Hawaii vacation ideas?

flyingcheesehead

flyingcheesehead

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Hey folks,

Thinking about a trip to Hawaii. I've been once before, but I'm curious what you all think are the best places to go and what's on your must-do list while you're there?
 
If you've never been to the USS Arizona Memorial, that is a definite 'must'. If you've done that, I see no reason to set foot in Honolulu unless you like the big city kind of life. IF you must go to Oahu and are really pressed to find something to keep you going rather than just sitting on the beach, check out the Polynesian Cultural Center. It's a bit on the 'touristy' side, but it's kind of interesting to see a peek at the difference in cultures in the region.

Maui has Halekala and the Hana Highway. Take the Hana Highway all the way around the island - it's interesting to see the contrast in vegetation from one side of the island to the other. If on Maui, eat at Mama's Fish House - call for reservations.

Of course, it's hard to beat just sitting on the beach doing absolutely nothing all day.. :)
 
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmCQgXLvV3o

I grew up on windward Oahu. If you want to spend the day at a quiet uncrowded beach, I recommend Lanikai. For vacations when I was a kid we used to go to the Volcanos National Park on the Big Island. For the ultimate meal on Oahu try Alan Wong's ($$$$-reservations required). Local food is best sampled at a small town drive-in where you absolutely must try the variety of "plate lunches", that include a protein (fish, beef, pork or chicken), steamed rice and a scoop of macaroni salad.
 
Maui is pretty laid back and fun. Lots to do or do nothing. Rent a plane and fly around the islands very cool.
 
Must see the Arizona memorial and USS Missouri. They are very close together and are quite the experience.

Head out to the North Shore, beautiful beaches and Matsumotos shave ice is a must.

Take your rental car and drive around island, some incredibly quiet areas to sit and enjoy yourself on the beach!

Avoid the big food chains and focus on the small places with plate lunches as mentioned previously. They are the only way to go!!! If you would like I could get you more info as my wife's family were all born and raised and still live in Oahu.
 
Pearl Harbor, USS Missouri, USS Arizona as others have said. One of the highlights for me was hiking to the lava flows in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Not for the faint of heart but VERY cool. At the time it was a 5 mile hike each way to get to the lava. We paid a local guide who lived on edge of the lava flow area. Don't ask in the park how to get to the lava. I did and the Park Ranger looked at me like I had just told him I had a bomb in my pack. He basically told me to have a safe, fun filled, lava free experience in the while in the park. Standing next to a lava flow was one of the coolest (hottest?) things I've done in a long time. Nothing like sticking a stick in flowing lava. PM me if you want the guides contact info.
 
I highly recommend Kauai. My wife and I make an annual visit and never grow tired of the garden island. We've been to the other islands and they are nice but Kauai is special. Kauai is the best for quiet peaceful relaxation. I can give you a list of places to stay, things to do and places to eat if you chose Kauai.
 
CJones said:
If you've never been to the USS Arizona Memorial, that is a definite 'must'. If you've done that, I see no reason to set foot in Honolulu unless you like the big city kind of life. IF you must go to Oahu and are really pressed to find something to keep you going rather than just sitting on the beach, check out the Polynesian Cultural Center. It's a bit on the 'touristy' side, but it's kind of interesting to see a peek at the difference in cultures in the region.

Maui has Halekala and the Hana Highway. Take the Hana Highway all the way around the island - it's interesting to see the contrast in vegetation from one side of the island to the other. If on Maui, eat at Mama's Fish House - call for reservations.

Of course, it's hard to beat just sitting on the beach doing absolutely nothing all day.. :)
Click to expand...

If you take the road to Hana, stop and visit Mr Lindburg.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Hey folks,

Thinking about a trip to Hawaii. I've been once before, but I'm curious what you all think are the best places to go and what's on your must-do list while you're there?
Click to expand...

When are you going? Going there for my honeymoon in June. Pm me after April 15. Have a list for Maui and Oahu.
 
Kauai! It's like 2/3 of the planet's climates on an island, beautiful (but then again, where's the ugly part of Hawaii?). Lots of chickens wandering around.

I'd go, stay at Poipu, wander and enjoy.
 
