cruise or "islands on my own"?

[karen of PA]

I am planning a two-week trip to Hawaii for May 2010. I have been on several cruises and have loved them. However, I am wondering if I will be able to experience the true flavor of Hawaii if I don't actually stay on each of the islands. I would like to stay in Oahu for several days and then either take the POA cruise or fly to the individual islands on my own.

 

This may be my one and only trip to Hawaii so I would like to see as much as possible during my visit.

 

Does anyone have any advice or recommendations?

 

Thanks so much.

 

Karen

[chipmaster]

I am planning a two-week trip to Hawaii for May 2010. I have been on several cruises and have loved them. However, I am wondering if I will be able to experience the true flavor of Hawaii if I don't actually stay on each of the islands. I would like to stay in Oahu for several days and then either take the POA cruise or fly to the individual islands on my own.

 

This may be my one and only trip to Hawaii so I would like to see as much as possible during my visit.

 

Does anyone have any advice or recommendations?

 

Thanks so much.

 

Karen

 

Having been to Hawaii many times and to several of the islands; Oahu, Big Island, Maui, and Kauai. Each time I've gone its been to one island for 3-5 days. If you enjoy tropical beaches and outdoors there is ample on each island for 2-3 days of fulltime touring. If a cruise only gives you a day on each island you'll come away with just a taste and have to make hard choices on each island. The only advantage I see of cruising is the "moving" hotel where you only unpack once and every day got your breakfast/dinner taken care of.

 

Many places are best gotten to in a car, many stops, short hikes etc. Cruising in my humble opinion will result in you missing many things. Of course if convenience is a priority I can't imagine a more carefree way to see all the big islands and a few things on each either.

 

Take Kauai for example, with a single day you almost have to choose between the the North or the South, trying to do both is very challenging. While if you stay there 2 days you have the hassle of flying and hotel but in 1 and 1/2 days you can really see almost everything. Trust me there are wonderful not to be missed sights on both the North and South that shouldn't be missed.

 

Good luck.

[JohnL1935]

Karen: We've done 3 cruises to Hawaii and 4 land vacations. None of the cruises were on NCL. Last month we flew into Honolulu and took Go Airline that same night to the Big Island where we stayed at Hilton at Waikoloa, on the Kona side, with another couple in a condo unit. Waikoloa was nice but very isolated and about a 2 hour drive to the Hilo side which we did twice. Too much of the day was wasted driving to/from. After being there before, we became bored because the main thing to do was either sun or play golf--and we're not golfers. The next week plus was at HHV at Waikiki which is our favorite place to stay. We enjoy the variety of restaurants in Honolulu, the people, beaches and shopping. The north shore beaches and waves are a thing to see. You also have a Pearl Harbor sights which you can do on a less busy day than when the ship is in port.

 

My recommendation to you would be to go to Honolulu for 3 days before doing a cruise on NCL. This will give you a chance to adapt to the time change, get a feel of Hawaii and then get on the ship fresh. You can then see all the islands they visit without doing all the short air hops if you just did a land vacation. After the cruise I would stay at Waikiki for another 3/4 days before your return. You will be able to compare your experiences and determine how to spend those remaining days in Hawaii. The worse part of Hawaii is the flight to/from, so once there stay as long as you have time and $$. There are reasonable places to stay if you are happy being a block or two from the beach.

 

A reminder that restaurants are very expensive and car rental prices have creeped up over the years. Last year we were there in January and the nights were cool. This year we went later and the nights were still cool and days very windy. Some reviews on the Golden Princess when there at the same time we were also compained of the rough weather.

 

Aloha, John

[daWoods]

I've seen this question before, and it's a hard one to answer. There are those on both sides of the fence. Personally I would never do a Hawaiian cruise, but that's because I've done land vacations there 7 times. A friend did a cruise there a few years ago, and has returned twice because she felt she didn't get to see as much as she wanted during the cruise. A good "sampler" is how she put it.

