What to do in Honolulu, Hawaii for the day??

The last time we where in Honolulu in ‎September ‎2013, we spent most of our day in the shops and catching up with friends, we are now going back there in Feb 2015 on the Queen Elizabeth.

This time I don't really want to go back to the shops, I would like to see more off Honolulu. (and we have all ready been to Pearl Harbour once before).

The last time we where in Honolulu, we got the "Maui Divers of Hawaii" shuttle bus (bad move! :() from the cruise terminal, so I was wondering if there are any other shuttle services from the cruise terminal??.

and I was wondering what not to miss in Honolulu and what would you recommend doing in Honolulu??

Is there any good snorkelling spots??

Any ideas / suggestions are welcome

Also Is there any private tour company's you would recommend, we could do a tour with?

Go have lunch at Duke's on Waikiki Beach.. Take you beach stuff and just hang out and people watch! You might go on line and see if they take reservations for lunch.

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Are you opposed to renting a car for the day? I'd drive around the island and have lunch at turtle bay. It's an extremely scenic drive up the east side.

For snorkeling, Hanauma Bay is amazing and for a bit of local flavor, I love Polynesian Cultural Center if you have the time. I concur with renting a car for transportation.

What time will you be in port? What time do you have to be back on the ship?

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I think there aren't any freebie shuttles that pick up from the terminals other than the one you went on or Hilo Hatties. I imagine there are plenty of tours you can book or you can look on one of those tourism sites (there are plenty for Honolulu) and find info about the trolleys -- can't remember the name, but there are three different circuits that go around Honolulu depending on your interests (sightseeing, shopping, etc.).

For getting outside the area, there's always renting a car, but you do need to plan for time returning the rental and getting back to the ship (the city traffic seems to be very hectic).

Have been looking at Hawaii Cruise Excursions who do a full island circle tour. 11 hours. Has anyone done this? Looks to take in most of the sites.

Take the bus to the zoo.......leisurely walk around the zoo and the park, see one heck of a large Banyon tree.

On the way back as a previous poster stated go to Dukes resturaunt. Get a table on the deck and get HULA pie..................MMMMMMMMMM

Enjoy

Sea Ya

If you're interested in the food culture of Hawaii, take a look at the Hole-in-the-Wall Tour. It's a 5+ hour exploration of foodie items that are unique to Hawaii, with a few cultural anecdotes thrown in. Spam anyone? :D:D

We did it when we were in Honolulu earlier this month and enjoyed every minute. Our tour leader was a former Executive Chef of Nobu and he really knew his stuff! Only negative is that at $119 pp it's seriously overpriced.

http://www.hawaiifoodtours.com/hole-in-the-wall-tour/

I had a wonderful "day in Honolulu" by renting a car and leaving Honolulu. I picked up the car a brief 15 minute walk from the pier where we were docked, and drove it around the windward side and up to the North Shore. There were beautiful stops along the way, and a nice late lunch in Haleiwa before a stroll around and a drive back to my ship.

While it is hard to offer suggestions without knowing the OP's interests, there have been some great ideas.

Folks interested in history and historic buildings can also consider a visit to I'olani Palace, which was the residence of the Hawaiian monarchy. Their website contains hours of operation and current prices.

The Queen Emma Summer Palace is also an interesting house museum and is an easy stop for those doing their own driving tour.

For snorkeling, Hanauma Bay is amazing and for a bit of local flavor, I love Polynesian Cultural Center if you have the time. I concur with renting a car for transportation.

Yikes, on the Hawaii snorkel scale, Hanauma is lackluster. Problem with a rental car, and being on a cruise ship, is the necessary early start, because their parking lot always fills up. I have seen it full by 9am. It is also closed on Tuesday.

The last time we where in Honolulu in ‎September ‎2013, we spent most of our day in the shops and catching up with friends, we are now going back there in Feb 2015 on the Queen Elizabeth.

 

This time I don't really want to go back to the shops, I would like to see more off Honolulu. (and we have all ready been to Pearl Harbour once before).

 

The last time we where in Honolulu, we got the "Maui Divers of Hawaii" shuttle bus (bad move! :() from the cruise terminal, so I was wondering if there are any other shuttle services from the cruise terminal??.

 

and I was wondering what not to miss in Honolulu and what would you recommend doing in Honolulu??

 

Is there any good snorkelling spots??

 

Any ideas / suggestions are welcome

 

Also Is there any private tour company's you would recommend, we could do a tour with?

A rental car does open up a full day of touring, but the bargain of Oahu is The Bus, which does go all around the island. You may want to take a look at a map, if interested in any of the stops.

A rental car does open up a full day of touring, but the bargain of Oahu is The Bus, which does go all around the island. You may want to take a look at a map, if interested in any of the stops.

I considered The Bus - it does a great route - but it does take a lot of time.

Google Robert's Tours in Hawaii. They've been there well over 40 years & have variety of tours.

A ride to Pali Lookout (the high point, where you can see to the North Shore), go to Diamond Head, go to Punchbowl (military cemetery), China town, the Iolani Palace -- lots to see in Honolulu.

We booked a private shuttle through VIP and they were great. There were 6 of us plus all of our luggage (we booked after our cruise since we got off ship at 8:30am and our flight wasnt until 11:15pm). They tooks us to all of the must see places on Oahu and took up a good 8 hours of our day. Much better than booking through the cruise line then having to go where the tour is scheduled and only having limited time at each place. If we wanted to spend an hour some place then we did and other places we were just there for a short period of time. Definitely recommend doing your own tour and if your a small enough group rent a car and GPS and google the best things to see before you go and set out on your own. Enjoy

I'm all for renting a car and doing your own "circle tour." I'd bypass Hanauma Bay - gets too crowded way early and has mediocre snorkeling. Too many thousands of people have ignored the warnings to not touch the coral and has damaged a lot of it. Head toward Kailua and Lanikai Beaches - verrrry nice beaches and decent snorkeling. If you want to go to PCC, feel free; I prefer not to give my money to the LDS Church to further their proselytizing efforts ;)

On Oahu... Polynesian Cultural Village (do you have time for the night show?) and Dole Plantation were my favourites.

If you have time... day trip to the Big Island for the volcanos to see lava (helicopter).

Be aware that the PCC is way up on Oahu. So if you want to go but your ship leaves at night, you might want to skip the show. A friend and I did a land trip (one of those 3 islands in 9 days) and for one of the nights, everyone had a choice of a fancy restaurant or the PCC. We were the only ones who took the second choice so we were placed on a bus with people from other tours. It seemed to take over an hour (maybe hour and a half) just to get there. We were staying the night in Honolulu, so not a big deal when we returned. And yes, the LDS movement did get mentioned in the show.

What time will you be in port? What time do you have to be back on the ship?

Cunard don't really give times that you will be in port, you get that when your on the ship! :rolleyes: :(

But I think from what research we have done we are in Honolulu from about 9 am till about 5 - 6 pm

Thank You Everyone for your replays and information :D