My wife and I are contemplating a honeymoon (no, we haven’t had it yet) in Hawaii.
What do you DO in Hawaii? Anyone know? What’s there? I know it’s warm and beautiful, but if you’re there a week, what attractions, activities, or major cool stuff is there to do? Obviously, there’s the ocean and all the associated fun (surfing, scuba, etc.) but what’s on land?
How expensive is it, as opposed to the continental USA?
Hope this is the place for this question.
… you might try a 7 day cruise on American Hawaii, they give you 5 ports on 4 islands in 7 days…from about $800 per person for the crappiest inside cabin,but you are not tghere for the ship so much as the shore excursions …you can likely cut you price in half by going through a cruise broker.
I worked for these people as a photographer for a year and had a really good time, the ship is an old trans-Atlantic steamership,built in the 50s (it took Grace Kelly to Monaco,to catch a theif was filmed on board as was an episode of I Love Lucy…-woo-hoo!) so do not expect one of these floating hotels and casinos… it is a utilatarian ship designed to (gasp) acctually transport people from point a to point b.It is kinda the motel-6 of cruise ships…the upside of this being that it is VERY informal and friendly.
You get a good overview of the islands and get off every day at a new port with sevral options to choose from, or you can hang out aboard and be a slug…up up you.
regards,
write’
I spent a week in Honolulu, Hawaii on a business trip, so I didn’t have a whole lot of time to do tourist stuff. However:
There is good shopping, lots of cheap jewelry.
Lots of good hiking. The mountains are beautiful.
The Pali Lookout is one of the best vistas I have ever seen.
Everybody says that the other islands are much better.
The US Government gives travellers $79.00/day for food and about $120.00 for hotel. That should tell you something about prices. It’s worth it, though if you can afford it.
I have never been but I’d like to some day. I really have no desire to see anything on Oahu. I suspect it would be too crowded for me. The hiking on the eastern half of Molokai is supposed to be some of the best and most scenic in the world. The Hana Hotel at the eastern tip of Maui is supposed to be excellent (and private). I’d also like to visit the Big Island, especially for Mauna Kea, but let’s not forget the Kona coffee and Macadamia nuts.
My wife and I went to Hawaii last year on our honeymoon, and there is quite a lot to do. On Oahu, you can visit the USS Arizona. Kauai has a canyon with hiking trails (if you’re into that sort of thing), helicopter rides, boat tours. Hawaii (the big island) has Hawaii Volcanos National Park (with an active Volcano), primitive stone carvings, black sand beaches, waterfalls, etc. And, of course, all islands have gorgeous beaches.
If you like scenery, hiking, nature, etc., you won’t be bored. If you like the nightlife, like to boogie, etc., you might want to consider somewhere else. Never went to Maui, though, so there could be stuff like that there.
Best trip of my life.
If you like sporty things, there’s tons of that. THE place to surf. Also golf, tennis, etc.
In Honolulu there’s three malls, Ala Moana and the Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki and Pearlridge out towards Pearl Harbor. Also lots of little boutiques in town and great little local markets, plus tourist traps in the boonies.
Pearl Harbor has a lot of attractions for the naval-minded. The USS Arizona Memorial is open to the public, and you can tour a WW2 sub, the USS Bowfin.
Hanauma Bay east of town is hemmed in by reefs, trapping a lot of colorful fish in what amounts to a shallow wading pool. You can see the fish just looking down at them.
Sea Life Park (east of Hanauma) is a lot like Sea World. Waimea Falls Park on the North Shore is a garden setting, with cliffdivers and a few peacocks thrown in; walk, don’t take the bus. A more straight-forward botanical garden, Foster’s, is near the city center. From there hook up with a walking tour of Chinatown.
On the eastern shore there’s an old sugar mill open to tours at Kaaapa, a replica of the Byodoin Temple set waaay back in a cemetery, and the Polynesian Cultural Center at BYUH which has dioramas and shows. In the center there’s a tourist trap Dole runs for pineapple freaks. The west side is for surfers.
This, mind you, is just Oahu. I haven’t been to the other islands except Hawaii, which is much more tourist free, except around Volcano Nat’l Park.
Free tourist brochures are everywhere. You’ll find something. Don’t mess with touristy stuff too much, though. The main thing is relax and enjoy the atmosphere.
I lived in Honolulu for two and a half years, and moved back to the mainland in May of 1993.
Never envy anyone who lives in Honolulu. Sure, the weather’s great, but once you’ve been there six months you’ve been everywhere and done everything, and “rock fever” sets in. It’s boring as hell.
