Hawaii Vacation

[Coach]

Me and the gal will be taking a vacation to Hawaii, at the Oahu area, in Honolulu in June.

I would like some feedback from some members that been to Hawaii for their vacation time on what would be a good place to go sight seeing, or do some activities.

I know that me and the gal got sucba diving/snorkeling, hiking, going to see the Pearl Harbor area, the U.S.S. Missouri, and of course, the beaches.

Any other thoughts that would be helpful or suggestions that we should look into?

Thanks.

[MIAdragon]

Originally Posted by trndobrd

I was going to recommend the Hale Koa down on Waikiki. ($60/night for ocean view room...parking $3/day)

How much are the rooms on base?

The Hale Koa is nice but too many people for me. I want to say the rooms at Tripler are around 35 a night and the views are unreal.

[kepp]

Pearl Harbor (USS Arizona memorial), Waikiki, and be sure to take in a luau (sp?)

[Chief Henry]

Originally Posted by Midway Chief

First of all, congrats!

I have been to Oahu a couple of times. You will probably be staying on Wikiki Beach; the most famous beach on the island, but not really my favorite because of the crowds. Hopefully you will be renting a car, if not rent one. A great day trip is to go to north toward the North Shore. On the way, stop by the Dole pineapple factory. Get some pineapple ice cream and if you have time walk through the cool maze that they have there. There are some neat little towns along the way and at the North Shore. Sunset Beach is an awesome place to see the sun set (go figure) and has some good snorkeling. I also like the snorkeling at Shark Cove. Back in Honolulu, the tour to the top of Diamond Head is pretty cool. It is a lot of hiking if you are into that sort of deal. The view at the top is unreal. Of course you will want to go to Pearl Harbor; you will never forget it. Just up the road from there is the Hula Bowl and on Saturday or Sunday they have a huge swap meet thing. It is a great way to pick up some Hawaiian stuff for back home. If you are going to be there for a whole week, you might consider taking a trip to another island. The Big Island is my favorite; TONS of "natural" sites to see there.
Hope you have a great trip.

Good stuff Midway. The Mrs. and I along with a freind spent about 5 days on Oahu in April 2007. We had a great time. We stayed right on the beach which was way cool. Our room on the 7th floor faced the west, so we could see the ocean and the sunsets right from our room. Once you get to your Hotel, they'll have packages for you to go see
Perl Harbor or tours around the island. My suggestion to you is to take a tour of the island as soon as you can. They have full day tours available. Then if you want to rent a vehicle for a day or two then you'll be much more familiar with the roads and what to look for and what to expect.

A day tour of the island will include breif stops at Perl Harbor, The Dole pinapple Plantation, The North Beach, several mom and pop souviner stops, The Peanut farm on the east side of the island and one other beach that was in the movie "From Here to Eternity". A full day tour will give you a chance to see many things and then you can rent a car for the rest of the week and you'll be better informed on how to get around the island. The full day tour will also have stops at some SUPER WINDY area towards the end of your day tour. The wind is so powerful that you could loose sun glasses and baseball caps. They warn you to take them off. That area has some great views. The day tour we had stopped at a really nice golf course to eat at there restraunt. The course itself looked like I would need about 2 dozen golf balls for 9 holes!!!

If you get a good driver on the tour, he will explain alot of the island.
Our tour bus driver was funny as hell. He had some very un PC jokes
about the Morman campus on the NE side of Oahu.

The downtown area, shopping district of Oahu was really cool. Its right in the main tourist/hotel area. They're doing alot of building and remodeling in this district. At night out on the street you'll see side walk artists and street entertainers. The artist do great work. THe food and the restraunts are really great. THere's a HUGE Variety of Quality - clean Restraunts and upscale shops. Bring your credit card. Right in the Middle of this district is an open air Straw Market place. It just goes on and on and on. Right across the street from that market area,
is a cool place to hang out at --DUKES-- Its a restraunt and bar. Try to get outside at Dukes. They'll have tiki torches up and your right on the beach. You can here the waves crash on to the beach why'll your
enjoying your dinner or drink. They have two different menue's at Dukes. One for a formal dinner and then the menu you'd find at any sports bar.

There is a lot of free shuttel buses or minimal fee buses/shuttel too if you didn't want to rent a car.

We went back to Perl Harbor a 2nd time so we could spend more time.
We loved the USS Missouri tour. They have 3-4 different type of tours for the USS Missouri. That will depend on your $$$ and what your interested in. I would really suggest that you check out the US Missouri.
They're also trying to fund a memorial to the US Oklahoma. You'll learn so much about Perl Harbor it will make you head spin on everything.

