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What to do in Oahu?


SanWood
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You can rent a car and drive up north or to places like the Polynesian Cultural Center. You can also book an excursion from places like Roberts to go to Pearl Harbor. They take care of the admission tickets (at least they did when we booked with them) and that saves a lot of time.

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Pearl Harbor! You should book a time in advance on the national parks website to ensure you get in.

 

You can always get in to PH. It is tickets for the Arizona that you need (should) to book ahead for. And even then, it is nearly hit or miss if you can get them as they go fast.

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Add my vote for renting a car. In June had to check out of my hotel at 11 or so and just cruised around the island. West past Diamond Head then up the eastern shore and west along the north coast a bit. Then cut back across the middle (stopped at Punchbowl cemetery) and headed to the airport. It was just me, so I didn't have to entertain any kids, and I pulled into a lot of the pull offs and grabbed some pretty good (in my opinion ;)) photos along the way.

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Polynesian Cultural Center is BIG and they don't open til like noon. With a 9:30 flight, I don't think it's worth it.

 

North Shore has the shrimp truck, but the famous Matsumoto Shave Ice isn't really worth it IMO.

 

Maybe on a regular day, but on a day after a cruise and with a flight at 9:30, I'd stay on the South side of the island. Pearl Harbor is an option, Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, or just pig out all over Waikiki.

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Valor in the Pacific National Monument (Pearl Harbor). It's all free except the bus ride to Ford Island to the Pacific Aviation museum and the USS Missouri. You do need to have a ticket to get to the USS Arizona memorial and it is free, but you should get reservations in advance as already mentioned it fills up quickly.

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Polynesian Cultural Center is BIG and they don't open til like noon. With a 9:30 flight, I don't think it's worth it.

It's not worth it at all, IMO.

 

If you go to Pearl Harbor, I'd recommend a tour (like Robert's) that comes with tickets.

If you rent a car, consider the Dole Plantation tour.

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Climb Diamond Head, the view friggen rocks, Pearl Harbor, i second the North Shore, we were there in August, so it was flat, but i met Jerry Lopez and Laird Hamilton, just sitting there talking about surfing.

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We took the NCL tour to Pearl Harbor. It includes entrance tickets and a scheduled time to see the Arizona. They take your luggage on the bus with you. At the end of the tour they drop you at the airport. A relaxing and interesting way to end your cruise.

 

 

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Our flight back home isn’t till 9:30 PM. Any ideas for something to do after disembarking Pride of America?

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Our flight wasn't until 6pm. We did the Honolulu tour through the ship, primarily because it saved trying to figure out how to deal with our luggage (it went with us on the tour bus). The tour was interesting, mostly because the driver made it interesting with his information and "tall tales." Otherwise, it was a fairly straightforward tour of Honolulu, the Punch Bowl, and the North Shore, then to the airport in plenty of time for our (now delayed ) flight.

 

Pearl Harbor is an option (and I believe it's offered through the ship) but remember that the national park closes at sundown. Still, you'd have plenty of time. Arizona Memorial tour tickets are limited each day, and the Navy will shut down the tours if the harbor gets at all choppy or windy.

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If this is your first time in Hawaii and on Oahu, either do a ship's tour to see as much as you can see and then get dropped at the airport.

If you are a bit more adventurous, then rent a car and see some of the beauty of Hawaii. Being a veteran, I would recommend Pearl Harbor ,as this should be a must viewing for all Americans some time in their lives.

When we cruised there, we did a 5 day pre cruise and saw all the things we wanted to see, but we also had a late flight, so we rented a car and drove around and ended up at the Dole Pineapple place. It may not be the most exciting place, but we found it interesting. To this day we learned how to pick out a ripe and sweet pineapple and how to cut it up to enjoy it the best. AND, that pineapple ice cream was just the thing to send us off, back home.

Cheers

Len

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First have your luggage sent to the Airport when you disembark. Here's the service we used when we sailed on the PoA last year.:

http://www.alohaairportdeliveryandstorage.com/Home_Page.php

 

You just call them when you disembark and they pick up your bags at the port. Then when you get to the airport you call them again and they deliver your bags to your terminal. Very inexpensive and worked like a charm!

 

If you've never been to the Polynesian Cultural Center it's quite nice (think of it like a polynesian educational theme park) but its a bit of a drive from Honolulu.

 

Pearl Harbor is also a very good option and much closer to Honolulu and close to the airport.

 

Since we'd already been to Oahu many times and seen the sites we took an Uber from the port and spent the day around Waikiki.

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Our flight back home isn’t till 9:30 PM. Any ideas for something to do after disembarking Pride of America?

 

 

 

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OMG, there are so many things to do in Oahu: a tour of the city is fun, and of course visiting the Arizona is a must. then snorkeling is a possibility but don't know if you would want to do that and have to deal with wet suits. We have alwasy found good hiking but not too challenging. And the P. Cultural center is interesting. these are just ideas for starters.

There are usually tours via NCL that should cover a lot of the popular spots mentioned here. Believe me, you will have no trouble finding something to keep you busy while waiting for your overnight flight.

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