The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Hawaii Cruise -> Doin stuff
Shazkar Shadowstorm
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Family is going on a cruise in Hawaii
It's been booked 8-)
So we get in at night on Friday, like 10:30, stay in a hotel for that night in Honolulu, and the cruise leaves the next day in the afternoon
It is a 7 day cruise with NCL
This is the itenerary:
Sat - Honolulu - Depart 8:00 PM
Sun - Hilo Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 6:00 PM
Mon - Maui (Kahului) Arrive 8:00 AM
- Overnight
Tue - Depart 6:00 PM
Wed - Kona Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 6:00 PM
Thu - Kauai Arrive 8:00 AM
- Overnight
Fri - Depart 2:00 PM
Sat - Honolulu Arrive 7:00 AM -
Then 2 more nights in a place on Waikiki beach I believe, and we fly home after that
--
So that's the plan, and I've been tasked with figuring out all the shit we should do.
So, things I've heard I need to do are like, the Road to Hana, when I go to Maui, maybe go to volcano national park (either hike or helicopter, or i dunno)... stuff like that
Thing I personally need to do is go on at least one scuba dive since I got my open water certification last year
I wanted to do the night manta ray dive, but that's out of Kona and we're only there for a day
I was thinking it might be good to do the dive in our days after the cruise out of Honolulu, but I have no idea
So, I need ideas on what to do in each place! And maybe any restaurants to eat in Honolulu after the cruise and whatnot!
And also, suggestions about things like doing excursions via the cruise, or using a third party, or renting a car and doing it ourselves! (Like the Road to Hana, for example, should we rent a car and do that ourselves?)
Dive companies, tour companies etc.
Any help on figuring this out!
If you need more details let me know.
It's been booked 8-)
So we get in at night on Friday, like 10:30, stay in a hotel for that night in Honolulu, and the cruise leaves the next day in the afternoon
It is a 7 day cruise with NCL
This is the itenerary:
Sat - Honolulu - Depart 8:00 PM
Sun - Hilo Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 6:00 PM
Mon - Maui (Kahului) Arrive 8:00 AM
- Overnight
Tue - Depart 6:00 PM
Wed - Kona Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 6:00 PM
Thu - Kauai Arrive 8:00 AM
- Overnight
Fri - Depart 2:00 PM
Sat - Honolulu Arrive 7:00 AM -
Then 2 more nights in a place on Waikiki beach I believe, and we fly home after that
--
So that's the plan, and I've been tasked with figuring out all the shit we should do.
So, things I've heard I need to do are like, the Road to Hana, when I go to Maui, maybe go to volcano national park (either hike or helicopter, or i dunno)... stuff like that
Thing I personally need to do is go on at least one scuba dive since I got my open water certification last year
I wanted to do the night manta ray dive, but that's out of Kona and we're only there for a day
I was thinking it might be good to do the dive in our days after the cruise out of Honolulu, but I have no idea
So, I need ideas on what to do in each place! And maybe any restaurants to eat in Honolulu after the cruise and whatnot!
And also, suggestions about things like doing excursions via the cruise, or using a third party, or renting a car and doing it ourselves! (Like the Road to Hana, for example, should we rent a car and do that ourselves?)
Dive companies, tour companies etc.
Any help on figuring this out!
If you need more details let me know.
poo
Shazkar Shadowstorm on
0
This discussion has been closed.
Posts
One thing we did which was awesome in Maui was zip lining. The guys they have there are awesome to listen to and chat with and really made the experience. We liked it enough that we booked another one as soon as we got back to their shop.
http://www.zipline.com/locations/kaanapali is the one we did which is more + longer lines than the Crater one (same company).
Waikiki was a lot of fun just to wander around. There is a pile of shopping, lots of street performers at night, and since it wasn't the whale watching season (over the summer) a bunch of the boats that do that do booze cruises instead. $25 for all you can drink sunset cruise out on the water. You'll definitely want to check out Dukes for a place to eat too. they have a bar side and a restaurant side and both are awesome. If you have time (and want to learn some history), the pearl harbor tour is interesting. I'm from Canada so we didn't know too much about the actual day until we went. The memorial is something neat to see too. Also, just south of Waikiki is Hanauma bay for some snorkeling. You can take the city bus there, but while we were waiting for the bus we ended up seeing a guy running his own shuttle there and it actually was cheaper. Just pile in the van and pay him some cash and you're there.
