Hawaiʻi

Greetings fellow travellers,

Having bent your collective earlobes a few months ago seeking advice on a potential holiday to Mexico, Lady Trousers and I have ended up booking a trip to the Hawaiian islands instead.... (long and slightly dull story)

So, now seeking any tips, advice, recommendations, etc, from anyone who has been to Hawai'i before

We're doing 6 days in Honolulu followed by 7 days on the 'Big Island' and then 2 days in San Francisco on the way home.

Huli pau!

Congratulations on the spelling, and your choice of destination! We had a six night stopover in the Outrigger Hotel on Waikiki Beach three years ago. It's a fantastic place and great fun. You'll want to go to Pearl Harbor and visit the Arizona memorial. Visiting times are restricted but you can either go on an organised tour or book your own slot in advance through the Parks Service in which case you'll have enough time to visit both the USS Missouri and the Museum of

Pacific Aviation.

http://www.recreation.gov/showPage.do;jsessionid=8F8CDAE895F158A4AB009EC222AD7D41.web08-ny?name=landing&landing=/htm/pearlharbor/home.jsp&contractCode=NRSO&parkId=72369

Get a flowery shirt and can an eye out for 'five-o' whilst you are out there!

Other than that, what advice do you need - it's Hawai'i for heaven's sake, you'll have a great time!

Have a look on google, I hear that's a good site for information.

Have a look on google, I hear that's a good site for information.

Thanks. Done that. It came up with this thread. What next? I'll get the hang of this internet malarkey one of these days...

Congratulations on the spelling, and your choice of destination! We had a six night stopover in the Outrigger Hotel on Waikiki Beach three years ago. It's a fantastic place and great fun. You'll want to go to Pearl Harbor and visit the Arizona memorial. Visiting times are restricted but you can either go on an organised tour or book your own slot in advance through the Parks Service in which case you'll have enough time to visit both the USS Missouri and the Museum of

Pacific Aviation.

 

 

http://www.recreation.gov/showPage.do;jsessionid=8F8CDAE895F158A4AB009EC222AD7D41.web08-ny?name=landing&landing=/htm/pearlharbor/home.jsp&contractCode=NRSO&parkId=72369

Cheers WG

When you're in SF eat at Scoma's on Fisherman's Wharf. Unbelievable seafood.

Depending on the season in Honolulu the whale watching trips can be good. To see the humpbacks breaching right in front of you is quite a sight. You can even see them from the beach.

The ABC stores in Waikiki are everywhere and sell everything at good value and quality. They are like an upmarket version of your local Tescos. Big choice of flowery shirts.

https://www.abcstores.com

It's a long while since I've been to SF but the Alcatraz boat trip is very interesting.

For SF, I'm sure we did a thread on that which you should be able to dig up

Alcatraz is a must. Book in advance and go early.

clam chowder in a sour dough bread bowl- not often you get to eat the crockery

have a go at hanging on the the outside of the trams - is a bit of a laugh

when the missus went shopping I disappeared off the the submarine and Liberty ship for a look round - good way to kill a few hours

Without wishing to p*ss on any chips, I found Waikiki to be disappointing. I've been twice (with work, oddly enough) and I find the westernisation of Waikiki has ruined it somewhat. It's still pretty beautiful but doesn't really feel like a tropical island. Honolulu is just plain ugly.

Some of the other small islands are amazing, though.

On Oahu it'll be fairly simple to see all of the major sights. Hanauma Bay is pretty remarkable, and the north shore is good. Waimea is ok but overrated IMO. I actually took a helicopter trip on my last day there, now that was incredible.

Don't make the mistake of really exploring by car and going to the south-west of the island, where it's not touristy. The poverty is unbelievable; literally people living in shanties and many who have made a house out of a knackered car. Quite humbling.

Without wishing to p*ss on any chips, I found Waikiki to be disappointing. I've been twice (with work, oddly enough) and I find the westernisation of Waikiki has ruined it somewhat. It's still pretty beautiful but doesn't really feel like a tropical island. Honolulu is just plain ugly.

 

Some of the other small islands are amazing, though.

 

On Oahu it'll be fairly simple to see all of the major sights. Hanauma Bay is pretty remarkable, and the north shore is good. Waimea is ok but overrated IMO. I actually took a helicopter trip on my last day there, now that was incredible.

 

Don't make the mistake of really exploring by car and going to the south-west of the island, where it's not touristy. The poverty is unbelievable; literally people living in shanties and many who have made a house out of a knackered car. Quite humbling.

I'd go along with all of that. A helicopter trip is a must and as I'm a military geek, a trip to Peal Harbour was a must and didn't disappoint from that respect.

For a few quid more you could have gone to the Society Islands. Then I would have been seriously jealous as it's somewhere I'd LOVE to go back to.

Just asked my Mrs what she'd recommend and she replied "save your money and go elsewhere".

I don't think she's a fan.

Sorry to side with the hipsters but while honolulu is ok, Kauai blows it out of the water. Hanalei Bay is an absolute paradise, the best place I've been to.

George Clooney's film the Descendants is worth a watch for that reason

Don't get your worried, you've made good choice. My wife always says that she felt like crying when we got there (it was all a bit too much) but she could have cried even more when we left.

As an aside, we flew there from Auckland. There were a country or of New Zealand girls on the flight and one of them was celebrating her birthday in the departure lounge, champagne and all the trimmings. We flew over the Date Line and landed in Honolulu the day before so she then had a whole 24 hours of further celebrations to look forward to. Apparently they did this every year.

Stayed at the Kea Lani in Maui - which was excellent....... But have you been to San Fran before?

Lots of places to suggest if it is your first time.