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Planning your Hawaii trip

This article is written for all visitors, but especially first timers...

Before you pack your bags, put on your Aloha shirt, and jump the Pacific Ocean to head to Hawai'i, there are a few basic things you should know about the island, its people, weather, geography, and lifestyle. Furthermore, this section of our guide is meant to help you plan the perfect Hawai'i vacation by covering some of the most essential facts all visitors need to know. On this website we'll cover some of these facts and planning tips including money, when to visit, the weather, what you'll need to pack, the best way to get to the island, online trip planning, accommodations and car rental tips, and include itineraries for the one and two week travelers.

Lastly, if you're like most visitors to the islands, this is an investment. It's your money, your time (planning), and you want to make sure its the best experience possible, the most bang for your buck. Consider this section of our website a tutorial on good investing in Hawai'i.

How to get here
For the most part your options are pretty limited on how you get to Hawai'i. You can come by boat or by air, and that's just about it. Either method of transportation is fine, but we personally prefer to arrive by air. A long cruise can “spoil” the joys of arriving on Hawai'i's shores by simply taking too long. There is something to be said about that built up anticipation of just waiting to step foot on the island.

That's why we recommend flying as the best travel method. You can leave home and arrive in paradise on the same day, and even for travelers on the far east coast of the mainland, it's only a 12-14 hour flight. OK, so that's not exactly a short flight, but it beats coming by boat. Besides, that plane ride gives you a chance to peruse your travel books and plans to refresh your memory before you arrive. Just don't expect to jump off the plane and start “doing it all” after you arrive.

That said, for some of you this next paragraph is going to be redundant and obvious, but for others it will be good information to have.

Perhaps you've flown on long trips before and perhaps you haven't. We're going to assume most folks have likely never flown on a flight over 5-7 hours before and we're also going to assume that most visitors utilizing our website are from the mainland United States. If you're traveling from even further east, like Europe, then you'll need to adjust our advice as needed to accommodate you. If you're traveling from the west, like Australia, then take our advice in reverse.

When traveling from the west your jet-lag will be worse coming than going. But most visitors are coming from the east, and whether you're coming from sunny California or chilly New York the shortest amount of time you'll be on a plane is about five to six hours. If you're flying from New York, Boston, or most any other town on the east coast you can expect to add another four to five hours to that number. In general, planes will have to fly into headwinds on their way west toward the islands, and thus you will notice your flight to the islands taking longer than your trip back home. Most visitors who are heading to the islands of Hawaii or Kauai may have to first make a stop in Honolulu, as there are few flights that fly directly into Kona, Hilo, or Lihue airport. If you're flying to Molokai or Lanai, you can definitely count on a stop in Honolulu or Kahului on Maui. Many flights do fly directly into Kahului on Maui if you're visiting that island.

Regardless of how long it takes you to arrive, the fact of the matter is you likely will experience some jet lag arriving, even from the east, so take it easy that first day and get some rest. Depending on when you visit you'll gain between two to six hours (Hawai'i does not observe daylight saving time) if coming from the US mainland. Our advice to travelers is always the same, attempt to keep your schedule close to what you had back home. Other websites and guidebooks will tell you to covert yourself to Hawai'i time as soon as possible, but we won't. Here's why:

If you're coming from the east coast in the spring, as an example, you're going to gain six hours during your flight. So if you leave at 6 a.m. and arrive at 4 p.m., you've actually been awake a lot longer than it sounds. Back home it's actually 10 p.m. when you arrive in Hawai'i, so you've already had a full day. We believe that by keeping to your regular schedule you can avoid the worst cases of jet lag, plus you'll have a leg up on most other travelers. If you can continue to get to bed early after sunset in Hawai'i, say around 8-10 p.m. Hawai'i time, then you can get up a lot earlier than most visitors and hit the road far ahead of the crowds. For an east coast traveler, even a wake-up call of 5 a.m. in Hawai'i is the equivalent to 11 a.m. back home. It is our opinion you should use this to your advantage. When all is said and done it will also make your journey back home a lot easier too. Losing three to six hours heading home to the west is a lot harder than most people think.

Regardless of how you arrive in Hawai'i, take it easy the first day you arrive. A good night's rest and a good meal after a long day's journey will refresh you for the rest of your vacation. Also, leave the fast-paced mainland behind you, relax to Hawai'i's lifestyle now.

The comments below do not necessarily reflect the views of Hawaii-Guide or its affiliates.
Questions directed at our staff will be answered as quickly as possible.

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