It depends what you like to do. I like the snorkeling best on Maui. Kauai and the big island probably have the best hiking. There is good diving on most of the islands and the nightlife is mostly on Oahu. Molokai doesn't have much (a couple of run down golf courses), but I did get a good dive in and you can rent a house for a week right on the beach pretty cheaply.
 
The Volcano park is pretty cool. We also saw the lava flows a few times, but the best time was in 1994 when the lava went right over the Chain of Craters road.

The Keck observatory at the top of Mauna Kea is an interesting drive up and back down. It's at 13,000 ft, and air is thin up there, and cold.

Snorkeling is pretty fun too. It's hard to go wrong in Hawaii.
 
Rent a 172 and do a BFR from Maui-Molokai-Lanai-Maui.
 
I'm a fan of big island. Maui has superior snorkeling and whale watching in certain season due to shallow and warm sea on leeward side, but otherwise it's big island all the way. Here are touristy things to do:
- dive in the submarine
- snorkeling around Cook monument and elsewhere
- hiking in parks and along beaches
- Observatory
- driving
-- they built new Saddle Road connector but the old one is still available, just try not to kill yourself
-- the Hilo hiway is junk, way overhyped
-- the zigzag drive is pretty fun especially downhill... unfortunately it's residential
- coffee tours
- the old palace house museum
- Volcano
- kayaking
- surfing - probably my favourite
- scuba - I'm not a fan... interferes with flying and observatory trips
- helicopter tour - I prefer smaller companies like Paradise and Air Maui. Blue is just umm... too massive, and their safery record is kinda not excellent.

Flying in Hawaii could be fun. One CFI let me fly through the stiffest turbulence in my life, I would say it definitely was moderate. But I pretty much resigned to never be able to rent solo. The requirements grow faster than I can gain hours and ratings, so it's just impossible to catch up. Last time I asked around, the absolute minimum was 300 hours and IR - and that's just to schedule a checkout to see if I cut it. Screw that. Last time I did not even go with a CFI.

Oh, and another thing - Big Island is sure big. A 152 can barely get from Kona to Hilo on a tankful along the shortest route. If you fly a passenger and have to off-load, you can't even reach that far. So, 172 is minimum to circumnavigate, and even so you have to refuel.

P.S. The boat-chute thing seems like something that's more fun to watch than to participate. I don't like boat tours either, even with a dinner.

The weight-shift tour is something to keep in mind. I did not try it yet.

Some thing are hidden much too well. I know they have people flying conventional gliders, but was unable to get in touch.
 
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flyingcheesehead said:
Hey folks,

Thinking about a trip to Hawaii. I've been once before, but I'm curious what you all think are the best places to go and what's on your must-do list while you're there?
Click to expand...

Been there almost 10 times. First thing to do is decide which island you'd like to visit. Each island has it's own charms!
 
DrMack said:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmCQgXLvV3o

I grew up on windward Oahu. If you want to spend the day at a quiet uncrowded beach, I recommend Lanikai. For vacations when I was a kid we used to go to the Volcanos National Park on the Big Island. For the ultimate meal on Oahu try Alan Wong's ($$$$-reservations required). Local food is best sampled at a small town drive-in where you absolutely must try the variety of "plate lunches", that include a protein (fish, beef, pork or chicken), steamed rice and a scoop of macaroni salad.
Click to expand...

Yes! Lanikai!

I sort of feel sorry for mainlanders who just land in Honolulu and spend seven days on waikiki beach!
 
acluffpoa said:
I highly recommend Kauai. My wife and I make an annual visit and never grow tired of the garden island. We've been to the other islands and they are nice but Kauai is special. Kauai is the best for quiet peaceful relaxation. I can give you a list of places to stay, things to do and places to eat if you chose Kauai.
Click to expand...

SCCutler said:
Kauai! It's like 2/3 of the planet's climates on an island, beautiful (but then again, where's the ugly part of Hawaii?). Lots of chickens wandering around.

I'd go, stay at Poipu, wander and enjoy.
Click to expand...

We're spending a week on Kauai followed by 6 nights on Hawaii in August. Kauai is our favorite. We pack our beach chairs and reading material and sit in the shade along one of our favorite beaches. Very relaxing. We go there about every year. Chickens are the county bird.
 
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