 

We usually spend a week on 3 different islands, but think next time it'll be 10 days on two different islands. If you have the time to spend there, I'd recommend a land vacation. If you don't, cruising would at least give you a taste of the place, and possible the incentive to go back.

[SCUBA Mark]

We are leaving on NCL Pride of America on 5/2.

 

That ship spends 2 consecutive days (overnight) on Maui and Kauai. It also spend two days on the Big Island but not overnight.

 

I have found it is very easy to rent cars on the islands and cheap ($29 per day)

 

We bought the "Revealed" books for Oahu, Maui, and Kauai. I feel that they have really gotten us prepared to make the best use of our time.

 

Since we have never been to Hawaii, I think this will give us a great overview of several islands at very inexpensive price. We can go back to Hawaii on a land tour later if we want to spend more time on a particular island.

 

We are also spending 2 days before and after the cruise in Oahu

[byucougs]

I agree that coming in a few days before to experience Honolulu then taking a cruise is a great start to Hawaii. You really do get to spend a lot of time on each island to give you a flavor of each...and you get to cruise past the shores of areas you could never see by land tours, such as the Napali coast which is breathtaking. Depending on the time of year you go...you see all types of wildlife from the ship, including dolphins and whales.

 

We thought that taking the NCL cruise and staying a little before and after in Honolulu would fill our desire to see Hawaii. We fell in love with the islands and vowed to come back and spend a week on each island...there's so much to do and each island has their own unique feeling.

 

We loved not worrying about unpacking/packing, spending time in airports and constantly finding eating establishments. Cruise = unpack once, eat, get off ship touring all day, come back, eat, unwind, see some entertainment and do it all over again the next day. With NCL cruise, you can start late in Maui or get up early and see the sunrise on Haleakala. We rented caars on every island and whatever we wanted to do.

 

I also recommend the "revealed" series of books on the Hawaiian islands.

 

We're Maui bound this Christmas, with a week in a condo in Lahaina.......can hardly wait :) .....Aloha!

[cccole]

I've seen this question before, and it's a hard one to answer. There are those on both sides of the fence. Personally I would never do a Hawaiian cruise, but that's because I've done land vacations there 7 times. A friend did a cruise there a few years ago, and has returned twice because she felt she didn't get to see as much as she wanted during the cruise. A good "sampler" is how she put it.

 

We usually spend a week on 3 different islands, but think next time it'll be 10 days on two different islands. If you have the time to spend there, I'd recommend a land vacation. If you don't, cruising would at least give you a taste of the place, and possible the incentive to go back.

 

I totally agree. I love cruises but would never consider a cruise in Hawaii. We have been to the islands many times and just never seem to get enough.

 

Cherie

[rsham]

We flew into Honolulu and spent a night prior to getting on the POAm for the cruise. If I had it to do over again and had the money and time, I would stay a few more days in Honolulu as we only had time to tour Pearl Harbor and nothing else. I do recommend the cruise. After the cruise we flew back to Maui and spent 5 days. I loved it also. You can't go wrong in Hawaii in my opinion.

[whale-watcher]

...Take Kauai for example, with a single day you almost have to choose between the the North or the South, trying to do both is very challenging. While if you stay there 2 days you have the hassle of flying and hotel but in 1 and 1/2 days you can really see almost everything. Trust me there are wonderful not to be missed sights on both the North and South that shouldn't be missed.

 

Good luck.

But the NCL itinerary includes 1 and 1/2 days on Kauai, (with overnight, so not pressed for time the first day), as well as two full days in Maui and on the Big Island (Kona + Hilo)....

