Flight advice for getting there and back

[SL6827]

Would love to visit here next year for me and hubby's 25th year anniversary. It is a long shot, but not impossible. The one thing he would not like is the amount of time in the air. A flight from Atlanta to what San Diego, LA, where? Stay a night and then the flight to Hawaii the next day. All to repeat in a week. So where do you fly into if you stay over a night in California? Best airline for all this? We really like Delta but I am open minded a bit.

 

[travelplanningnerd]

I'd base it depending on where you can find the best times and deals. Use Google flights to search for itineraries and ideal prices.

 

[travelplanningnerd]

Also that time change from the east coast is awful so if you can do more than a week, I'd highly suggest it. You're going to lose time on both ends with a stop plus the adjustment once you get there.

Keep in mind that most return flights leave late at night and fly through the night so you may not find you need the stopover on the return.

 

[nkereina]

Would love to visit here next year for me and hubby's 25th year anniversary. It is a long shot, but not impossible. The one thing he would not like is the amount of time in the air. A flight from Atlanta to what San Diego, LA, where? Stay a night and then the flight to Hawaii the next day. All to repeat in a week. So where do you fly into if you stay over a night in California? Best airline for all this? We really like Delta but I am open minded a bit.

We flew nonstop from Atlanta to Honolulu on Delta and it was about 9 hours. Those who stop in California on the way often will stay the night and fly to Honolulu the next day, but I believe the flight from most cities in CA is still roughly 4-5ish hours. The additional time in the air flying nonstop to Honolulu is worth it to me in order to maximize your time in Hawaii, especially if you only have a week. The money you'd spend on a hotel in CA can be used to upgrade to the Comfort Plus or even first class seats if you can swing it. That makes the flying experience even easier. We flew in coach, but strategically chose a flight that typically flies a plane with a 2-4-2 seat configuration. This gave DH and I our own row so it was more comfortable. The plane has seatback TVs at every seat with hundreds of movies and TV shows, games, music. They serves us a hot meal, unlimited snacks and drinks - including alcohol. Again, this was all in coach. Could not have been a better flight there and back, frankly. I agree with PP too that a majority of flights are nonstop redeyes on the way home, which is also preferable to me because we just wanted to get home at that point. Hawaii is 5 hours behind Atlanta time, and 6 hours during some of the year as they do not observe daylight savings time.

If you're set on flying from the west coast, IMO, flying one of the major carriers will give you the best shot at a wide body plane and more comfort amenities. A carrier like Southwest flies from CA to Honolulu, but you're still contending with rows of three and bring your own device for entertainment. As far as where to fly from, LA will be among the cheapest options but LAX airport can be a nightmare, especially if you're staying in a hotel and returning the next day. San Diego will be a little easier to manage, but flights may be slightly more. At the end of the day, the difference in flight lengths and the price differences are going to be mostly negligible, so I would choose based on flight times and what's most convenient to you.

 

[nathos]

When my wife and I first visited Aulani, we flew from NYC to LA, then LA to Honolulu. On the way out, we spent an evening in LA to have a nice dinner, but on the way back we just stayed at an airport right on LAX property (the Hyatt Regency) because of the flight timing.

We're huge fans of Hawaiian Airlines (especially if you can splurge for their first class cabin)!

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

I would vote for the Delta nonstop. When you factor in the extra time and cost an extra night in LA takes to break up the flight I think it's just easier to get it done with in one flight. We always go first class from Chicago, either on the nonstop on UA/AA or 1 stop thru Dallas. If you can swing it the ATL-HNL will have flat bed seats in first and is 100% worth it for a long flight like that. We usually use miles or other cc rewards to pay for most/all so you might look at that route if you can.

 

[JM23457]

I agree not to stay overnight on the west coast. Waste of time and money.

 

[Dracula]

Would love to visit here next year for me and hubby's 25th year anniversary. It is a long shot, but not impossible. The one thing he would not like is the amount of time in the air. A flight from Atlanta to what San Diego, LA, where? Stay a night and then the flight to Hawaii the next day. All to repeat in a week. So where do you fly into if you stay over a night in California? Best airline for all this? We really like Delta but I am open minded a bit.

Delta has a daily flight from ATL to HNL that actually has very convenient hours - landing in HNL early afternoon right in time for check-in, departing later in the afternoon giving you the chance to do a leisurely check-out from Aulani. This flight is however more costly than other flights with more legs, and unfortunately their companion certificates do not apply to flights to HI, but Medallion upgrades do apply.

 

[ksromack]

Would love to visit here next year for me and hubby's 25th year anniversary. It is a long shot, but not impossible. The one thing he would not like is the amount of time in the air. A flight from Atlanta to what San Diego, LA, where? Stay a night and then the flight to Hawaii the next day. All to repeat in a week. So where do you fly into if you stay over a night in California? Best airline for all this? We really like Delta but I am open minded a bit.

