Hawaii

[Rhea]

Planning a trip in 2019 to visit hawaii.

We like to hike and see nature. We wouldn’t be averse to some tent camping. Swimming in waterfalls would be wonderful, willing to walk 5 or 10 miles to do it. History and museums are welcome. Hoping to climb a peak, maybe.

What are your thoughts and ideas?

We are thinking probaby 2 weeks. Part of that will be following my daughters band, but the rest is up to us.

What do you like a bout Hawaii?

 

[Ford]

Been there a few times. Kauai is my favorite island.

I stay in Kapa'a town. Very laid back. Not a lot of tourists. In fact if you pick the right time of year there's freaking nobody.


Kauai is home to the Na Pali Coast. Waimea Canyon. These are great things to see. What you really want to do is take the road up past the canyon and go to the Kalalau Lookout. You'll be tempted to take a lot of pictures, but as I found out the first time I went there, you can't capture it with a camera. Oh you can take photos, but when you get home and look at them there's just something missing.

I did one of the Na Pali Coast tours where you go out on a Zodiac boat and have an "adventure." It was rough, but great. Maybe a helicopter or catamaran would have been more comfortable, but for me, the rough seas were more fun.

I went to Oahu once. Too many people. I didn't like Waikiki at all. But the Arizona memorial was very moving. Hiking up Diamondhead was nice. And we went up in a sail plane on the north shore. That was fun.

 

[Malintent]

Planning a trip in 2019 to visit hawaii.

We like to hike and see nature. We wouldn’t be averse to some tent camping. Swimming in waterfalls would be wonderful, willing to walk 5 or 10 miles to do it. History and museums are welcome. Hoping to climb a peak, maybe.

What are your thoughts and ideas?

We are thinking probaby 2 weeks. Part of that will be following my daughters band, but the rest is up to us.

What do you like a bout Hawaii?

I spent 3 weeks in Hawaii, various islands. For hiking, you absolutely must not miss Kauai. It will be your favorite island, I promise. It is the greenest and least developed of the reachable, populated islands. It boasts the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific"... which is not an overstatement. Rent a Condo... don't stay at a hotel or resort. Full apartment condos are the way to go on that island... Fairly cheap, and with pretty much no night life at all on that island, you need a kitchen.

You want waterfalls... Maui. (try to) drive the Road to Hanna. I tried to make it to Hanna twice... never made it. That road passes a hundred places to stop and jump into a waterfall. Warning, even when it is 85 F outside, the water coming off those falls is like 40 F. If someone is selling Maui Pineapples, get as many as you can eat. They are not exported.. you can only have them there. They are small, compared to "regular" pineapples, but they are so sweet you won't believe nature produced them. Seriously, they taste like pineapple candy.

Likely you will fly into Honolulu (island of Oahu). I would spend 2 or 3 days there max.. just to acclimate to the time zone and be lazy on the beach (the famous Waikiki).. maybe take a surfing lesson. It is the most commercial, resorty, corny island in the chain... although the Royal Hawaiian Hotel was pretty amazing there... best island food ever.

 

[Malintent]

Been there a few times. Kauai is my favorite island.

I stay in Kapa'a town. Very laid back. Not a lot of tourists. In fact if you pick the right time of year there's freaking nobody.


Kauai is home to the Na Pali Coast. Waimea Canyon. These are great things to see. What you really want to do is take the road up past the canyon and go to the Kalalau Lookout. You'll be tempted to take a lot of pictures, but as I found out the first time I went there, you can't capture it with a camera. Oh you can take photos, but when you get home and look at them there's just something missing.

I did one of the Na Pali Coast tours where you go out on a Zodiac boat and have an "adventure." It was rough, but great. Maybe a helicopter or catamaran would have been more comfortable, but for me, the rough seas were more fun.

I went to Oahu once. Too many people. I didn't like Waikiki at all. But the Arizona memorial was very moving. Hiking up Diamondhead was nice. And we went up in a sail plane on the north shore. That was fun.

I hiked the entire Na Pali Coast.. at least, the parts of it that were accessible to the public. That was a challenging hike.. very exposed to the sun. Found a secluded beach that was like 6 miles away from anything. I felt like I owned the island.. no one around.

Diamondhead was just ok. I agree about Oahu.. too many people... too commercial.

