Which other island is nice for a few night's stay?

[Meemoo]

Hi there,

We are visiting Aulani for the 4th time this year. We are considering to venture to one of the other islands for a few days. Which island(s) do you recommend and why? What resorts are nice to stay in for a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children (8 & 10 years) thanks!!!

 

[kdonnel]

The Big Island all the way.

Where else can you walk up to lava? I highly recommend Kalapana Cultural Tours for a chance to get up close and personal with the lava. As long as it is flowing onto the private land when you visit they will let you walk close enough to touch the lava. http://www.kalapanaculturaltours.com/Lava.html

And what about driving to 14,000 feet and seeing some snow and an amazing view? This one is not really recommended for younger kids but we did it anyway. We made sure to spend several hours at the visitor center at 9,200 feet to give everyone time to acclimate before driving to the summit. We packed a picnic dinner and spent some time looking through the telescopes that others had brought. Then drove to the summit, the road is gravel and in good shape. We were in a virtually brand new Toyota 4 Runner that had no issues with the drive up or down. Both were done in 4 wheel low and down in particular was me just steering. No breaks or gas were required. There was another couple up there in a sedan of some sort. By the time they reached the top they had to open the hood and let the engine steam and cool off. We stayed to watch the sunset and then for another couple hours while my wife took some pictures of the night sky. http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis/visiting-mauna-kea/visiting-the-summit.html

We did both with our kids at about those ages, certainly not the safest vacation and it did require a visit with my sons science teacher the next year because she thought he was lying about walking right up to flowing lava and was upset he wouldn't admit it was lying. A few pictures cleared up the misunderstanding.

As for a resort we always have stayed on the Kona side at the Sheraton at Keauhou Bay. There is no beach there but we really love the view and the location.

One thing to remember is you do A LOT of driving when staying on the Big Island. The places to see and do are all FAR apart.

Here are some pictures from our first trip to the Big Island. I don't think we ever uploaded any pictures from the second trip when we visited the summit of Mauna Kea.

http://www.judydonnelly.com/Travel/Destinations/Hawaii1/Big-Island/

 

[Midoria]

It's hard to do that without knowing what your family likes/wants to do and how you prefer to travel. Details are appreciated.
Also, I would avoid staying in another resort if you spent all your time at Aulani prior to arriving to the second location. Resorts are setup to discourage vacationers from leaving, so if you're spending time and money to go somewhere else, really take advantage of that.

 

[Amw1064]

We have been 2 years in a row to Aulani so this year we are adding on 3 days to Maui to the end of our trip. Can't decide yet where to stay. I agree with previous poster about not staying at a huge resort but haven't made a decision yet.

 

[Meemoo]

The Big Island all the way.

Where else can you walk up to lava? I highly recommend Kalapana Cultural Tours for a chance to get up close and personal with the lava. As long as it is flowing onto the private land when you visit they will let you walk close enough to touch the lava. http://www.kalapanaculturaltours.com/Lava.html

And what about driving to 14,000 feet and seeing some snow and an amazing view? This one is not really recommended for younger kids but we did it anyway. We made sure to spend several hours at the visitor center at 9,200 feet to give everyone time to acclimate before driving to the summit. We packed a picnic dinner and spent some time looking through the telescopes that others had brought. Then drove to the summit, the road is gravel and in good shape. We were in a virtually brand new Toyota 4 Runner that had no issues with the drive up or down. Both were done in 4 wheel low and down in particular was me just steering. No breaks or gas were required. There was another couple up there in a sedan of some sort. By the time they reached the top they had to open the hood and let the engine steam and cool off. We stayed to watch the sunset and then for another couple hours while my wife took some pictures of the night sky. http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis/visiting-mauna-kea/visiting-the-summit.html

We did both with our kids at about those ages, certainly not the safest vacation and it did require a visit with my sons science teacher the next year because she thought he was lying about walking right up to flowing lava and was upset he wouldn't admit it was lying. A few pictures cleared up the misunderstanding.

As for a resort we always have stayed on the Kona side at the Sheraton at Keauhou Bay. There is no beach there but we really love the view and the location.

One thing to remember is you do A LOT of driving when staying on the Big Island. The places to see and do are all FAR apart.