Fortunately, there’s plenty to do to fill a week. There’s Waikiki, which is like Vegas without the gambling (Don Ho and other shows, lots of tourist-trap shops selling tchotchkes). There’s Diamond Head, luaus, the North Shore, various watersports, the Arizona Memorial.
But Oahu is essentially Honolulu, which is essentially a big, nasty city. if I only had a week I’d say spend it all on Maui. Maui has the volcano Haleakala, the whaling museum in Lahaina, Lahaina itself (a wonderful small city), black sand beaches and excellent SCUBA diving. Maui is about as big as Oahu, but (as of 1993, anyway) isn’t as overgrown.
I don’t know about current prices, but my understanding is the state’s been in an outright depression since Japan’s economy went south in the mid-90’s, so prices should be at historic lows.
Here’s what Mr. Pug and I did on our trip to Maui:
Day 1: Drove the road to Hana and had dinner at Mama’s Fish House
Day 2: Rode down from Haleakala Volcano on bicycles
Day 3: Hiked in the Iao Valley, near Wailuku
Days 4 through 6: Sat in the swimming pool of the hotel drinking Mai Tais (we were tired from the first 3 days)
Although we didn’t golf, there were achingly gorgeous golf courses along the southwest coast of Maui (Wailea). Lahaina was full of shops and restaurants and a better place to watch a sunset is not to be found on earth.
What to do in Hawaii? Tons to do!
On the Big Island (aka the island of Hawaii), there’s Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, 30 miles from Hilo. A lot of unique lava formations, and, if you don’t mind hiking a bit, you can actually see orange, flowing, magma! That’s something you can’t get anywhere else in the USA, possibly not anywhere else in the world. I spent a full day there.
Said park is 30 miles out of Hilo, the airport you’re most likely to fly into if you do it by air. (If you want to do island-hopping, the best (or at least fastest and least expensive) way to do it is to buy a 6-flight coupon book from Aloha Airlines for approximately $330). In Hilo itself, there are some very scenic sights, including Rainbow Falls and the Kaumana Caves (which are actually lava tubes, not the stalagmite-stalactite kind of caves that Mammoth Cave or Carlsbad Caverns are) and Lava Trees State Park in Pahoa, about 20 miles out of the city. There are also some interesting exhibits in the Lyman Museum and you can tour the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Plantation.
On the other side of the Big Island is Kona. I don’t know much about it except that they grow a special kind of coffee there.
On Oahu, in Honolulu, there’s the Bishop Museum, with many unique exhibits from Hawaiian history and from all over the Pacific. You can watch a Hula show on Waikiki Beach (every morning at 10 AM, sponsored by Kodak), and not far from there there’s a top-notch aquarium. There’s also Diamond Head mountain, which is a nice hike with a great view. On the outskirts of Honolulu, there’s Pearl Harbor, which has the USS Arizona Memorial (and associated museum exhibits) and right next door to it, there’s a military museum.
I’m not sure what there is on the other islands aside from the ocean-based fun you’re already familiar with (I’m told Maui is especially goos for snorkeling, and that Kauai is the most scenic of the islands, although if the scenery is better than what I’ve seen on the other islands, I think I’d collapse from all the beauty).
Expensive? Very. There are no cheap motels, like Motel 6 or Super 8. The least expensive places are in the $70 range. Of course, if you’re interested in a classy hotel to begin with, you shouldn’t have a problem finding something within your price range. Rental cars and gas are pretty reasonably priced, with Honolulu being less expensive than the other islands, but not by much. Food I couldn’t tell you about; we didn’t buy any while we were there. I should warn you though: don’t bother buying any fresh fruit with intent to bring the leftovers home; there’s some kind of USDA inspection at the airports where they confiscate any fresh fruits headed for the mainland. (You can buy USDA-approved-for-the-mainland pineapples in the Honolulu airport if you want those.)
But it’s well worth paying for. Aloha! Enjoy yourselves! And Mazel Tov on your upcoming wedding!
hate to be a downer, but…
tourism is destroying the environment in Hawai’i.
job opportunities for locals are often limited to low-paying tourism service jobs, but local alternatives are not encouraged because tourism is the “number one industry”
Hawaiian culture has been watered down and misrepresented: grass skirts? Tahitian–there was no grass in Hawai’i. hula? it was a semi-religious ceremony, not a means to amuse haole.
Native Hawaiians are among the most disenfranchised people in our country. they are supposed to be getting plots of their land back, but many families spend generations on the waiting list. tourism helps drive the value of land to ridiculous heights.
do the right thing. take your trip somewhere else.
You’re under no obligation to visit Hawaii and do the stereotypical tourist things that was described in HapaXL’s post, although his points are well-taken.
