this summer we want to do Hawaii for a week. what would you recommend? off top of my head would like to do... nice hotel or resorts nice swimming beaches with waves that beat you up, but not kill you some 6-12 mile mountain hikes (not technical enough for ropes) lava Pearl Harbor Marlin fishing maybe outfitter hunt (hogs or axis) half day tourist bus/boat tour Magnum PI tour or site visits?
I would suggest Turtle Bay. Its in the big island, 30 mins from the airport. Nice white sands and close to the city. Ive been in Hawaii numerous times, Maui, Kauia and Big Island. By far, Turtle bay is the best of all worlds.
If you are talking about the Turtle bay Resort, its on the North shore of Oahu. Is there another Turtle Bay on the big Island?
3 days in Honolulu to see the sights and the next 4 in Wailea on Maui. I've been to every island, Lanai and Molakai included, multiple times. If you want to get a real feel for Hawaii in just a week do that.
Looks like we can do Turtle Bay, Pearl Harbor, and Marlin Fishing all from Oahu. I bet we can find hikes too, where are the active lava flows right now?
Go to the Big Island and rent this house. http://www.konabeach.us Reading about your hunting fishing hiking climbing etc. over the years, you will love this way more then the tourist stuff. Do a day trip to O'ahu but don't stay there. Big island has every ecosystem on it within a days drive. Jungle desert forest snow beach etc. etc. and... the volcano.
Oh it's not roughing it. You can get maids cleaners cooks whatever. Grocery store just down the street, A couple restaurants too. But yeah if you need a resort pool and buffet... this is not that trip. In that case I'd recommend http://m.fourseasons.com/hualalai/
Rob, if Pearl is a must then you have to spend a day or two on Oahu--I like the north shore best because it is laid back, but to get the full experience you should consider Waikiki. If lava is a must then that means the Big Island. My tips: - rent a good 4WD vehicle--we always do, and love to explore on the roads the hog hunters use. - stay someplace you can cook--makes it nice for breakfast, making lunches for the road, and for a relaxed dinner (don't know if you and your bride drink, but avoids the drinking and driving thing). - the only good mountain biking I ever found was on Kaui'i, and it is now a subdivision.
Waikiki? As dense and infested with humanity as it is, the water is beautiful and there will be waves in the summer to try surfing or canoeing, etc. Some tourist stuff is fun like the sunset dinner cruises. You really have to like people and humanity to enjoy it fully though. The construct has been overly manipulated to way outside the realm of what most reasonable people would consider tropical paradise! The Aulani and possibly freshly renovated Four Seasons in the KoOlina area are nice and a step down on the intensity meter but at a cost. Great luau that you can walk to. A marina as well that may have fishing charters but a bit isolated to some. Further away and more isolated still is the Turtle bay resort on the North Shore. More of a compound experience but very nice golf, some tennis too and the place is pretty large. The ocean will be nice and calm in the summer but you will have to drive for different experiences. Possible trek to Dillingham airfield for a sailplane ride. Marina should have fishing charters too. Biggest variety will be accessible from Waikiki IMO. Olomana Trail, Pali Trail, Mauna Loa Valley/Ridge, Manoa Ridge Trails to Mount Olympus, Makiki Valley trail System, Coco Head hike is steep and short, etc There are hikes in the other spots too but I dont think they are as varied. This is found ONLY on the big island, called Hawaii Island. On the island of Oahu On the Big Island and out of "Kona" specifically is the area that is most known for this and I believe they have world class tournaments based there. It's very far from the lava though. Most people stay in Hilo to have easy access to the Volcano park. Lots of big hikes in that park. -On Oahu there should be a choice from any of the three hotel areas I mentioned. There should be Deer and Boar hunts available. The island of Lanai used to be known for Deer but now that Larry Ellison has the place I am not sure. There used to be a ferry you could take from Maui over to it. Big island "Hawaii" will have Goats too! No idea Not that I know of. I can direct you to the gate and you can "look in" at the dirt road, you will recognize it from the show but that is about it. I can offer to get you there in my 360 too if the timing works but that is a weather dependent deal also! There are a ton of threads in the Hawaii section about travel here. It's really going to depend on you and what you "expect"
Been 3 times and this is what we've done. Oahu is key for first timer because Pearl Harbor is a must. Oahu is nice but Honolulu is a city, so it's a 3 day stop at best. Maui is beautiful, you'll get a real flair for Hawaii there. Climate varies around the island, and there is plenty to do. Haleakala at sunrise is amazing. Snorkeling off Molokai is great. Wailea is our preferred area, but have stayed in Kapalua, which is a bit more remote and quiet. From Wailea, you have easy access to Kihei, a local town with some shops and good eats. Have fun!!
Rob, I will be on Maui, with a family group of 20 the 3rd week of June this summer. I did the VRBO route, and staying south of Lahina in Kihei. We have a compound of 4-3br 3bath units that should fit us well. I have done 2 previous weeklong trips to Hawaii, and we usually spend 3 days in Waikiki at the Royal Hawaiian or something near there. See all the historic sites there, and then catch a quick flight to Maui for 4 days. You can sometimes fly direct from DFW to Oahu and return from Maui, or vice-versa. You and your girls are going to love Hawaii !
