Need help with Hawaii vacation

[Nordwest]

We are planning a trip to Hawaii for Christmas. Me, my wife and daughters (17 and 19). I spent a month surfing Maui in 1978 and have not been back since. We all like to swim, snorkel, surf, paddle board, hike… etc. I am lazy and don’t want to do a lot of planning and logistics. I want to visit Oahu and not stay in Honolulu. How is the Turtle Bay Resort? Any other suggestions? We will stay 8 or 9 nights. They have an 8 night package with rental car and airfare for $8900. Remember I will be with 3 women and I know it’s the most expensive time to go.

Thanks,
Dave

[Tidybuoy]

Last time I went to Hawaii, I rented a house in Wymanalo Beach which is the opposite side of Honolulu. It was super nice over there and only a 30min drive to Honolulu or an hour to North Shore.. I believe this is very near Turtle Bay but I'm not positive. Regardless, my point is that it can be very nice, quiet, not crowded on the other side of the island. The house I rented was about 1/2 mile from Magumn PI's house. BTW, that's a great time of the year to go.

[Geary]

I remember Kawela Bay (Turtle Bay) being a beautiful place when I was a kid. Haven't been to the resort, but my daughters stay there quite often (they live in Kailua) and say it's nice. I think you'll find anything you need right there.

Waimanalo is on the South East side, near Makapu beach. Turtle Bay is on the North East side, pretty much the North Shore .. about an hour apart.

[p911dad]

We were at Turtle Bay maybe 10 years ago. Gated. Very nice. They had a unique restaurant held up with tree trunks. As I recall, they also had a protected lagoon for snorkling. The surf can get pretty impressive on that side of the island. It's probably been too long to be current information so this is just for what it's worth. They also had a nice golf course. And a prawn and shrimp shack (Romy's) nearby.

[Jims5543]

I wanted to go to Hawaii a long time ago.

Since you were there in 78, I suspect you are in for a shock.

My roommate in the late 80's was a Hawaiian national. All the way back in the late 80's he was complaining about the hollies ruining his country.

Today?

If you go to to the Big Island go find my boy and see him perform. I miss my single days with him blasting his trumpet in the living room practicing then heading to Orlando Jazz clubs with him to watch him sit in or be the act that night. He was always on the move making a scene.

::. Volcano Choy .::

[Pazuzu]

We stayed here for 8 days last fall, I would recommend it in a heartbeat:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5326506?location=Ewa%20Beach%2C%20HI%2C%20United%2 0States&s=c8Dp6i91

The owners were incredibly friendly, they have learned all of the little tricks to make the house easy to adjust to. 3 bedrooms, plenty of room.

The only kicker with something like this is that (a) it's not a block from the beach, the water laps at a rock wall and you can get in the water there, but the beach is 2 blocks away, and (b) you need to do some shopping for food and such, but having a kitchen and a grill, we ate very well. You're in a neighborhood instead of the bustle of Waikiki, but we loved that. One of the neighbors would go spear fishing nearly every afternoon outside out house for dinner, and there were seals and turtles that hung out there daily.

I can't tell if they are booked all through December/January, or if they have that blocked off, maybe it's too early to book. Worth calling them...

[SeanPizzle]

We just released our condo in Maui today for over the holidays as we want to celebrate on the mainland with family. Oceanfront, you can't build new as close to the ocean as this is. Snorkeling out front. Fully stocked kitchen and very quiet complex.

https://www.kahanavillage.com/condo-rental/unit-23/

[WPOZZZ]

What do you plan to do here? Turtle Bay is really isolated, and you can only go in the lagoon in the winter. Going to any other beach and trying the waves could be dangerous with our winter swells. On top of that, you'll get stuck in nothing but traffic on the North Shore because of all the gawkers.

The women will probably want to go sightseeing and shopping. The prime shopping is in Honolulu with Ala Moana Center and the re-imagined International Marketplace. Walking around Waikiki is quite fun, too.

[matthewb0051]

Originally Posted by WPOZZZ

What do you plan to do here? Turtle Bay is really isolated, and you can only go in the lagoon in the winter. Going to any other beach and trying the waves could be dangerous with our winter swells. On top of that, you'll get stuck in nothing but traffic on the North Shore because of all the gawkers.

.

Sage advice. We lived there a few years ago, moved back to the mainland in 2012.

The North Shore is great in the winter due to winter swells. Great to go to Pipe and watch some serious surfing. But FFS, stay out of the water unless you know what you are doing.

Secondly, Turtle Bay is pretty far out and you will drive either direction to get back to town. Ditto for the Disney resort in Kapolei. I would pass on Disney as its too man made.

You really should figure out whether you want to be relatively secluded or need/want to be in town then make decisions from there. Either can be great but you don't want to end up staying in the country if you really wanted to be in town and getting from one to the other is pretty rough. My 15 mile commute from the outskirts of downtown to around the North Shore took an hour in the afternoon. The alternate route is about 55 miles.

[rattlsnak]

I went a few months ago and stayed 10 days. We stayed at the Hilton Grand Hawaiian right on Waikiki Beach, but we also did tours and visited three other islands on day trips. (long days!) We basically did one beach/lazy/shopping day, then hopped to another island and explored (again more tours/helicopter rides, etc) and then repeat. It was a fantastic trip and was able to see a tremendous amount of all the islands mixed with relaxing days.

Booked them all here: www.viator.com . Everything was paid for ahead of time and you just show up at the appointed times. Zero hassle.

[scottmandue]

Last time we went we stayed in/around Kāneʻohe, it is right across from the Marine Corps Base and it seems a lot of Marines retire their and built extensions on their houses to rent to tourist for extra money. The guy we rented form was super nice and had a nice swimming pool we could use (but preferred to walk the two blocks to the beach) very relaxed small town feel.
10 miles to Honolulu.
38 miles to the north shore.
22 miles to the Polynesian Cultural Center.
22 miles to Hanauma Bay Nature preserve - famous for snorkeling, you have to pay to get into the reserve, it was storming when there and the water was a little murky. Ironically it was calm when we drove up to the pipeline and the water was crystal clear.

Some where around the north shore 2003:






National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific: (I highly recommend)

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Jims5543

If you go to to the Big Island go find my boy and see him perform. I miss my single days with him blasting his trumpet in the living room practicing then heading to Orlando Jazz clubs with him to watch him sit in or be the act that night. He was always on the move making a scene.

::. Volcano Choy .::

Well, that is about the coolest thing I have read in some time. The web site is great and the music even more so.

Congratulations.

Born into a musical family, Jr Volcano Choy was always attracted to the trumpet and Jazz. “My Father, who is a Sax and Oboe player was a professional musician, starting out in the Air Force Band and then for decades playing the shows in Waikiki and also a member of the Royal Hawaiian Band, always had Jazz playing on the stereo at home,…in fact, he told me that when I was as young as 2, I would be in front of the stereo with my plastic toy trumpet mimicking those great Clifford Brown solos!!...My Mother was also a Jazz aficionado, she herself being from a musical family, being the sister of Alto Sax Great, Gabe Baltazar of Stan Kenton and LA studios fame…she knew what was “swingin” and what wasn’t!...”I have one brother, David, who is also a musician (saxes) and currently resides in Maui, he gigs weekly in Maui and travels abroad with the “Doobie Brothers”… my Father, who well knew how uncertain the life of a musician could be, and with good, loving concern for the future economic stability of his 2 sons, always tried to steer us away from becoming professional musicians, however, both my Brother and I became professionals and joined the Musicians Union Local 677 in our teens.”