 

if you have time to spend a full week on each Island, then a non cruise vacation would be the way to go, but if your time is limited, I would not want to fly from Island to Island, wasting time in the airport and packing/repacking for each new hotel... either pick just one additional Island, or go with NCL (and rent a car at each port, so you can explore on your own schedule)...we did, and loved the experience:)

[born2cruize]

I've learned a long time ago that when you cruise you CAN NOT see every. I know you may feel now that this may be the only time you get to Hawaii and want to take in as much as possible. For me that is not what I want in a vacation. I want my time to be relaxing but fulfilling and not wasting my time. We did not do Hawaii until our 13th cruise and 16th and 18th coming next February. In all cases we combined our time with staying in Oahu. The first time we did 3 days pre and 3 days post our POA cruise. Last year we did 6 days pre and next year we're doing 7 days pre.

 

This is a long way of saying that IF this is your only chance to see Hawaii, do a pre in Oahu, a cruise then maybe a post on one of the islands (my choice would be the Big Island).

 

If you want to immerse yourselves in the islands then you'd need about a week in each place but for me that is not what I'm interested in.

[Decebal]

First of all, congrats on going to Hawaii. It's a magical state.

 

I have been to Oahu twice and when we discussed about going to Oahu again, I felt like I've been there done that, and wanted to see the rest. We've decided on a cruise to see the "highlights" of the rest of the islands. It's a great way to see the rest and then retrurn if one of them "beacons" you at first sight.

 

It's a very good idea to spend 2-3 days on Oahu, catch some sun, the city vibe and then take the cruise.

[CC Help Michell]

I am planning a two-week trip to Hawaii for May 2010. I have been on several cruises and have loved them. However, I am wondering if I will be able to experience the true flavor of Hawaii if I don't actually stay on each of the islands. I would like to stay in Oahu for several days and then either take the POA cruise or fly to the individual islands on my own.

 

This may be my one and only trip to Hawaii so I would like to see as much as possible during my visit.

 

Does anyone have any advice or recommendations?

 

Thanks so much.

 

Karen

 

We viewed our Hawaii cruise as our "introduction to Hawaii." We spent a few days on Oahu ahead of the cruise, and wish we'd added a couple afterwards, as well. Otherwise, I wouldn't change a thing about doing that as our first Hawaiian visit. It was a great way for us to find out what we love about Hawaii. I'd always heard that "Maui and Kauai are the best," and to avoid Oahu, with barely a mention of the Big Island. Thanks to our trip, we learned that we liked the Big Island best, Oahu second, and Maui and Kauai were beautiful but we don't particularly feel a need to return to either any time soon.

 

In very real terms (both dollars and vacation time) that is VERY valuable information to have. To compare before booking our cruise, I priced out visiting the four islands we visited, flying between each of them, hotels, and food -- and then factored in spending a minimum of 5 daylight hours 4 times just to do the airport/flight thing. We'd have wound up spending just over double the money for half as many days of actual vacation/exploration time.

 

I have no doubt that those who say "we have done the islands by land for years -- we'd NEVER cruise there" are speaking the truth and are sincere. But I was someone who hadn't visited Hawaii by land before, and doing the cruise within the islands was a very economical way to guide us in our future visits. Now that we know what we like, we do plan our future visits as land-based ones. For first time visitors, I really do think the cruise is a great choice (especially if combined with a few days on Oahu before or after).

[Bucky3]

I agree with Michell. We traveled to Hawaii for years both for business and pleasure, and it is still our favorite vacation destination. Now, though, we cruise there. We live on the West Coast, love sea days too, so the RT cruise from LA is perfect for us. Of course, no length of time IN Hawaii is ever long enough! Having said that and though we have never cruised on NCL, I think their itinerary is a really good one for a first time visitor especially if you can spend a few days before and/or after your cruise on Oahu. It certainly would be much more economical than flying from island to island, packing, unpacking, etc! Lots of wasted time there even though the flights are very short. Car rentals are reasonable, May is a lovely and usually uncrowded time in the islands.