I'll be the odd bird here! When we were supposed to go to Aulani a couple months ago from St. Louis, we had a Southwest flight to San Francisco with an overnight stay there. We were to have a nice dinner in San Fran and then catch the 0730 flight to Honolulu on Hawaiian Airlines. I wanted to be in Hawaii early early to get as much out of our first day as possible. Then we were going to reverse it coming home only we weren't staying overnight in San Francisco because our layover was only about 1.5 hours. Our flight out of Honolulu was late at night and I figured we'd sleep most of the 4-5 hours to CA. If you have a hard time sitting still on a very long flight or if you aren't used to it I would say it's best for your legs to break it up.....walk around a bit (although you could do that on the plane). We love San Francisco and would have stayed there longer if we hadn't already gone the year prior. Hawaiian Air flies to Honolulu out of San Francisco, LA, and San Diego.

 

[nathos]

FWIW I'm also +1 on the nonstop if it's available and affordable to you

 

[OKW Lover]

Would love to visit here next year for me and hubby's 25th year anniversary. It is a long shot, but not impossible. The one thing he would not like is the amount of time in the air. A flight from Atlanta to what San Diego, LA, where? Stay a night and then the flight to Hawaii the next day. All to repeat in a week. So where do you fly into if you stay over a night in California? Best airline for all this? We really like Delta but I am open minded a bit.

We prefer to fly from FL to Aulani via ATL. We tried the west coast stop route but didn't like it. Basically, the flight from MCO (or ATL) to the west coast (LAX on Delta) is ~5 hours. Similarly, its ~5 hours from LAX to HNL. OTOH, ATL to HNL is ~10 hours.

With that background, when we did the stop on the west coast route we found that when we got off the plane in LAX we were tired and didn't want to face yet another flight of that length. Yes, we could have stayed at a hotel overnight but that would take 2 days (coming and going) away from our Aulani time. OTOH, when we fly ATL>HNL once we are on board we can just have a few beverages, eat a meal, sleep a bit and make it to HNL all in one. Returning from HNL, we typically book a red-eye HNL>ATL and sleep on the plane.

Its probably worth noting that we are experienced travelers who are Platinum on Delta. We also usually fly up front.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

In my experience, stopping to stay overnight in CA on the way to Hawaii makes the trip seem so much longer.

What if your first flight is delayed or cancelled and then you miss your flight the next day from CA to Hawaii? Or you get to CA and then your flight to Hawaii is cancelled?

I would much rather get on a plane once
than have to get to the airport early twice, check in twice, wait in the airport to board twice, take off twice and land twice. If my flight is cancelled I’d rather coordinate from home than from halfway there.

It is definitely up to you but IMO, it is so much easier logistically to not stop overnight. Adds too many variables I’m not comfortable with.

 

[JM23457]

If you have a hard time sitting still on a very long flight or if you aren't used to it I would say it's best for your legs to break it up.....walk around a bit (although you could do that on the plane).

We have flights booked for Hawaii coming from Texas. We're flying (American) to LAX, and then connecting to our flight to Hawaii. I'm glad that we'll have a brief chance to walk around and have a real break from sitting in the midst of our travel day.

I just don't think making an overnight stay of it each way is ideal. Each way you'd have to deal with baggage twice, check-in twice, security twice, checking in and out of the airport hotels, airport transfers, and you lose time at your destination, assuming your vacation time isn't unlimited. It's extra hassle and time-consuming, and is typically also more expensive.

On a separate note, I'll add that I prefer to avoid red-eyes. Some people like them, but unless you're in lie-flat seats, it's very hard to sleep. The cabin is kept dim, and drinks & snacks are minimized. Overall they tend to be unpleasant flights imo, so I do everything possible to avoid them when booking. I'd even add an extra night on the west coaet to avoid a red-eye. YMMV.

 

[abdgeek]

Would love to visit here next year for me and hubby's 25th year anniversary. It is a long shot, but not impossible. The one thing he would not like is the amount of time in the air. A flight from Atlanta to what San Diego, LA, where? Stay a night and then the flight to Hawaii the next day. All to repeat in a week. So where do you fly into if you stay over a night in California? Best airline for all this? We really like Delta but I am open minded a bit.

On Delta, you usually have two options for getting to HNL from ATL; ATL to HNL or ATL to LAX to HNL. If you decide to do the LAX route, I would recommend staying at one of the airport hotels unless you plan on sightseeing. LAX is at least 30 minutes from LA depending on traffic—sometimes it can take an hour. If you decide instead to do a layover in LAX, make sure you have at least two hours so that you aren’t running to catch your next flight. While LAX is not as bad as JFK for flight delays, you do need to pack your patience when flying through there. Something else to keep in mind is the time you want to arrive in HNL. Some of the Delta LAX flights don’t get to HNL until after 6pm.

