Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) / Tor Johnson- Shore with Lanai in the background. Maui Lahaina
Time and Place Luxury Holidays – Personal Guidance and Tips for Hawaii
Initially, the first thing to say is that you need to give as much thought to deciding which of the Hawaiian island's you would like to visit as you would deciding to spend your holiday in the wilds of Scotland, a week in Brighton, a week in London or a week at Lands’ End in Cornwall as they are all very different and commercialised to a different extent.
FLIGHTS
Flights from the UK to Hawaii are frequent and operated by several different airlines, the quickest and most direct routes all depart from London Heathrow. The first flight from the UK is straight across to the West Coast of the USA stopping in either Los Angeles or San Francisco; this leg will take 12 hours. You'll then need to change planes and connect onto your chosen Hawaiian Island; this second flight will take approx. 6½ hours and of course identical times on your return.
STOPPING OVER ON ROUTE
Some people prefer to fly from the UK to direct to Hawaii and transit in Californiaor Las Vegas where as others prefer to break the journey and stop for a night or two, to catch up on sleep and to see a little bit of San Francisco, Los Angeles or Las Vegas.
Having flown with and with out the stops, if time allows we would suggest you opt to break thejourney on the return portion of the journey if not the outbound for several reasons,
- The time difference and the long flights is very tiring and most people find that once they return they suffer from jet lag for at least a week .
- The scheduling of the flight on the return portion of the holiday from the Hawaiian islands back to the west coast of America don’t connect well requiring either a wait of 6 to 7 hours.
Having said that my partner hates stopping on the return and prefers to just get home and regards a stop in California as cutting his holiday short in Hawaii - so as you can see it’s a matter of personal taste.
CAR HIRE
As the islands are so different you won’t be surprised to read that car hire differs from island to island. Generally speaking parking is difficult on the island of Oahu and the roads busy so if you can make use of taxi’s and public transport you’re well advised. However, on the less busy islands of Maui, Hawaii and Kauai care hire is recommend, the islands are quite large so distances expensive by taxi equally a days car hire and as the hotels are very spread out all offer car parking facilities. Expect to pay aprox £40.00 a day
THE ISLANDS
This is the link to our Hawaii pages giving you the opportunity to read about the islands in detail and a further link to the Hawaiian Tourist board’s web site
http://www.timeandplaceluxuryholidays.co.uk/destinations/#/hawaii/
Here are a few pointers based on the experiences that most people like to ensure they do having flown all this way:-
Swimming with Dolphins is only available on Oahu or Hawaii (the big island). It’s possible to arrange a separate excursions to swim with the dolphins but if you want to stay in a resort where the experience is on hand then the choices are The 5* Kahala Resort on Oahu, Waikiki Beach, it has a large dolphin lagoon for guest's pleasure or The 4/5* Hilton Waikoloa Village on Hawaii is the second resort that offer swimming with the Dolphin's. .
Dolphins, sea turtles and various varieties of whales are common sites around the island of Hawaii. Deep sea fishing trip's for Marlin and other fish and widely available as are catamaran & snorkelling trips. If a fishing trip appeals then doing a trip from Hawaii (The big island) is best as you are out into deep water with in 20 minutes and starting the fishing experience where as from the other islands you have to travel for longer out into the sea..
If you are interested in whale watching the best time to visit is from late November through to the end of March when the female whales migrate to these warm waters to give birth. An almost unbelievable sight for those of us who live in the UK but during this time you’ll see whales from the coast line but we suggest you spend some time on the island of Maui and visit the Pacific Whale Foundation. Maui, Kauai and Lanai also offer similar opportunities chances.
