Hawaii suggestions?

[urbpan]

Hey gang! A week from today I'll be in Hawaii with my dad! Any suggestions for activities or places to see? We are going for a very short time: 3 days on Oahu and 3 days on Kauai. I've bookmarked eco-cultural calendars for each island, and my dad's travel agent has probably set up some stuff for us, but I always get great suggestions from the Lj crowd.

Comments

[gemfyre.livejournal.com]

Volcanoes dude. Make me jealous.

I have this primal urge to see volcanoes in action. Curse living in one of the least seismically active areas of the planet!

[squid-ink.livejournal.com]

Hanauma Bay. All the snorkeling is great in Hawaii, but this area you really do get alot of bang for your buck. If you can go early in the day, that's a little better. And try and get to the north shore if you can, that's where the surfing is.. it's very pretty.

Waikiki Beach is crowded and sort of Coney Island-Brighton Beach-esque, only with tourists and in a tropical setting. The beach by the hotels is a tiny strip, if you go just a little outside where the hotels are there' s a public beach (Ala Moana) which is nice and not as congested.

The hotels are sort of overwhelming just in that one part of the island. and Honolulu is, after all, a big ol' city (which I like too, cities feel like home to me)

I was in Oahu for a conference two years ago.. I was only there for a week, but was on hte Big Island for three. I LOVED the Big Island.. everything is so spread out and the vegetation on the east side is so lush.

You'll have a great time, I haven't been to Kauai, but have heard its lovely.

[signsoflife.livejournal.com]

Get out to see the Nepali Coast. We kayaked it; that would have been okay except we were with an uberfit group, and so we never got the change to sort of hang out and enjoy the scenery. And really, only if you're both in pretty good upper body shape, and don't get seasick. But get out to see the Nepali Coast somehow; it's absurdly pretty -- you almost expect pink unicorns to start gamboling on the slopes.

[calypso72]

Will you be on the Big Island at all? Volcano National Park is a must-see.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Nope, no big island on this trip.

[broken-angel.livejournal.com]

It may be obvious, but definitely take the tour up to Diamond Head to see the crater.

[baniszew.livejournal.com]

(your icon is fantastic)

[meryddian.livejournal.com]

On Oahu, get out of Waikiki/Honolulu and get around the rest of the island. (Although Pearl Harbor is *definitely* worth a visit. But best to get there very first thing in the morning, otherwise the wait to go out to the Memorial is hours-long).

There's a Japanese temple located in the 'Valley of the Temples Memorial Park' on the NE side of the island in Ahuimanu. It's gorgeous, you'll feel like you've been transported to Japan, and it's also instantly recognizable - it's been shown in a wide variety of TV and films, including Lost.

Although the North shore pipeline isn't *quite* as impressive in the summer as it is in prime surfing season (Dec/Jan), it's still home to year-round massive rolls and surfers. Kawela Bay is gorgeous, and I love Waimea. Look for big white trucks on the side of the road advertising fresh shrimp. These are incredibly popular with the locals because they serve great food; the local specialty - if you don't mind stinking each other out - is a garlic-heavy really spicy shrimp dish, but there's less garlicky options as well. Awesome, generous portions, cheap.

I've heard the SW coast near Nanakuli and Maili is also quite pretty, but when I was in Hawaii, it was kind of a pain to get there (there wasn't a ring road all the way around the island).

Not much to see in the middle of Oahu except miles of pineapple plantations. The Dole visitors center has nummy pineapple ice cream/food products but is otherwise a massive pineapple tourist trap.

My deskmate at work recently went to Kauai and just raved about it. She loved the north shore and Hanalei Bay, and Makaweli. They did a lot of "adventure travel" stuff in Kauai (rapel/gliding, kayaking Napali Coast etc.) so I'll ask her more specifically about what they did. Interesting to note is there is also a Waimea on Kauai, and a canyon that's supposed to be quite striking (the Waimea Canyon) but I haven't been to the island myself.

[uneko.livejournal.com]

I'm very biased -- but Kailua/Lanikai beach is a lovely place. Nothing touristy really: just a pretty beach.

Hm. Polynesian Cultural Center's always fun. But expecnsive and tiem consuming. The Honolulu Zoo has alot of fond memories for me. Ditto Sea Life Park. There's also the Waikiki Aquarium.

My biggest suggestion would be to be sure to stop and smell the plumeria :D

What I mean is.. get a nice plate lunch someone in some little local place, enjoy the local food (I would kill for a plate of tonkatsu and some good local macaroni salad). Eat a spam musibi. etc. One of Hawaii's greatest strengths is not the pretty beaches or the lush forests and stuff... but the people. Dont' be afraid to 'talk story' with the locals. most people will be happy to chat with you. you can find such interesting stories about how the island's changed, or the people.. get some good recomendations for places to go for "ono kine grindz" (That is.. good food!) and maybe some pretty places to go see.

