Hawaii Cheat Sheet - compiled from many contributors on the forum

You've all posted some great suggestions, and since I haven't seen the moderator post this as a sticky . . . I thought I'd put it up here again.

Oahu:

Climb Diamond Head

Snorkel Hanauma Bay

Surf lessons – perhaps with Hawaiian Fire

Polynesian Cultural Center (mixed opinions)

Watch the pros surf at Sunset Beach

Pearl Harbor Memorial Tour -Arizona Memorial, Bowfin; Missouri; Pacific Aviation Museum.

Call home in real time with a computer at the statue of Duke Kahanamoku on Waikiki Beach!

Circle tour including north shore of Oahu

Swim under the waterfall and gardens at Waimea Audubon Park

Dole Plantation - fun for kids and has great frozen pineapple whip

Walking around Waikiki and Chinatown

Bishop Museum

The North Shore

The scenery and snorkeling at Shark's Cove during non-winter seasons.

Kailua Beach Park for swimming, sunning, and also windsurfing.

Lanikai beach

The blow hole is fun to watch when the seas are up.

Ko'olina up the west coast is lovely and can be nice in winter when other areas are too rough.

Sea Life Park has been completely renovated and is a good place for families with kids.

Driving the east coast is beautiful with jagged cliffs and long waterfalls

Waikiki Beach

HHV has a fireworks display on Friday early evening, and there's plenty of nightlife.

Iolani Palace tour is well worth the time and money

Punchbowl Crater

International Marketplace in Waikiki

Eating:

Cheeseburgers at Cheeseburger in Paradise

Giovanni Shrimp Truck - between the PCC and Turtle Bay.

Dole Plantation - fun for kids and has great frozen pineapple whip

Shave Ice on North Shore at Matsamoto's or Aoki's!

Waikiki Beach - there are numerous places to eat and drink (Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai Bar, Duke's, and House Without a Key are three faves)

malasada -leonard's bakery on 933 Kapahulu ave

Jamba Juice

Kua'Aina (sandwiches and burgers are great)

Shopping:

Shop at ABC stores

Aloha Bowl Swap Meet

Aloha Tower Marketplace

Ala Moana Center

Dole Cannery

Hilo Hattie

Kahala Mall

Waikiki Beach

Kauai:

Helicopter over the Island with Blue Hawaiian

see the Blowhole

snorkel at Kaloa Beach

Ke'e Beach

Wailua Falls

The North Shore - the views and snorkeling (We loved Anini Beach - quiet, safe (offshore barrier reef) and decent snorkeling.)

The South Shore -Salt Pond Beach - quiet, mostly locals, watching the amazing wind surfers

(and we saw a Monk Seal there!);

Waimea Canyon - fantastic photo ops

East Coast - Lydegate Park - best beach for small children (and they get to see fish!)

Kilauea Lighthouse for sightseeing.

Eating:

on the way to North Shore - Duane's Ono Burger - the burgers are good and the internet is nearly free

on the way to the South Shore, malasadas at a Portuguese/Hawaiian Bakery

shave ice - Jo Jo and Halo Halo

Shopping:

nothing yet

Maui:

Snorkel Molokini

explore Lahaina

whale watch

golf at Kaanapali

Iao Valley and Iao Needle

Road to Hana

Haleakala National Park and journey to the summit of Haleakala

Big Beach

Pa'ia

Eating:

luau at Royal Lahaina Resort or Old Lahaina Luau

Maui Tacos

BJ's Chicago Pizzeria

Fred's Mexican Cafe

Jamba Juice

Shopping:

a clothing store with very classy, unique women's clothing in Lahaina called Serendipity

Kahului Swap Meet

Lahaina Cannery Mall

Lahaina Front Street

Queen Kaahumanu Center

Shops at Wailea

Whalers Village Mall

ABC Stores

Kona:

Snorkel at the Captain Cook Monument – currently the only approach is from the sea.

night dive with the Manta Rays

Drink coffee.

Place of Refuge (Puo'honaunau?)

Eating:

Island Lava Java. http://islandlavajavakona.com/

If you're hungry for a treat, too, the cinnamon rolls can't be beat!

When you exit the cruise ship dock, turn right and walk a couple of blocks. It's across the street.

We always love to go to Bad Ass Coffee. Its fun and their chocolate is great too. http://www.badasscoffee.com/legend.php

Shopping:

nothing yet

Hilo:

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park - helicopter tour over Volcano National Park gives you the opportunity to see lava oozing on the ground and in calderas.

Rainbow Falls

Akaka Falls

Peepee Falls

Boiling Pots

Banyan Drive

Eating:

nothing yet

Shopping:

ABC Stores

Big Island Candies - 585 Hinano Street, Hilo, Hawaii 96720 http://www.bigislandcandies.com/

Spam musubi. Spam on rice wrapped in seaweed. So common they even sell it in 7/11. I don't eat it myself.

