Hawai'i Travel Thread

[jt082005]

Nice pictures...looks awesome

[Reef]

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If Reef was back home I'd suggest going with him to his high school as the view from there is second to none IMO.

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QFT
(these pics dont do it full justice)





my attempt at putting together a bunch of single pics for a panoramic

[pokerbobo]

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I've heard Maui is kinda slow and more for honeymooners/etc, is this mostly true?

I'm going to Oahu(staying near Waikiki in a couple weeks and have a few things planned, anyone have any "must-sees" for me?

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Maui has a lot of things to do... Golf, Fish, Hana, Snorkeling...etc.

Oahu, most people will be in waikiki beach area. Lots of food, bars, etc. Take a hike up diamond head if you like that kind of thing. Snorkel at hanauma bay, drive up to the north shore to sunset beach and check out some of the worlds biggest waves. The polynesian cultural center is cool for a slow paced day... kinda interesting and educational. Visit Pearl Harbor... but go early or you will wait in line for too long.

Kauai is very relaxed...I think there is only one nightclub on the whole island.... It is very lush and green... lots of flowers. Not a ton to do, but a great island to see by heliocopter. Also take the river ride up to the fern grotto.

[M2d]

you going with friends or a girlfriend? if it's with (guy) friends, check out Za (club rock za) it's an almost legendary strip club just outside of waikiki.

for a more conventional to do list

Cultural:
Pearl Harbor/Arizona Memorial- if you're a US citizen, this is a must do.
Iolani Palace-a tour of the only royal palace on US soil lots of cool antiques and Hawaiian history in there if that's your thing
Bishop Museum-some pacific based natural history stuff and lots of pacific island cultural stuff

High end dining (you can look these up online, so I won't describe them here. they're all good stuff):
Alan Wong's
Chef Mavro
3660 On the Rise
Bali By the Sea
La Mer

Fun type dining
Sansei (as mentioned in other posts above, but the original is in Honolulu)
Side Street Inn
Upstairs at Ala Moana (ala moana is a big mall. there's a big restaurant area upstairs that's kind of a night scene place)
shokudo restaurant

good places to get a bite to eat (there's a bunch more than i'm listing, just do some searches and try little hole in the wall places)
rainbow drive inn
zippy's
wailana coffee house
kakaako kitchen
haile's hawaiian food

Beaches to hit
Sandy's (don't go in the water, but the eye candy is unbeatable)
Pray for Sex (if you have a 4 wheel drive)
North shore (even if it's not winter and the waves are flat, sunset, pipeline, chun's and the rest of them are great beaches in their own right)
waimea bay (it should be included in the north shore, but it's a great beach in its own right)
Kailua/Lanikai-nice local eye candy. many of the local chicks in bikini calenders are shot here
Bellows
hanauma bay-kind of overdone, and crowded with tourists, but you can see lots of fish while snorkling
waikiki/ala moana beach park-waiks is more touristy from the hilton hawaiian village to the wall (the zoo area). more local towards diamond head (san souci beach). ala moana draws a lot of local chicks who didn't happen to go to sandy's that day.
Yokohama bay is a great beach on the west side, but i'd caution against hitting up any west side beach (yokohama, makaha, nanakuli, etc) unless you feel like walking back to town, driving backwith busted windows or worse

Luaus-pick one if you must. i've heard good things about the polynesian cultural center (if you feel like forking your money over to the lds) and i've had a lot of friends who worked at germaines.

hikes:
diamond head-pretty easy hike up the crater walls. nice views at the tip
st louis heights drive-nice hike up above manoa and palolo valleys. not too difficult
aiea loop trail-another easyish hike. good mudsliding if it's been raining (you find a muddy hill and slide down it on your butt-way more fun than it sounds like in print)

anything else? ask away.

[inside??]

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Good timing. I am heading to Maui for the first time in October with my wife and another couple. We have not found a condo yet. I would love to hear impressions about what town to stay in on Maui. Our main desires are to have a place we can cook, have some grocery stores nearby so we can stock up on food easily, but also have some restaurants we can go to nearby as well. Plus, of course, places within stumbling distance for cocktails.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

KJS

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KJS I will be there the first week of Oct. I will be staying at Resortquest Mahana. I chose it due to the good reviews on Trip Advisor. Check it out and holler at me if you want to me up for a drink while you are there if our dates match. I will be there 6-13.

[BretWeir]

Great trip report. I think I hiked that same bamboo trail last time I was in Maui.

After you reached Hana, did you continue on the unpaved road around the south side of the island? This is one of the coolest, most surreal places I've ever been -- completely deserted. You go from stone cliffs to desert to cattle ranches in about two hours, and the contrast with the rainforest on the north side is unbelievable.

Mama's Fish House is fantastic. I've had what was probably one of the five ebst meals of my life there.

[renodoc]

I am partial to the Big Island, North Kohala Coast especially. So much to do. Or so little if you prefer.

[Sotiria]

My wife and I have been to Maui and Kona and found the books in this series to be extremely helpful. Granted, there's probably a ton of other tourists that have the same book, but we found some pretty awesome beaches that we never would have known existed without the book...especially on the big island.

[JennFox]

awesome t.r. post more pics!!

[Gooch]

I'm currently in Maui, I'm surprised you didn't mention Mount Haleakala. If you didn't go you missed one heck of a sight. Most tourist wake up at 3am to go watch the sunrise. Sleep and catch the sunset which is totally amazing. Dress warm. And I guess its too late but snorkeling at Molokini is a waste of money and time. You can snorkel offshore in the reserves which has more fish, turtles etc. than does Molokini. And if you are here during football season, Monday Night Football cruises for $10 and bring your fishing poles.