I am going to be there for 8-9 days in August. What should I concentrate on trying to do there? All the islands seem to have different qualities, but I dont necessarily want to spend my time going from one to another (its supposed to be relaxing).

I'm not interested in the shopping and all that crap (meaning it wont be the highlight). I can get that back here or in DC. I am more interested in the stuff you cant do most other places.


[Edited on April 2, 2009 at 4:45 PM. Reason : edited for I]

4/2/2009 4:35:44 PM

say hi to Timmy Chang for me

[Edited on April 2, 2009 at 4:44 PM. Reason : a]

4/2/2009 4:38:40 PM

seven times



and I would go on a "Locations of Lost" tour

4/2/2009 4:42:11 PM

My insane ex-girlfriend is stationed there. Stay the hell away from her and you should have a good trip.

4/2/2009 4:42:38 PM

go to kauai and maui

4/2/2009 4:43:34 PM

Ive already been told by one person that I should focus on the main island since that is the most diverse. Not sure about that.

4/2/2009 4:46:22 PM

If you like history you should check out Pearl Harbor.

4/2/2009 4:56:19 PM

^^ main island meaning the big island?

the big island is pretty great -- when you say relaxing do you mean just laying on the beach? or are you interested in more active-type things (hiking, volcanoes, snorkeling, etc)?

avoid honolulu/waikiki -- in general, i'd plan on somewhere else besides oahu but that's not to say that parts of the island aren't cool (north shore, diamond head, etc)

[Edited on April 2, 2009 at 5:01 PM. Reason : ^]

4/2/2009 5:01:11 PM

The Big Island is striking - in a 30 minute drive you will go from Barren moon landscape, to desert, to farmland, to pine forest, to tropical pine forest, to flowery beach rainforest.

Really depends on what you'd want to do, and there is overlap between each island, but I'd say the specialty of each is:

Upscale, Balance of Beauty and Touristy: Maui
Ancient Beauty: Kauai
Touristy, City Feel: Oahu
Diversity, Isolation, Outdoor Adventure: Big Island
Anti-Touristy: Molokai
A resort away from it all: Lanai

4/2/2009 6:40:28 PM

Kauai was my favorite island of the 3 i've been to. there's a cool cave there nicknamed "the blue room" that you swim into and under a wall. when you come out on the other side there's a domed ceiling and it's super blue from the water/light. it's pretty neat. i also went to a waterfall with a rope swing called "kipu" i think (pronounced kee-poo). you had to park at a dead end street and walk through a field and some woods to get there if i remember correctly, but you could swim and jump of the falls and everything. i didn't get to see it when i was there, but the Waimea Canyon i've heard is absolutely breathtaking.

the big island, Hawaii, was cool. like was said above, the landscape changes so fast and drastically you can't help but be amazed. we went to the volcanoes national park. while we were there, it was spewing lava into the sea, so seeing that was pretty spectacular. the park was pretty touristy, but i found it to be super awesome as well. Kona is an awesome city too, and they have the Kona brewpub which is a place i would certainly visit now. Hilo was also a cool town to explore. i did go snorkeling at the city of refuge, and swam with a school of dolphins. (not in a pool, them wild kinds)

Oahu, of course, has tons of stuff to do. i would suggest hiking up Daimond Head and going to Makapu'u and Sandy Beach if you are into bodysurfing/bodyboarding at all. both are located on the SE shore and are on the main bus line within a few miles of each other. snorkeling at Hanauma Bay Park was good, but there are tons of people there, and you have to pay to get in because it's nature preserve. snorkeling at shark's cove on the north shore might be better. check out Haleiwa if you get the chance, it's a neat little town. jumping off the rock at Waimea Bay is fun. i could spend half a day there.

i'm sure i'll think of some more stuff later too. hope that helped.

4/2/2009 7:40:07 PM

try not to be white in too many places.

4/2/2009 8:23:41 PM

^ lol, I have an interview for a job there and that's what people keep telling me

4/2/2009 8:37:51 PM

I lived 18 years on the big island. If you want any adventure, that is the place to go. If you want beaches go to kauai (less touristy than maui).

If you go see the lava, go at around 3 am. no one is there and you can see it pouring off the cliffs. you can even walk up to it and play with it (check my pictures for examples)

If you are in to hiking, backpack into Halape on the southeast side of the island. remote black sand beach with fresh water pools. You can literally stick your hands in and pull up lobsters to eat every night for dinner.

Don't wear tourist clothes, get a beat up rental if you can.

