Hawaii Help

[edh]

I will be going to Hawaii in a month for 1 week, and I was wondering who has been, and what stuff do you reccomend to do. I will be staying at the Waikiki Beach Walk Embassy Suites. Right now, here is a list of things to do. I was wanting to do the water park, but we have a season pass to Six Flags White Water. But here is what I am thinking now of doing, and I am looking for things to do to fill in the gaps (if any). And any reccomendations on places to eat would be nice also.

 

Wed June 27

Arrive 10:00 PM

 

Thurs June 28

Explore Waikiki and go to Beach maybe parasailing)

Pearl Harbor

 

Fri June 29

Diamond Head

Drive around East side of island

 

Sat June 30

International Flea Market

Go to Hilton Hawaiian Village

 

Sun July 1

Polynesian Cultural Center

 

Mon July 2

Snorkeling Hanauma Bay

China Town

 

Tues July 3

North Shore (Hale’iwa)

Dole Plantation

Waimea Falls Park

 

Wed July 4th

Ala Moanna Shopping Center

Anything else until go to airport

[alanjonesbath]

Personally, I wouldn't bother with the Dole plantation. We called in there when we did a round-island tour, and to be honest, its basically just a shop from what we saw.

 

I would recommend going to the zoo though if you have time. It's incredibly cheap, and looks tiny when you go in, but it's actually pretty big, took us a whole morning to get around, all for about $6. It was also really quiet the day we went, so it was nice and relaxing.

[edh]

Well the only reason I wanted to go to it was to try the Dole Whip. True I will be working at Disney next semester and can get them any time, but I heard they are good. Any good places to eat? I heard of Dukes, which is susposed to be good. I am staying at the new Waikiki Beach Walk area if anyone heard of it.

[pvcoasterguy]

I actually really enjoyed the Dole Plantation... the train, while very corny, is actually pretty fun. The views of the area that you get on the train are quite cool, and it was a nice, relaxing ride.

 

They also have a giant maze in the shape of a pineapple that was very cool as well.

[SLUSHIE]

I just got back from Hawaii on Sunday. I only spent 3 nights an Oahu though.

 

I can't really recommend you much, as it seems that you don't want to spend any time at the beach.

 

Make sure you eat at Cheese Burger in Paradise though.

[alanjonesbath]

Well the only reason I wanted to go to it was to try the Dole Whip. True I will be working at Disney next semester and can get them any time, but I heard they are good. Any good places to eat? I heard of Dukes, which is susposed to be good. I am staying at the new Waikiki Beach Walk area if anyone heard of it.

Dukes was good, just very busy. Even better if you can get a table next to the beach.

 

Personally, we loved the Cheescake Factory. OK, I know to a lot of Americans you probably go there more often than we can so it isn't so special, but living in the UK, we just love that place

[edh]

I just got back from Hawaii on Sunday. I only spent 3 nights an Oahu though.

 

I can't really recommend you much, as it seems that you don't want to spend any time at the beach.

 

Make sure you eat at Cheese Burger in Paradise though.

 

We are probably going to go to the beach a few days, so that would be helpful. But what is Cheeseburger in Paridise? Any other good places to eat?

[odene497]

I just got back from Hawaii Monday morning. If you want a Dole whip, there's a place in the airport in Honolulu that has them! I was so excited so I got one, and it wasn't as good as I was expecting. Good, but not orgasmic like I've been led to think.

 

Okay... Earlier is better for Pearl Harbor, and they stop giving out tickets after 3 pm. Make sure your stuff is at the hotel, apparently cars get broken into a lot there.

Diamond Head is pretty cool, and only takes about 30 mins to get up. Go in the morning for that too, before it gets too hot.

 

The north shore is beautiful, and has some nice beaches. I reccommend eating at one of the little shrimp shack vans you'll see a lot of. They're really good!

Hanauma Bay, definetely go early. Once the lot is full, they don't let more people in. We knew that, but still missed it.