I would just find an island to visit and enjoy the beautiful scenery that is Hawai’i. You’re going for a honeymoon, so it’s not like you are obligated to go to a luau.
Mrs. Propski and I spent on honeymoon on Kauai, a beautiful island. We found lots to do.
–plenty of shopping, both touristy and non.
–visited the Kauai Musuem. We are suckers for small museums.
–rode a Zodiac boat around one end of the island, then went snorkeling around the coral
–drove up to the top of Mt. Waimeai (sp?), the wettest spot on earth. Saw a beautiful double rainbow there
–hung out on the beach
–went to a luau at the hotel. Corny, but fun
–saw a minor league baseball game, the Kauai Emeralds vs the Hilo Sharks. I think they only play in the winter. Tickets were $1!
–ate in some great restaurants. I recommend the Plantation.
–took a riverboat ride to the Fern Grotto
–saw the remains of where they filmed “Blue Hawaii.”
While I do not doubt hapaXL’s claims, I wonder about his conclusion. If people stopped going to Hawaii, would this IMPROVE its economy? If the tourist industry were to drop off, would other industries immediately rise to take its place?
There was definite mistreatment of the native Hawaiians – but the same is true of native Americans. Should we stop visiting Arizona in protest?
Good timing - I leave on Thanksgiving day for ten days in Hawaii. I’m spending 5 days on Kauai, and 5 days on the big island.
I was on Kauai once before, and it’s amazing. It’s too bad that Hawaii has the tourist-y overtones (luaus, tiki torches, leis, etc.) because I know a lot of people think it’s very kitchy. In reality, I find it one of the most beautiful places on earth. Incredible flowers, plants, and animals. The ocean is gorgeous, as is the valleys and mountains. Truly a paradise.
What to do? Where do I start? For me, a nice hotel is a destination in itself. I love being pampered, spending whole days sitting by the pool with a good book and a Mai Tai. Beautiful surroundings and lots of activities are part of a good resort location, and I take advantage of it.
For the foodies in the crowd, Hawaiian food is delicious. Fresh fish, fruit, coconut, the whole “Pacific Rim” style of cooking is incredible and amazingly enough, not too bad for you. I’ve also heard that Hawaiian beef is some of the best in the world, and plan to check it out next week.
Activities: Like I said, the place is beautiful. If you like to hike, bicycle, or even just tour around in a car, you can’t go wrong. It’s pretty amazing to be driving down a road, and realize that the sparkle you saw out of the corner of your eye is a 100’ waterfall on the side of the road.
I’ve also heard that the Helicopter rides are incredible. I plan on taking one on each island. The one on the Big Island takes you over Volcano National Park, where I hope to see lava flows.
Also on the big island is one of the largest astronomical sites in the world. 9 or 10 countries maintain telescopes on the top of Mauna Kea. We’re planning on going on a tour where the operator brings along a small telescope, and we’ll do some stargazing. Unfortunately, they don’t let us commoners look through the really big scopes, but a small scope in very dark skies at 11000 feet or so oughta be very good!
Ocean: like the original post mentioned, lots to do there. We plan on snorkelling and maybe SCUBA diving (I’m certified, but Mr. Athena isn’t, so we’re stuck with “resort” dives), as well as deep sea fishing. I’m gonna catch one o’ those 500 pound Marlins - at least that’s the plan. Lots of sightseeing boat rides, too.
Expenses: Your main expense will be the flight over and the hotel. I think we paid about $800/person for direct Denver-Kauai, Kauai-Big Island, Big Island back to Denver flights.
Hotel prices completely depend on what you want to spend. There’s hotels from $50/night up to $1500/night.
Food: There’s a lot of press saying how expensive it is to eat in Hawaii, but I found the restaurant prices to be comparible with Denver/Boulder prices. At least, that’s how it was 5 years ago. So it’s not ridiculous, and once again, it depends on what you want to eat. There are many very good food stands around the islands, and if you decide to rent a condo (very reasonable prices available) you can do some of your own cooking. I remember seeing incredibly fresh, sushi grade Tuna going for something like $2.99/lb at the local grocery stores, so if you like to cook, you should be able to eat very good at a very low price.
If you visit Oahu, there are a couple stores you must visit. One, in Honolulu is called Leonard’s Malasadas. It serves, not surprisingly, malasadas, which are a Portuguese donut-like pastry. Heavenly. The proper way to eat them is to buy a bag of a dozen and a quart of milk, then go sit in your car and get cinnamon sugar all over the place.
Second, the best shave ice in Hawaii is at Matsumoto’s in Haleiwa on the north coast. Like powder snow, only with ice cream at the bottom.