Rent a convertible, and make sure to leave your stuff where you're staying or take it with you. Do not leave stuff in the car.
I liked the road to Hana, bitch to drive at night, and yeah the driver really has to pay attention to driving. Best thing would be to do it in a Jeep if you can all fit. There are a few places to stop and check out on the way, windsurfers outside of Paia, I recall a park that had paths and these cool trees with airroots but I cannot recall the name, and the 7 pools, and the black sand beach at waianapanapa, and a cool red sand beach in a cove behind Hana, and Hasagawa's General store. Hana was my favorite place in Maui; we spent a week there. Beaches are usually more pebbly than sandy. The sandier beaches (better for walking barefoot) were at Kaanapali, Kihei, and Makena.
You could horseback down into the crater at Haleakala, that was nice, though it takes early morning through early afternoon. On the way there I saw a bunch of people coasting down the mountain road on bikes, that looked like fun.
You can snorkel at Molokini (off Maui) and maybe see some turtles too, and there are probably some fantastic scuba sites. We elected to bring our fins and masks as we snorkelled a lot (wasn't certified for scuba yet).
2 days isn't a lot of time, google up what you want to do and pre-register and pre-pay for activities so you don't have to figure it out there. Budget a little slop time in between activities, it is an island after all. Since you're going to be on a boat most of the time, you may just want to hike around Maui, there are tons of little beaches that are not well documented and you just have to find. La Perouse Bay is fucking beautiful, very sharp and rocky though.
I wasn't all that into the Big Island, stayed at the resort and spa most of the time.
Or maybe snorkeling would be good...
Or hiking around ourselves...
Ayyy, so many things to do, so little time.
Molokini snorkeling is fun, its nice because they provide all the gear, take you to the spot, its a decent boat ride. Last time I did the molokini thing I saw a manta ray and was in heaven. However, its kind of expensive, and a long trip to get out there and back, and honestly there is better snorkeling you can do off the beaches in maui, and you can rent gear cheep.
First place: if you are driving around towards lahaina, stop at mile marker 14. There is a little clearing to park at on the beach side of the road. Just pull off there, slap on your fins and snorkels and head out. In 30ft off shore you'll be in walls of choral.
Second place: the ahi'i fish preserve. This is.... an interesting drive. From kahukui ead south towards kihei on mokulele highway. Turn left, onto piilani highway and stay on that. Keep going past kihei into wailea. You'll have to turn right, and you'll be in golf courses and resorts. Turn left at the light at the T and keep going. You'll drive past a ton of the fancy resorts... keep going. Eventually you'll get back into scrub land where its no longer golf courses. Keep going. You'll go past makena (big beach (very nice beach by the way)). Keep going. teh road will get skinny and a bit awkward. Eventually you'll happen upon a small walled off cove thats right next to the road, most likely with snorkelers in it. Keep going just past that ,and you'll see a parking lot, which is basically just a flat are of lava flow. It has some outhouses and a park service table. Park in here, walk down the trail and you'll come upon a nice secluded cove with excellent snorkeling. Its a bit hard to get in and out, cause its a VERY rocky beach, but you can get in and out on the left side pretty easily. Its really not as far as I've made it sound, but once you get past makena, its farther than you'd think you'd need to go.
Food: go to pita paradise in kihei, and get the fresh fish pita. In paia, the paia fish market is good. Saigon cafe in wailuku is good, but hard to find. Its kind of down an ally, and it just has a neon "open" sign out front.
I've heard the zip line was fun. Dont do the bike down the volcano... its pretty cheesy and dangerous. Taking a drive up haleakala however, is pretty cool, especially on a clear day (bring a sweater and pants, 10,000ft is a bit cold).It will take ~2 hours each way tho. Iao vally is kinda pretty, and its a quick thing you can do. Hana is neat, but its a long drive and is best if you can spend a night out there. The black sand beach is a nice picnic spot.
A quick note: if you drive up haleakala, or to hana, if cars come up behind you , pull over and let them pass. Locals drive much faster than you do. Remember that people live and work here, and dont want to be stuck behind tourists.
Molokini tour leaves at early morning, and they serve lunch, so back by sometime in the afternoon. Tho I should mention, if you go durning whale season, I'd do this tour, because you get some good whale watching on the ride to and from the molokini.