Hawaii eats more spam per capita than any state in the union.

Hawaii also has the highest average life expectancy by far.

Maybe the preservatives in the spam are preserving the people too.

The biggest block party in waikiki each year is the "spam jam".

The most popular dim sum in hawaii has to be "manapua", hawaiian word for the chinese "char siu bao". It's a steamed white bun with pork inside, very tasty. They also have baked version. There are other popular ones like pork hash, half moon (stuffed gelatinized rice), moon cake (gelatinized rice). When I was a kid we bought them from manapua trucks, like kids elsewhere buy from ice cream trucks. We used to make bad jokes about what was really in the manapua.

Other popular treat is Chinese "crack seed", probably entirely revolting for someone not used to it. Classic one is "li hing mui", which is dried/marinated plum, very very salty and somewhat sweet, will make your mouth shrivel and pucker from the intensity. Better lick it instead of putting it into your mouth... Another popular one is lemon peel. I think the only one a tourist could handle would be mango seed, that's tasty and inoffensive, kind of gooey though. Maybe the candied ginger would be ok.

Popular treats are also dried squid (cuttlefish)... rice crackers, they have a bit of soy on them and some wrapped in a bit of seaweed. Probably all lost on the tourist.

Lau Lau is the most popular Hawaiian food I think... taro leaf (like spinach) and a bit of fish and pork. Tourists might like it. Everyone loves kalua pig (like pulled pork). Haupia is a coconut pudding. pipikaula is yummy pork jerky. Lome lome salmon is a kind of fishy salsa. Poi is revolting straight, but almost tolerable if you eat it in between bites of other food (that's how you're supposed to eat it). There is a classic hawaiian food place up 726 Kapahulu avenue, a street going up the diamond head side of Waikiki. Look for the tiny "ono hawaiian food" sign.

Typical quickie blue collar lunch is a "plate lunch". Greasy meat scooped rice and macaroni salad. Favorite is probably chicken katsu, deep fried chicken slices with a kind of bbq sauce (tonkatsu sauce). Other favorites are shoyu chicken (soy sauce chicken, kind of sweet), chicken/pork adobo (filipino pepper/vinegar marinade, I LOVE this one), kalbi (korean short rib).

A good place to try plate lunch made palatable for tourists is in Ward Center, not very far from the pier: Kakaako kitchen.

Korean "plate lunch" variant is increasingly popular, you get plenty vegetable side dishes where regular plate lunch doesn't give you much vegetables if any. My favorite sides are the seaweed, spicy cucumber, marinated potato, watercress. The typical korean food stand is korean BBQ, heavy meat offerings (kalbi, bulgogi, chicken), but there are also sit down "homestyle" korean restaurants (my fave) and ones where you cook your own (grilled garlic and kalbi, mm). My favorite korean dish is kimchee jigae, a kind of super spicy and intensiely flavored beef stew. Probably only 1% of people would not find it totally offensive, but I love vegemite too, what can I say. "Yummy" korean bbq is a chain that is all over, but the mom and pop shops are good too.

Common takeaway food is the japanese "bento". In Hawaii these often have some combination of spam, butterfish, beef and chicken. You can try a zippack at the everpresent chain "Zippy's", or maybe not -- Zippy's just isn't very good, think cafeteria food. I like it when I'm starving and impatient, but you probably won't be impressed. Classic sushi to eat in Hawaii is the futomaki, unusually big veggie sushi roll very tasty (no fish don't worry). Musubi (rice wrapped in sweet dough), Tekkamaki (tuna with wasabe) and kappamaki (cucumber) also popular. Sashimi (raw fish) is served at special occasions ($$$), hamachi version is one of my favorite foods. Japanese noodles very very popular(saimin/ramen). Japanese population in hawaii is 40% so Japanese food is big. A place in Aina Haina (between waikiki/hanauma bay) has an unusual offering called Chanko Nabe, a kind of seafood stew for sumo wrestlers, yum. Restaurant on 1742 S. King st. is a real hole in the wall, Sukiyaki is a specialty but everything is great and cheap, has a local mom and pop feeling.

A classic food item to get in Hawaii is portugese bean soup. Has delicious portugese sausage in it. Very popular at school carnivals. I once bet my high school friend he couldn't finish a large soup and then go on the amusement rides three times in a row. Guess who won! Nasty.

Discount Hawaii Car Rental: http://www.discounthawaiicarrental.com/cruiseshipreservation.htm

If you rent a car from Thrifty, they give you great Drive Guides that have a lot of very useful and relevant information, as well as some local coupons that are for places easy to find and simple to redeem.

