Going to Hawaii... what should we do?!

[Peanut]

Got some cheap flights into Honolulu at the start of April, will be there for 12 nights (yay!). It's our first trip to Hawaii... any suggestions/advice from the collective wisdom of CP? Stay in Honolulu? Check out the other islands? Any beaches that cannot be missed?

Note: Extreme Sports/Activities is not really what we're looking for due to my "delicate" condition. Snorkelling = yes. Surfing = no.

[wooohooo]

For 12 days? I'd probably go see other islands. Few good places to see in Honolulu for sure... but rent a car.

Stay a night or two in the waikiki area (very touristy), soak up the beach...

Surfing there isn't anything you see on tv, it's very very gentle... it's essentially going on the smallest dinkiest waves you can find but very fun but tiring.

But as for the MUST DO's:
1) Pearl Harbor - Can't go to hawaii and not see this...

2) Some battleship you can go on but I can't remember the name. Was pretty sweet, but my sisters thought it was pretty boring.

3) Many beaches all around here

4) Golfing here is stunning, but very expensive

5) Rent a car, and drive around... very beautiful place with lots of trees and beaches. There is a basson(sp?) where you can do some whale watching and snorkle in shallow water with LOTS of fishes. Was pretty sweet, even my grandma went in for a bit and she's terrified of swimming.

What not to do??

There was this meze... ruins (can't remember the name) but it's essentially a mini-disney world without the rides. So they just have shows and dinner. Very expensive... and not worth it AT ALL (IMO)

2) Spend your whole time in Waikiki/Honolulu

• Diversify your time and visit other islands. Waikiki gets dry after a few nights, and Honolulu is about worth a weeks stay. Go to Mauii or some other islands but I didn't stay there for very long so I wouldn't be able to tell you much.

Have a good trip!

[Russic]

Hey I'm going to Hawaii at the start of April too! Very timely thread, so thanks.

Try to spend as much time AWAY from Honolulu as possible. Good for a couple of hours to see the 10 Louis Vuitton stores and an ABC on EVERY block, but too touristy and the beach isn't that great.

Hanuama Bay for snorkeling was cool, but make sure the box jelly fish migration isn't going on, because they will shut down the beach to save people from getting stung. I think this happens 7-10 days after a full moon.

North Shore was BEAUTIFUL for beaches. A bit of a drive, but worth it. Not crowded (except for intervals of 5 minutes when a bus load of Japanese tourists unload, swarm the beach and take pictures for 5 minutes and then leave)

Swim with the dolphins @ Sea Life Park. This was AWESOME! (It's also where Adam Sandler worked in the movie "50 First Dates")

Waterpark for the day? http://www.hawaiianwaters.com/

You can go buy me another pair (like 31 pairs isn't enough for me!) of Vans shoes at the Premium outlets. http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=29
You can print off a coupon that gets you a free discount book that you can grab from the info kiosk for additional discounts. (remember to buy a luggage scale to weigh all your luggage, so they don't charge you for going over weight from buying so many goodies!)

There's some nice garden/abortoreum walks on the island as well, but can't remember the name of them...

If you're going to Maui, let me know. I can tell you what to do there too. I'll have an idea about what is good on the Big Island as well, but I won't be leaving for another 3 weeks.

[TheDragon]

Originally Posted by wooohooo

But as for the MUST DO's:
1) Pearl Harbor - Can't go to hawaii and not see this...

2) Some battleship you can go on but I can't remember the name. Was pretty sweet, but my sisters thought it was pretty boring.

This.

I think you can actually package a tour through Expedia that will take you to both Pearl Harbor and the U.S.S Missouri, which is the ship that the Potsdam Declaration was signed on, as well as a drive around the Sugar Bowl War Memorial. Lots of history in there if you're a history buff. Ask for a Tour Guide named Rocky. The guy knows his stuff.

Ala Molana Mall is also pretty fun if you're in to shopping. Lots of high end stores there.

Oh! And there is this cheeky burger joint in Waikiki that is pretty good. It's just called "Cheeseburger," and it might look a little pretenious, but the burgers there are amazing.

Personally, I found Oahu way too touristy for my liking, but some people love it.

