Anyone have Hawaii tips?

[suzi1780]

My boyfriend and I are going in Aug :dance3: this will be our first trip to Hawaii and I would love any helpful tips! We are staying on the Big Island first, in Kona. On the Big Island we plan on going to Volcano National Park, we are going to visit Mauna Kea and I want to do the night diving with rays. Then we will be staying on Oahu right in Waikiki. On Oahu we are going to visit Pearl Harbor and I am going to (boyfriend is too scared) go cage diving with sharks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think I am more excited about the cage diving than anything else!

Anyway any tips on things to do, places to eat/not eat, best place rent a car would be greatly apperciated

 

[Laurie]

Suzi wear sunscreen! I've never been to Hawaii, not much of a sun person, but I do know it's considered VERY BAD LUCK to remove any lava from the Island, so don't be tempted if your near the volcano sites and you find some.
Also, I'm with your boyfriend on the cage diving with sharks.
I'm sure you will have a great trip and I hope you post pictures afterward!

 

[Jenn]

Tip #1 - you need to bring me!!!!!

I agree with the sunscreen. I had two girlfriends go after they graduated and they ended up with blisters everywhere. What a way to ruin your trip. I would recommend a helicopter tour - what a beautiful way to see the island. If you have a kitchen in your motel room, it would be cheaper to cook your own food instead of eating out at restaurants the entire trip, too costly. And lastly, you need to bring me!!!!!

 

[addictedtochins]

If you have a kitchen in your motel room, it would be cheaper to cook your own food instead of eating out at restaurants the entire trip, too costly. And lastly, you need to bring me!!!!!

Yeah, well if you bring me I will cook for you!!

 

[Chinniechantel]

Oooh, I wonder if you can find the episode with Guy on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, in Hawaii, it had such good, cheap places that looked so amazing. I think asking the locals is the best way to find the good, local food. My aunt and uncle lived in Hawaii for 23 years, and of course when I turn 24 and get enough money to go visit them, they move to California! I was so mad! Haha. Hope you have a blast a helicopter ride sounds really fun, so is a hot air balloon ride if they do that. I would try to go horseback riding on the beach, that is my favorite thing in the world to do. I hope we get pictures, and lots of them!

 

[Twilight Chinchillas]

When your on Oahu check out the catamaran. It a a boat that heads out at sunset. I lived in Hawaii but never got to go.
Also, they have a swap meet on the weekends where you can buy just about anything. A lot of the locals shop there. I'd stay clear of Waikiki for shopping, way expensive! Ummm there is Paradise park, Waimea Falls, Atlantis Submarines to name just a few of the fun places you can explore. The local food is the best ever.

 

[suzi1780]

Tip #1 - you need to bring me!!!!!

I agree with the sunscreen. I had two girlfriends go after they graduated and they ended up with blisters everywhere. What a way to ruin your trip. I would recommend a helicopter tour - what a beautiful way to see the island. If you have a kitchen in your motel room, it would be cheaper to cook your own food instead of eating out at restaurants the entire trip, too costly. And lastly, you need to bring me!!!!!

Hahaha! I have booked both of our hotels and both have little kitchens. We plan to buy some food at the store and save some $ and hey both hotels have free breaksfast :thumbsup: that makes me think, I should bring a large empty purse with me to breaksfast!

 

[Sandi]

I only have tips for Oahu as I've never been to the Big Island, just Oahu and Kaui.

1. Sit on the beach in Waikiki, sip a mai tai, and bask in the sun with tons of sunscreen on of course!

2. Hanauma Bay - for great snorkeling and a great beach! Don't forget to get a waterproof camera, they sell disposable ones too.

3. Rent a moped! They are tons of fun to drive around the island.

4. Take a drive to the north shore to see great surfers and huge waves!

I've got to look for credit card statements for a couple of great restaurants that we went too, we were just there for New Years 2008.

 

[Chinmama]

Oahu tips:

Waikiki beach will be slammed with people! If you rent a car, drive out to the North Shore and go to the beaches there. There will be a lot less people! We stayed on the North Shore, so most of my activities will be based around that area.

Waimea Falls is very pretty if you like gardens and are up for a long walk up a hill. The waterfall at the top is great. You can jump from the top and swim in it (or you could when we were there).

Waimea Falls is close to Shark's Cove Beach. There is a little hole-in-the-wall-converted-camper-trailer-restaurant there called Shark's Cove Grill. They had the best breakfast of eggs, rice and Portuguese sausage.

We went to the Dole Plantation, but just did some shopping in the store and didn't take a tour. Eat some Dole Whip! It was soooo good.

Visit Pearl Harbor. It is amazing to actually be where that took place and see it in person. Standing in the memorial over the ship gave me chills.

Polynesian Cultural Center was great. You learn about the history of the people on the island and can stay for a luau with a show and a buffet. They have some good shopping too.

Visit the Byodo-In Temple. It is in a cemetery, but well worth the trip to the top of the mountain. It was beautiful and peaceful with not a lot of people. The Lotus Buddah inside the temple is beautiful. We also bought some food to feed the koi.

While you're on the North Shore, you'll see the Kahuku Shrimp Trucks. They are basically bread trucks that have been converted onto little restaurants. They have the BEST shrimp!

We also ate at a restaurant in Haleiwa called Jameson's By The Sea. We ate early enough so that we could go to the beach across the street to watch the sunset.

We were there for 7 days and still didn't have enough time to do everything we wanted to do!

 

[suzi1780]

thanks for the tips everyone! I don't worry I will bring lots of sunscreen, I am Irish/Welsh, so I don't tan I burn, of course the boyfriend has Native American in him so he goes outside and gets a perfect tan :hair:

 

[Stackie]

DEFINITELY lots of sun screen!!!

It's too bad you aren't going a month later. In November, the humpback whales begin their migration to Hawaii, mainly around Maui. I could sit on the beach and watch the whales breaching off in the distance. It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen.

Are you going to Maui at all? That's the island I stayed on. I have tons of tips for it.

A good word to know- "Mahalo" - it means thanks and all the shop owners/waiters and such really appreaciate it!

If you are going to shop at a store, be prepared for the large increase in prices. Items in Hawaii are much more expensive than here on the main land. Gallons of milk were $6 when I went, and loaves a bread were $4.

Try to squeeze a horseback ride in! In Maui, there is a great place in Wailea. They take you all through the forests, around waterfalls, up a volcano, then you get to ride on the beach. It was my favorite part of the trip!

 

[starleomach]

Go to the international Market it is an awsome shopping place! Don't miss going to Pearl Harbor and Walmart actually has some great Hawwii gifts to get. And I can't even tell you how much we spent at ABC stores the have a ton of stuff.

Rent a buggie board at the beach also a ton of fun and the snorkeling is amazing.