Where to stay in Hawaii in November?
October 2, 2013 7:30 PM Subscribe
We are two busy guys who need to blow off a bit of steam, but mostly relax in the sun, and want to go to Hawaii (or somewhere) but have never been and need advice!
So, in November, where is it best for two (straight-ish) dudes to go in Hawaii who like to dance, drink, swim, meet new people and also really want to take photographs of beautiful things?
Thanks team!
Response by poster: We probably want to spend less than $1500 all in, if at all possible. We expect flights to be around $600 from Vancouver, BC.
posted by ouchitburns at 8:01 PM on October 2, 2013
posted by ouchitburns at 8:01 PM on October 2, 2013
Travel Best Bets has some good packages out of Vancouver.
Air and 7 nights accommodation for around $1000.
Phone them, tell them what you want, and ask what the best deal is.
WestJet Vacations will give you similar deals without the travel agent fee.
I have had some wonderful vacations in Hawaii through them.
Often the last-minute deals are best, so you have lots of time to shop.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 7:13 AM on October 3, 2013
Air and 7 nights accommodation for around $1000.
Phone them, tell them what you want, and ask what the best deal is.
WestJet Vacations will give you similar deals without the travel agent fee.
I have had some wonderful vacations in Hawaii through them.
Often the last-minute deals are best, so you have lots of time to shop.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 7:13 AM on October 3, 2013
The cheapest island will be Oahu. (no need for connecting planes to the other islands.)
Honolulu has it's moments. We made friends with the taxi driver who took us into town and he gave us some tips on great local places to try.
We did a lot of the cheesy tourist stuff, drank Windex (Blue Hawaiis) watched people in swimming pools in subterranian bars, etc.
There's always night life.
We stayed in a Windjammer hotel (there were 3 of us) and we had a room with 3 single beds! There was also a kitchenette. It was just the right amount of funky. I think it's called the Aqua Palms now and it gets good reviews on TripAdvisor.
If you leave on Thursday and return on Thursday, you can get a deal on Orbitz for $925 with airfare.
You can rent jeeps by the day right on the street. So you can take yourself out to Diamondhead or just toole around the island. We did that and it was one of the best days we had there!
WARNING! The sun is no joke. I got 2nd degree, blistering sun burn! Wear lots of sun screen!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:33 AM on October 3, 2013
Honolulu has it's moments. We made friends with the taxi driver who took us into town and he gave us some tips on great local places to try.
We did a lot of the cheesy tourist stuff, drank Windex (Blue Hawaiis) watched people in swimming pools in subterranian bars, etc.
There's always night life.
We stayed in a Windjammer hotel (there were 3 of us) and we had a room with 3 single beds! There was also a kitchenette. It was just the right amount of funky. I think it's called the Aqua Palms now and it gets good reviews on TripAdvisor.
If you leave on Thursday and return on Thursday, you can get a deal on Orbitz for $925 with airfare.
You can rent jeeps by the day right on the street. So you can take yourself out to Diamondhead or just toole around the island. We did that and it was one of the best days we had there!
WARNING! The sun is no joke. I got 2nd degree, blistering sun burn! Wear lots of sun screen!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:33 AM on October 3, 2013
The sunscreen thing is LEGIT. I literally could feel my skin blistering before my eyes, and I was wearing sunscreen!
The great thing about Hawaii is that so many people there are tourists, and so people are really friendly. I would say that all of the islands have nightlife, but you should probably avoid Kauai if a solid nightlife ranks high on your list. Kauai is beautiful, but shuts down after the sun sets pretty much. It's mostly older people and chickens, and island hopping can also be pretty tiring, expensive, and wastes time.
I fly out of Seattle, and there are direct flights to all the main islands (Hawaii, Oahu, Maui, Kauai). I'm not 100% sure that that's the same out of BC, but you shouldn't have to worry about making a connecting flight.
Overall, I don't think there is a big difference--for you--between Oahu and Maui. Oahu is more tourist-y and probably has a better nightlife, and is probably cheaper, but I personally found Maui to be the most beautiful of all the islands. Maui is more expensive, and it shows (in the tourists and things to do there). Kona (on the Big Island) and Kauai receive a lot of rain, and for your first trip to Hawaii that could be kind of disappointing so I would suggest avoiding them.
If you do chose Maui, though, I would go all the way and stay in Kaanapali. It's more expensive, but all the hotels are along the beach, and you can walk down to Whaler's Village. I wasn't 21 when I was there last, but there did seem to be some night-life like things there.
Finally, food and gas are really expensive in Hawaii. I would budget for that extensively. I've only traveled with my family, but my parents have frequently said that it is way cheaper to pay more for a hotel that has a full kitchen (but then again, there are five of us and three young adults). I hope that $1500 limit is per person :/.
posted by obviousresistance at 10:40 AM on October 3, 2013
The great thing about Hawaii is that so many people there are tourists, and so people are really friendly. I would say that all of the islands have nightlife, but you should probably avoid Kauai if a solid nightlife ranks high on your list. Kauai is beautiful, but shuts down after the sun sets pretty much. It's mostly older people and chickens, and island hopping can also be pretty tiring, expensive, and wastes time.
I fly out of Seattle, and there are direct flights to all the main islands (Hawaii, Oahu, Maui, Kauai). I'm not 100% sure that that's the same out of BC, but you shouldn't have to worry about making a connecting flight.
Overall, I don't think there is a big difference--for you--between Oahu and Maui. Oahu is more tourist-y and probably has a better nightlife, and is probably cheaper, but I personally found Maui to be the most beautiful of all the islands. Maui is more expensive, and it shows (in the tourists and things to do there). Kona (on the Big Island) and Kauai receive a lot of rain, and for your first trip to Hawaii that could be kind of disappointing so I would suggest avoiding them.
If you do chose Maui, though, I would go all the way and stay in Kaanapali. It's more expensive, but all the hotels are along the beach, and you can walk down to Whaler's Village. I wasn't 21 when I was there last, but there did seem to be some night-life like things there.
Finally, food and gas are really expensive in Hawaii. I would budget for that extensively. I've only traveled with my family, but my parents have frequently said that it is way cheaper to pay more for a hotel that has a full kitchen (but then again, there are five of us and three young adults). I hope that $1500 limit is per person :/.
posted by obviousresistance at 10:40 AM on October 3, 2013
dance, drink, swim, meet new people
You're looking for Oahu. Honolulu is the only place in Hawaii where you can really go clubbing. Kauai is spectacular, but all about nature. There is effectively no nightlife there. Maui is in between the two. If your number 1 and 2 are dance and drink, there likely won't enough of that even on Maui.
Oahu's North shore is beautiful and much quieter, so you can always go around that side for picture taking. As others have mentioned, Oahu is also the least expensive island. Have fun!
posted by cnc at 12:42 PM on October 3, 2013
You're looking for Oahu. Honolulu is the only place in Hawaii where you can really go clubbing. Kauai is spectacular, but all about nature. There is effectively no nightlife there. Maui is in between the two. If your number 1 and 2 are dance and drink, there likely won't enough of that even on Maui.
Oahu's North shore is beautiful and much quieter, so you can always go around that side for picture taking. As others have mentioned, Oahu is also the least expensive island. Have fun!
posted by cnc at 12:42 PM on October 3, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
What is your budget?
posted by jasondigitized at 7:51 PM on October 2, 2013