Kona is nice, but full of tourists. If you want nice beaches, ask a local where 'beach 69' is (seriously, the 69th telephone pole). Its being built up, but still a smaller town feel to it than kona. waipeo is nice, but locals dont like you there. if you want to hike (10 miles), go to waimanu instead, the next valley over (the ending scene of that dumb movie water world). Anyway, there are infinitely many things to do on the big island, and if you want something other than just beaches, that is the place to go

4/2/2009 8:46:37 PM

Quote :

"Don't wear tourist clothes, get a beat up rental if you can. "

What would be considered tourist clothes? Tacky Hawaiian shirts?

And I agree with the beat up rental. When I went to Saipan last year, we rented this $20/day junker and everyone assumed we were locals when we rolled up to their store

4/2/2009 8:55:03 PM

go to waikiki for prostitutes and drugs

4/2/2009 9:00:32 PM

GREEN SAND BEACH at the bottom tip of the big island. insanely awesome. its about a 2 mile walk in 40 mph wind gusts if you don't have a 4WD, but the walk is actually pretty sweet too.



[Edited on April 2, 2009 at 9:25 PM. Reason : .]

4/2/2009 9:24:01 PM

i saw a black sand beach, but didn't know they had a green sand beach!

4/2/2009 9:25:29 PM

there's several black sand beaches from the volcano, but this one is turned green from a mineral deposit on the adjacent cliff. we smuggled some back onto our cruise

something else interesting you'll find on the walk there is a rock beach that is filled with trash. sounds weird, but due to particular ocean currents, trash from all over the world finds it way to that one particular quarter-mile spot. we found stuff from china and australia

[Edited on April 2, 2009 at 10:03 PM. Reason : .]

4/2/2009 9:59:22 PM

There's a beach like that on Okinawa too. It was kind of sad the amount/types of trash you could see

4/2/2009 10:17:29 PM

I'd say go ot Maui for a few days. The sky is beautiful and the scenery abundant. Sadly this gets old after a while and I would then go to ohahu honolulu/wakiki to do the shopping and night life scene.

4/2/2009 10:59:33 PM

my wife and i went to kauai for our honeymoon and loved it

4/2/2009 11:24:21 PM

^^^^^^^xSomething.
Tourist clothes are, yes, hawaiian t shirt, sneakers and socks, cargo shorts (if you are going to wear shorts, wear surf shorts), etc..

Also the green sad beach is pretty sweet, but you do need a 4wd car. And you can't really go in the ocean there. You can, however, go fishing.

4/3/2009 12:07:56 AM

Also, the trash is cool. About ten years ago a friend and I found a note in a bottle from some guy in japan 30 years ago, we called him up and got in the newspaper there

4/3/2009 12:10:10 AM

lol was it in Japanese or English?

4/3/2009 12:12:41 AM

Both, but the english translation was terrible. It was for a school project he did in middle school.

4/3/2009 12:14:24 AM

oh herro arec bardwin

4/3/2009 12:48:39 AM

It'd been funny if it said something like "Attn:Americans. My country is is going attack on your naval base on 12/7/41. Please plan accordingly."

4/3/2009 12:55:44 AM

ahahaha

4/3/2009 1:11:30 AM

lol. but that's pretty neat you were able to get in touch with the writer a bunch of years later.

4/3/2009 1:16:45 AM

I've known 1985 for a few years (he's a highly educated math genius who's still too dimwitted to figure out the difference between the "username" and "year of birth" blanks when signing up for a forum), and his advice is to be taken.

Sadly, it also convinced me I can never go to Hawaii. I've worn Hawaiian shirts pretty much daily for the past eight years. I'm not about to change up my routine just to convince a bunch of colonials that I'm not a tourist.

By the way, man, are you still a hobo or have you finally settled on a permanent residence?

4/3/2009 1:42:05 AM

Quote :

"And you can't really go in the ocean there"

that's not true. there were plenty of people in there when i went.

4/3/2009 8:12:35 AM

Quote :

"say hi to Timmy Chang for me"

You know you're not very good if you get cut by a CFL team.

4/3/2009 8:58:23 AM

Lots of awesome advice. I am looking to do a little of everything, including some time at some really cool beaches, some hiking and exploration, and a little kiteboarding.

1985: I am considering staying for part of the vacation at the Four Seasons at Lana'i. Am I going to be totally bored there, or should there be things to explore? The personal reviews seem to indicate the dolphins are all over the place, and will be around you swimming out in the ocean (that doesnt exactly sound like great fun to me, but its interesting).

Where is the really big wave beaches where you can see the surfing?

4/3/2009 9:35:36 AM

maui has some massive waves, but the place we went had a lot of rocks and shells so be careful not to step on something

4/3/2009 9:41:55 AM

^^ in the winter, a good spot for big waves is the north shore of oahu. that's where famous breaks such as pipeline, waimea, and sunset beach are, among others.