Save your ABC store receipts, they were doing a "free gift" for every hundred dollars you spent. We got a couple of nice coffee mugs for "free"! But, the ABC stores are great places to pick up almost anything you can think of, and a hundred dollars just doesn't look like it used to!

This Week magazines are found on the major Islands in airports, hotels and along the streets of Waikiki. Here's their web site http://www.thisweek.com/ They have maps, coupons etc.

Another coupon book for the Islands is the Spotlight series

http://www.spotlighthawaii.com/

The drive guides given out at the car rental agencies are also available on line, price I think is $4 each, but at the rental agencies they are free. http://www.driveguidemagazines.com/

I'd also suggest if you want to learn about things to do in Hawaii, Hawaii Magazine has great info and articles on the Islands. Only published 6 times a year. http://www.hawaiimagazine.com/

There are not places to rent chairs on most beaches in Hawaii. Our first purchase is usually a beach mat! Any ABC store will have them. They are cheap and come in the roll-up or fold-up variety. Take your towel from the ship, get a mat, and voila! you're ready for any beach stop.

We've been visiting Hawaii, our favorite place, for many years. Best reference books I've seen are the Revealed series - one paperback for each island. There is a website that keeps information updated. They are wonderful detailed guides. Check this website: www.wizardpub.com

Another good travel research link is www.Tripadvisor.com

great list! The Ala Moana mall in Honolulu is the best mall I have ever gone to. THey have everything. Good restaurants also.

Thanks so much for this list. It looks better than all my scraps of paper I've been keeping!! We are coming to Hawaii in Sept. Can't wait!!!! :D

Wow! Great job compiling this together! Now we'll have it for our NEXT trip to Hawaii! Thanks!

Since I am now 3 weeks away from my PoAm cruise and week in Maui :D :D :D , I thought I would revive this thread to see if any recent cruisers or vacationers had any thoughts on this cheat sheet - any new restaurants or excursions that you would recommend?

Thanks in advance!

Great job! We did most of what you show on our fabulous Hawaiian vacation in June 2006. Couple of other suggestions:

Oahu: Don't miss seeing the Laie Arch which was carved in a single hour in 1946 by a tsunami. Worth the drive to see this (not too far from PCC).

Kauai: Airventures plane trip instead of helicopter. We really loved this and saved considerable $$$'s plus safer.

Maui: Rent a car and drive the Road to Hana and/or the west "forbidden" road to see that spectacular shoreline! We did both these drives!

Also the Royal Lahaina (aka Kaanapali Luau) which includes a fire knife finale. Sit right by the right stage if at all possible. Worth the extra $15. to get in an hour early and pick best seats.

Thx for compiling this wonderful list in 1. I have pieces of paper all over the place, and this makes things so much easier to view. We're heading out on our cruise in November, so this puts me ahead of schedule!:)

Thank you so much for the "cheat sheat". Printing it right now for our cruise this Sunday. Only 2 more days to go!

I had to quote your Spam musubi and Korean plate. My younger son's favorite food is spam musubi and since I'm Korean, I was worried of not able to eat Korean food for 8 days! In fact, my friend at work is taking to Korean restaurant today so that I can have my fill before my trip! LOL! The only time I ever went without Korean food for more than a week was 20 years ago when I was on Carribean cruise for my honeymoon!

Hope we can find one close to the port so that if I have craving, we can get them.

Again, thank you for the compiled list.

You've all posted some great suggestions, and since I haven't seen the moderator post this as a sticky . . . I thought I'd put it up here again.

 

Food Overview (thanks to Mikekaye from Honolulu)

 

 

Spam musubi. Korean "plate lunch" variant is increasingly popular, you get plenty vegetable side dishes where regular plate lunch doesn't give you much vegetables if any. My favorite sides are the seaweed, spicy cucumber, marinated potato, watercress. The typical korean food stand is korean BBQ, heavy meat offerings (kalbi, bulgogi, chicken), but there are also sit down "homestyle" korean restaurants (my fave) and ones where you cook your own (grilled garlic and kalbi, mm). My favorite korean dish is kimchee jigae, a kind of super spicy and intensiely flavored beef stew. Probably only 1% of people would not find it totally offensive, but I love vegemite too, what can I say. "Yummy" korean bbq is a chain that is all over, but the mom and pop shops are good too.

What a great list! Thanks for posting it. Even tho' we don't go on our cruise until Feb. '08, I will enjoy reading the list and finding fun things to do on the islands. To eveyone going soon -- have a great time!

Susan

We just returned from Pride of America last week and we did the Haleakala Ranch Zipline in Maui.

Believe me when I say I am not adventurous...however, 'I' did choose this excursion because I thought our family would enjoy it, and it did say it was a 'moderate activity'.