 

If your interested in surfing, Waikiki is the place to do it. For lessons, I'd reccommend "The Beach Boys". We we're taught by these really experience and very friendly older Hawaiian women, it really was a lot of fun. It costs $35.

 

Above all, enjoy yourself.

 

-Nick C.

[edh]

Thanks for the tips! I can't wait to go. I found out the hotel I am staying at has a free managers reception every day so I can get free drinks instead of buying it when I go out. I just wish I could have gone to a different island, but it would be to expensive for 5 people. We luckily got free tickets with frequent flyer miles, so we saved $5000 or so on tickets.

[haiderodes]

There's a lot of good info people have given already! I LOVE HAWAII!

 

My experience with Hawaii is slightly different since when I went for the first time back in February I was visiting my best friend and his family. So my experience was a bit laid back and we did some things more off the beaten path so to speak. Somethings I checked out included...

 

1. We took a day to drive around the perimeter of the island. With all the stops we made it took us about 4 to 5 hours. We stopped at Dole Plantation; Matsumoto's (famous for hawaiian shave ice on the food network!)- on the North Shore near Waimea; the Pipeline; Kualoa Park and Chinaman's Hat (near the ranch were they filmed Jurassic Park); the Mormon Temple; and back around near the Audubon park; and Hanauma Bay.

 

2. Luau at Paradise Cove at Ko Olina (west side of island). Not the fanciest, but a really nice show that sits right on the water. Excellent view of the sunset!

 

3. Pali Lookout - pretty much in the middle of the island you can see down into Kaneohe Bay, Chinaman's Hat, etc. Those are some steep mountains. Well worth the drive, got great pictures there. The old Pali Highway is now a trail that you walk down from here. If you drive all the way through the pass there are some really cool tunnels as well.

 

4. The Punchbowl - visited the cemetary in there, crazy two lane road to get up there though, cool views of downtown from there though.

 

5. Pearl Harbor - go early!

 

6. ZIPPY'S! - its an island fast food/casual restaurant chain. They are famous for their chili...they say it has peanut butter in it to make it extra smooth. yum.

 

7. Waikiki - of course you should walk down here at least once. Ate at the Cheesecake Factory...not that we dont have them here in Vegas, but the one there (connected to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel) was really cool because like it opens into the huge courtyard of the hotel.

 

8. Diamondhead - We didnt climb it, but we drove around it. If you take the road that Waikiki Beach sits on and keep heading toward Diamondhead, you get a spectacular view of the water, the surfers, Waikiki, and yes THE REAL WORLD HOUSE! Actually a shortcut to my friend's house was driving behind it, so we did that a lot as well. Right behind the parking area theres a studio that they use to film the tv show Lost.

 

9. Don Quixote (Makiki) - The craziest store on earth. Part Walmart, part department store, part swap meet. It was like I was in some random asian country. It was great!

 

10. Aloha Tower area - there's a waterfront park down there that has some great photo ops with Diamondhead and Waikiki in the background

 

10. Nightclubs! We went clubhopping 3 out of the 4 nights I was there. Let me know what your "tastes" are and i can help you out if you are into that sort of thing.

 

While I was there we also went to go see a concert downtown at the Blaisedell Center.

 

So there you go...just a few other things that you might want to check out. Also, the Hawaiian Marketplace is a cool place to bargan for deals, but for cheap souvenirs check out any Long's Drugstore especially for all those snack purchases such as chocolate macadamian nuts, etc. A lot cheaper!

 

 

 

Also, what airline are you flying in on? Hawaiian Airlines is great, it really puts you in the mood. The flight from LAX was like a 5 hour long pre-show of what was to come during your visit. The flight back was like a recap of everything you just saw.

[edh]

Wow, thanks for all the info. I will be on Delta though. We got free tickets. All of those things sound really good. I am going with my family so the clubs would have to be more of a family atmosphere where they play hawaiian music, or something along those lines.