You might not go back to the mainland. If I wasn't Canadian and y'all didn't kick us out six months less a day, I'd have moved years ago.
If it were me, I'd do the touristy stuff on Waikiki for a few days - sunset dinner @ Duke's, get one of the guys on Waikiki to show you how to surf, eat some ono grinds at Helena's, go to Diamond Head, zoo is nice, etc. Then I would spend the rest of the time chilling on the north shore - Opal Thai Food Truck in Haleiwa (best green papaya salad anywhere!) and some of the other food trucks...T
IMO do Oahu first. It has everything you could want. Rent a car but only on weekdays unless you want to spend a lot of time in traffic. If you have a car, you can almost always find a sunny place on the island if it is raining where you are. The best beach on the whole island is Bellows, on a week day it is basically deserted, just walk in from Waimanalo Beach. An easy hike is Diamond Head but there are more challenging ones if that is what you want. Hanauma bay is awesome for snorkeling just don't go on Tuesdays when it is closed. Pearl harbor is great, my oldest son is really into war history right now so this year we toured the USS Missouri and the USS Bowfin also. There is a lot of petty crime on Oahu so never leave any valuables unattended or they are gone. If your staying in Waikiki, only stay at a hotel right on the beach, it is a lot quieter. I always stay at the Outrigger Reef on the Beach. There are more expensive places to stay but not many nicer. For me it is kind of pointless to have an ultra expensive hotel room as we are never in it much. The Kana Ka Pila grill there is hard to beat. Hope this helps.
To add to that. - Polynesian Cultural Center - dinner cruise - helicopter tours - Sea Life Park - Submarine rides - Doris Duke estate Hotels w/ good beaches - Oahu - Halekulani (Waikiki) - Hilton Hawaiian Village (Waikiki) - Kahala Resort (Kahala) - Aulani (Ko Olina) - JW Marriot (Ko Olina) - Four Seasons (Ko Olina) Hiking - Oahu - Aiea Loop Trail - Makapuu Lighthouse - Diamond Head - Kuliouou Ridge Trail - Koko Crater Trail Hawaii Island attractions - Marlin Fishing (Kona) - lava tours
Rob- my wife and I did our honeymoon in Hawaii 40 years ago and loved every minute. We have returned 4 or 5 times since. A few years ago we did a Hawaiian cruse that hit most of the islands, we rented a car at each one, toured the islands all day and then moved on to the other islands over the week. It was great, we had the advantage of going everywhere, seeing all the sights we wanted with the advantage of returning back to the ship every night without having pack up and move to the other islands. We also found it to be much more affordable because the cruise lines are always offering deals. We plan on doing it again this year to celebrate our 40th
A week is not a lot and if you've never been trying to do too much in one trip is probably a mistake. Why not layout a a multi trip plan and do one leg now. On our first trip we did Kauai and that was OK. That was before Iniki wiped the Island. The swimming at the southern end was good not so much the northern end. Our second trip was a more traditional trip and we took my MIL as her husband had died the year before. We did Pearl, Don Ho, Waikiki very touristy but the north part of that island is very nice too. Drive north to Sandy Beach and you'll get some body slamming waves. I didn't realize it at the time but it's a dangerous beach. Good ride in but it typically slams you down at ride's end. I survived but maybe not smaller kids. We then went to big island and that's just wonderful scenery, lava tubes etc. I never saw an flowing lava but wanted to. In retrospect it's probably not a great idea to be close to that action anyway. There's the black beach: https://www.lovebigisland.com/big-island-beaches/punaluu/ Keep in mind that beaches can also be quite rocky and nothing like the long stretches in LA or Florida. Hawaii is quite young especially the Big Island. We did four days on each Island and that was great. The third, fourth and fifth Trips involved Maui, Molokai via ferry and Lanai via ferry once and by small plane from Maui the other times. We just love Lanai. All before Ellison bought it. But it still looks good. We typically stayed up at the lodge or split time with Manele Bay. 4WD off roading there, fantastic views two golf courses and there's wild game there. You could get axis deer sausage for breakfast. Both resorts are spectacular and much more laid back than the rest of Hawaii, or it was ... We rode out Iniki there WO power and flew home 2 days later. It was like being in one of those 30's-40's exotic south seas adventure movies but with great accommodations. Had my first swim with a pod of dolphins there until I learned about the $25K marine mammal fine! I was sitting at breakfast up on the bluff and spotted them coming into Manale bay so I grabbed my gear and went down in. Lost track of what I was doing and suddenly the island looked way too small! The dolphins couldn't have cared less about me which is probably a good thing! Did scuba diving there and it was great. But the snorkeling along Manele bay is also terrific. It's like early, mostly wild Hawaii with a snazzy place to stay. The view of Maui from the top of the island golf course is spectacular and that's where I plan to have my ashes scattered. At least that's what I'll be paying for! Bill Gates rented the entire island for his wedding. Too much great stuff for just one trip though. Lanai Hotel and Retreat | Four Seasons Resort Lanai, Lodge at Koele Hawaii Adventure Vacation | Lanai Activities | Four Seasons Lanai The only island I didn't care for was Molokai. Pick one, you'll have fun.