Hawaii

[rjn5656]

Here are things we plan to do (week at each location):

Oahu

Pearl Harbor Tour
Drive up to North Shore
Hike Diamond Head
Attend Luau

Kuai

Helicopter over Waimlea Canyon
Sunset cruise to Naplai Coast
River Tubing Trip


Maui
Golf at Kapalua
Drive Road to Hana
Submarine trip
Bike trip down Haekeela

Going to try surfing someplace.
Will go snorkeling when we can fit it in.


Anything else you would suggest

[l2ridehd]

The only thing I would change is Driving the road to Hana. Long and hard drive and not much there once you get there. The only good thing is to be able to say you have done it. IMHO kind of a waste of time.

[janewk]

Reach deep into your pockets when you golf at Kapalua. Especially being a tourist, they charge way more than they do the locals, or kamaaina, as they are called. And the kamaaina rate is ridiculous as far as I’m concerned. Are you retired military, by any chance? That’s another option, if you are.

On your trip to Hana. Plan on 4 to 5 hours travel time. It’s a very treacherous road to navigate and most rental car places won’t rent to you if they are aware you are planning a trip to Hana. Don’t go under any conditions if they have had or are having heavy rain. Just not worth the dangers.

Pearl Harbor. Don’t pay for a tour there. It is totally free and of course, the tour comupanies want all the money they can get. Definitely worth doing. Very humbling experience, just do it on your own if you can. 877-444-6777. This number will give you all the info plus tell you how to get your own tickets.

Everything else you have planned sounds really good. The only other suggestion I would have is to try snorkeling on an island other than Oahu. Oahu is SO crowded and they charge you every little penny they can. I know Haunama Bay is the most popular place on Oahu and their pricing is hefty. Maybe you can even find a good spot on your own where it’s not dangerous

We moved here from Oahu, just in case you were wondering what heck makes me an authority! Just kidding, but we did move here from there. If there is anything else we can help you with or you have any questions, we’d be more than happy to help 808-330-3364. Jane

[eweissenbach]

Good list - we've done most of those and enjoyed. If you are going to be there a week, the road to Hana is picturesque and worth the effort IMO. Snorkeling at Molekini off Maui is terrific. I have played Kapalua and Waelea Blue and both are beautiful courses.

[Aloha1]

As another "refugee" from the People's Republic of Hawai'i, your list sounds pretty good. I'd change your luau from O'ahu to Maui. Much more variety and better prices. check out the Marriott or Hyatt luaus in Ka'anapali. For golf at Kapalua, yes it is expensive but you can get a discount if you play 2 rounds or have a Signature Visa card and the Plantation Course is worth it. Check out golfkapalua.com. The Road to Hana is best done as a one way circumnavigation. Get an early start and just keep going all the way around. You can stop at Tedeschi Vineyards at Ulupalakua , go through upcountry Kula and have great views. Your Kaua'i plan is perfect.

Oh, and for surfing check out Goofy Foot. They do quick lessons off the breakwall at Lahaina harbor. Small kine waves around 3 feet. And for snorkeling, take a Trilogy to trip to the Honolua Bay. They usually pick up on the beach at the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel in Ka'anapali. you can also rent your own gear and go off the beach at Kapalua Bay and Kai Ala Beach Park by the Westin Ocean Villas.
Aloha

[BoatRatKat]

I agree with the others response regarding the road to Hana. I did it when I was young and crazy and it was scary. It is a beautiful but very long ride and there are some dangerous parts to it so just be aware.

[2newyorkers]

I also agree about the road to Hanna especially if you drive along the cliffs. It is very scary! We loved the luau in Maui, try poi. Ha! When you go to the Arizona also see the short movie. Bring tissues.

[valuemkt]

I'll be doing Maui and Big Island at the end of May (7 days and 5 days). Not a golfer. Be interested to hear your points of interest

[Dmbluk]

If you want a great drive the drive around the north shore of Maui is an awesome drive. Some say it is dangerous but if you take your time and don't get in a hurry and enjoy the views it is awesome. Sunrise at Haekeela is beautiful. Then go have some locomoco for breakfast when you are done

[thelegges]

We took a tour for the road to Hana. Our car rental had in bold print letter no coverage if you drove the route. The tour was great, lots of interesting facts, and at times if you looked out the window it scared the crap out of me with the 100 foot drops and no rail

[retiredguy123]

Visit the USS Missouri on Oahu, the ship where Japan signed the surrender papers, More interesting than the Arizona.

