Anyone been to Hawaii?

All - I am going to Hawaii (Honolulu/Waikiki) in November... Anyone know of some cool "off the beaten" tourist path things to do?

 

We went there several years ago.....now I can't remember exactly which part of the island.....but we passed 2 nude beaches

 

I have a bunch of friends out there, so I've been a couple of times to surf and stuff. If you're in waikiki, you should hike up the manoa valley falls, it's really beautiful. I'll get back to you later with other things, kiinda drawing a blank now. You have to go to Pearl Harbour even though it is a touristy thing.

 

Ooo - nude beaches... Did those in the Mediterranean... LOL European women - yum.

Sweet - thanks. Great idea on the hiking. I will have to bring my Asolos.

 

I've been trying to think of things all day, and I'm drawing blanks. You should try and get to the North Shore if you're able, it's a whole nother culture. Whenever I'm there I usually surf most of the time, so I don't know if thats up your alley or not. Check out the dole pineapple plantation, pretty cool place, they have pineapple ice cream and stuff. Have fun man. Don't go in the water though at the falls, i've always been told there is TB in it and other nasty stuff.

 

Been there twice and without a doubt the #1 sight to see is the black sand beaches on the big island of Hawaii. most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life!! Pictures don't do it justice. hopefully its not too commercialized since I've been there.
http://www.volcanogallery.com/Places-Punaluu.htm
Don't be afraid to jump islands, but it might be easier to plan for that ahead.
Also make sure if you go to a Luau, find one that they actually serve you the hog that they cooked under ground at the Luau...that too was an activity that was a little less authentic compared from the first time I went to the last time. I went about 15 yrs apart.
Definately Pearl Harbor too. Was very moving for me.
Like already mentioned, check out the pineapple plantations, getting very commercialized though.

hope you love to fly, its a long one...

 

+1 on Pearl. Make sure you tour the Missouri, too. Behind the Hyatt hotel on Oahu there's a Japanese restaurant that serves amazing food. Make sure to go to Diamond Head.

If you plan on island hopping, Maui is very nice. You can drive thru the volcano park and go to the beach. It is all volcanic rock, no sand. You can also take a tour of Maui by helicopter and see the dormant volcano. You can also drive the Hana Road. Quite the adventure.

 

I was in Waikiki this January. I went island hopping on a cruise ship. We had 2 pre-nights, a 7 day cruise, and 1 post night. It was nice since it was off an peak vacation month. You have to go see S.O.S. (Society of Seven). It's a great show and so fun. It's hard to miss because once you walk the strip, everybody is selling tickets for them. LOL. Even check your hotel TV info channel. Google em out. Also, LUAU, LUAU, LUAU!! We stayed at Outrigger Reef On The Beach. They have an all you can eat breakfast restaurant called Shore Bird. Best breakfast there and your eating looking at the beach. Have fun dude!!!

 

Hey man I was stationed there for a little over four years so I will put some stuff together for you and PM it.

 

i have been there twice myself this last time i was at the island kauai. There is a 4 hour atv trip that was awsome talk about off the beaten path. Took you through the field that used to be suger cane and the films jurasis park, indianan jones and the raiders of the last ark and a few other movies was shot. You end up eating a bag lunch at one of the water falls and swiming for about 30 mins to an hour and it was just awsome.

 

Yeah you are talking about the place on the way out to North Shore. That place is good, skydive Hawaii it fun. You have to go to Dukes for the breakfast buffet. Do the Germaines Luau. My wife loved the Star of Honolulu dinner cruse that leaves from the Aloha Tower. You have to hit up the hOOters there at the tower also. There is a great little bar above that at the Aloha Tower called Bikini Cantinia. That place rocks. Spend a lot of your time in North Shore. Less turestie up there. Go to Kialuia and eat at Teddies Bigger Burger. They have the best burgers and shakes ever. Over all I would have to say you can't go without hitting up Bucca De Beppo also. Great place to eat right under Dave and Busters, there is a great movie theater there also. Can you tell I have not had dinner yet? JK. Best advise I can give you bro is to rent a convertable and drive out to North Shore. Its beautiful out there and don't be afraid of the little shrimp shakes on the way out there. They are awesome.

 

The Hale Koa has a great "barefoot" bar right on the beach. Walk down the beach toward Diamond Head and you will see Duke's, some great eats there. Take in a luau if you can.

You have got to do 5 things there Diamond Head, Punchbowl, Pearl Harbor, drive around Oahu on a moped, and play lottsa golf.

I was there for 6 weeks back in 2003 for Rimpac 03, the main engines on our spudder-spudder-spudder coast guard cutter broke and we were stuck in port for 3 of those 6 weeks awaiting repair, so I got to go out and explore paradise for a while. I will have to admit its not a bad place to break down in.

I will give you a bit of advise if you hear the word "Howly" spoken or yelled in your general direction, you better run like hell, b/c that is what you are going to be in if you stick around. Nothing like have 6 or more native Hawaiians wanting to do bodily harm to you, for surfing in "their" spot. This event usually happens on the North Shore, but can happen anywhere.

 

I've been to Hawaii twice, unfortunately not Honolulu. I loved the big island too much to go elsewhere. I hope to go back soon. Not too crowded with tourists either. There is a military resort in Volcano that we stayed at while we were there as well (through the University), well located for touring around the south side of the island. http://www.kmc-volcano.com/about.asp

Lots of great trails around waipio (North island) and the localls are super friendly. You can easily spend a couple days hiking around in there, nice jungle and lots of huge waterfalls. I also spent a lot of time in the lava fields sampling lava for thesis work. I also did some hiking up Mona Loa and Mona Kaea.

 

- rent a convertible, if you haven't rent a car yet
- ask the locals for the best beach...they know and we don't or waste time finding
- watch your food expenses / except for fresh coconuts
- don't watch your drink expenses

if you plan to snorkel...bring your own sets...Costco should have some on sale now...a bit hassle but cheaper and better equipments.

 

Try to count the ABC stores...LOL Don't worry you'll see what I mean when you get there. There's lots of good scenic hiking and stuff unfortunately I can't remember all of the goofy names. But one name has stuck with me, if your not afraid of heights or a challenge, check out "stairway to heaven". You can probably even google it. Otherwise, rent a board and surf yourself silly.

Have a great time...take lots of bikini shots and share them here when you get back.

 

Yeah the Stairway to Heaven is closed now. I had the opportunity to do it a few times on the legal side and a couple after it had closed. Good call on the ABC stores! It will make you happy to see a Starbucks!! If you want to snorkel go to Hanauma Bay.

 

We went during the 40 day and night rain that they had in 2006. We had a convertible......never to got use it.

 

Wow - thanks for all the GREAT suggestion!!! I will write all these down and make sure I do some of them. Pictures to follow.

 

Not to scare you, but do not go to the west side of the island. Stay clear of there. We call that the wild west out there. Other than that the island is safe. Have fun while here. FYI, our cops here are kind of harsh on DUI's too. So be safe if you will be driving around after a few drinks.

 

good suggestion, or even wal-mart has some good deals on the snorkel stuff. Whatever you do don't buy a lot of stuff from waikiki if at all possible. You will save a lot of $ if you go out to wal mart or costco.

Watch for sunburn too. I see a lot of lobsters walking around, even in overcast skies you can get a mean burn.