Hi NickMa - as the original poster on this thread I thought I'd give you an update on how it went for us.

The advice I received on this thread had me change my plans entirely and I'm really glad I did. From what I'd read and seen, I'd always wanted to visit Kauai but when I researched the road conditions I decided that I'd just be too stressed out not being able to ride properly leading into the race. We ended up doing 8days on Oahu north shore (4days in Haleiwa, 4days at Turtle Bay/Kuilima) then 8 days in Maui (4days in Kapalua, 4 days in Lahaina) and then arrived in Kona about 6 days before the race. That might seem like a lot of moving around but it was super easy. I had a scicon bike bag that fit in the hire van upright and packing/unpacking the bike was a breeze. Training on Oahu north shore was really scenic but a bit sketchy in parts. Training on Maui couldn't have been easier. Road surface quality was great and the main roads and highways mostly have wide shoulders and bike lanes. There were heaps of fellow triathletes (including Daniella Ryfe) training on Maui before the race.
I made a little youtube video of our family holiday and race experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgzzQ5N-gr0

I hope that helps.

Enjoy!!

not Kauai.
ditto.

We like Kauai much more than Maui for vacation, but not for training. //

Hey guys, you are not reading what the OP is stating. HE is not looking for riding on either Maui or Kauai, he will have just done Kona, and wants a family vacation. My guess is he won't even take his bike out of the box once Kona is done. Now if he changes his mind and wants to train on another island before, then yes, Maui would be better. But from the sounds of it, his family is coming very late to Kona, so it will be beach and tourist time from leaving there..

Thanks Gazman for the detailed answer. I watched the video - you and your family definitely had an amazing experience!
I will start planning my trip, will consider heading to Maui before the race!

No - OP (gazman) was doing Kauai or Maui first, then Kona. 2nd poster (NickMa) was Kona, then chill.

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

You do know that was 2 years ago? Pretty sure his trip is in the history books by now. Someone else zombied this thread and started fresh again.. No worries, I get sucked into zombie threads all the time, sometimes I get all worked up and then see it was started in 2006!!!!

😂

Didn’t look that closely. NickMa is maybe the New Original Poster or NOP?

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

I like that NOP, we have a new acronym for the zombie threads now, thanks... (-;

Definitely Maui, the roads are much more conducive to train both running and riding.