 

Oahu is a beautiful island and offers just about everything every other island offers (with the exception of an active volcano!) if you take the time to explore it fully. The area above the Polynesian Cultural Center where Turtle Bay is located is gorgeous, and the beaches up there are beautiful. Of course, we like the hustle and bustle of Waikiki too and prefer to stay right in the middle of it all and do day trips to other parts of Oahu from there. We highly suggest reading the "Revealed" books to use as research material, and you can even order driving maps online to plan your days ahead of time.

 

Whatever you decide, Hawaii is wonderful, and we hope you enjoy! Aloha!

[simonv]

I've met many people who did island hopping, 2 days here and 3 days on there. It always struck me as crazy. Hawaii isn't like going to Europe where you have must-sees. There aren't much to see in Hawaii honestly. The point of Hawaii is to feel and get into the easy rhythm of the life there. It's quite different from Caribbean.

Cruise strikes me as an easy and sensible introduction to the Hawaiian islands. Then you can come back to the island you liked for land vacation, and really get to know it. Each has different feel to it, and best for different seasons. My vacation there always has been land based, but I think seeing the islands from sea would be fun, something I'd do someday.

[vbmom87]

We will have two weeks to spend in Hawaii. We are thinking of taking the POA cruise for one week and then spend the other week on one or two Islands. Does anyone have a suggestion of how to divide our time up? Should we do a few days before and after the cruise? Or would it be best to do the one week all after the cruise.

[whale-watcher]

I would suggest at least a couple of days before hand to adjust to the time change and see some of Oahu. We decided to spend 4 nights at the turtle bay resort to relax and unwind before the cruise. We would have enjoyed having a night or two in Waikiki afterwards to see more of the "busy" side of oahu (or could do this the other way around; a few days in Waikiki before hand, and some relaxation time at a quieter resort afterwards).

[vbmom87]

I would suggest at least a couple of days before hand to adjust to the time change and see some of Oahu. We decided to spend 4 nights at the turtle bay resort to relax and unwind before the cruise. We would have enjoyed having a night or two in Waikiki afterwards to see more of the "busy" side of oahu (or could do this the other way around; a few days in Waikiki before hand, and some relaxation time at a quieter resort afterwards).

 

Thanks. Giving yourself time to adjust to the time zone is a good idea. Are there many issues with seasickness on this route?

[whale-watcher]

With two overnights in port and only one half day at sea, it was not an issue for DW or nephew, both of whom are a little prone to motion sickness. We cruised in January, and there was quite a bit of motion at times, but just when they would start to feel a bit dizzy it was bedtime anyways.

[Beach4me]

My two cents...based on what you've said, I'd start with 3 nights in Waikiki, take the NCL cruise, and end with 4 nights in Maui.

 

I'm personally very fond of the Westin properties (which are all non-smoking). They appear to be higher priced at first look but if you look at their specials, right now they are offering stay 2 nights get the third free on Oahu, stay 3 nights get the fourth free on Maui, which brings the cost down. Especially when you factor in the other things they throw in (restaurant credits and/or breakfast buffet depending upon the property). imo, there is no better hotel on Waikiki than the Moana Surfrider (the "first lady of Waikiki"). Although the Royal Hawaiian comes in a close second - and they are all part of the Starwood (Westin, Sheraton) family - only Westin is completely non-smoking, fyi - and offer free night and food packages. On Maui, my favorite hotel is the Westin Maui.

 

If you have any questions, let me know! You are going to have a FABULOUS trip!

 

(ps - my first trip to Hawaii was a multi-island, 4 nights on each. It was wonderful but tiring with the flights, etc. I've taken the r/t Hawaii cruise from LA - which I did not enjoy as much as I'd hoped/expected because of the lack of island time, missed ports, etc. I've taken many, many land vacations to the islands. I personally have found that I'm a land-based vacation person when it comes to Hawaii. BUT, based on your comments and the fact that you have 2 weeks and want to take NCL, I think the cruise/land stay combo will give you a FABULOUS trip to paradise!) :)

[karen327]

My two cents...based on what you've said, I'd start with 3 nights in Waikiki, take the NCL cruise, and end with 4 nights in Maui.

