Hawaii Cheat Sheet

I am not sure if I am asking too much. Someone on the Alaska forum posted a cheat sheet for Alaska and it looks great! It would surely help if we have something like that for our trip in April. Their format looks something like this:

For each port, just make a list of:

Must dos:(places to go, cost, time)

Restaurants: (include what to order and prices)

Shopping: (stores, what to buy, prices)

Transportation: (means, price, etc.)

etc.

I would love to see something like that!

I can even pay for this cheat sheet since I'm so crunched for time - have bought the revealed books but will need to find time to read them when they get here.

Cheat sheet posted for Alaska was great, we read thru it before our trip:D

We are just back (yikes, has it been a month already?) from our holiday Hawaiian cruise. I would love to try to create that Cheat Sheet! Of course, it would be from the purely biased view of the sunbunny in me. I am a mermaid at heart, so my advice will be heavily waterlogged. I also love to shop, eat, drink and laugh, so my version will probably have something that will make you smile.

I did post a review of PoAm on the member reveiw, but did not get into port opinions. I will try to get this done asap!

Thanks much Callandre for starting the ball rolling...I hope the frequent responders to the Hawaii threads ( i.e. beachchick, etc) put their two cents in. From lurking, I see that many in these threads live in Hawaii and/or go to Hawaii quite a bit.

There's far more to do at Hawaiian ports than Alaskan or Caribbean ones, that's why these overbroad questions tend to fall to the bottom unanswered by us locals. :)

You can write a guide to seward in half a page, but maui or oahu you've got to be kidding it's a book even written concisely. I guess you could do one for Kona and Hilo, but from there the scope is intimidating. I've lived on Oahu decades and haven't done half of it. It's funny and sad so many people fly in and out of Oahu the same day of their cruise and barely see anything. I thought of writing a concise tourist oriented circle oahu guide but there's so many options. Plus if I told you guys the less touristy awesome spots they'd get mobbed and my buddies would firebomb my house. I recommend the revealed guides. If you have a more specific question I'll give it my best shot.

I think most people would agree that the "best" anything is purely subjective. And I would offer this thought on Hawaii for novices: accept that unless you move there yourself and live there for decades...you WON'T be able to do much more than scratch the surface of all there is to do. I don't think I can offer a more useful suggestion than that.

Having said that, this is what I can suggest:

Oahu: Climb Diamond Head, snorkel Hanauma Bay, surf lessons with Hawaiian Fire, Cheeseburgers at Cheeseburger in Paradise; Polynesian Cultural Center, watch the pros at Sunset Beach, shop at ABC stores

Kauai: Helicopter over the Island with Blue Hawaiian, see the Blowhole, snorkel at Kaloa Beach

Maui: Snorkel Molokini, explore Lahaina, whale watch, golf at Kaanapali

Kona: Snorkel at the Captain Cook Monument, night dive with the Manta Rays, do anything that gets you in the water! Drink coffee.

Hilo: No contest here: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Hike as far out on the lava crust as you can to see the lava flow into the sea, or just stand in awe at the amazing steam plume that results.

All of these are just my own personal favorites, but I sure hope those "locals" will consider adding their own! I got lots of help planning our trip this way...

mahalo!!

I think most people would agree that the "best" anything is purely subjective. And I would offer this thought on Hawaii for novices: accept that unless you move there yourself and live there for decades...you WON'T be able to do much more than scratch the surface of all there is to do. I don't think I can offer a more useful suggestion than that.

Having said that, this is what I can suggest:

Oahu: Climb Diamond Head, snorkel Hanauma Bay, surf lessons with Hawaiian Fire, Cheeseburgers at Cheeseburger in Paradise; Polynesian Cultural Center, watch the pros at Sunset Beach, shop at ABC stores

Kauai: Helicopter over the Island with Blue Hawaiian, see the Blowhole, snorkel at Kaloa Beach

Maui: Snorkel Molokini, explore Lahaina, whale watch, golf at Kaanapali

Kona: Snorkel at the Captain Cook Monument, night dive with the Manta Rays, do anything that gets you in the water! Drink coffee.