Horse riding is a superb day trip for beginner’s right through to experienced riders as you are taken right up into the mountains over looking views that can only be experience in Hawaii. Parker Ranch on Hawaii the Big Island or on Kauai offers a stunning experience. Several resorts on Maui also offer horse riding as it’s such a diverse island
The island of Oahu has everything that the progress and commercialism brings - a large choice of hotels, shops and restaurants to match New York and a busy " to be seen on beach" surrounded by a vast array of superb bars and restaurants creating the sort of nigh life you might expect from a cosmopolitan city by the sea. Almost all of the accommodation is situated on Waikiki Beach although on the northern shore of Oahu “Turtle Bay Resort “offer clients a luxury escape. We regularly book a stay on the island of Oahu for clients but with out fail hear the same comment - that they are glad they saw Oahu but were pleased that they had visited the other island so experience a quieter and more Polynesian feelthat perhaps we expect from Hawaii.
The island of Maui is a totally different environment, a large island with pockets of accommodation built around 4 resorts: - Wailea, Kannapali, Kapalua and Hana. Maui has lots to offer, a selection of superb soft sandy beaches and a variety f sights to visit including the stunning sunrise over the Haleakala Crater is a true once in a life time experience, appealing to adults and children a like a trip up to the top of the dormant volcano at 3am in the early hours to watch the sun rise - just amazing! Then free wheel bicycle ride 38 miles downhill on paved roads with a maximum of 400 yards of peddling down to the bottom of the hill. Maui has 3 superb shopping and restaurant “malls" to visit.
- Whalers Village within walking distance of Kannapali beach built on the water front with most restaurants offering stunning sea views across the oceanand an array of souvenir and clothes shops.
- Wailea offers a similar “mall” although more upmarket attracting fine dining restaurants and designer labels such as Louis Vuitton, Cartier and other designer labels too little nick nacks and souvenir shops.
- Laihana is an old fishing town and now a bussing little resort with wood clad multi coloured buildings, and a vast array of shops, restaurants, diners and grills to choose from. You could stay for 2 weeks on Maui and not see everything.
Kauai is ideal for relaxing and recharging the batteries. Lots of little coves with white sandy beaches and waving palm trees cover the coast line of Kauai and perhaps only 20 or so resorts across the whole island. A drive to the centre of the islands is certainly a worth while trip, an amazing National Park dubbed the Grand Canyon of the pacific. A helicopter trip flying over the Canyon is almost as spectacular as the Grand Canyon itself on Kauai everything is green with plenty of water falls.
Lanai is a small and very romantic island. The Four Seasons chain own and run both hotels on the island providing a luxury retreat. The 3 day golf and Spa packages are particularly ideal for honeymooners or those who want to spoil themselves for a change
ISLAND HOPPING
Taking in a few of the islands during your holidays is a popular and very rewarding way of seeing as much of Hawaii as possible during your stay and whilst arriving, unpacking and staying put is appealing to many peopleits well worth the effort to see a little more . The internal flights are no more that $50 - $60 dollars a person and scheduled to fly 7 to 8 times a day making it an easy move.
CRUISING
One of the easiest ways to visit all of the Hawaiian island within a 2 week holiday, and gain an overall flavour of Hawaii, would be to include either a 5, 7 or 10 night cruise departing from the island of Oahu gently making its way around the islands cruising through the night leaving your days free to explore the islands.
CLIMATE
Hawaii has a fairly constant temperature all year round. With no hurricane season out in the Pacific Ocean the weather will be warm and sunny when ever you choose to holiday, January, May, August or November. The height of the season is July and August the temperature in the early thirties (degrees Celsius) and the low season January through to mid March with the temperature in the mid twenties.
IT’S YOUR HOLIDAY
As specialists in creating holidays to Hawaii we work with a large variety of airlines, hotels and the cruise companies to ensure we can tailor-make your Hawaiian holiday to suit your personal requirements’. Almost any combination can be put together, and whether you’re looking for a relaxing beach holiday an active sightseeing holiday, a gentle cruise, a fun packed beach holiday with lots of night life or a romantic relaxing holiday, Hawaii has it to offer
Written by Joanne Moores
For more information on Hawaii Holidays call 01243 779 737 or click on the link below:
Link to Hawaii Holidays