[JerryLBell]

The only thing I would change is Driving the road to Hana. Long and hard drive and not much there once you get there. The only good thing is to be able to say you have done it. IMHO kind of a waste of time.
We took a helicopter/bus tour where we flew over to Hana then were bussed back to the airport along the road from Hana. It was pretty scenic and all but I am SO glad I didn't drive it. There are something like 600+ turns on it, many of them blind, and 50 or 60 single-lane bridges. It's nightmarish to drive. If I had done so, I would have been exhausted by the time I got to Hana and still would have to drive back plus I would have been so focused on the road that I wouldn't have actually seen any of the scenery. If you really want to see Hana, have somebody else do the driving. And Hana itself is really not much of anything for tourists though some of the beaches (including a "black sand" beach) are pretty nice.

Not really thinking thinking it through, my wife decided to take the road from Kapalua (we had a time-share condo rented nearby) over to to Kahalui (the airport city) via the north road. While it's shorter than the road to Hana, it's just as hairy. My wife threatened to leave the car and walk home but was afraid of walking the road, which is along a cliff and often has no barrier rails.

If you really want a hairy ride, drive the south road to Hana from Wailea. It has all the blind turns of the north road plus it's poorly pave or unpaved. Four-wheel drive is highly recommended.

Keep in mind that Maui, like all Hawaiian islands, is the peak of a really tall, steep, volcanic mountain. Older islands, like Kuai, have had their peaks worn down over time. Newer islands, like Maui and Hawaii, are steeper and taller. You can't live way up in these peaks so the roads, towns and houses are nearly all in rings around the islands down near the water line. That means the roads are really just clinging to the sides of these steep peaks. Maui actually has two peak and there is a nice valley between them but that's not where tourists go unless it's to the Iao Valley State Park.

I also did the bike ride down Haleakala. There were a couple of tours offering it. One picked you up at around 2 AM (seriously), drove you in a bus to the park at the peak where you sat in the dark for a couple of hours. The sun rises (and it's more often obscured by clouds and fog than not) and you got to leave the park in the order you arrived. You ride all the way down to the airport. We found a different tour run by a guy that has won the airport-to-peak-of-Haleakala-uphill race a number of times. You meet him after sunrise, he drives you up to the entrance of the park and you start your ride there. The ride isn't as long, is nearly all downhill and includes a stop at a pineapple winery and a store. So check out your choices and grab the one that makes more sense to you.

I loved the bike ride and found it totally exhilarating. My wife hated it and was shaking so hard that the bike's front wheel wobbled back and forth like crazy. After a few miles, she turned the bike in and rode in the van. The ride is ALL blind corners, is sometimes steep (though the bikes had huge, over-sized brakes), sometimes has no guard rails so there's nothing between you and steep cliffs and it's on a two-lane road with cars zipping by in both directions. There are no dedicated bike lanes. And bikers do get hit on occasion and sometimes die. I'd recommended the ride to a friend who was about to honeymoon there and he and his new bride had barely gone a mile before they came upon a fatal collision. That was the end of the ride.

We also did the submarine ride and both enjoyed it. It was neat to be somewhere very, very few humans have ever been. To be honest, you see the same fish you see from a glass-bottomed boat ride and you actually see them better from the boat because the water filters out certain bandwidths of light and so the fish look colored differently. And your teeth look green in the light, which is weird.

By the way, my wife sounds like a scaredy-cat. She's not. She'll fearlessly snorkel towards sharks, rays, eels and the like. She'll hike deserts, go down in submarines, take boat rides in big surf and more. But she did NOT like the little roads clinging to the cliffs in Maui.

Enjoy the Hawaiian islands! I think they are the closest place to Paradise in the US and perhaps on Earth.

[HIgolfers]

Agree on Road to Hana- not worth the time.

[manaboutown]

My friends who live on the big island, Hawaii, tell me the Vog has been terrible. They are thinking of moving to Florida! Big Island Vog Index (http://www.konaweb.com/vog/index.shtml)