Like Midway said. The Hula Bowl is near Perl Harbor. We didn't make it to the Hula Bowl football field, but we were told that its a place to pickup bargains. You'll find MANY opprotunities to shop.

One other cool thing we did was to take a catamarand cruz in the evening. It encluded some special type of rum punch. They cranked
up the ROCK and all of us were just having a great itme. Is that a wavy ride ? Yes indeed, but it was fun and they gave you plenty too drink.

Depending on your hotel or condo you stay at, we went to a grocery store to get some stables to eat and drink too. To keep in our condo.

Congratulations on getting married and being able to afford a Honeymoon to Hawaii. By all means, if your sweety wants to lay
on the beach. Go for it and bring some strong sun screen. Be sure to wear your sunglasses on the beach too. That way your new bride won't catch you watching other women that walk by !

If you take the tour up to the volcano. Be sure to be prepaired to WALK and WALK. You'll be on sidewalks for a small portion of the hike to the top. You'll be on dirt, gravel, and rocks. At one point towards the top you'll have to take steps, and there quit steep too. Buy some extra bottles of water at the bottom of the volcano, becuase you'll need it on the hike. Go to the Volcano in the EARLY morning if you can.

My neice is 9, 10 in February. When she is 16 were going to go back over there. I can't wait and By all means schedule a lua.
You'll be able to schedule the Lua at your hotel. The buses to the Lua's pickup up people at different hotels, so you'll have a chance to see other hotels along the way. Pack light, pack light, pack light.

[tyton75]

All of these are great recommendations.. one thing I would say is to drive towards Ka'ena point on the North Shore.. the road ends before you actually get to the point.. but there is an awesome beach up there for just sitting and relaxing with the new wife..

I went up there with my wife and we had the entire beach to ourselves.. it was kinda cool

[splatbass]

I would highly recommend a cruise on the North Shore. The whales will be gone, but it still is fun.

My friend Robin is the captain of this one:

http://www.sailingcat.com/

You could also try skydiving at Skydive Hawaii:

http://www.skydivehawaii.com/

My friend Shaun is one of the skydivers.

Ok, now that I've pimped my friends businesses I'll give you some more places that I'm not affiliated with. I haven't read through the thread, so some of these might have been mentioned already.

Polynesian Cultural Center. The best luau, along with recreations of villages from the 7 polynesian cultures. Excellent show after the luau. That is where I take all my family when they come. One caveat: it is owned by the Mormon church, so no Mai Tais or other alcohol with the luau. If you want that try Paradise Cove luau. It isn't as good, but you can drink all you want.

Dolphin Excursions. In Waianae. They take you out in a rubber zodiac to see the dolphins, then to a good spot off of Makaha for snorkeling. A great experience.

Hike to the top of Diamond Head. It is a short but strenuous hike, with 250 stairs along the way, but well worth it. The view of Waikiki is excellent.

You mentioned the Arizona Memorial. You should get there early to get tickets, they go fast, but it is worth seeing. I work across the street from it so I see it every day.

Kailua Beach Park. The best beach on the island IMO.

North Shore. Lots to see there and my favorite part of the island I live near there. Haleiwa is an interesting town. Eat at Haleiwa Joe's while there. Just past Haleiwa is Laniakea Beach which ALWAYS has sea turtles laying on the beach. Just look for all the cars parked along the road, it is very popular. Waimea Beach is a nice beach to go to in the summer. In the winter the surf is too big for swimming, but you'll be there in June so it's ok. Right across the road from it is Waimea Falls Park. Run by the Audubon Society it costs I think $5 and you can walk up a scenic path to the falls. Past there is Sunset Beach, another really nice beach, and the home to the pipeline and the Triple Crown of Surfing.

If you have any questions at all PM me. And if you want to meet somewhere and have a beer while you are here I know all the best places....

[splatbass]

Originally Posted by Chiefmanwillgetyou

There is supposed to be Somekind of crazy mountain bike ride down a mountain. Where those telescopes are. I think.

Nude beach. Bring back some photos and post them.

That is on Maui, and I think they shut it down. Too many people killed.

[SBK]

Dude, it's your honeymoon. Be willing to spend a little extra, you only are supposed to have one you know.....Relax, enjoy the beach, and relax more. Maui was the most relaxing place I've ever been.

If it was me going I'd avoid Waikiki and head up to the North Shore. I spent a little time in Honolulu and Waikiki was packed, almost like you're in Chicago or something.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by Phobia

You don't need Hawaii advice, you need marriage advice.

Hawaii. Do.

Marriage. Don't.

You'll thank me later. Get married when you're 30.

Heh. I'm almost there in the 30 age range, my friend.

[papasmurf]

Take time and go to diamond head. Its a god hike and a great view.