[odene497]

OH OH OH!! One more thing! There IS a credit! There was a small fair type thing going on, and they had a wild mouse. My guess is it's still there, but I'm not sure. We were heading back to Waikiki, and I saw it off to the side from up on a highway. I'm really not sure where it was, but judging from my senses of direction it was in this area I circled, we were driving south, and it was on the right hand side.

[edh]

When I go, there is also this. http://www.bayfesthawaii.com/ It looks pretty cool, and I want to go. The only thing is my family will be there, and I don't think they really want to see any of those concerts. Maybe we will just go for the rides and the atmosphere.

[gisco]

Try the Shave Ice. It is like a snow cone but the ice is shaved really fine. It is like fresh powdered snow. You can get it in a bunch of flavors. One of my favorites is with rootbear and cream. I have seen imitations here on the main land but it is not the same.

[socalMAN123]

The only advice I can offer is get to Pearl Harbor EARLY! If you don't get there at least an hour before they open it, chances are you're not gonna get to go to the USS Arizona Memorial. We got there 45 minutes before opening and ended up waiting three hours! Just get there early. Oh yeah, and have FUN!

Brent "you must snorkel!" Shenton

[edh]

Thats good to know. I think we were going to do Pearl Harbor the 1st day, and I hope we wont be to tired from Jet lag. Although, our flight arrives at 10:00 at night, we probably will be sleeping on the plane, and be asleep right when we get to our room.

[moinab]

Never had a Dole Whip in Hawaii, but I've had one at Magic Kingdom, and I have to say they are highly overrated, in my opinion.

 

Pineapple flavored soft serve. Big deal.

 

I do like the pineapple floats, but it's still nothing I'd go out of my way for.

[edh]

I guess I may just skip it. I will get to try it at Disney anyways. But has anyone been to that ranch on the island? I know they have movie set tours, and that sounds like it would be fun. I think they have stuff like 50 First Dates, Jurassic Park, and Lost.

[Calvin]

Too bad you're not doing the big island, there's some absolutely gorgeous places there. Lava tunnels are neat-o!. Granted, I went when I was six, and I'm pretty sure that most of Hawaii is pretty similar.

 

Protip! The more photos you take, the fewer memories you have.

[edh]

We were going to do the Big Island, but we only have a week and it would have been dificult to plan everything with rental cars, etc. But wouldn't it be better to take more pictures, so you can look back on it? Regardless, I am taking a bunch of pictures, and hopefully doing a TR when I get back.

[Calvin]

But wouldn't it be better to take more pictures, so you can look back on it?.

 

Ok, corollary: the better the photos, the better the memories. If you snap a thousand photos of the Hard Rock Cafe you probably wouldn't have a reason to go back. If you could remember every single thing about a movie would you want to watch it again?

 

Just remember to think about your photographs.

[edh]

True, I guess I'll just take them of places that have really good picture spots. But thanks for all the tips. This is defenately going to be a trip I will never forget. We already have tickets to the Al'ii Luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Is that luau worth the price? I heard its the best one on the island, but the only bad thing is its not on the beach. Regardless, it still should be good.

[Alpenguy]

Get some POG. Best drink ever, and I don't think it's available outside Hawaii.

 

Passion

Orange

Guava

[ChrisZer0]

My advice for oahu: Get out of waikiki and hit the locals beaches like Sandy (which is great for body/shortboarding in the summer,watch the shorebreak), and Sunset (which is calm during the summer and a great place to catch a decent sunset. On places to eat, id hit rainbow drive-inn(3308 Kanaina Avenue), one of the best places for Hawaiian BBQ, Burgers and Chili Rice.

[bdinger]

We're heading to Hawaii ourselves later this summer. Does anyone have recommendations for nature and waterfall trails? We're not looking for anything too strenuous (ie. a very long walking trail would be fine, something involving actual climbing would not.)

 

Also, I noticed some mentions about seeing where some movies and shows have been filmed. Are there any places that can be visited by tourists? I'm a big fan of Lost and would love to see any scenes or beaches that are used in the show.