Confused about tours

I am on Grand Princess out of SF April 13th. I would like to see a lot of Hawaii but don't want to spend all our time on tours. We visit Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Hilo. An advice on which island we might do ourselves? Or any other suggestions? We are from the Uk and don't want to rent a car. Thanks.

Without knowing what places you want to see and which activities you enjoy, it's difficult to recommend how to get around. You've mentioned wanting to see a lot of Hawaii, and that usually requires driving yourself or doing tours. Other than on Oahu, public bus service is limited and time consuming, and even on Oahu, I'm not sure that you'd want to rely on it if you only have one day there. Also, there are limited options for exploring near the ports on foot.

I would suggest trying to determine what you want to see/do (looking at the tours offered by the cruise line to see what looks of interest and what can be done in one day is a good way to get some ideas.) Once you've determined that, it will be easier for us to advise on how to accomplish it. Personally, I would 'bite the bullet' and opt for tours if it meant that you could see places that are of interest to you, rather than looking for easy access to places that aren't of much interest.

Good luck with your plans!

Google search engine

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All these can be your best friend for info. Part of the excitement of a vacation is searching and planning

There is a ton of information on the net.

We did three RTs to Hawaii and sometimes we did tours or excursions but many times we came up with places we wanted to see. My hubby's requirement was no renting of car (he would be doing the driving, which he didn't mind when we had honeymooned on Kauai). I did research on transportation and we figured out taxi or bus or even walking. But for those ports, we didn't go more than a few miles away.

There's a bus in Hilo, but our experience: dirty and the route was very bizarre. There's Hilo Hattie's and Walmart's shuttles, but because it was raining last year (cats and dogs), the lines to get on board were very long.

Kauai is the hard one unless you have a car to get around. I couldn't find a good public transportation option, but if you want to get into Lihue, there's plenty of stores that have shuttles (HHs, Walmart, etc.). The nice beach nearby is walkable, but there's a free Anchors Cove Shopping Center shuttle too. Last year, we took the Movies and Waterfalls tour that lasted all day and we all (including the 15-year-old) loved it. You see the top eastern edge of the island and go all the way to Hanalei.

There's a bus in Maui which we took one cruise up to the Cannery Mall (still in Lahaina), as my daughter wanted to see an attraction nearby. The bus was very crowded. You can stay on the bus to Ka'anapali Beach. We took a taxi there last year (a bit more money, but we didn't need to wait for bus and it was more comfortable) and walked along the beach and then went to Whalers Village, a nice shopping center, which was actually opened that day, which was Christmas Day.

Honolulu has a bus system, but you really need to study the website ahead of your cruise and write down which bus numbers go where you want to go. To catch the bus from the Aloha Tower area, you had to now where to walk to a few blocks away. There's tourism trolleys and there's taxis.

Apart from Honolulu, you are better off by renting a car. Traffic on the other islands isnot that bad.

Sounds like you've been to Hawaii a lot. Are you familiar with the "Three Port Best of Hawaii Explorer Package" offering tours in Maui (Heavenly Hana), Hilo (Volcanoes National Park and Rainbow Falls) and Kauai (Waimea Canyon and Wailua River) and their claim that it saves abt $75 off individual excursions? Do you think this a good route to take instead of booking excursions individually? Don't know if I should say the name of the excursion group but it's not through NCL or any of the cruise lines. Can you advise? Thanks

U have seen this and thought it was a good bargain. I wonder would it be possible to do Pearl Harbour on our own after a trip lasting a few hours, we don't leave until 11pm?

U have seen this and thought it was a good bargain. I wonder would it be possible to do Pearl Harbour on our own after a trip lasting a few hours, we don't leave until 11pm?

I think the last tour either starts at 1 or 2pm so you would not get to see the Arizona or Missour,.I would not be worth your time. If you have not been to Pearl Harbour You really should see it.

I am on Grand Princess out of SF April 13th. I would like to see a lot of Hawaii but don't want to spend all our time on tours. We visit Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Hilo. An advice on which island we might do ourselves? Or any other suggestions? We are from the Uk and don't want to rent a car. Thanks.

Click on http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=41498441&postcount=12 for additional information.

Enjoy your cruise,

Ron

I think Maui (if you tender at Lahaina) would be about the only port you could really do on your own. You could just wander Lahaina or maybe do a luau there depending on your port time. You wouldn't get to Haleakala or the Tropical Plantation in the interior.

Oahu, you could possibly do a hop on/hop off trolley that might pick-up close to the pier, but to really see anything of the Islands, a tour is about the only choice since you don't want rent a car. Doesn't have to be a ship's tour, Robert's Hawaii does a great job.

See what ship's tours are offered and if any are of interest. This website might also give you some ideas. It is set up for a magazine for each island.

http://thisweekhawaii.com/

Hawaii is wonderful, but I prefer to fly to Honolulu, then do land trip (with a rental car), but realize the difficulty of driving in the US when you are from the UK. We are from the US and even get lost in Honolulu :eek:

Have a great trip!