Razorette and I are going to Hawaii in two weeks, and I’m looking for honest-to-gosh advice from those who’ve been there for more than the mandatory tourist tours. We’re going to visit our son and his wife, who will be our tour guides, but since he’s in the Navy and she manages a restaurant there, they both have rather less-than-positive attitudes about the islands.
I was born there in 1951, but my parents never went back after we came home (I was six months old then.)
So, Hawaii experts, how do I enjoy the islands without being a complete dumbass tourist?
It’s been cold (by Hawaii standards) recently, so check the weather reports and be prepared to supplement your stuff with a light jacket.
If you want to avoid being dumb, heed the warning signs along trails, mountain paths, beaches, as well as warnings from lifeguards, police, or other officials. Don’t leave valuables in your rental car or hotel room-- leave them at home, ideally.
Do a search in this forum-- we’ve had several excellent Hawaii recommendation threads.
This. My wife and I used their Maui book a couple of years ago and found it to be incredibly helpful. Their section on the Road to Hana was detailed to the point of telling us the exact locations of where the best trails were to get out of the car and hike down to hidden waterfalls. Fantastic stuff.
Kua’aina’s own website is in Japanese so I didn’t link it. There are at least two locations, though, one in Haleiwa with Matsumoto’s, and shouldn’t be hard to find. The other is about a 5 minute drive west of Waikiki.
Count me in for another recommendation for the Wizard Publishing blue guides. One caveat: the author is well versed in the law regarding access to land (particularly beaches), and he seems to have done a lot of work to determine what roads, trails, etc. are OK for the general public to use. However, you may find yourself somewhere that you have every legal right to be, but where the owners of adjacent land insist it is theirs and don’t want you to be. Like anywhere else, no amount of factual correctness on your part is going to help.
A TSA guy at Kahului airport harangued me for several minutes about how his sister’s property was worthless now that tourists use the state owned road it is on, after he saw the book in my carry-on.
If you’re going to be on Oahu, in the Kapahulu area, check out Ono Hawaiian. Kapahulu is the street that defines the Diamond Head end of Waikiki, and is also the street where the zoo is.
Thanks for the advice – I’ll see if I can get the Wizard guide book before we go.
My son and daughter-in-law have lived there two years now, and we’ll be staying with them on the Marine base at Kaneohe. They’ve been there just long enough to have some not-at-all-good experiences with locals. Bear in mind, these are a couple of kids from Colorado who have never been anywhere else in their lives. I just don’t want to miss out on experiencing the essense of Hawaii because they don’t want to have anything to do with the locals.
In Kaneohe I like the Byodo-In temple at the Valley of the Temples. Feeding the greedy greedy carp is fun, and the temple area is gorgeous.
I’d have to also recommend the Kualoa Ranch , in Ka’a’awa* which is near Kaneohe. Its a working ranch, but it has horse riding and hiking, truly beautiful views, and…Godzilla’s footprint.
While you’re in Ka’a’awa, I’d also recommend Uncle Bobo’s BBQ, especially the brisket.
I don’'t know if you’re into it, but a surf school is another excellent thing to try why you’re there, although I don’t know how Kaneohe is for surf.
Ka’a’awa is rumored to have the world’s largest apostrophe mine as well.
I’ve been there - it’s a good spot not open to the public. Has some worthwhile beaches and some excellent birdwatching (including a nesting colony of red-footed boobies).
As others have said, there have been some good threads on this, and there are a few good guide books. I went to Hawaii for the first time in 2007, and loved it. May I just offer a few points.
Volcano National Park on Big Island. I know that most aspects of travelling come down to personal tastes and preferences, but this is simply unmissable, no matter who you are. The Kilauea Caldera is one of the most amazing things a human mind can experience. The rest of the park is easy to drive around and enjoy, although ‘enjoy’ isn’t really the right term… it’s more about being transfixed by some of the most emotionally overwhelming landscapes and scenery you can ever see - the Earth as it was before life, and as it will be when all the life is gone.
While I was there I also took a ‘no doors’ helicopter ride over the active volcano. Riding right over the top of an active volcano and molten lava, with the chopper tipped over so I could get good photos, and no doors… just a seat harness between me and a 500 metre drop straight down into the action. Amazing, and well worth it.
Spend as much time there as you can, visit as many of the islands as you can. You are going to go a long way to get to Hawaii… so make the most of it. There’s lots to see, and each of the main islands has enough to keep you fascinated and delighted for a week or two. So do whatever you have to do, but stay there for as long as possible. Remember that these days hopping from one island to another is easier than it has ever been, so make the most of this facility.
You don’t need to commit yourself too far in advance. There is the ‘meticulous planning’ school of travel, and the ‘ad hoc, make it up as we go along’ school. Both have their merits and their fans. All I’m pointing out is that you do have the option of making it up as you go along, if you want it. Hawaii has a very well-developed tourism industry, to say the least. Whatever you want to do, someone somewhere will be willing to facilitate that wish either immediately or at very short notice (if you have the dollars, of course). Every main hotel has a wall of leaflets and flyers advertising just about everything you might want to do, and in the main touristy areas you only need to walk down a main street to meet lots of ‘hawkers’ trying to convince you that they have the best deals.
Waikiki. I know it’s main tourist ‘hell’ and you may want to avoid it for this reason, but I’d say at least give it a day. It’s quite an experience, and the beach is great… you can stay there until 11 or 12 at night and it’s still warm, still beautiful and enjoyable. There are not too many places like that in the world.
The term ‘guided tour’ covers many experiences, not all of them great. This does come to personal taste I guess, but I’ll throw it out there. As a general rule of thumb based on personal experience, I’d say: guided tour that involves sitting on a bus all day = bad thing, and being corraled into sticky money traps against your will because the driver is bribed to stop there; guided tour that involves some knowledgeable guy actually taking you on a walk or hike and taking you to places you would find hard to navigate ony your own = good thing.
Botanical gardens. Any of the major ones are worth a visit if you like to see nature showing off some of her best, most stunning and crazy designs.
I would definitely recommend going to another island while you’re there. It’s easy and cheap to hop on a plane and visit pretty much any of the other islands.
From personal experience, I loved Maui and Kauai. I found Maui less touristy than Oahu, more open spaces and empty beaches. We loved hiring a car and just wandering around the island.
Kauai is the “Garden Isle” and though I haven’t been in many years I recall it as a very lush, very beautiful place.
I plug this museum every time a Hawaii thread comes up.
I avoided it the entire time I lived there because it’s next door to Aloha Tower (aka tourist ground zero), but right before I left I went to the Maritime Museum on Pier 7 and fucking LOVED it. I’ve spent the last 10ish years kicking myself for not taking any of my visitors to it. At the time I thought the admission charge was a little pricey but I sprang for the recorded earphone thingy anyhow and it was worth every penny for the whaling exhibit alone.
But make sure you spring for the earphone thing. Most definitely worth it.
