Our first time to Hawaii

I%26#39;m hoping those of you who have been to Hawaii can lead us in the right direction for our very first trip to Hawaii. We aren%26#39;t looking for a luxury resort but of course we want something that is clean, friendly and has a caring staff. We would like to be able to see the ocean from our room. We are Senior Ciitzens with some limitations on being able to climb stairs or walk great distances so the resort must have easy access to the upper floors. We aren%26#39;t comfortable around large crowded areas but like meeting new people and visiting with the locals. Our main goal is to take in the beautiful sights of Hawaii and enjoy their many cultures and the history of the Islands, along with the Memorials at Pearl Harbor. Would it be better to stay on the Island of Oahu where the Memorials at Pearl Harbor are located or stay on a smaller Island like Kauai and make a day trip to Oahu? Also if anybody has upgraded their flights to travel Business Class or First Class from Coach I%26#39;d be interested in knowing how much more that added to the expense. Thank you.

Our first time to Hawaii

I envy you your FIRST trip to Hawaii. We%26#39;ve been visiting for 25+ years, but the first time is a treat! What time of year will you travel? How long can you stay? What is your budget?

If you are staying longer than a week, you might like to sample two different islands. I%26#39;d stick to the smaller ones, not Big Island of Hawaii on a first visit.

If you want to see all four major islands -- get a glimpse -- there is a 7-day NCL cruise out of Honolulu every Saturday. You%26#39;d probably get to know more people on a cruise. It%26#39;s unlikely you%26#39;ll be chatting much with locals; tourism is big in Hawaii, but local people like their privacy.

We upgrade using miles. The flights to Hawaii have only two classes: Coach and First. You buy an upgradable coach ticket and use miles to upgrade. There is also a fee; it%26#39;s $150 per leg on American, so a total of $300 extra for the round trip from Chicago. Try for a direct flight unless you want to spend a couple days somewhere enroute. Making a connection may seem good -- can stretch your legs -- but the travel day gets very long. It%26#39;s already nine hours out and eight back from Chicago. If you are taking an overnight flight home, try for an aircraft that has the full-recline seats. You can actually sleep!

Our first time to Hawaii

to upgrade depends on the fare you paid and whether you are in the airlines frequent flyer program and an elite member.

Generaly speaking to up grade you must be on a full fare ticket non discount... and it will cost the difference Full full fares fron Indy are running about $1800 for coach and first class is about $2300.

I suggest you purchase regular First class if you want it and are not a 100,000 mile frequent flyer.

( even they have to pay $500 for an up grade)

I dont suggest domestic first class its not much and poor seats...but do suggest United Economy plus...first class leg room with coach seats... is will cost about $350 rt for 2 to hawaii for the economy plus seat.

Any last min up grade at the gate will be a fist fight among frequent flyers... if you arnt one you dont have a chance

INterisland air travel is not fast or cheap figgure for 2 ot will run $300 per trip. plus $100 for a rental car and gas.... and take several hours per island.

Your friendly hoosier nature will non be appreciated in Hawaii by local hawaiians... who don%26#39;t generaly like to mingle or visit with anyone non Hawaiians.. (other than at work where they put on a happy face for 8 hours.) Its not good or wise to try to intrude unless you have an invatation.. some have a lot of hcstility toward whites.

For you...wanting to see things...variety..with ease and comfort...not sure of what you actualy want to see... would be a cruise 7 days for about $1000 pp.. room and meals, cultural enrichment classes, and tours to enhance your total time... The romance and adventure of discovering each island from the ocean is truly incomprable. Grest service, meals, easy to get around and will save you thousands less than doing it yourself.... consider NCL and look at Vacations to go.com. Ive take it severaltimes and I live here....its excellent and you see a ton of stuff.

More information, please.

How many nights will you be in Hawaii?

What is your nightly accomodations budget?

You need to get a good travel guide like Hawaii for Dummies or another that focuses on the islands (as opposed to a bunch of hotel and restaurant lists). Also get a good map from AAA.

From what you have told us - I%26#39;d spend a few nights on Waikiki and then visit another island. Do you plan to rent a car?

Thanks to everybody for the information. Sounds like a lot to know! We are looking into traveling the 1st week in November %26#39;09 staying about 5-7 nights. Best for us to leave in the middle of the week due to our jobs ---yes we%26#39;re still working--not quite old enough to retire! I%26#39;ve been checking the major websites for travel packages that include flight. hotel and car rental. We aren%26#39;t looking to be ';tight'; on this vacation so a budget isn%26#39;t the real issue but like everybody we still want to travel without breaking the bank! I%26#39;ll look into trying to buy the flight separate from the hotel %26amp; car rental so we may be able to upgrade to larger seats and more leg room. A cruise isn%26#39;t a consideration for either of us. We%26#39;ve been on crusies twice and didn%26#39;t like either one. Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore of Oahu looked interesting to me because there is a lot more to do on that Island than the samller Islands. My husband disagrees and says Oahu isn%26#39;t his first choice and the Big Island is out of the question. Since it sounds like it%26#39;s fairly expensive and a time consuming task to ';Island hop'; I%26#39;d like to stay where it%26#39;s quiet but we can travel by car to see some interesting sights. We both would like to visit the Memorials at Pearl Harbor so that was one of the reasons I thought staying on Oahu would be the best choice. Some of the things that would peak our interest is to sightsee by land, water or air, learn about the history of the Islands, visit places where movies have been filmed, sample the different cuisine, attend a lu%26#39;au and of course just relax. Good to know the Hawaiian locals don%26#39;t like to mingle. I just assumed almost all of them would be real friendly--but then I live in the MidWest where I%26#39;m used to people being friendly most of the time and there aren%26#39;t tourists hanging all over the place! LOL This will probably be the only trip we%26#39;ll ever make to Hawaii so I want it to be a good experience without too much hassle. I%26#39;m sure no matter which Island we choose the views will be breathtaking and the vacation will be a vacation we%26#39;ll remember forever.

As you have until November, you have plenty of time to research what island(s) you want to visit.

Oahu has more to see %26amp; do than any other island. But it is also more populated %26amp; crowded especially Waikiki where most of the hotels are.

Many choose to stay a day or two on Oahu %26amp; then go to a different island. Try to add a couple more days.

If you do choose Oahu for the entire trip, you might think about staying other than in Waikiki.

All of the islands have flights to the mainland. So you can try to book a flight into Honolulu. And then book a flight back from the island you end up on.

The first week in November is not a high tourist time, so you should be able to get a good deal especially on hotels.

Lots of info including sites with free brochures for all islands:

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g29222-i37-k647862鈥?/a>

Thanks dusty56348 this was a big help and a lot of good info. Yes, I%26#39;m taking my time and looking into all of the islands. That%26#39;s why I began early. Good to know that the travel time we%26#39;re looking at is not a peak time in HI.