[Jing]

Also check out turtle bay up on the north shore. If you arrive at the right time you will get to see some turtles sunbathing.

Hanauma Bay is also very nice for snorkeling as mentioned above. Can be quite crowded sometimes though.

Diamond Head is a nice little hike and is close to waikiki, but once again it can be quite busy with all the tourists.

Also check out Roy's, hands down the greatest customer service I have ever had plus some good food.

[Byrns]

Skip the Dole Plantation and the Macadamia Nut farm.

For sure go to Hanauma Bay, and get there early for a parking space and small crowds.

Duke's Canoe Club was pretty good restaurant. Good salad bar and lots of interesting facts about Duke Kahanamoku.

[MelBridgeman]

take it easy!

[Dion]

If youre going to rent a car be aware that the place you're staying at will charge an extra set amount per day to park your car on thie premises. That being said i've been to Honolulu these past 2 winters and never felt it necessary to rent a car. They have an excellent open air trolley system for getting around the city and n excellent transit system.

http://www.waikikitrolley.com/

http://www.thebus.org/Pop/beaches.asp

There is also some good shuttle services that will take you anywhere you want to go. We used the one below when in Honolulu.

http://viptrans.com/airport-and-waikiki-shuttle.asp

Sea Life park

http://www.sealifeparkhawaii.com/hawaii-parks/sea-life-park-description.asp

Hanauma Bay.

http://www.hawaiiweb.com/html/hanauma_bay_beach.html

Hiking to the top of Diamond Head is good as you get a nice view at the top.

http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/hikediamondhead.html

You might want to check out Atlantis Adventures.

http://res.atlantisadventures.com/tour_info.php?site=9&tour=59

There's also the flea market/swap meet at Aloha Stadium.

http://www.discover-oahu.com/aloha-flea-market.html

If you like water slides and such there's Hawaiian Waters Adventure.

http://www.hawaiianwaters.com/

There's also the inter island ferry if you choose to rent a car and want to see some of the other islands.

http://www.hawaiisuperferry.com/

If you want to see the whole island i would suggest taking a Circle Island tour. preferably with a company that uses small shuttle buses. The drivers are very knowledgale and will give you the history and a good description of each place you stop. It's also an all day tour. The conciere at your hotel will help you with this. Below is an example of such tour.

http://www.enoa.com/tours/majestic-grand-circle-island-tour.asp

The North Shore of Oahu is a must see also.

http://www.northshoreoahu.org/html/attractions.html

[Dion]

We also stayed at the Waikiki Banyon.

http://www.resortquesthawaii.com/hawaii/propertyOverview.do?propertyGroupId=25557

Virtual tour of the resort.

http://www.resort-virtual-tour.com/customers/resortquest-hawaii/waikiki-banyan/index.html

[flamesgirl18]

Originally Posted by Puxlut

Duke's Canoe Club was pretty good restaurant. Good salad bar and lots of interesting facts about Duke Kahanamoku.

I second this...you have to have the Hula Pie there, it's absolutely incredible. I've been to Hawaii like 8 times, both Maui and Oahu, and they're totally different holidays. Maui is great for relaxing and seeing gorgeous scenery. Oahu is more commercialized but I love it, Waikiki Beach has amazing shopping (check out Ala Moana mall, it has pretty much any store you could want, and the shops in Waikiki are also great, there's a lot of high-end stores). Great food in Waikiki Beach, the Cheesecake Factory is a must. For out of Waikiki Beach, for shopping, go to the Waikele Outlet (Coach Outlet, and a lot of other great stores). I'd recommend renting a car a driving around the North Shore. Sunset Beach is great and the waves are usually a decent size. Waikiki Beach itself is okay but very busy, if you're looking to relax drive up North and spend the day at a beach there.

[Russic]

Originally Posted by Jing

Also check out turtle bay up on the north shore. If you arrive at the right time you will get to see some turtles sunbathing.

Hanauma Bay is also very nice for snorkeling as mentioned above. Can be quite crowded sometimes though.

Diamond Head is a nice little hike and is close to waikiki, but once again it can be quite busy with all the tourists.

