Things to see and do in Hawaii

[Mattg]

Hi everyone,

I'm travelling to Hawaii with some friends in December. We'll be there for a week. Other than flights in and out of Honolulu, we don't have anything booked or planned as yet. We'll probably spend some time in Honolulu itself, but I'd also like to visit another island for a few days.

I've never been to Hawaii so would appreciate any recommendations on things to see and do (other than lazing on the beach, of course ). For those who have been, what would you recommend in Honolulu, and which other part/s of Hawaii should we visit (and why)?

 

[Dr Ralph]

Most of this still seems accurate:

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ination-guide/tell-me-about-hawaii-54872.html

 

[RooFlyer]

I'm not a beach & lazing about sort of guy, so I headed for the Big Island (Hawai'i), hired a car and drove round it for a couple of days. Major attraction for me were the volcanos (helicopter trips - watch the weather or drive yourself and sometimes you can see a flow; else there is the crater drive/walk); memorial where Captain Cook met his maker; and just interesting tropical stuff. Also beaches if you like.

You can save a lot by not staying on the beach at Waikiki at Honolulu. I stayed in a motel - Aqua Palms - just over the road from the giant Hilton resort complex. Had the complete run of the Hilton bars, shops etc, except the pools (and with the beach just there, who wanted a pool?) and beach in front; fraction of the cost. Ala Moana shopping centre is a bit of a walk along the main road from the Aqua Palms. Nothing special, just handy.

Diamond Head has nice views and of course there is Pearl Harbour.

 

[robd]

This place was really good. We did the atv tour and the movie tour. Amazing mountains and scenery.

Best Oahu Tours & Activities | Eco Tours |

 

[DontGetMeStarted]

Hi everyone,

I'm travelling to Hawaii with some friends in December. We'll be there for a week. Other than flights in and out of Honolulu, we don't have anything booked or planned as yet. We'll probably spend some time in Honolulu itself, but I'd also like to visit another island for a few days.

I've never been to Hawaii so would appreciate any recommendations on things to see and do (other than lazing on the beach, of course ). For those who have been, what would you recommend in Honolulu, and which other part/s of Hawaii should we visit (and why)?

We love Hawaii and have been going most years since 1997...best to hire a car if you can and get out and about, some truly lovely spots to see if you drive around Oahu, I prefer the Big Island over Maui, more to do though we did drive the Haleakala Crater Haleakala Crater (Haleakala National Park, HI): Address, Phone Number, Tickets & Tours, Volcano Reviews - TripAdvisor. Stayed in Lahaina on Maui. We normally rent self catering apartments on the Islands and Hawaii can be as cheap or as expensive as you want to make it. Pearl Harbour/Hanamua Bay/Waimea Bay ( just lovely to look at if you don't want to sit on a beach all day. Take the bus around Oahu its about $2.50 these days ....lots to see and do and then of course there's the shopping !

 

[Mars2atk]

I did Hawaii in Dec 2014, only there for about 5 days. If you haven't booked accommodation, I recommend looking on AirBnB. We stayed on the east side of Oahu, in [FONT=arial, sans-serif]Waimānalo. Saved over $1000 by not staying on Waikiki, plus we didn't have to pay for a valet when we rented a car, parked right outside out cottage. The lady who owned the main property even provided kayaks, snorkel gear and stand up paddle boards for us to use for free, added bonus, her property led straight to the beach. We would've been about 20m from the water and barely anyone used that stretch of beach, I barely saw 4 on the beach the whole time. There was also a turtle sanctuary where you might have a chance to snorkel with them up close if the water is warm enough (we could see them in the distance). Hawaii 5-0 were even filming at the house 2 doors down.

Definitely rent a car and just explore the island. Go watch the surfers at Northshore, we did a sunset cruise on a catamaran that was amazing, and I got my scuba dive ticket before I left, so it was pretty cool to check out the underwater life. I didn't get to check out the other islands, 5 days was just nice to relax and not cram everything on Oahu. I thought Waikiki was pretty over rated.
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