Seeking Hawaii advice

If it's your first trip I would also suggest spending a couple days on Oahu to see Pearl Harbor and possibly hike up Diamond Head.

One suggestion on the Arizona, have the shuttle pick you up as early as possible at your hotel. To go out to the Memorial, you're given a number when you arrive at Pearl Harbor and you can't go out until your group is called. The earlier you arrive, the shorter your wait will be.

I'm not wild about Maui, as somebody mentioned it's acquired a real 'thug" feel to it the last few years. Not dangerous, but not fun either IMO. If you do find yourself on Maui however I would recommend Mama's Fish House for dinner and a drive up to the top of Haleakala. I've never done it but I've heard a bike ride down from Haleakala can be a lot of fun.

 

We went to Oahu on our honeymoon.
Waikiki is obviously fantastic.

We're history buffs, so we spent a morning and early afternoon at Pearl Harbor, which was great. As was said -- get there early. VERY early. We were there at, I believe, 7 a.m., and still had a several hour wait.

We went to an outdoor market in the parking lot of Aloha Stadium, which was a lot more fun than it sounded. We bought all kinds of cool stuff, cheap. And it was fun talking to locals.

Hiked up Diamond Head. That was awesome, and the view from the top is incredible.

The absolute best thing we did though, was something I'd never heard of until we got there. The Polynesian Cultural Center, somewhere on the north of the island. It sounds kinda lame, but it was great. You get to experience life in the different cultures of Polynesia, and there's a kick-ass show at the end of the day. Like I said, sounds lame but it was fantastic.

Also, someone else suggested renting a car. We stayed on Oahu the whole time, and from our hotel, there was shuttle service to absolutely anywhere you could want to go, and a help desk on the main floor to get you reservations. So if you're going to stay on Oahu for an extended time, I actually recommend not renting a car -- it's cheaper and less stressful than renting a car and dealing with the mess of traffic at that place.

Edit: I forgot the pineapples. You have to eat a fresh Hawaiin pineapple. I didn't like pineapples before we went there, tried one and fell in love. And now back in the states, I hate them again. I can never find Hawaiin pineapples here (they're always from Mexico or Peru or someplace), and pineapples from other places just aren't very good. I don't know how to explain it.

 

Loved the Big Island. To get somewhat off the beaten path, try to get to the Green Sand Beach (No, not black). Once you hit a road that can't possibly be it, keep going.
The volcano national park was great, especially since there were no officials to stop you from getting too close to the lava flow.
Kona is way better than Hilo. Don't go to Hilo.
Took a helicopter tour of the Na Pali coast in Kauai. We split our time between those two islands and just spent a day or so in Oahu, but did drive around the whole island - saw the surfers on North Beach and ate pineapple from a road-side vendor.

BTW, if you want a place that's closer, cheaper and less commercialized (sadly, this is nearly not true) than Hawaii, go to Costa Rica. It's got all the eco-friendly stuff, outdoor activities (fishing, hiking, rafting, zip-lines), volcanos, gambling, beach (carribean and pacific), a major city and, uh, legal prostitution if you're into that.

 

Take a helicopter ride around Kauai

 

I was in Maui last month for work and absolutely love it. I've been there the last three years and don't see the 'thug' element in Kihei, although I can sense it could be there. You do need to go to Kihei or Kapalua to eat at Sansei. GREAT SUSHI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you go to Maui, take a submarine ride off Lahaina and go on the whale watch on the 16-person, souped-up raft, not the gangbang boat with 200 others. Awesome, awesome experience.

Went to Kauai in November for the Grand Slam and wasn't that enamored. Beautiful island, but the entire island shuts down at 9 and you can't get much to eat after that.

 

That's because everybody's back in their hotel rooms gettin' busy.

 

We went on our honeymoon to Maui and stayed in the same place for a week and it was just fine. Great shopping. Great beaches. We went on a helicopter ride, went parasailing, etc., etc.

My advice is not to overschedule yourself. Do one activity every day and spend the rest of the time doing absolutely nothing but enjoying the place.

 

Bump.

We’re going in a couple months. Mom went in her mid-20s on a tour and wanted to go back. She’s 77 and not as mobile as she was. We settled on the Norwegian cruise because it still gave us a home base while allowing us to take in parts of each island, like she wants. She can spend half the day with us and half the day relaxing on the boat, and we can do what we want when we want while ashore.

I know, the anthesis of a relaxing Hawaii trip, but I digress.

Ports of call are Hilo, Kona, Kauai and Maui. Waimea Canyon is the most popular suggestion I’ve seen in my research.

We’re getting in a night early and hoping to do Arizona. Tickets are now timed for entry, so not sure if that reduces waits? Would love to do Punch Bowl, too, that was her other request.

Happy to take any other advice y’all have. As always, thanks.

 

We took that very tour in 2005 on Norwegian. Does it still go out to Fanning Island (beyond the international date line) bc it needs to skirt maritime laws about intrastate commerce? Fanning Island, btw, is what’s pictured in the opening scene of Gilligan’s Island.

I liked the cruise aspect bc we could jump off at the respective islands, as you mentioned. It’s the only time I’ve ever been on a cruise and they definitely have their drawbacks, not least that you can’t bring alcohol (and now apparently even weed) on board. They really gouge you on the booze. But one way around it is to wrap whatever booze you might want as presents and say you’re going to be seeing relatives and giving them these gifts, though they might have closed that loophole somehow.

Happy cruising.

By the way, the Maui downhill was my favorite part of the trip. Sunrise bike ride down a mountain with switchbacks all the way was freaking amazing.

 

A drawback to the cruise I've heard is that there isn't enough time onshore to explore all that Hawaii has.

 

Yeah, it's not ideal. This is more for her to do what she can in her somewhat limited state.

Boogie, thanks for the advice. No foreign stopover anymore. I guess it doesn't have to since it's a U.S.-flagged ship doing a cruise in the U.S.?

 

We did the Norwegian cruise in July 2019, and it was a good way to get a quick overview of the three islands it visits. A few recommendations:

1. Get to Honolulu a day or two early or stay a day or two after the cruise. We took the Norwegian deal with free airfare, which saved a lot of money but they book the flights for you. So we arrived just before it was time to board and left midday right as the cruise ended. Would have liked to see Waikiki, the USS Arizona memorial, etc.

2. Rent a car in Maui and Kauai (the two overnight stops) and figure out where you can park it overnight near where the cruise ship docks — most nearby businesses will let you park overnight for a fee. Well worth it because you can schedule your own activities instead of overpaying for Norwegian excursions.

3. Unlike others on this thread, I enjoyed our day in Hilo. It’s a more “townie” place than Kona but a lot of things to see are near the downtown area, with plenty of relatively cheap shuttles available.

4. Unfortunately, our favorite area of Maui is the spot which experienced those horrible wildfires. It probably will be many years before the tourist infrastructure (and town) of Lahaina is rebuilt. Really sad to see that.

5. Kauai was my favorite island by far — get to a North Shore beach and chill for an afternoon. And we really enjoyed Smith’s luau — despite the generic name, it was good food and a great show.