I would definitely recommend this. When we went to Alaska the first time we did white water rafting down the Mendenhall Glacier, and I thought at the time it was a 'once in a lifetime' experience. I did it again last year when we returned to Alaska. I would say the same thing now about the Zipline...once in a lifetime, BUT I LOVED it! I will definitely do it again if given the chance.

Since I am now 3 weeks away from my PoAm cruise and week in Maui :D :D :D , I thought I would revive this thread to see if any recent cruisers or vacationers had any thoughts on this cheat sheet - any new restaurants or excursions that you would recommend?

 

Thanks in advance!

We just booked last Fri. on America for an early Nov.trip. My head has been spinning ever since trying to read & gather info. I had already made a copy of your trip report because it was so in depth...the "Cheat Sheet" reads like GOLD! :D

I would like to add to the Kona list for the action/adventurer. Doesn't look like much activities listed and there are a ton of things to do right there at the tender pier. Parasailing by UFO (wish I had chosen this destination instead of Maui), and jetski rentals were my fav's.

I would like to add to the Kona list for the action/adventurer. Doesn't look like much activities listed and there are a ton of things to do right there at the tender pier. Parasailing by UFO (wish I had chosen this destination instead of Maui), and jetski rentals were my fav's.

Good activities to add. Just want to make sure everyone knows that there is no parasailing, jet ski rentals, etc. during whale season. If your trip is between mid December and early May, you'll need to scratch those off your list. The upside is that you can add in "whale watching tour" (with Pacific Whale Foundation on Maui is tops), so there's always a good trade-off.:D

beachchick

Thank you!:D

We are going on the Radiance of The Seas in October and this will be very helpful!

Oahu- Remeber that if you want to watch the pro surfers at Sunset that only happens in Winter- in the summer it is still like a lake along the entire North Shore!

Kailua Beach was awesome in Oahu as well- very local!

Kailua Ranch for movie set tour, atvs, horses, and other tours and family stuff

We just returned from Pride of America last week and we did the Haleakala Ranch Zipline in Maui.

 

Believe me when I say I am not adventurous...however, 'I' did choose this excursion because I thought our family would enjoy it, and it did say it was a 'moderate activity'.

 

I would definitely recommend this. When we went to Alaska the first time we did white water rafting down the Mendenhall Glacier, and I thought at the time it was a 'once in a lifetime' experience. I did it again last year when we returned to Alaska. I would say the same thing now about the Zipline...once in a lifetime, BUT I LOVED it! I will definitely do it again if given the chance.

Weloome back, we have booked this ship sailing the 27th of October. As we arrive two days prior to sailing wondering if we should rent a car or us the bus between Waikiki and Pearl Harbor and the other areas and also transportation from the airport to our Hotel "Sands Villa" in Waikiki, and then to the cruise terminal.

Any tips would help.

Good activities to add. Just want to make sure everyone knows that there is no parasailing, jet ski rentals, etc. during whale season. If your trip is between mid December and early May, you'll need to scratch those off your list. The upside is that you can add in "whale watching tour" (with Pacific Whale Foundation on Maui is tops), so there's always a good trade-off.:D

 

beachchick

Thanks Beachchick. Thats one I'll have to put in my memory banks for the next trip.

Weloome back, we have booked this ship sailing the 27th of October. As we arrive two days prior to sailing wondering if we should rent a car or us the bus between Waikiki and Pearl Harbor and the other areas and also transportation from the airport to our Hotel "Sands Villa" in Waikiki, and then to the cruise terminal.

Any tips would help.

We are arriving on 10/27 for 2 days pre cruise and sailing 10/29 on the POH We are renting a mini van for trans to hotel and to have to do what we want to do and trans to the pier.

I love this list, hope it helps others like it has helped me.

Mahalo

mew1

Thanks so much glorybegod!!:D I've been cutting and pasting things into a word document and you've just saved me from trying to sort it all out. I think you've done us all a huge favor!!;) Kudos to you for all your hard work!:cool: Have a great weekend!

I have found this so useful that I think it needs to be bumped up!

Thank you!:D

We are going on the Radiance of The Seas in October and this will be very helpful!

Reeran, When are you going in Oct, we are sailing on Oct 11th out of San Diego. Thank you for the information will pass this along to our Roll Coard board.

Pirates of the Pacific to Hawaii Oct 11th 2008 on the Radiance.

I note you have no eating suggestions for Hilo.

Cafe Pesto. Great, eclectic pizza and other stuff. (One of the best pizzas I've had anywhere.)

Kiawe Kitchen at Volcano. It's unusual, but very tasty.

(and we must never forget the Aloha Mixed Plate on Maui. Where does the Old Lahaina Luau get its food? Aloha Mixed Plate. And yes, the photo on their website is what it's like.)

This is great, we'll be spending 2 weeks in Hawaii (1 is a cruise). I'm so excited to find this list!