4/3/2009 9:50:44 AM

Carzin: Yeah, what ^ said, the big waves are all on the north shore of Oahu, but they are only huge in the winter, you still might get some swells in August but don't plan on it. As for Lana'i, I've never actually been there. No one from hawaii is really from Lanai, the smaller islands like Molokai and lanai are driven by tourism, so your experience will be artificial. But if you want to be pampered on a beach, go there. There will be dolphins on every island, but I'm not sure about swimming with them, maybe if you go snorkeling out on the reefs. You can, however, swim with sea turtles (You can grab their shells and they will pull you along fairly quickly, but don't let anyone see you do that). Also, get a tan before you go, so that you don't get burned when you get there and ruin your vacation. Almost 75% of the tourists you see are bright red and in pain.

Grumpy: Yeah, I settled down for now, working as a Statistician in Oregon. Haven't hitched a ride in months, but I get the itch every so often. What's new with you?

4/3/2009 11:05:24 AM

On Oahu if you are going to snorkel go to shark's cove on the north shore. Fewer fish than Hanauma bay, but way fewer tourists. Might as well go to both, and bring your own snorkel set. Rentals are nasty.

4/3/2009 11:36:36 AM

Also, if you have food allergies BRING YOUR OWN stuff. The health food stores on Oahu are hard to find and expensive, and unlike the rest of the US you can not find gluten free soy sauce. I had to buy some liquid amino acid complex. Bring a bottle of Lachoy or what ever allergy free condiments you might want.

4/3/2009 11:41:12 AM

I spent a week on Maui last summer and loved it. We stayed at the Marriot in Wailea. Played a few rounds of golf, snorkled every day, went to the top of Mount Haleakala (where they have NASA observatories) to watch the sun rise above the clouds, sea kayaking, helicoptor tour of the island, and ate so much amazingly good sushi. Wanted to go horseback riding on the beach but didn't get around to it.

Now that I think about it, I never actually ever relaxed on a beach even though I spent so much time in the water. I didn't do anything super adventurous either b/c I had a torn ACL at the time

4/3/2009 2:10:13 PM

I never understood why renting snorkeling equipment costs so much when you can walk into a supermarket and buy the same stuff for $20.

4/3/2009 8:48:26 PM

bttt by request!

12/21/2009 4:27:36 PM

^^I'd rather rent something for $10 or so than pay $20 for it then have to worry about keeping up with it while I am on vacation and getting home with it. Its more of a convenience factor obviously.

[Edited on December 21, 2009 at 4:30 PM. Reason : ;]

12/21/2009 4:29:28 PM

Plz murder Shane Victorino for me. Thanks.

12/21/2009 4:33:21 PM

We had an awesome time there. Stayed in the Ritz Carlton at Kapalua and Four Season in Wailea. Spent 9 days, and I think we did and saw just about everything Maui has to offer.

12/21/2009 4:41:37 PM

look for a hatch. if you find one, use really old dynamite to blow it open and make sure to press the button.

12/21/2009 5:35:32 PM

Stay off the ice, brother.

12/21/2009 5:48:57 PM

im planning on traveling to Hawaii during Spring Break to visit my boyfriend, who will be interning @ a golf course on Maui

ive never booked a flight out of the continental US, only to Texas. I fail. But anyways. Any recommendations for flights? Cheapest I've found is via Alaskan Air. $595 round trip, have to stay overnight in Portland, which I don't mind if I'm saving $250+

my aunt travels a ton for her job and has a travel agent. would that route be cheaper? I would assume so.

I'm sure the bf will know lots about fun things to do there, but, anything in particular I should hit up?

[Edited on December 22, 2009 at 12:17 AM. Reason : he will be living/working in Kihei]

12/22/2009 12:15:06 AM

continental has some good flights direct from houston for anywhere from 450-600 depending on your travel days

and no, you dont need a travel agent to book a ticket to hawaii, you can find the lowest fare yourself. but if your aunt wants to help you out give it a shot, but i wouldnt pay any fees

[Edited on December 22, 2009 at 12:17 AM. Reason : skjfjkf]

12/22/2009 12:16:51 AM

im hoping to mooch some frequent flier miles. we'll see!

[Edited on December 22, 2009 at 12:18 AM. Reason : mooch]

12/22/2009 12:18:29 AM

you can try hawaiian airlines, but the price you got sounds pretty decent. either way, you're most likely going to have to fly out of portland or lax.

I booked a flight from portland to the big island in feb for about 450 on hawaiian airlines.

12/22/2009 12:21:03 AM