Hilo: No contest here: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Hike as far out on the lava crust as you can to see the lava flow into the sea, or just stand in awe at the amazing steam plume that results.

 

All of these are just my own personal favorites, but I sure hope those "locals" will consider adding their own! I got lots of help planning our trip this way...

mahalo!!

Good job, Callandre!

From a personal perspective I would add the following sites and activities:

Oahu: Pearl Harbor Memorial Tour; call home in real time to someone 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 Planatation; Shave Ice on North Shore at Matsamoto's or Aoki's!

Kauai: Waimea Canyon; Ke'e Beach, Wailua Falls

Maui: Iao Valley and Iao Needle; Road to Hana; journey to the summit of Haleakala; luau at Royal Lahaina Resort or Old Lahaina Luau

Hilo: (DON'T MISS VNP!); Rainbow Falls; Akaka Falls, Peepee Falls and the Boiling Pots; Banyan Drive

Kona: snorkeling at Captain Cook monument!

Might as well make my effort - strictly places/things we especially enjoyed on our "land" vacation ot Hawaii:

Maui - Driving up Haleakala and stopping at every lookout. You don't need to do this at Dawn or Sunset but (generally) mornings are better.

Food: We loved Maui Tacos (several outlets)

Kauai: 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!)

Food: on the way to or back from North Shore - Duane's Ono Burger - the burgers are good and the internet is nearly free (they request a small donation)

I wish I could remember the name but on our way to the South Shore, we stopped and picked up yummy malasadas at a Portuguese/Hawaiian Bakery

Big Island:

Near Kona - Kealakakua Bay (Captain Cook Monument) - great snorkeling! and Place of Refuge (Puo'honaunau (sp???) - for history buffs and there is snorkeling nearby

Near Hilo - Volcanos National Park - fascinating!

Shopping: I am not a shopper but I loved the ABC Stores - need flip flops or a beach mat, or a straw hat - get them there - cheap!

Thanks for the recommended must dos. I have a question on the snorkeling sites -- can we do this on our own, or does it require a boat and a tour operator? Thanks.

I recommend Punalu'u -black sand beach- on the Big Island. This is just

20-30 min past VNP and it is beautiful. Also, lots of green turtles.

Thanks for the recommended must dos. I have a question on the snorkeling sites -- can we do this on our own, or does it require a boat and a tour operator? Thanks.

IMHO the best snorkeing in Hawaii is near the Captain Cook Monument in Kona. It is virtually impossible (2 mile hike off-road uphill, I hear) to get near there on your own. Recommended: Captain Zodiak tour or Fairwinds to get there by water.

Thanks so much for all these tips. I'm cruising to Hawaii for the first time in May and I can't wait. Keep the tips coming.

Zeno: Can you please tell me what those malasadas are? I have never heard of them, but we saw roadside stands all over the place. Never did find out what I missed. :)

On snorkelling: we snorkeled on our own at Black Rock Beach, which is on Maui near Kaanapali, and at a few places on Kauai. There were several Green Sea Turtles at Black Rock, and lots of fish as well. Lydegate was good as well...I already forget which Island that's on! Do book a tour (we loved Captain Zodiac) for the Cook Monument in Kona, it is indeed one of THE best spots ever for snorkelling, it is truly like being in an aquarium! Captain Zodiac and Fair Winds both have websites. Molokini (off of Maui) also requires a boat tour, both sites are unreachable any other way. Fair Winds II did a great job for the Molokini trip, and with a professional photographer aboard we got the best underwater pix ever! Book any of these online through their own websites and you usually can get a decent discount, plus direct service and no middle-man fees. I called Capt. Zodiac however, and the day we were in aboard PoAm, I was told I had to book them through the ship because they were all contracted out to NCL for that whole day. It was the only ship-sponsored tour we did, and it was just perfect. I highly recommend them, but know it's a bit of an 'adventure' ride, no pregnant women or bad backs, recent surgeries or chickens! Actually, the raft was fun, our captain maneuvered the boat just enough to have us hooting with pleasure. We did some incredible sea-life viewing from that raft. We saw lots of humpback whales and spinner dolphins, white tip sharks and a few surface-skimming large fish, probably dogfish. Our captain let us stay as long as we wanted in the midst of the animals, and they appeared to be familiar with the rafts and even the whales approached and appeared to be showing off for us!

