Any advice on trips on the POA - or Hawaii generally

[sazzle99]

Hello all - greetings from England!

I have been browsing around for a while now and have found all the posts really helpful. We are cruising on POA next July 31 as part of our honeymoon. I'm relieved to see that things are getting better and am confident we'll have a great time. We've only ever cruised with Sun cruises before (part of the Airtours group) - which is a small ship and not of the standard of some of the other cruises eg Princess, RCCL etc so I guess we won't be comparing it to that

Anyway - as part of our wedding gift list we are planning to have a bit where people can buy us an experience for our honeymoon and we were planning on putting some trips on. I know that they may change between now and next year but I guess not that much. Does anyone have any advice on must do trips?

We are thinking of Volcanoes National Park, the trip to the coffee and chocolate farms, snorkelling at Molokini (spelling?) - any other ideas?

I get the impression that the NCL trips may be pricey but neither of us really wants to worry about driving on the wrong side of the road! so would prefer organised trips or are there any independant companies that anyone can recommend? For instance we have an overnight at Kauai (Nawiliwili)and Mauai (Kahului)

Thanks for any help! (I posted this before but clearly didn't put the right title as no response- sob!):)

[spleen93]

Congrats on your upcoming honeymoon! There are MANY posts here that describe the best experiences on each island. I understand that there may be trepidation about driving given that the cars are on the wrong side of the road for you - many of the destinations described may be available by private tour or by bus excursions or by ship's tours.

Just to give you some ideas:
Kona and Kauai: [url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=62232&highlight=tour+maui"]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=62232&highlight=tour+maui[/url]
Maui: [url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=75160&highlight=tour+maui"]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=75160&highlight=tour+maui[/url]
Hilo (VNP): [url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=19295&highlight=tour+maui"]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=19295&highlight=tour+maui[/url]
Hilo: [url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=80984&highlight=tour+hilo"]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=80984&highlight=tour+hilo[/url]
Hilo (VNP redux): [url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=26815&highlight=tour+hilo"]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=26815&highlight=tour+hilo[/url]

Independent tour operators: [url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=68163&highlight=tour+maui"]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=68163&highlight=tour+maui[/url]
More private tour operators: [url="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=58230&highlight=tour+maui"]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=58230&highlight=tour+maui[/url]

Hope this helps.

Spleen

[Sthronds]

My favorite excursion was the 1/2 day kayaking on the Hule'ia (not sure of spelling) river in Kauai. I loved it! I had never kayaked before and I wasn't sure I would be able to do it but it was great!

A word of caution about the Molokini snorkel. As of last look, it was an afternoon snorkel and that is not the best time to snorkel at Molokini. We went out to the crater and they decided it was unsafe so we went to an alternate spot, spending way to much time on the boat and only about 45 minutes in the water. I was really disapointed. You might be better off trying to do the Molokini excursion on your own in the morning.

[spleen93]

Agreed that Molokini would definitely be better in the morning compared to the afternoon. Waves are much rougher in the afternoon.

Spleen

[daWoods]

I agree that Molokini is an iffy thing in the afternoon. We did it then and although we did get in the water ok, it was difficult to get out since the boat was moving up and down so much with the waves. Also it wasn't easy to snorkel in waves that high. There are other areas to snorkle. You might want to look up Trilogy tours. They have a tour that takes you across to Lanai.

You have to do the volcano, just to say you've been there. Do it out of Hilo. It may or may not be doing the red lava thing, but it's still worth seeing.

You have some extra time in Kauai, so make sure you see Waimea canyon, either from the ground or the air. There are also boat trips that take you up the coast you can't get to by car.

They are all beautiful islands. Considering where you live, you may never get back to them. Enjoy as much as you can while you can. We have been there 4 times, with number 5 coming up in 2005. Can't get enough of it.

[Kittycat]

Hi Sazzle 99 - we are also from England and have the same problems as you. We want to see as much as possible, but don't want the stress of driving abroad, so after a lot of research, we have managed to find enough for us to do and see on each island, either on pulic transport in Honolulu or using private tour companies on the other islands, although we are planning to du one trip with the ship, which is the volcano at Hilo. Keep searching these boards and you're sure to come up with the answers and have a wonderful time!!!

[luczai]

Thanks for asking this question. We are sailing on the same cruise. It's my first trip to Hawaii so I'm really looking forward to it. We had great luck with independent operators in the Caribbean and would love to save money but again, less stress is best.

Maybe we'll see you on board. Best wishes,

Denise, Doug, and Logan Shelton