Oh.. and if you pass Matsumoto Shave Ice or Island Snow (sweet mother of... despite appearances they actually are a good place to go and gave a shave ice. they're not a sate/snow boarding shop. honest!) Stop and grab a shave ice. good stuff! :D Plus, you could probably do with the extra water :D

[li-kao.livejournal.com]

I definitely recommend anything involving the Na Pali coast. I can vouch for the 4 mile round trip hike along the Kalalau Trail (http://www.kalalautrail.com/info.htm) from Ke'e to Hanakapi'ai as being awesometastic. It's a lot of up and downs, and a bit muddy depending on the weather, but there are always guava hanging from the trees to keep you energized.

Also, the drive up the west side of the island along Waimea Canyon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waimea_Canyon) that ends at the west end of the Kalau trail is a great trip.

I have a few pictures of the places I mention here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/li_kao/sets/1328354/) taken on a trip in 2005.

Kauai is by far my favorite of the Hawaiian islands. Enjoy!

Kaua'i is my old hangout...

[anais2.livejournal.com]

From the airport, go east and then north on Kuhio Hwy, and there are the most non-touristy places. First road is Wailua, where the river goes into the ocean. You can get kayaks at Smith's and go upriver to Fern Grotto and some ancient ruins. It's worth it just to see all the wild chickens!

If you want to pick up things and picnic, there is a grocery store in Waipouli, just north of Coconut Marketplace, in a little strip mall on the left side of the road, before you come into Ka'paa.

You two would probably like the caves up by Haeana State Park- bring a light. The caves (lava tubes) go back in for quite a distance, and it's OK to explore. There are wet and dry caves.
On the way up, go left at 580 about a half-mile and park beside the road...the 2 tall falls there are pretty neat, and you can hike up. I think they are called Okepaa or something close to that. My Hawaiian spelling is not up to par.

At Princeville, near Hanalei, there is an old hotel with open porches, very reminiscent of old Hawaii...you can eat on the porches, looking out over the ocean. Watch for Sand People, a shop on the right as you near Princeville...it is a great place to learn to windsurf, and rent equipment for whatever activities you go for.

BTW, a lot of this area is a Tidal Wave zone, and marked as such. A lot of the structures are on stilts.

Oahu is mostly paved, and all tourists, but driving the North Shore from Halaewa to Waimea is where all the big surf is, but mostly in winter. The Pipeline, Sandy, Sunset, and Waimea are the best-known beaches for big surf. Lots of boogie-boarding, too. At Waimea, there is a state park where you can just wander to see native plants and wildlife in abundance.
And do stop at Byodo-In, the Buddhist retreat. The birds there will eat from your hands, they are so used to being fed by the monks. Its a beautiful place.

Re: Kaua'i is my old hangout...

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Thanks for all the great information!

[wandererrob.livejournal.com]

See above suggestions on Kauai. While you're doing the Canyon trip I highly suggest you get a shave ice at Jo Jo's. Best shave ice on the island!

"Secret" Beach on the north shore is cool to visit if you're willing to make the hike down the goat path to it. You can't really swim there, but it's a very cool spot nonetheless.

Polihale Beach, just to the north of Barking Sands on the west shore is very nice too. Just don't go near the signs and the rope south of you. The armed gentlemen in the truck nearby may take issue with your presense (US Navy Pacific Missile Range, which is where Barking Sands actually sits).

I don't know if you have a GPS and are into geocaching at all, but I found some excellent places via local geocaches.

You'd do well to pick yourselve up a copy of this book: http://www.wizardpub.com/kauai/kauai.html

They make them for each of the islands. They pointed us to a lot of great, less known places worth seeing. Well worth the money.

[wandererrob.livejournal.com]

BTW, glass beach starts off sketchy, but strangely interesting. But if you walk the trail along the rocks above the water you'll see a lot of cool lava formations and eventually end up in some coffee fields.

We were just there in August last year so it's all still pretty fresh in my mind. :)

Here are my pics if you're interested. http://rob.zenshit.com/photos/Trips/Hawai'i%202006/index.html

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

It's settled! Off to Wailua Falls after lunch.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

That book is great! I bought it, and we used it to find the place where we're staying. Now we're out to find lunch, and to try to plan the next couple of days. It looks like we'll definitely go up to the canyon, but probably not get to the Napali coast.

Thanks so much for the recommendations! I'm going to go look at your posts to mine it for more ideas.

[wandererrob.livejournal.com]

Even if you can't hike the trail along the Napali Coast, it's worth a ride to the end of the road on the north side of the island. There are a couple of cool roadside caves to see. One you can walk all the way into, probably a couple hundred feet.

I forgot the name, I'm sure it's in the book though, but there's a lighthouse and wildlife sanctuary on the north shore as well. Some great views from there.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

We've decided to go up to that lighthouse on Thursday (my dad likes lighthouses). Tomorrow we will see the Napali coast by Helicopter (!!)