Here are some pictures from our first trip to the Big Island. I don't think we ever uploaded any pictures from the second trip when we visited the summit of Mauna Kea.

http://www.judydonnelly.com/Travel/Destinations/Hawaii1/Big-Island/

Thank you so much for your detailed response. After some research we are most interested to visit Hilo. The volcanoes are of great interest to us, and the landscape looks beautiful. Your pictures look amazing and what an experience to give to your children. It would be a great learning experience to see an active volcano.

 

[Meemoo]

I'm a little lost now as to whether we should do a island tour or focus on our own itinerary and hire a car or perhaps a mix of the two. Would 3 nights be a good amount of time to experience Hilo?

 

[kdonnel]

Definitely get your own car. The Big Island involves a good bit of driving. You wouldn't get to see much of the island with an organized tour. We usually spend 3-4 days on one island and 4-5 days on another. Three nights in Hilo would let you see a good bit.

 

[wanderlust7]

I'm a little lost now as to whether we should do a island tour or focus on our own itinerary and hire a car or perhaps a mix of the two. Would 3 nights be a good amount of time to experience Hilo?

We've gone to the Big Island twice and have another trip planned. We always rent a car. Since you've already been to Aulani several times, my advice would be to stay on the Big Island longer. A few days on the Kona side and a couple days in Volcano Village. There is lots to do - the snorkeling at Kealakekua Bay is especially great, we did a boat trip with Fair Wind.

As for a resort we always have stayed on the Kona side at the Sheraton at Keauhou Bay. There is no beach there but we really love the view and the location.

@kdonnel, wondering if you saw manta rays from the Sheraton? We did a night snorkeling trip to see them some years ago and it was very cool. Taking the kids this time, wondering how is the view from shore?

 

[barb969]

The big Island. Nothing can beat an active volcano.

 

[CalifLynn]

This year will be our first trip to Aulani. We've done the Big Island the last 2 years and love, love, love it! Went to Maui the year before that and to Kauai the year before that (can you tell we are hooked on the Hawaiian islands?!?!?). I am really going to miss the Big Island this year, but we told our daughter who started high school this year that if she got straight A's her first semester, she could pick the spot for Spring Break and she picked Aulani.

Back to you! Each Island has something special to offer and we truly have a hard time deciding each year!

I think Kauai is the prettiest and has a ton to offer - snorkling on the Napali Coast, Waimea Canyon. The Island is very relaxing! There is a reason soooo many movies are filmed on Kauai.

Maui - bicycling down a volcano after watching the sunrise, road to Hana with waterfalls around every corner, WHALES in the winter.

Big Island -Active Volcanos, so much scenery! but try and split your stay between the 2 sides if you go to big island, while Hilo offers some gorgeous scenery and closer to volcanos, KONA coast is so much fun, check our the Mauna Kea resort - understated but AMAZING, manta rays at night swimming below the cliffs, the Mauna Kea even offers swimming with the Manta Rays right at the resort, great luau on site, very small scale, but done so well. Upcountry on the Big Island has the best food, it's on the northern part kinda between the 2 coasts.

Feel free to ask me any questions.
Have fun deciding!

 

[kdonnel]

@kdonnel, wondering if you saw manta rays from the Sheraton? We did a night snorkeling trip to see them some years ago and it was very cool. Taking the kids this time, wondering how is the view from shore?

You couldn't really see much from the viewing spot at the resort. You could see the people in the water and the kayaks used to get them there. Lots of lights in the water and some dark blobs that were the manta rays.

My wife did see a whale while at the pool. Saw it flop out of the water.

 

[nkereina]

We stayed in Maui and Kauai back in September and loved both - pics and review in my trip report in my signature.

We did like Kauai better than Maui. Kauai was warmer, less windy, and was smaller and less commercialized than Maui. It was very easy to drive and get around, and we felt there was more natural beauty to see between the Na Pali Coast and Waimea Canyon. We took a sunset dinner cruise along the Na Pali Coast which was awesome, and a helicopter tour over Waimea Canyon. The tour also stopped at the waterfalls from Jurassic Park which was cool - parts of the Jurassic Park movies were filmed in various areas of Kauai. We stayed at the Kauai Marriott which was right near the airport. It had an awesome pool, great beach that was never crowded, and a few stores and restaurants just outside the resort in walking distance. It was a large resort and we felt 3 nights there was perfect.