Inter-Island Flights
Hello everyone. We are considering the Best of Hawaii for 2026. I was initially leaning towards a cruise because we'd arrive at different islands while we slept. Since Tauck doesn't offer a Hawaiian cruise, and we're repeat Tauck travelers, I'd like your advice/experiences with regard to the inter-island flights. Specifically, is there a lot of time used for pre-check/boarding, etc. like at a regular airport or are the flights and pre-check-in's fairly quick? We don't want to spend a lot of time waiting at airports during our trip is my main concern. Thanks in advance for your input.
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This is the only "domestic" Tauck tour I've done, and I did this trip shortly after Covid restrictions were lifted. These are domestic flights involving mostly smallish airports, and the flights are short. This is the USA, so expect standard TSA screenings.
The advantage of doing a land tour in Hawaii over a cruise is you have much more flexibility in your free time activities, and coming and going as you please. You won't have deadlines to return to the ship to be held prisoner during very slow and inefficient travel.
I did this tour in August 2021, as Covid restrictions were being lifted (though when we were there, the governor of Hawaii asked tourists not to come). As BKMD noted, you do have standard TSA screenings. We also had a lot of early morning flights. On my free day on Maui, I took a day trip along the Road to Hana, probably booked on Viator. My daughter, who accompanied me on the trip, enjoyed a beach day instead.
We did this tour just before everything shut down for COVID. I thought it was one of the best tours we've done. I had been to Hawaii on business (mostly conferences) but you don't see much of the area when you're on business. Most of the hotels were exceptional. The first - the Pink Palace (Royal Hawaiian) - was probably the lesser of the group.
You can see our trip at https://www.mikeandjudytravel.com/2020-1Hawaii-01.htm
Thanks MikeHenderson. I read your blog for Hawaii (I also read your blog for Switzerland before our trip last year). Your blogs are always informative and interesting. I just didn't want to waste a lot of valuable time sitting in an airport if we have to arrive 2-3 hours ahead of the inter-island flights.