To fill in some of the afternoons, you can watch surfers/windsurfers at hookipa. Rent a board and try it out (kihei at kalama park (the one with the whale statue)). Hang out and swim at big beach. Iao is short.
If you do hana it takes pretty much a whole day. There are some nice scenic spots to stop and a few hikes (and at the 7 pools if you get to the end, nice hike thru a bamboo forest)
So I'd probably shoot for renting snorkel gear right away, and doing that, grabbing lunch, and then having a leasurly afternoon. Then the next day doing a morning haleakala trip and then doing some of the other filler til the boat leaves. (filler doesnt mean its not fun or good stuff of course, just things that are shorter or dont have a definite timeline)
EVERY FUCKING GUIDEBOOK SAYS LOCALS USE IT. Just get the fuck out of the way and let them (and others) through. That was the most angering part of the drive I think, being stuck behind clueless people who don't pay attention and drive like they own the road.
And for reasonably priced eats there's Jaws (nice salsa bar) and Eskimo Candy (for the fish and chips) in Kihei. At least they were good when I went about 5 years ago.
kealakekua bay!
I went snorkling there and wild spinner dolphins were just playing in the bay, jumping and spinning like they own the place. Locals called the snorkeling spot 2-step (2 big lava steps down to get into the water).
Apparently the thing to do is to rent a kayak (glass bottomed?) kayak over towards the captain cook side of the bay and scuba dive by some awesome lava formation reef thingy. The day I was planning to rent a kayak there was terrible weather so I didn't get to do it myself but I heard its great.
And I may or may not have taken a tiny rental car to the top of Mauna Kea despite being told I'm not allowed to drive a rental up there.
It's otherworldly being up there, and so nice to leave the hilo rain behind as you drive above the clouds, but if you only have time for one or the other I forgive you if you go to volcano national park instead.
On Kauai you want to drive kokee road through to the end, stopping at all the lookout points. It goes up and along a huge canyon ridge for miles. Don't miss it.
If you have time there are some amazing hikes that start/end from that road.
yeah, i'm gonna really need to plan this all out ahead of time with my schedule to make sure i get in enough variety at all the places and do the things i really want to
i think when we're staying on the beach after the cruise i'm gonna try a surf lesson
Snorkeling and Scuba Diving were pretty cool. Unfortunately that's about as detailed as my memory is.
The Lahaina Courthouse on Maui has the Banyan tree. That was interesting.
Mostly decided what we're gonna be doing. Thanks for the suggestions, especially regarding what to do in Maui and Kealakeua Bay.
Anyone have experience with Robert's Hawaii as a tour company? They have ridiculously cheap prices. And I mean really cheap. Which of course makes me suspicious, but someone recommended them.
Example: http://gorabbitgo.com/activities_schedule_all.php?m=8&d=22&y=2009&ship_id=2&pattern=09M7&ship_name=Pride%20of%20America
So we were definitely going to do some things through them because it might be easier, but I'm not sure which exactly.
Volcano National Park question! What exactly is ESSENTIAL to do there in one day? Do you think that tour listed above (sparse in info) will hit the interesting things, or should we look for another company? Any recommendations? I don't think we want to rent a car that day and do it ourselves, though we probably could if you think it's better.
Also, any scuba company suggestions out of Honolulu?
And would Haleakala at sunset be comparable to sunrise or not so much, and anyone know any good groups/company's to go see the sunrise with?
Make Kona your slow day. I don't remember much close enough to do with your timeframe.
Also, try to get a zodiac boat tour of the Na Pali cost. I don't remember the company my family used but it was enjoyable. I am more for hiking, but some people love the zodiac boat ride. I don't understand your question about Waimea canyon.
My advice would be to rent a car the first day, drive up the east side of the island to the Na Pali coast and hike the kalalau trail. It is rough trail, but the beach is nice to play in the stream mixing with the ocean (don't go into the ocean, dangerous shore break here) and the water fall at the end is really great.
The next day drive up to the other side of the Na Pali Coast, do the zodiac boat tour in the morning, catch some local food for lunch, get some shaved ice, and take a leisurely trip back to the ship.
The road to Hana can be enjoyable, just research places to pull off to the side and take breaks. It will pretty much take all day though if you take it to the end and take it slow. Which is really the only way to do it.