goin to hawaii, any advice/places to go??

Not reading all the responses, so may have already been mentioned: Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head, Dole Plantation, north shore, and we took a day trip to the big island to see volcanos, lava, and the lava fields. :up:

 

So Kent, Hawaii trip before racing???? GF before racing????????? You go to Cali and turn away from the Dark Side????
Come back east. Must race.....



-Scott

 

LOL. next month i plan on getting a practice day in. i definatley need practice. moving back to the east coast is still in my plan at some point. with all the speed you guys have picked up, i'll need to grow another set to keep up,lol. you guys keep havin fun!

 

If some cheap fun is what you're looking for I would definitely take up a drive up to the North Shore..Then just take Kam Hwy to the East side (It's a real nice drive). Try to stay away from the West side..Or make sure to not stray too far away from your car or stare at anyone, lol...Other than that theres Diamond Head, Stairway to Heaven, Hanauma bay, Cliffs to jump off on along the Pali (into water that is) Theres plenty of cheap stuff to do you just find em that's the hard part...On the North Shore Haleiwa Joes or Breakers are pretty good...Other foods to try are ahi poke', fried poke', loco moco...

 

Bump - some decent responses in this thread but anything new in the last 15 years that's a "must see"? United has a ton of award space from EWR to HNU and I've never been so planning on heading there.

Any input is welcome - best time to go, best itinerary for a ~10 day stay, etc. Planning for September as I've read June/July/September are the best months but somewhat flexible on timing.

 

Do you prefer to be connected or disconnected?

 

My advice: Land in Honolulu, then connect to another island asap. HNL is a very large city with crowded beaches. IMHO the other islands offer so much more.

Crib notes:

Oahu - Big city, lots of traffic, crowded beaches
Maui - Great nightlife, high prices, great beaches, crowded
Kauai - Older crowd, quiet, a bit more affordable, great beaches, roads aren't too busy
Big Island - Best for the adventurer type. Offers everything you can imagine. No nightlife. Volcanoes.
Lanai - Very quiet, great beaches, great for $$$$$ hotels and golf. Very small.

 

Not sure when you were last to Kauai, but traffic there is hell. There's really only one road, and traffic can be so bad that you can't get out of parking lots on the sides of the road because nobody will let you in. North shore of Kauai has become a nightmare, especially the Na Pali coast area. For me, Maui is the best compromise, as I can find completely isolated places, or nightlife. There are certainly some over-crowded places on Maui (Kaanapali, Kihei, Lahaina), but also plenty of low traffic areas. As you mention, Big Island is great for adventure, but I've found that many of the hotels are older and poorly maintained. Didn't bother me, but my S/O at the time did nothing but complain.

 

Fair enough... its been 4 or 5 years since I've been on Kauai. I always travel in the shoulder seasons, so maybe I don't see the worst of the traffic.

 

“Duke’s” and “Eggs and Things” in Waikiki are usually a great mix.
Drive over the top on LikeLike and Pali highways for the views and perspective.
Hike Diamond head (early or late.) Bellows beach is very nice if you have a military ID.
Do your best not to leave anything in a rental car...

 

THIS. Actually, leave the car unlocked. I've taken everything out of the car, and they STILL broke the window to see if there was anything worth having. Now I leave it unlocked, and even the window down a bit (if it's not going to rain). Pretty obvious where the really bad areas are, as there's broken glass all over the ground.

 

Wow, I've been to Hawaii maybe 30 times with rental cars and never had an issue!

 

I guess it depends on where you go. I've not seen it as much on the Big Island, but for sure Kauai is really bad. The parking lot at the trailhead at Na Pali is covered in glass. Saw a guy in a rental Jeep pull into the parking area for Secret beach, and the back was loaded with Scuba stuff and luggage. He said they just got there, and he wanted to check it out before he got to his hotel in Princeville. I told him to dump his stuff at the hotel first, but he didn't listen. I came back up from the beach, and the PD was there taking a report. Back window busted out, and everything gone. North shore of Maui can be bad, particularly near Honolua Bay, and Nakalele. Oddly enough, I've never been to Oahu. Too many people for me.

 

That's a real shame. I hate to hear that this stuff happens.

 

Any specific spots to see in Kahului and Honolulu ?

Have 8 people and a wide age range from still mobile Grandparents to 11 year old

 

How long in each area? Kahului, check out Baldwin beach. Nice beach, can find lots of turtles depending on time of day and year, strong waves for boogie boards or body surfing, but can have strong undertow.
Or go to the opposite shore along Kihei.
Honolulu is far more crowded, of course. The windward side at Waimanalo is beautiful and again has fun water, but not the strong undertow. And not crowded at all.
Hanauma is really neat, lots of fun things to see snorkeling, but get there early or you won't get it. And even with the limited entrance it's crowded.
Waikiki is always full of people, but down on the Queen's beach end you can get some decent snorkeling and there are a couple spots along there that always have turtles. Very calm water so even the little kids can swim/snorkel.

 

In Honolulu, I would definitely hit the Submarine War Memorial (it's next to the Missouri and the Arizona Memorial).
It's overlooked by a lot of folks, but definitely interesting.

Turtle bay on the backside is nice for a drive & lunch.

 

If ya run into the Vigliotti's on Maui, tell em I miss them.
They hangout around Lahaina.

 

ill be there in 3 weeks, they frequent any place special? we usually hit up the main drag at least once, from the banyan tree all the way till the shops and bars stop.

 

Anywhere that's in or near the water/docks.
I'm being silly.
I shouldn't have brought that up.
Bob and Caitriona...my Aunt and Uncle.
I haven't seen nor heard from them in 20+ years.