Anyone know Honolulu well? - getting around questions

[Phillip Toddy]

My wife and I live in Sydney (Oz) and are cruising on Norwegian Wind from 16 November.

We are not sure about how to get around Honolulu. We do not really have any idea how big it is either. Answers to the following would be of some assistance, perhaps.

How far is it from the airport to the hotels at Wakiki or in the city centre (if they are different? How far from there to the Arizona monument and to the Norewegian Wind's dock? How far from the dock to the airport?

What do taxis cost and are the easily hailed on the street? Are busses a better proposition?

Any suggestions for inexpensive hotels?

Regards to all

Phil (and Mrs) Toddy

[jjduck]

Our capital, Honolulu, is located on the island of Oahu, also the location of the sights you want to visit.

 

It's about five miles from the airport to Waikiki. (The city center is "downtown", not very far from the pier, but not a place that tourists would stay.) If you've searched the internet for Waikiki hotels, let us know the names and we'd be able to answer you better (if it's a good location, costwise, etc.)

 

From Waikiki to the Arizona Memorial is about eight miles and very easy by the public bus system. Here's a link:

http://www.thebus.org/

 

From Waikiki to the pier is maybe two-three miles.

 

There are set taxi locations at the airport and the pier. Sorrry, I don't know the prices, but i'm sure another CC-er will know.

 

Will you be staying for a few days or just looking for an overnight pre-cruise thing? Maybe give us a little more information.

 

Most of all, ENJOY the islands!

 

Aloha,

 

Noreen and Jon (who has most of the information! ;) )

[spleen93]

What's your budget for hotel? How much per night? What's important to you in a hotel? Facilities, closeness to beach, places to eat, closeness to Waikiki central, etc? Need more details to be able to help.

 

Noreen answered most of your other questions. :) Taxis are easy to find in Waikiki (just go to any nearby hotel) but not that easy to find elsewhere on the island besides big shopping malls. The bus system is excellent - if you have an aversion to driving yourself, I'd suggest that you take advantage of it.

 

Spleen

[bug_dan]

Unimportant, but the distance from the airport to Waikiki is probably closer to 10 miles with the pier being about midway, maybe slightly closer to Waikiki. Anyway here's a former thread about shuttles on Oahu which may be a cheaper alternative to a taxi.

Two years ago we paid $14 to go from the pier to the Alamo car rental office which is about 1 mile east of the airport-toward Waikiki. At a guess I'd think the price would be about $20 now.http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=44331&highlight=shuttles

Should add that the shuttle info might be about 2 years old, not sure just when Suebee wrote it.

[Middleager]

We were there just a few weeks ago.

 

Cost of van taxi from airport to Waikiki, with extra luggage charge and tip, was $40 for us.

 

Van taxi from pier to Alamo car rental (not right at airport but about 1 mile east of airport as was pointed out), was $20. I don't know if van taxis and sedan taxis run the same type of meters or not, but even if different, the charges won't be much different.

 

The pier is at Honolulu downtown, but that's not where most tourists stay. There is no beach to use right there. Waikiki (east of Honolulu) is where most tourists stay. Waikiki is not very big. You can have a leisurely stroll from one end to another quite easily.

[betslil]

My hubby and I are also on the November 16th sailing. Hello to all who are going... We are staying at the Radisson Prince Kuhio (okay hotel??)post cruise (saturday & Sunday nights) our plans are to to to the polynesian cultural center after we get off the ship and check into the hotel. Sunday, rent a car. I don't know what time we will be allowed off the ship, but I assume it would be early enough to be able to see if not all maybe most of the polynesian center. right?? oh, what kind of tickets do you recommend we purchase?? The Super ambassador package, the Ambassador, the Ambassador Luau or the Ali'i Luau?? Any and all suggestions, comments, ideas will be greatly appreciated. This is our first trip to hawaii and I want to make the most of it.

Any suggestions for the rest of the islands would be greatly appreciated too.

 

THANKS ! ! !

[Middleager]

My hubby and I are also on the November 16th sailing. Hello to all who are going... We are staying at the Radisson Prince Kuhio (okay hotel??)post cruise (saturday & Sunday nights) our plans are to to to the polynesian cultural center after we get off the ship and check into the hotel. Sunday, rent a car. I don't know what time we will be allowed off the ship, but I assume it would be early enough to be able to see if not all maybe most of the polynesian center. right?? oh, what kind of tickets do you recommend we purchase?? The Super ambassador package, the Ambassador, the Ambassador Luau or the Ali'i Luau?? Any and all suggestions, comments, ideas will be greatly appreciated. This is our first trip to hawaii and I want to make the most of it.

Any suggestions for the rest of the islands would be greatly appreciated too.

 

THANKS ! ! !

