Islands in Pacific Ocean

[Shiny Things]

hawaii definitely one in my bucket list. maybe influenced by haruki murakami (Hanalei Bay)

basically i enjoy trying local food, trekking, driving, riding motorbike, swim (but still afraid of open waters for now), some photography ...

All of those things are right up on the list of things-to-do - if you like them you'll love Hawaii. (And if you want to get over that fear of open water, a snorkeling trip to Lanai might be a good idea - you can walk into the water right off the beach and see coral.)

- may know what the minimum no of days for hawaii, and how much i should budget for?

You could do as little as four nights (if you do that, do them on Maui), but a week or a week-and-a-half is a good idea if you want to do more than one island.

- is it good idea to fly from japan? (i read that many japanese choose to go hawaii because it's cheaper to get there than say hokkaido)

thanks!

Tokyo's the easiest stopover, but check out Shanghai as well - China Eastern has some astonishingly cheap fares. I found SIN-PVG-HNL in January for $850 USD round-trip.

 

[rrr2015]

Thanks for your tips ...

All of those things are right up on the list of things-to-do - if you like them you'll love Hawaii. (And if you want to get over that fear of open water, a snorkeling trip to Lanai might be a good idea - you can walk into the water right off the beach and see coral.)

actually i mean open ocean swim, there's a group (mostly middle~old age) in maui that do open ocean swim regularly, looks fun!

You could do as little as four nights (if you do that, do them on Maui), but a week or a week-and-a-half is a good idea if you want to do more than one island.

noted. i think four nights too little for me

Tokyo's the easiest stopover, but check out Shanghai as well - China Eastern has some astonishingly cheap fares. I found SIN-PVG-HNL in January for $850 USD round-trip.

nice to have options!

typically how much expenses should i budget per day if i stay in 3 star hotel? (food+lodging+car or bike rental)

 

[Shiny Things]

noted. i think four nights too little for me

Good call. Do a week or two.

typically how much expenses should i budget per day if i stay in 3 star hotel? (food+lodging+car or bike rental)

Depends a bit on the season. In the high season (January to May or thereabouts), a cheap hotel might run you $150-$200/nt; something nice like the Westin Maui hits $300/nt. In the shoulder and low seasons, you can get even nice hotels for under the $200/nt mark. Waikiki and Hilo have good options on the low end; Maui has a bit more on the high end.

Budget $100/day for food and "miscellaneous", and $50/day for car/bike rental.

 

[Shiny Things]

On a related note - I'm going to stick in a shameless plug here for Trilogy Maui, my favourite snorkeling-trip company on Maui. I've been on two of their trips, to Lana'i and Molokini; both have been fantastic. Fully catered; small groups; and led by fun, knowledgeable guides. They're not the cheapest, but they're absolutely the best.

And if you want a taste of the islands, or if you've just got back and you're suffering from those post-holiday blues, Maui Hawaiian-music station KPOA 93.5 FM has a livestream that'll scratch your itch.

Mods, feel free to edit this post if you think any of it is breaking the advertising rules.