If you have a rental car, there are many opportunities to simply walk in off a beach and snorkel. Just be certain Neptune is in a good mood that day. Some beaches are just too rough, and the fish don't like that any more than you do. Protected areas yield the best choices. Green Sea Turtles like to stay sort of shallow and in sandy areas, they don't like shadows or deep, dark kelp forests. Octopi are shy but very easy to see if you are still for a while. The white tip sharks we encountered frequently were far less interested in us than we were in them! Hanauma Bay was our second favorite snorkel stop, (it's on Oahu), but get there by 8: 30am or you may find the park closed due to having reached capacity. They open at 6am. They do have a great website as well.

I was reading my Hawaii magazine yesterday and they had a article about foods to try and Malassadas were featured. This is what it says-

deep-fried, eggy, sugar-coated doughnuts without a hole , alway eaten hot on the spot. You can find them at fairs, festivals and bakeries that specialize in them. Contemporary versions feature fillings like haupia (coconut) chocolate, passon fruit or coffee creams.

Sounds delish!!

Bev

Thank you everyone! Please keep them coming this way! Please, please, please!

Oh, my goodness...now I have to add Malasadas to my list!!! We live in NH, and when I began planning our Hawaii cruise, I had this silly idea that maybe we'd never go back to Hawaii (too far to fly, too expensive, etc). We'd been on Oahu for about twenty minutes when I decided we HAD to go back. And from that moment on I carried a little notebook and made very specific notes when we passed something that we just could not do on this trip. I have about ten things already, complete with addresses and phone numbers, directions and brochures we picked up along the way. Don't stress about what you can't do on your trip, just make the most of what you CAN do, and live in the moment. Keep a "next time" list...we're already planning our return in four more year for our 10th anniversary. This time, it will be all the sweeter because we've got a better idea of what we're in for. Malasadas, here we come!!

I was reading my Hawaii magazine yesterday and they had a article about foods to try and Malassadas were featured. This is what it says-

 

deep-fried, eggy, sugar-coated doughnuts without a hole , alway eaten hot on the spot. You can find them at fairs, festivals and bakeries that specialize in them. Contemporary versions feature fillings like haupia (coconut) chocolate, passon fruit or coffee creams.

 

Sounds delish!!

 

Bev

Sounds good, will have to try them when we are there.

Thanks for all the wonderful info everyone:) :)

Wow, what a great thread. Thanks ROCruiser for starting this. I am copying and pasting the suggestions to a Word doc. for future references and to take with me when we go to Hawaii.

Sounds good, will have to try them when we are there.

 

Thanks for all the wonderful info everyone:) :)

Malasadas - yummy Portuguese holeless donut like things - so very good when fresh. The coconut ones are to die for. I am making myself hungry just thinking of them.

We're leaving for Honolulu in the AM (have been there 3 times before) and I'm drooling over being reminded of Malasadas....mmmmm, mmmm, good! You are all correct - we find new things that we missed on previous trips every time we go and this time we're with a friend who hasn't been there before. So...ready, especially after our surprise snow fall this AM which cancelled our flight and put the trip off one day! Don't forget just walking around Waikiki, Chinatown, the Bishop Museum, and taking a surfing lesson! And, at this time of the year, especially in Maui, whale watching. We did that in Alaska last summer and plan to say hello to 'our' whales and their new babies!! :)

IMHO the best snorkeing in Hawaii is near the Captain Cook Monument in Kona. It is virtually impossible (2 mile hike off-road uphill, I hear) to get near there on your own. Recommended: Captain Zodiak tour or Fairwinds to get there by water.

Many folks mention helicopter tours on Kauai, but a helicopter tour over Volcano National Park gives you the opporunity to see lava oozing on the ground and in calderas. One of the best excursions I've done. Expensive, but a chance of a lifetime.

Thank you! Thank you! Great information!

Zeno: Maui Taco is the name of a restaurant or an item?