Five nights across two islands playing Kapalua Plantation on Maui and Mauna Lani South on the Big Island, connected by a 40-minute inter-island flight.
5 Days
Bucket List Trip
$4000–$7000/person
2
Moderate
This itinerary takes the best course on each island, pairs it with the signature non-golf experience, and connects the two halves with a short inter-island flight. The result is a trip that covers more ground than either single-island itinerary and delivers the two most distinct golf experiences Hawaii offers: Coore and Crenshaw's volcanic ridgeline architecture at Kapalua and the ancient lava field routing at Mauna Lani. The trade-off is fewer total rounds and the logistical step of an inter-island transfer.
Fly into Kahului Airport and drive northwest to Kapalua, 50 to 60 minutes through the central Maui corridor and along the coast. Check into the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua or the Napili Kai Beach Resort.
Morning tee time on the Plantation Course, the number-one-ranked course in Hawaii and the home of the PGA Tour's The Sentry. The round across 7,596 yards of volcanic ridgeline, with elevation changes exceeding 300 feet and ocean views from nearly every hole, is the single strongest argument for golf in Hawaii.
No golf. The full day is dedicated to the Road to Hana, Maui's most celebrated excursion.
Morning departure from the Kapalua area. Return the rental car at Kahului Airport and take the inter-island flight to Kona, approximately 35 to 45 minutes.
This is the fullest day of the itinerary, and the early start is worth the effort. Morning tee time on the Mauna Lani South Course, where the routing through ancient lava fields and along six oceanfront holes provides a Big Island golf experience that is fundamentally different from the Kapalua round.
Check out of the Kohala Coast accommodation and drive to Kona International Airport, 20 to 30 minutes. Flights from KOA connect to the mainland throughout the day.
The inter-island flight is the logistical hinge of this itinerary, and it is more straightforward than it may appear. The OGG to KOA route operates multiple daily flights on Hawaiian Airlines and Southwest Airlines, the flight takes 35 to 45 minutes, and the airports on both islands are small enough that the total door-to-door transfer, including rental car return and pickup, runs approximately three hours. Booking the inter-island flight for a midday departure allows a leisurely morning departure from the Kapalua area and an afternoon arrival on the Big Island.
The open-jaw strategy of flying into OGG and out of KOA eliminates the need to return to Maui for the outbound flight, saving a half day of travel that can be redirected to the trip. Most mainland airlines offer open-jaw itineraries at no additional cost compared to round-trip fares.
The two-round format across five nights may seem minimal for a golf trip, but this itinerary is designed around the principle that Hawaii's non-golf experiences are too strong to be treated as filler between rounds. The Road to Hana and Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park are not consolation activities. They are primary reasons to visit, and allocating full days to each produces a trip that captures the full scope of what these two islands offer. The golfer who plays the Plantation Course and Mauna Lani South, drives the Road to Hana, and stands at the rim of Kilauea has experienced a version of Hawaii that no amount of additional golf can improve upon.
$4000–$7000
per person
5 Days
4 nights
2
courses included