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| *Travel Tips>>>Honolulu Travel Tips |
What things can I absolutely not miss while visiting Hawaii? |
Travel Info I will be in Honolulu from June 7-15 partially for a conference, but I will be taking my wife as well. I've never been to Hawaii and want to experience things unique to Hawaii. There are the obvious tourist activities (ie. swimming at the beach, snorkeling, shopping, etc.), but I'd like to spend time really taking in Hawaii--doing things that I can't do at any other beach location. Specifics would be helpful (I know I can visit the parks and volcanoes, but what islands should I visit? Which volcanoes are "must-see"? Any specific trips I should take?) Thanks in advance for all the recommendations. Travel Tips May I suggest this iternary? Perhaps your wife can enjoy more of the suggestion. In your spare time, do visit some of these famous areas. Also, please do take note of the closure of certain places. Day 1 - Mon ~ Waikiki Arrive this day, check into hotel and check out Waikiki beaches or areas (like the zoo, aquarimum, Kapiolani park) in the morning. Then, go to Ala Moana Shopping Center (just outskirt of Waikiki) for lunch. Opposite of Ala Moana Shopping Center is Ala Moana Beach Park. Magic Island, part of Ala Moana Beach Park, is an enclosed area, great & safer for younger kids. Be sure to take a great picture of Diamond Head view from the park. Keep the first day around your hotel as you might be tired to go farther. Check out Todai resturants for dinner. They have great seafood (mostly Japanese style) buffet. Day 2 - Tue Drive around the island. Visit North Shore, Dole Plantation (see the world largest maze), more beaches at Sunset Beach, Sandy beach, Bellow Beach, Ko O lina. Make this a drive day and visit as many places as you can. Find a beach you like and come back another day. Day 3 - Wed ~ Aloha Stadium/Pearl Harbor/Might Mo Battleship/Pearlridge Shopping Center Go to Aloha Stadium Swap Meat/Flea market in the morning (like 7a.m is the best time). This Swap Meat is only available on Wed, Sat & Sun morning. Large selections of Hawaii gifts to take home for family & friends. Be sure to negiotiate when buying large quality. A small fee required to enter the stadium (50 cent per head currently). Spent about 1-2 hours in this place. Then, process to Pearl Harbor/Arizona Memorial, which locate across from Aloha Stadium. Free admission to watch the World War II documentary (about 20 min) on Pearl Harbor attack and a free boat ride to the Memorial after documentary., a donation will be helpful to the center. Surroundings are plates of history. The documentary & boat ride is about 1 hours. However, on Wed/Sat/Sun, it is very crowded. You might have to wait a few hours before you can into the movie. If you have a ticket for a late show, go & visit Might Mo Battleship (next door to Arizona Memorial) or do it after Pearl Harbor. Fee required. A trolley will take you to the battle ship. Please join the guide tour as it is very informative. Went with a few friends and the history the guide told was very helpful. Spent about 3-4 hours on the ship. In the evening, proceed to Pearlridge Shopping Center. It is about 5 min drive from Pearl Harbor. Turn left at the traffic light at Pearl Harbor/Arizona Memorial exit. Right turn at Pali Momi road and into the Shopping Center. You can do great shopping there or just have dinner there before going back to hotels. Day 4 - Thu Take a hike to Diamond Head. Great city view. But fee required to go in. At the end of the paved path, there are a lots of stairs to climb. Spent about 1-2 hours. [If you want free hike and great view, proceed to the East for Makapuu. Also paved hike path, but mostly ocean view, not city view. Another free city view will be at Punchbowl National Cemetery (see Friday).] For lunch, stop at Koko Marina. There is a Zippy Resturant which is a local delight. After Diamond Head, go to Hamauma Bay. Closed on Tuesday. Great safe snorkeling place. Fee required. Spent whole afternoon. Head back to Waikiki for dinner. There is a place called Palama Market, outskirt of Waikiki, is famous for great Korean food. Prices are very reasonable. Day 5 - Fri Visit Punchbowl National Cemetery in the morning. Varies wars history can be read on the wall displays. Also, take a short walk to open area. Great city view. Free entrance. Please be respectful to the dead bury there. Spent less than 1 hours. Drive about 10 min down to Iolani Palace. This is the only Hawaiian Palace here. Take pictures outside the palace only. Join the Grand Tour for interesting Hawaiian history. You can watch a film