I just posted some details of our visit to the PCC. We got the $80 package with admission + night show + luau. If you have Entertainment coupon, can get $27 off the second ticket.

[jjduck]

Aloha! welcome to Hawaii.

 

The Radisson is a nice hotel about a block from the beach and maybe a couple of blocks from the zoo. Nice walkable area.

 

JMO, when you get off the ship, take a taxi to the hotel and check in so you can leave your luggage in a safe place. How are you getting to PCC? If on a tour, take the one that includes the luau. The show is fun and the food is good (even from a local's perspective. ;) ) I think you'll get back maybe 11pm, so you don't have to worry about driving while on the tour. I'm guessing you'll be off the ship late morning and if you get to PCC by noon or so, that would give you enough time to enjoy the place.

 

Don't miss the Arizona Memorial, easy to drive there, get directions from the hotel. If you like outdoor stuff, the climb up Diamond Head is very good too. Hanauma Bay preserve is another landmark. You can swim among the fish. Just go early because it gets crowded.

 

What do you have planned for the neighbor islands? Any questions, we'd be glad to help.

 

Noreen and Jon

[Phillip Toddy]

We are thinking of staying at the Waikiki Gateway Hotel as it is not too expensive, looks nice on its webiste, appears to be on the bus routes and is the one included in Qantas holiday brochures.

 

Any reason not to?

 

Aloha

 

Phil +

[jjduck]

Hello Phil + :)

 

Have no first hand experience at this hotel, but can tell you that it's in a great location (at the start of Waikiki). Yes, it looks decent and is on the bus line. Maybe others will know more info.

 

Enjoy your cruise and time in Hawaii.

 

Aloha,

Noreen.

 

p.s. Have you tried TripAdvisor for reviews?

[spleen93]

Phil,

 

I'm a big fan of TripAdvisor when it comes to hotel reviews.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60982-d87119-Reviews-Waikiki_Gateway-Honolulu_Oahu_Hawaii.html

 

Eliminate the best and worst reviews by users and you should have a pretty good idea on how the hotel ranks. Location is pretty good though you're not particularly close to the beach or anything.

 

Spleen

[brenda56]

Hello Everyone,

My husband and I are on the Summit cruise out of LA to Hawaii over Christmas. It's been mentioned that there are trolley tours of Christmas lights in Honolulu. I notice that there are people from Honolulu posting on this thread. Does anyone know if these tours exist and how I could get any info on them?

Several of us on the Summit Roll Call for this cruise are interested. We'd all appreciate any info or help.

Thanks

Brenda

[brenda56]

Hello Everyone,

Mu husband & I are on the Summit cruise out of LA to Hawaii over the holidays. It's been mentioned that there are trolley tours to view the Christmas lights in Honolulu. Several of us on the Roll Call for this cruise are interested. Does anyone know about these tours and how to get info on them. Any help would be really appreciated.

Thanks

Brenda

[spleen93]

Still too far out to have information on this since it's a year-to-year thing.

 

Last year's was:

T is for trolley ride

Spend quality time rather than dollars with those who matter in your life: Take a ride on the Honolulu City Lights Trolley Tour, which runs nightly from Ward Warehouse through Dec. 30 (except Dec. 24 and 25).

 

The tour, which passes through light-bedecked downtown Honolulu and around the elaborately decorated Honolulu Hale block, is a festive 30-minute event, complete with Christmas carols blaring from trolley speakers.

 

Tickets are just $3.50 apiece, and each purchase benefits the Hawaii Foodbank. Call 589-1788.

 

Don't call this number since this was information for last year's trolley tours. We'll have more information as it gets closer to holiday season. They usually start up with the Honolulu City Lights after Thanksgiving.

 

Spleen

[brenda56]

Still too far out to have information on this since it's a year-to-year thing.

 

Last year's was:

T is for trolley ride

Spend quality time rather than dollars with those who matter in your life: Take a ride on the Honolulu City Lights Trolley Tour, which runs nightly from Ward Warehouse through Dec. 30 (except Dec. 24 and 25).

 

The tour, which passes through light-bedecked downtown Honolulu and around the elaborately decorated Honolulu Hale block, is a festive 30-minute event, complete with Christmas carols blaring from trolley speakers.

 

Tickets are just $3.50 apiece, and each purchase benefits the Hawaii Foodbank. Call 589-1788.

 

Don't call this number since this was information for last year's trolley tours. We'll have more information as it gets closer to holiday season. They usually start up with the Honolulu City Lights after Thanksgiving.

 

Spleen

 

Thanks so much Spleen. I'll check back later.

By the way - sorry for the double post. I thought that I lost the first one and then when I posted the 2nd time they both appeared.

 

We are really looking forward to our visit to Hawaii in December. We were there in May of 2003 and found both the place and people to be amazing.

Brenda