 

I'm personally very fond of the Westin properties (which are all non-smoking). They appear to be higher priced at first look but if you look at their specials, right now they are offering stay 2 nights get the third free on Oahu, stay 3 nights get the fourth free on Maui, which brings the cost down. Especially when you factor in the other things they throw in (restaurant credits and/or breakfast buffet depending upon the property). imo, there is no better hotel on Waikiki than the Moana Surfrider (the "first lady of Waikiki"). Although the Royal Hawaiian comes in a close second - and they are all part of the Starwood (Westin, Sheraton) family - only Westin is completely non-smoking, fyi - and offer free night and food packages. On Maui, my favorite hotel is the Westin Maui.

 

If you have any questions, let me know! You are going to have a FABULOUS trip!

 

(ps - my first trip to Hawaii was a multi-island, 4 nights on each. It was wonderful but tiring with the flights, etc. I've taken the r/t Hawaii cruise from LA - which I did not enjoy as much as I'd hoped/expected because of the lack of island time, missed ports, etc. I've taken many, many land vacations to the islands. I personally have found that I'm a land-based vacation person when it comes to Hawaii. BUT, based on your comments and the fact that you have 2 weeks and want to take NCL, I think the cruise/land stay combo will give you a FABULOUS trip to paradise!) :)

 

I love the advice you just gave. I would like to do that, but spend my final few days on the big island, Volcano National Park just sounds so interesting as well as the volcano with the telescopes on the top, Do you know if it is a lot more expensive to fly back to the mainland out of one of the other islands than honolulu? Can we get a package deal with a cruise and hotel nights on two different islands with transportation? I am new at this.

[time11130]

We were just given a gift of $5000 to go to Hawaii for our 25th wedding anniversary. We have been on 2 Royal Carribean cruises and thought we would do a cruise to Hawaii, at least to just get a sample and then maybe we would be able to go back and visit the areas we wanted to see more of. Just wondering when is the BEST time to visit/cruise? Our anniversary is in July but our son is getting ready to go away to college so we were thinking of waiting until like Sept. This $ was just given to us and we were told to go to Hawaii - not the Carribean or elsewhere. Anyone have any advice ? What would you do? Maybe even wait until the spring? Please help ASAP... we have never booked a vacation on this short of notice. We usually plan it a year in advance. Thanks for any help anyone can give me. Lisa in indiana

[Beach4me]

I love the advice you just gave. I would like to do that, but spend my final few days on the big island, Volcano National Park just sounds so interesting as well as the volcano with the telescopes on the top, Do you know if it is a lot more expensive to fly back to the mainland out of one of the other islands than honolulu? Can we get a package deal with a cruise and hotel nights on two different islands with transportation? I am new at this.

 

Karen,

 

I'm not sure what type of packages NCL will put together for you but if you book the cruise through a travel agent, they should be able to help you out. Inter-island flights are very inexpensive and run several times an hour. It usually is more expensive (by a couple hundred dollars) to fly home from an outer island than from Honolulu just because of more limited flights however, with the downturn in the economy, you may be able to get a good deal and it will all wash out. If the price is a bit higher than you like, you can get one of those low-cost flights back to Honolulu and you'll be good!

 

Now, about Volcanoes National Park and the telescopes...just so you know, you will not be able to look through them. And, they are at the top Mauna Kea which is a daunting journey for several reasons (altitude sickness being one of them). I'm not telling you this to discourage you - I'm just wanting you to be sure you know exactly what the situation is. Here's a link from the park site that will give you lots of good info: http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/mko/visiting.htm I'd hate for you to get over there and find out that you can't do some stuff that you thought you could.

 

VNP is an interesting place. I found that the day tour was enough. And the sail-by at night was awesome!

