on where you eat.
We will be staying in a condo so we're going shopping for groceries (which are a lot more expensive than on the mainland) but it will save us from having to eat out all the time.
We're going to do a helicopter tour of Kileaua on the Big Island near where the lava is entering the water. We're also going to do hiking up around there too.
Can't tell you much about Maui or Kauai since we've never been there. But we're going to try to get a condo near the southern part of Kauai because the beaches are supposedly better there and not as rough (we like to snorkel). My sister-in-law has been to Maui and loved it. She and her best friend stayed at the Royal Lahaina resort. While it was a great location, she said there were nothing but couples around and she and her friend felt out-of-place slightly sometimes.

Damn, I just looked at the ATA.com site and tickets from LAX to Honolulu are $300 cheaper than mine. Of course we are flying from LAX to KOA so that may be more expensive.


Anyways, I recommend picking up a couple books. WizardPub has great books and they're written by people who live there and have done everything they talk about in their books.

 

[Oscar1613]

make sure you go snorkeling in the molokini crater while you're on Maui...

 

[TNTrulez]

Originally posted by: alm99
Where are you flying from? tickets = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

yep

 

[Corn]

The wife and I rented a beach side "cottage room" (they are 4 room beach cottages, two down, two up)at the Royal Lahaina Resort. If you're into that whole hanging out on your patio looking out at the ocean kind of serenity thing (as I am) I would recommend it.

The hotel isn't as flashy as the Mariott or Westin down the block, but I'm not into the whole crowded noisy thing 24/7.

I would recommend trying to rent a convertable SUV (like a Liberty or Amigo) for your transportation.

We did the road to Hanna--pretty much an all day excursion--just don't turn around at Hanna and go back (as many guided tours do), keep going--you'll eventually end up in familiar territory (remember, it's only an island and it ain't all that big). The scenery is absolutely spectacular--everything from black sand beaches, volcanic bluffs, waterfalls everywhere you look, and over 70 one lane bridges!!

Checking out the sunrise at Mt. Haleakala is also an incredible experience, just remember to pack a couple sweatshirts and long pants--it gets cold up there in the wee hours of the morning.

Lots of good restaurants and bars in Lahaina, you'll find plenty to do at night.

Congrats!!!!

 

[aeroguy]

Originally posted by: TNTrulez

Originally posted by: alm99
Where are you flying from? tickets = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

yep

Thanks for all the great suggestions people, I'll probably be flying out of Omaha, NE, but I don't think ATA flys out of there.

 

[dethman]

all i know is oahu is the suck.

 

[Jfur]

Originally posted by: dethman
all i know is oahu is the suck.

maybe the suck was just you

 

[Stark]

You should also mix in a day on Oahu. Here are suggestions for Oahu and Maui.

#1. Trilogy Cruise - this was the highlight of my honeymoon on Maui. The Discover Lanai is incredible... it costs a lot but it's 100% worth every penny. If you take a cheapie charter you'll get less than you paid for.

#2. Polynesian Cultural Center - A cross between a museum and the Jungle Cruise. Worth the trip.

#3. Take a surfing lesson at Waikiki.

#4. Rent a convertable and cruise the north shore of Oahu.

#5. Take good fins, mask, and snorkel with you. You should spend at least two hours a day on Maui in the water. It's free and it's fun.

#6. Pearl Harbor - mandatory.

#7. Old Lahaina Luau - the best luau.

#8. Eat a plate lunch.

#9. Ross Dress for Less on Oahu (by costco) has hawaiian shirts for cheap. Hilo Hatties is a ripoff.

#10. Get lei'd. A lot. That's the point of a honeymoon now, isn't it?