Also check out Roy's, hands down the greatest customer service I have ever had plus some good food.

This is actually where we are staying (my cousin is getting married at the same resort where they shot "forgetting sarah marshall".

[BuzzardsWife]

We stayed at the Sheraton Moana in Honolulu. Beachfront with a very good restaraunt on the water side. Only a couple of days is enough there. We went to Maui and love it. Honolulu is great if you are young and want to beach in the day and party at night though.

[OBCT]

If you are the type that likes to carry a good guidebook with you for references and ideas, the "blue book" series of Hawaiian travel guides by Wizard Publications is excellent. link

A friend let my family borrow their Maui Revealed edition for our week-long trip to that island last year, and we found it invaluable. You can buy it at most major online retailers (amazon, barnes and noble, etc). We also found them at a reasonable price at Costco once we arrived. Which is another good tip for those looking to save some money ... make a trip to Costco at the beginning of your stay to stock up on a few essentials. That way you can do some inexpensive eating in if/when you don't feel like eating out again.

Have fun!!!!

[Dion]

Originally Posted by OBCT

If you are the type that likes to carry a good guidebook with you for references and ideas, the "blue book" series of Hawaiian travel guides by Wizard Publications is excellent. link

A friend let my family borrow their Maui Revealed edition for our week-long trip to that island last year, and we found it invaluable. You can buy it at most major online retailers (amazon, barnes and noble, etc). We also found them at a reasonable price at Costco once we arrived. Which is another good tip for those looking to save some money ... make a trip to Costco at the beginning of your stay to stock up on a few essentials. That way you can do some inexpensive eating in if/when you don't feel like eating out again.

Have fun!!!!

Costco is an excellent idea as they tend to gouge you every where else. The ABC's stores and The Food Pantry in Honolulu are expensive places to buy things.

[wooohooo]

I didn't even know there was a Costco.

But we did go to the safeway to pick up some snacks and we had a BBQ at our resort place. If you don't want to spend too much money eating out, that is a very good way to save money.

ABC and The Food pantry were really expensive, so try to steer clear.

There are also these free guide books all over the place, and in one of them was this all you can eat seafood buffet that had a 2 for 1. I've never had so much king crab in my life. And I've never seen an 88 year old woman eat so much in my life either!



Like someone else mentioned above... skip the dole plantation and Macadamia nut farm. Not worth the time, but if you're bored and have nothing else to do go for it. Although, the Nut farm did offer free nuts and coffee which was very very good. Dole had this pineapple icecream which was good, but there really wasn't anything of interest at either places unless you wanted to pay to go on some tours. Yes. I'm cheap like that

[boobaloo]

I've always had a soft spot for the Polynesian Cultural Center. Particularly if this is your first time.....the villages are great and the show is awesome. I liked the luau food, though it's probably pretty cafeteria compared with real luau's. We also hired a guide company that took us on an island adventure. Real Hawaiian guys, easy hiking up to waterfalls, lunch at a place I would not have gone to without them (the food was excellent), and boogie boarding, snorkeling with them was something else, too....they were "friends" with some sharks and brought them out of the reef to swim with us. We also were swimming with turtles (but you have to keep your distance, they are protected), and eels, and all manners of tropical fish.....it was a really good time. I can figure out the name of the company for you if you are interested, I'm sure my hubby has it somewhere. I love Hawaii. If you go to the cheeseburger place, make sure you order yours well done...the americans have a taste for rare burgers...I had to send mine back twice so it would stop mooing. If you eat before 6 pm, there are lots of good deals to be had. Most restaurants have early-bird specials, and the meals almost double after that. The Hilton Hawaiian Village has free shows almost nightly, and you can walk down Waikiki and watch all the entertainment in the evenings. The Hilton also has a zoo of sorts, free with all kinds of animals around the grounds.....I know that some people find Waikiki touristy, but I really enjoy people-watching and you see them all there. You can always take "The Bus" if you don't want to spring for a rental car, but you have to remember they run on island time.

[Locke]

nm

[Dion]

When i was there in mid January it was reported on the news and in the papers that tourism was way down and hotels were being forced to reduce thier room rates. If you haven't booked your room yet you should be able to get some great deals.