elginapples

We are planning a mini family reunion when the children are off school around Christmas and New Year 2008. Can you recommend the island and region with the best weather (least rain & least wind?) at that time of year. Your advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

iamq

What are your parameters? Hawaii? Caribbean? French Polynesia?

-Bill

P_M

Hello elginapples, I see you are new to the board so I would like to help. Sometimes our newbies think they are posting to a forum for a certain state, such as Hawaii. However it all gets dumped into the US forum, so we can only guess as to which part of the US you want to see. Please post back with more info and we will help if we can.

aloha

I see that you posted under the Hawai'i search. I don't know the answer to your question, except to say that there likely is not a clear-cut answer. Maybe the Kona side of the Big Island?

iamq

The southern, southwestern or western parts of most the major Hawaiian Islands see the least rain I think. On Maui, I think the resort area with the least rain is probably the Wailea/Makena area. On all the islands it seems like the trade winds increase in the afternoons.
Hope this helps.

-Bill

MelissaHI

You might also note that on each island, there are micro-climates. You can drive 10 miles in another direction and have completely different weather. Sometimes, I will be driving on a long, straight road (like King Street) and can literally see where the rain ends (if it's one of those scattered shower days). We also have a phenomenon called Liquid Sunshine, which is kinda cool.

elginapples

Thanks for the various response and advice. Yes, we are looking at the Hawaiian Islands for a family vacation around Christmas.

Swaying_Palms

<smiling> Although it would have been better to specify, I guessed Hawaii right away; it's the U.S. forum and when people ask such as question about FL they usually word it differently, like "Which part of FL..."

davidinhawaii1

A place you should give strong consideration for a "better guarantee" of pretty weather is the Ko Olina Resort on the leeward side (typically referred to as the "dry side") of Oahu.

The weather here in winter on Oahu is beautiful (its beautiful in the summer to, but let's get back to the point). The highs here right now in January run between 83 and 86, the lows run from 68 to 72... and during the day there is a constant breeze.

On the leeward side, it rains less than most of the other parts of Oahu, because the mountain range on the east side basically drains the clouds of most of their moisture as they come across.

Ko Olina is a beautiful resort, I actually live on the resort so I know first-hand. The beautiful lagoons, the walking paths, shows by the resort, Paradise Cove, etc... all in a quiet, somewhat secluded area.

You'll love it here in the winter. Get ready to have a great time!

Aloha!

DavidinHawaii
www.HowToDoHawaii.com

dusty56438

Much more to see & do on Oahu than any other island.

It doesn't rain that much in the resort areas on any of the islands.

Oahu has the best options if it is raining.

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...1&tid=34812564

escrowmanager

Aloha, I agree with David in Hawaii. Ko Olina on the Leeward side is one of the least "wet" parts of the island and Oahu is the best in terms of other fun places to visit and stay dry. Like Melissa said too you can drive for 5 or 10 minutes and be out of the rain, for example, I live in Kailua (Windward side) wet,lush, and green. My mom lives in Makaha (Leeward side)dry. If I want a beach day and Kailua is rainy I can just jump in my car and drive to Makaha and there is always sun in Makaha (Close to Ko' Olina Resort). If it is an outdoor party you can drive out to the leeward coast and set up at one of the very large beach parks and insure a beautiful time! Hope this helps.

hawaiichris

I would have to agree with the rest. Oahu or maui would be a good place to go to for christmas. I just had a couple clients return from their christmas trip with 85 degrees and not a drop of rain the whole week. I've lived in hawaii my whole life and from my experiences that I can remember it usually starts raining in january , but rain is not that bad in hawaii usually.

Being that you are traveling with children I would stick to maui or oahu , much more for the kids and adults alike to do and fill your vacation time!

Book as far in advance as you can. Hawaii is a hot spot for the holidays and books up quickly!

elginapples

Thanks for your feedback about the 'best' place for a mid-winter vacation with young kids. Greatly appreciated!