For snorkeling, I highly recommend Hanauma Bay. Just get there first thing in the morning, or it’s way too crowded.
For beaches, avoid Waikiki like the plague. Crowded and gravelly. Yech. Go, instead, to Waimea or Waimanalo.
Try going deep into Chinatown and find a restaurant with only a handlettered sign. That’s the kind of place the locals go to, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised if you just throw caution to the wind and eat whatever they bring you.
There are some fantastic museums in Honolulu, including the Bishop, Pearl Harbor, and Hawaii Children’s.
Pali lookout is an impressive display of nature, as it’s a valley facing the windward side, forming a natural wind tunnel. The wind velocity there is unbelievable.
Enjoy your honeymoon! My wife and I leave for Kauai/Oahu on Tuesday! See you there, Athena! (As if you know me.)
If you go to Kauai, be sure to go see the West coast. Its called the Na Pali coast and it might just be the most spectacular coast line in the world. You can only get there by hiking in (if you’re planning on camping) or by boat or helicopter. There are no roads. There are cliffs that rise a mile (literally) out of the ocean. Its worth the time and money to see it.
On the north shore of Kauai, there’s a wonderful little restaurant set behind a fish market. Its called the Dolphin. Definitely worth a visit there.
If you go to the Big Island, go up to the Waipea Valley. Its about an hour north of Hilo on the coastal road. It is a place that time forgot. You’ll need a four wheel drive vehicle to go there. Oh, you can get down into the valley with just any ole rent-a-car, but you won’t get out without 4 wheel. Definitely off the beaten path. Spent a day there and two days at the volcano on the Big Island and you’ll have a great vacation.
As for accomodations (sp?) on the Big Island, be SURE to stay at Volcano House in the National Park for at least one night. Its not a quarter mile from the visitors center but as quiet as can be. So very few people even stop by the place. They have a lovely dining room with huge glass windows that has quite decednt food. whats really neat about it though is that you look out over Kilauea crater.
The hotel is built 100 yards from the crater! I had a very nice dinner there and looked out over the smiuldering crater. You can’t find that anywhere else in the world.
Athena, don’t get your hopes up on the astronomy. Naked-eye observing at 11,000 feet actually won’t be any better than at sea level. The actual image is much higher quality, but the lower oxygen levels have a very noticeable effect on your vision. If you can bring oxygen bottles, then you’ll notice the difference. As to the big scopes, it’s not that non-astronomers aren’t allowed to look through, it’s that you can’t (neither can the pros). There’s essentially zero astronomical research that you can do without instruments of some sort (typically a CCD or photomultiplier tube, sometines with a spectrometer) hooked up to the business end of the scope, and even if you did put an eyepiece in instead, the image point in large research scopes is often in a hopelessly inconvenient place for a person.
JSexton, thanks. I forgot the shave-ice. We always liked Aoki’s, down the street from Matsumoto’s, but I doubt they’re still there. Got a plate lunch place to recommend?
Also, Waimea and Waimanolo have major surf. If you just want to paddle, hit Kailua Beach Park. Leonard’s and the Bishop are also must-stops.
Hey uberDave, those cliffs you mentioned were the ones they showed at the beginning of Jurassic Park. And IIRC, Jurassic Park 3 wrapped up filming there recently.
RickJay: You’ve already gotten a lot of great advice on activities, especially from JSexton, don Jaime, Chegg, cmkeller, and Guy Propski. I can’t really add to anything they’ve said. I will second the aquarium and Bishop Museum suggestions, though. They’re tons of fun. I’ve got a lot of good childhood memories of those places.
In addition to the malasadas law JSexton mentioned, you are also required to have at least one plate lunch and one shave ice (preferably in rainbow flavor) while you’re here. 
As I’ve offered to others in previous Hawaii threads, I’d be happy to get some informational brochures and tourist publications for you. They’ll probably be most helpful to you in deciding where to go and what to see. Just say the word, and I’ll mail you every brochure I can find. Email link’s below.
JSexton When are you going to be on Kauai? We’ll be at the Hyatt from 12/23 to 12/28. If I see anyone who looks like you, I’ll wave!
Chronos We’re actually fairly active amateur astronomers. From what we gather, the lack of light pollution and the altitude will give us great views. We’re not talking naked eye - we’ll have the binocs, and will probably go on a tour that includes a fairly decent scope. I’ve never heard of the deal with the lower oxygen hampering vision - I live at 5K and we go to the mountains quite often (well, at least in the summer) to do viewing, and all I see is GREAT images. Maybe it’s more of an issue for those people who live at sea level?