Aussie travelling to Hawaii

[wozza]

Hi All

Just booked a holiday to Hawaii (Honolulu) for 2 weeks in April next year for my wife and I to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary.

Having never been before, would anyone that's been have any tips and must see / do items? Also who are the better tour operators. I've looked on places like Trip Advisor but have my doubts sometimes about some of the reviews, so thought I would ask here to hopefully get some unbiased recommendations.

Some of the things we have looked at so far:
Sunset dinner cruise
Day trip around Oahu
Diamond head
Manoa Falls

Of course, being ex Australian Air Force, Pearl Harbour is an absolute must.

Thanks in advance
Warren

 

[JohnDB]

If you have the opportunity I'd recommend visiting Maui for a few days or more. Wife and I were there in April last year, for 10 days. Second time I've been there and really enjoyed it. If you get toured out, I'd suggest doing what we did: stayed at a B&B, hired a rent-a-dent and set our own programme. Drove to Hana (a lot of one-lane bridges, drivers patient and courteous), cruised around the villages and visited watering holes further up the mountain, we had a great time. Summit of Mount Haleakala well worth it. PM me if you want more details.

 

[CaveCreekRay]

Warren,

Oahu was our haunt for years. Lots of fun stuff to do. Be sure and get up early to hike Diamondhead State Park. Takes like 20 minutes to hike up the floor to the gunnery site at the top. Killer views. I think they open at 0530.

Also, do the long quad ride back on Kualoa Ranch (where they filmed Jurassic Park and a zillion other movies). Long ride starts at 3 pm and runs til 5pm or later. Its a blast. On the way up, just north of Kualoa is the shrimp trucks, if you like seafood.

The Bellows Air Station has a killer beach (east shore) for military and their guests if you have your ID. No gate guard on duty most days.

Have fun and post some pics!

 

[CaveCreekRay]

From the top of Diamondhead...

Quad riding in Kualoa...

The Bellows beach...

The south end of the island...

 

[D2Cat]

Looking off that ledge where the dog (and lady) is gives me the heebie jeebies! Pretty, but I don't want to be there.

 

[CaveCreekRay]

It's one of those optical illusions Len... I promise. I am a pilot and pilots are more scared of heights than the average person. This spot didn't bother me at all.

The lady was seated in a really nice rock seat. The dog had a little dirt below it. But we were an easy 80' off the water. I backed up to get the shot and cut all that "trivia" out of the shot.

There is a nice hiking path (3/4 mi as I remember) up to this location.

 

[Steve67]

If you have the time Maui is a beautiful island. Pot is now legal in Hawaii

 

[wozza]

Thanks for the tips, looks like I am on the right path with planning the trip (still got plenty of time which is good).

So we've booked into the Hilton Garden Inn and looking at the location the wife is going to be very happy and my wallet will be a little sad. I've been looking at the "trolleys" and seems like a great way to get around, I'm not keen on driving since you lot have the steering wheel on the wrong side.

I'm quite keen on a few of the places mentioned already, but don't want to just the typical tourist things. I've been looking for some of the little hidden gems to try and experience as much as possible. But the big thing is the photography. I used to have my own photography business and this trip has got me salivating (thanks CaveCreekRay for sharing) and the shrimp trucks have been added to the list.

The other thing that I need to get my head around is tipping. It's not part of Australian culture and we are know as being scrooges when we travel. It's not intentional and we don't mean to offend but it's just something we're not used to doing. I read that I need to stock up on $1 bills, will I get change?

 

[CaveCreekRay]

wozza,

The nice thing about Hawaii is, most tours include transportation. If you are retired AAF, I would contact the Hale Koa tour center to see if you qualify for their tour packages. Your hotel is about a mile walk from the Ft DeRussy park (Great museum and it's free) where the Hale Koa Military Hotel is located. They get military discounts for many of the tour packages and they pick up at your hotel or one nearby. If you do, cruise by there day one and look at the tours available. If not, the same tours are available from your hotel tour office.

For photography, we did several rain forest hikes that were pretty cool. There is a gorgeous arboretum on the eastern side of the island that is lush in tropical flowers and plants. Nothing beats people watching in Waikiki. There are great restaurants in the Royal Hawaiian Center mall food court if you want to take a break from the high dollar meals.

And, I cannot recommend highly enough, the Shorebird restaurant opening at 0530 or 0600 that is right on Waikiki with a view of Diamondhead. Get there 15 before they open for a great table! The morning breakfast buffet is KILLER. They used to give you discount coupons every time you bought breakfast so it's like $12 per person and the food is awesome. Hit them for a dinner as they have a huge barbi raging and you buy raw steaks and cooked sides and cook your own meat. It is also a great dinner meal but, like breakfast, get there early to get a table along the beach.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaur...estaurant_Beach_Bar-Honolulu_Oahu_Hawaii.html

 

[JohnDB]

Wozza said:
"I'm not keen on driving since you lot have the steering wheel on the wrong side.

"I'm quite keen on a few of the places mentioned already, but don't want to just the typical tourist things. I've been looking for some of the little hidden gems to try and experience as much as possible. But the big thing is the photography."

Well the steering wheel was on the wrong side for me too, the good thing about learning to drive on the left in Hawaii (or Maui, at least) is that there's not much traffic, it's not fast paced, lanes are well marked, and you could memorise the official road rules in 1/2 hour. It's easy to get used to and if your wife is PNF I'm sure she will remind you if you look like you're heading for oncoming traffic or she could drive. But the bonus is that you can pick exactly where you want to go and when to get those special shots .

"The other thing that I need to get my head around is tipping. It's not part of Australian culture and we are know as being scrooges when we travel. It's not intentional and we don't mean to offend but it's just something we're not used to doing."

Yeah tipping is foreign to me too, guidebooks usually mention typical amounts to tip, it got easier for us when we realised it's an important part of servers' remuneration.

If you're on Maui you could visit Rev. Bodhi's Death Store. Something a little different, depends on your approach to dying and death.

 

[CaveCreekRay]

My last trip to Oahu was seven years ago but a buddy who still travels there says rental car prices have gone INSANE. Plus most hotels have no spaces to park at, save a few that run $25 a day. Yes, driving yourself is the ultimate in freedom but, be ready to pay. Start looking at weekly rental pricing now. I think he said the last rental he had was a Honda that ran almost $400 for the week.

 

[Poohbear]

My last trip to Oahu was seven years ago but a buddy who still travels there says rental car prices have gone INSANE. Plus most hotels have no spaces to park at, save a few that run $25 a day. Yes, driving yourself is the ultimate in freedom but, be ready to pay. Start looking at weekly rental pricing now. I think he said the last rental he had was a Honda that ran almost $400 for the week.

It's Hawaii, English for " bring lots of cash " .we have done the NCL cruise around the islands twice and really enjoyed .
Tipping is for good service. We kind of use the double the sales tax method plus a little more if good service.