Diamondhead is a tiny pebble, as compared to the volcano on Maui. You can drive to the top where there is an observatory (they were shooting lasers out of it when I went up there.. maybe it was part of the tracking system, don't know). At the top (just short of 10,000 ft ASL) hiking there is like walking on Mars... with life support failing. Take three steps, catch your breath. Take three more steps, catch your breath... The sunlight does some strange things up there. High contrast... everything looks... unearthly. Shadows are just wrong somehow. like, longer and blacker than they should be. Maybe it was all oxygen depravation... I don't know. It was awesome.

 

[whollygoats]

I went to Maui in 2003. February.

The whale nursery in Ahihi Bay and the straits between the islands of Maui and Kaho'owale, Lanai, and Moloka'i was absolutely amazing in February. If there then, book a ride on one of the many tourist boats.

I was introduced to snorkling in Ahihi Bay in the Reserve at the south end of Makena Road. That was amazing. I swam with the turtles. I highly recommend. Make sure you're on the nature reserve; the difference in underwater wildlife is amazingly different from the regular beaches.

I hung out a lot in Kamaole Beach Park. That was okay, I guess.

I had my first helicopter ride over Maui and Moloka'i. I wished I'd had a better seat. I don't know how to assure that.

I did the pre-dawn trip to the peak of Haleakala to see the dawn. It was supremely disappointing as it was hideously cold and there was no dawn because we were socked in in heavy cloud. It sucked.

We did the Road to Hana and found it to be windy. It's not as populated as the Kihei and Lahaina side of the island, so it's a break from that.

 

[Rhea]

Thank you all! This will help us plan. We will spend several days on Hawaii at Waikaloa - we want to hike the high-point and the purpose of our trip involves seeing a student performance that is held on that island. But after that and after we extract our student, it sounds like Kauai is right up our alley!

 

[Underseer]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hickam_Air_Force_Base

I have no idea if Hickam AFB is accessible to the public (it shares runways with a civilian airport), but some of the buildings still have bullet holes from the Pearl Harbor attack. Even as a 5 year old (the last time I lived there), I thought it was interesting that the Air Force made a conscious choice to not repair those buildings.

 

[Rhea]

That’s cool!

 

[Sarpedon]

The Bishop Museum in Honolulu is an excellent museum by any standard, and given that it specializes in Hawaiian history, biology and geology, has exhibits you will not find anywhere else.
You will find the kingly feathered capes, royal standards, shells, native birds and plant life, and a cool demonstration of lava, wherein a guy melts some basalt from the island back into a molten form to demonstrate how it flows.

I have not managed to leave Oahu, but the north shore is much more quiet and features a gigantic three quarters submerged crater.

Also, don't miss the various botanical gardens. There are so many you won't have time to see them all.

And there is a very good farmer's market just between Diamond Head and Waikiki. You can get all manner of fresh fruit there. Fruit you have never seen or heard of before.

 

[Elixir]

I hiked the entire Na Pali Coast.. at least, the parts of it that were accessible to the public.

There's a trail from the Hanalei side that will take you through an old coffee plantation. The remnants of a wood fired coffee roaster are near the trail. I couldn't take you there, but some locals probably could. What an incredible (and difficult) hike!

 

[rousseau]

Is there much culture going on in Hawaii or is the appeal mostly nature/great beaches?

 

[Sarpedon]

Native Hawaiian culture is unique in the world. So, yes.

 

[Politesse]

Is there much culture going on in Hawaii or is the appeal mostly nature/great beaches?

Oh yes! It is a fantastically diverse culture. In Oahu, the blend of American, Japanese, Portuguese and the traditional Hawaiian culture has resulted in much experimentation with food, language, and social dynamics, and you can here a creole language called Pidgin spoken widely. If in Oahu, you might consider a trip over to the windward side to see Polynesian Cultural Center (Bascially a Disneyland-style exploration of the various Polynesian cultures, with a really cool floor show) and the Byodo-In Buddhist temple in Kahaluu.

Elsewhere on the islands, you can explore the history and archaeology of the archipelago. The Bishop Museum in Honolulu is fantastic. Some of the most easily touristed archaeology places are the KEALAKEKUA BAY STATE HISTORICAL PARK on the Big Island (where Cook landed), or the Keaiwa Heiau (temple) site near Honolulu. Reading-wise, I recommend Joesting's Kauai: the Separate Kingdom as an excellent and fascinating exploration of the history and culture of the region. On the Big Island, consider booking one of the boat tours of the sugarcane plantations, or the tasting/tour at the Kona Coffee Co. I also really like the Punalu'u Bake Shop (for taro bread) and Gramma's Kitchen (for Loco Mokos).

 

[gmbteach]

Sounds nice.