 

I'm just going to throw this out so you are aware of it. IF you are into astronomy (which I am), the Hyatt on Maui has a nightly "Tour of the Stars". They have 2 high-powered telescopes on top of the hotel and a VERY high-powered set of binoculars. They have an astronomer from the University of Hawaii who comes and gives a tour of the stars. He tells the Hawaiian legends of the constellations, too. I do this a couple times every time I visit Maui. I love it! You don't have to be a guest of the Hyatt to participate...I think it's like $10 more if you're not staying there. Here's a link: http://maui.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/activities/onsite/details.jsp?onsiteActId=424

 

Also, the Pacific Whale Foundation does Stargazing cruises - and during whale season they combine those with Full Moon Whale Song cruises. All VERY cool! Here's a link (look in both places on this web page): http://pacificwhale.org/mauiecocruises/cruise.php?page=holiday

 

And just fyi, here's a link to the info on Haleakala's observatory: http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/haleakala/

 

You can't visit it either but you can go to the top of Haleakala (without worrying about altitude sickness) and view the observatory and the crater. At sunrise, this is especially surreal!

 

Again, I am NOT trying to talk you out of your plan to spend your days on Hawaii at VNP. You will have plenty to do there. But, I wanted to be sure that you were aware that you would not be allowed in the park after dark and that you would not have access to the telescopes, etc. And, if you are into astronomy, I wanted to give you some options to consider that a lot of folks are unaware of.

 

No matter your choice, you are going to have a WONDERFUL time! Aloha!

 

Charmi

[Beach4me]

We were just given a gift of $5000 to go to Hawaii for our 25th wedding anniversary. We have been on 2 Royal Carribean cruises and thought we would do a cruise to Hawaii, at least to just get a sample and then maybe we would be able to go back and visit the areas we wanted to see more of. Just wondering when is the BEST time to visit/cruise? Our anniversary is in July but our son is getting ready to go away to college so we were thinking of waiting until like Sept. This $ was just given to us and we were told to go to Hawaii - not the Carribean or elsewhere. Anyone have any advice ? What would you do? Maybe even wait until the spring? Please help ASAP... we have never booked a vacation on this short of notice. We usually plan it a year in advance. Thanks for any help anyone can give me. Lisa in indiana

 

Wow, Lisa! Congratulations and what a GREAT gift!!!

 

Okay - keep in mind that all I'm about to say is just my opinion! You will get lots of other opinions from others here. I've been going to Hawaii for over 20 years. I've done the packaged land vacation (4 islands in 2 1/2 weeks type thing), a round-trip cruise from LA, and over a dozen trips I've planned on my own. I've gone in Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, July, and Sept.

 

My favorite time to visit is during humpback whale season - and specificially, during the heart of whale season in March and early April. Not only are the whales phenomenal, the weather is too. It is past the rainy season (realizing that you are likely to get a quick shower most afternoons anytime of the year).

 

December and January specifically can be VERY wet. We cruised in Jan/Feb and found the seas to be a bit rough and, in fact, missed 2 ports (Maui and Kauai). I have 3 sets of friends who cruised separately in Oct of various years and had wonderful seas and weather and if I were to ever take a round-trip cruise from the west coast again, I would opt for October. Note that they were also able to use the outdoor pools on the ship both ways - something we were not able to do in Jan/Feb. So, you're "waiting until Sept" plan sounds good...but I'd even consider maybe waiting one more month and going in October.