I definitely understand your thought process. While I always fly nonstop ATL to HNL whenever I go to Hawaii, I have spent a couple of days in Anaheim to break up trips where my connecting flight out of LAX was 8 or more hours. I normally spend the days at Disneyland, but depending on when you go that may not be an option. Bottom line, do what works best for you and your family. Happy planning.

 

[linco711]

We flew nonstop from Atlanta to Honolulu on Delta and it was about 9 hours. Those who stop in California on the way often will stay the night and fly to Honolulu the next day, but I believe the flight from most cities in CA is still roughly 4-5ish hours. The additional time in the air flying nonstop to Honolulu is worth it to me in order to maximize your time in Hawaii, especially if you only have a week. The money you'd spend on a hotel in CA can be used to upgrade to the Comfort Plus or even first class seats if you can swing it. That makes the flying experience even easier. We flew in coach, but strategically chose a flight that typically flies a plane with a 2-4-2 seat configuration. This gave DH and I our own row so it was more comfortable. The plane has seatback TVs at every seat with hundreds of movies and TV shows, games, music. They serves us a hot meal, unlimited snacks and drinks - including alcohol. Again, this was all in coach. Could not have been a better flight there and back, frankly. I agree with PP too that a majority of flights are nonstop redeyes on the way home, which is also preferable to me because we just wanted to get home at that point. Hawaii is 5 hours behind Atlanta time, and 6 hours during some of the year as they do not observe daylight savings time.

If you're set on flying from the west coast, IMO, flying one of the major carriers will give you the best shot at a wide body plane and more comfort amenities. A carrier like Southwest flies from CA to Honolulu, but you're still contending with rows of three and bring your own device for entertainment. As far as where to fly from, LA will be among the cheapest options but LAX airport can be a nightmare, especially if you're staying in a hotel and returning the next day. San Diego will be a little easier to manage, but flights may be slightly more. At the end of the day, the difference in flight lengths and the price differences are going to be mostly negligible, so I would choose based on flight times and what's most convenient to you.

Exactly what we did...flew Delta non-stop from Atlanta on delta...great flight! We didn’t want the stress of an overnight stay. Delta priority seating was comfortable and worth every penny. My husband has a very bad back and was surprisingly comfortable throughout. Wouldn’t do it any other way...

 

[DieHardJoe]

We flew Delta non-stop from Boston to Atlanta (coach) then splurged for our one-time-ever first class seating for the nonstop from Atlanta to Honolulu. Best use of points EVER! We loved getting to Hawaii at a time we could see some of Honolulu, though by supper time locally we were dragging a bit, since our bodies were telling us it was bedtime!! We stayed at a hotel for that first night then took a flight (Hawaiian Air is awesome!) to Kauai the next day. Since Hawaiian Air now flies direct to Honolulu from Boston, we would probably do that if we are lucky enough to get back.

 

[OfCourseTheresAlwaysMyWay]

Been twice. First time NYC to Phoenix to Hawaii both ways. Second time NYC to San Francisco to Hawaii there and Hawaii to NYC direct back.

Don't recommend stopping. Definitely made things seem longer, even if that direct east coast to Hawaii flight is 9+ hours.

Think of the direct flight as practice for the 16+ hour flight to Hong Kong Disney!

 

[plygph]

We have done NO - Houston - HNL in one day, not a bad flight. We have also done the NO - LA layover had 2 small 4- 3-year-olds then LA - HNL return was overnight HNL - SF - NO. Last trip this year NO - CHI(we were forced due to that morning flight change thanks American) - HNL return flight overnight HNL - PHX - NO.
We prefer early morning flight out arrive before 4 pm in HNL all on the same day it really not that bad. Factors for us would also take into consideration is cost of flights from west coast to be fair you have to add the cost of transportation and hotel to give you the actual cost of same-day travel vs layover. We stopped in LA due to grandsons gave them a couple of days in Disneyland and then HNL. The last trip it was all same-day travel they did just fine.
Your choice but for us put us on the plane and get us to Aulani asap.

 

[hedberg1661]

I would absolutely choose Delta. I think they have the best service in the business. With choosing Delta, you get to pick from quite a few options of places to stay a night...I personally would go with the cheapest and with the closest/best hotel option to get back in the air the next day.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Been pricing my own trip to Aulani recently. Stayover in LA is cheaper than a straight flight out. Calculating from a midwest starting point. Not saying it's that way for everyone, just do your own math.

It's not quite as cheap on the way back. About a $300 difference (at least), in my calculations, to stay a night on the west coast. But DH is really sold on it, so we'll probably be eating the expense.