too. Fee required for touring inside the palace. Spent about 1 - 1 陆 hour if joining tour. Across from the palace is the famous King Kamehameha Status. Next to the left of the palace is the Downtown Business District. Walk down Hotel Street (this street only allow Bus to drive thru, no cars allow) towards Chinatown. Chinatown only 2-3 blocks away. Visit Little Village resturant for delicious Chinese food. Or go to Chinese Culture Plaza for good dim sum. If you like art, visit Honolulu Art Museum which is outskirt of Downtown, towards Waikiki. Fee required. Head down to Kakaoko Park for a great sun set view. This was once a dump site. But now a nice park area. Find a L&L Plate Lunch for dinner. Local favorite eat out. There is one in Wal-Mart (near Ala Moana Shopping Center). Then, head to Tantatus Mountain for a great city night view. Driving required to get up there. Free. Day 6 - Sat If you find a beach worth second visit (from Day 2), spend another day at this beach. If not, visit Waikele Shopping Outlet for some last minutes gifts. There are also places like Pali Lookout (great view also has hiking trail), Bishop muesum, Hawaiian Water Park (theme park for family), Kualoa Ranch Horseback riding, etc. Just a note, some locals do visit these places, so it might get crowded during weekends. Note, Swap Meat at Aloha Stadium available in the morning. Day 7 - Sun Fly home. If you have a longer stay at Hawaii, I would suggest that you visit other islands. My favorite recommendation is Big Island (also known as Volcano Island or the island of Hawaii). Big Island is worth at least one day trip to the Volcano. You can do a early morning flight & jump on the latest flight back to Oahu. Fly to Hilo if you want to visit Volcano Park. Otherwise, spend another 3 day there is great. Others Hawaii is one of the most beautiful places on the face of the earth! You will love it there! Get one of the guidebooks on Hawaii and decide what you want to see. Go island hopping if you have time. All of the islands are beautiful and unique, but I personally like Kauai and Lanai the best because they have the most open space. Maui has beautiful beaches and great snorkeling, though. Aloha! There is only one active volcano and that's on the Big Island ( which is named Hawaii). If you have the time and the money, I would suggest you head over there for at least the day and check it out. If you plan on only staying on Oahu, I would suggest you check out Polynesian Cultural Center as they do a wonderful job of explaning the diverse Polynesian cousins of ours. On your way there you can check out the windward side of Oahu (don't forget to check out the Pali Lookout as you'll not get a better viewpoint anywhere else) as you'll really get to see the beauty of Hawaii on that side. Don't forget to check out the North Shore too. The waves are not as big now as in the winter time but they're still plenty impressive. If you're into world history, you must take the trip to Pearl Harbor. Since the USS Missouri is there now, you can see the beginning and the end of WWII for the USA in one trip. You'll be able to see the USS Arizona memorial which symbolizes the beginning of the war for us and the USS Missouri on which the surrender was signed. There is also the USS Bowfin musuem (which I don't know much about but hear is good). That's all I can think of.....hope it helps. Happy travels! If you can combine the conference with an additional week vacation that would be best. I would recommend that you visit Oahu, Maui and Kauai. On Oahu, you can visit Punchbowl Crater, Diamond Head, Pearl Harbor and the Polynesian Cultural Center. Those were the places we visited while in Honolulu. We also went to Waikiki Beach a lot too. (Have to get a tan to show off to everyone when you return). There is also a lot of shopping there too. There is a market where you can do your shopping. In Maui, take a helicopter ride around the island. It is supposed to be really beautiful. A lot of people go to Kauai for their honeymoon. There are a lot of waterfalls and it is supposed to be a really beautiful island. Didn't get a chance to visit there but I hear it is an island that you need to go to. On the big island we toured a volcano. We also went to a macadamia nut factory. Check out the fantastic luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center. The show during dinner was absolutely fantastic. The dancing and costumes were really awesome. A must-see! Attend as many luau's as possible and tell the ladies they have a lovely bunch of coconuts. http://www.hawaii.com http://www.seehawaiilive.com |
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