 

We cruised on Princess but I would not recommend them for this voyage. (I know there will be several who will swear they are the best so this is obviously a highly personal thing.) If I had to do it over again, I would have taken RCCL. One of my friends who took Celebrity last year raved about it as well. If you really want the most time in the islands, NCL offers that. However, according to the reviews on these boards, they are not your typical cruise experience. As long as you know that going in and set your expectations accordingly, you're good to go! The nice thing about the NCL cruise is that you can spend a few days in Waikiki before the cruise and spend some quality time at Pearl Harbor, really see Oahu, etc and then when you go back on your next visit, you can focus on the other islands without having to feel like you need to spend your vacation days on Oahu...unless, of course, you want to. :)

 

The round-trip cruises are more sea-intensive than island intensive. You have to make sure that you are happy with the ship/cruiseline because that is where you are going to be spending the majority of your time. The inter-island cruise (NCL) is about the islands and the ship is more just your place to stay while you get to the next port/the next adventure.

 

Do you have any specific questions? Any specific wants/don't wants that we can help you with? If so, just ask!

 

And again...WOOHOO!!!!!!!:):):)

 

Charmi

[sceptic]

Just want to clear up a few things. The Mauna kea observatory is not in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. HVNP includes the summit of Mauna Loa, Kilauea, and a swath of both rift zones extending down to the sea. Mauna Kea is north of the park, on a separate extinct/dormant volcano.

 

So when I read that you can't get into "the park" at night, that's wrong. You can go into HVNP at night (the glow of Halemaumau at midnight is entrancing) and has nothing to do with telescopes.

 

The large telescopes at the summit of Mauna Kea are not open to the public for nighttime viewing. They are for scientific research. However, at the Onizuka Visitor Center at the 9300 foot level on Mauna Kea you can enjoy nightly star parties: http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis/ The drive to this location is quite dark (which is the point for good astro viewing!) and might not be everyone's cup of tea, and MAY violate some rental car agreements that say "no Saddle Road" - however, the last few times I've rented on the Big Island I've not had this restriction on my contract. And there are private tours that will take you up to the visitor center for the star parties as well.

 

The astronomical seeing (and telescopes offered) at this site provide the best opportunity for the general public to enjoy celestial sites in the state. It is far superior to those offered on the roofs of hotels at sea level, in brightly lit populated areas. There is simply no comparison. Of course, if you're on Maui the rooftop parties are fun and a lot easier to get to than flying to the Big Island!

[Beach4me]

Just want to clear up a few things. The Mauna kea observatory is not in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. HVNP includes the summit of Mauna Loa, Kilauea, and a swath of both rift zones extending down to the sea. Mauna Kea is north of the park, on a separate extinct/dormant volcano.

 

So when I read that you can't get into "the park" at night, that's wrong. You can go into HVNP at night (the glow of Halemaumau at midnight is entrancing) and has nothing to do with telescopes.

 

The large telescopes at the summit of Mauna Kea are not open to the public for nighttime viewing. They are for scientific research. However, at the Onizuka Visitor Center at the 9300 foot level on Mauna Kea you can enjoy nightly star parties: http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis/ The drive to this location is quite dark (which is the point for good astro viewing!) and might not be everyone's cup of tea, and MAY violate some rental car agreements that say "no Saddle Road" - however, the last few times I've rented on the Big Island I've not had this restriction on my contract. And there are private tours that will take you up to the visitor center for the star parties as well.

 

The astronomical seeing (and telescopes offered) at this site provide the best opportunity for the general public to enjoy celestial sites in the state. It is far superior to those offered on the roofs of hotels at sea level, in brightly lit populated areas. There is simply no comparison. Of course, if you're on Maui the rooftop parties are fun and a lot easier to get to than flying to the Big Island!

 

Thanks for the clarification. :o My mistake - when I think of the observatories/telecopes on Hawaii, I think of the observatories which as you agreed, are not accessible. I did not want the OP to think that that was what she was going to have access to - that was the point of my post. And, I SHOULD have said that the Mauna Kea summit road is closed after dark - not VNP. Thank you for correcting my errors.

 

My point of telling her about the options on Maui were simply to let her (and others who may not be spending their time on Hawaii but who may be interested in astronomy) know that there were other options for star viewing. As you pointed out, she will have plenty to see on the Big Island.

 

Thanks! :)