Recommendations for each Hawaiian Port?

Finally making it to Hawaii and was looking for any recommendations to see at each port of call. We will be stopping at Hilo, Nawiliwili, Kahuiui, and ending at Honolulu.

We already have a full plan for Honolulu which includes renting a car for the day and going to the North Shore, Diamond Head, Dole Plantation Factory, Polynesian Cultural Center and of course Pearl Harbor and the beach. If there are other recommendations, please share!

As for the other ports, having a little trouble deciding what to do. The ship's tours are quite pricey and was wondering if we rented a car and went to the attractions ourselves, would that be the best choice? We are aware of the ship excursion vs on your own risk. But hey, if we get left behind, we're still in Hawaii right? =P

Hilo- volcano national park I hear is something to do on this part of Hawaii. Is there any other suggestions? Also if we just rent a car and do it on our own?

Nawiliwili- Our port got changed last minute do to the Ironman race in Kona. Not sure what to do on this island.

Kahuiui (Maui)- Overnight We have reservations for the Old Lahaina Luau at night which we are looking forward to. We were thinking of doing the Road to Hana--but have heard mixed reviews and also don't know if we want to be on the road for that long. I've been told there's a lot of congestion because the roads are hard to navigate.

Well any recommendations will be appreciated. Thanks!

There are MANY threads on this board about renting cars. Given your thoughts on activities, a rental car will be perfect.

How long are you in Honolulu? If one day your plan is to ambitious. Polynesian Cutural center requires about 5 hours to see it properly.

in Hilo if your going to use a car to goto Volcanoes National , you'll be required to by a Nationsl Park pass. Parking up there isn't very go.

I suggest a ship or private tour for the volcano. With a rental car you'l also lose about 1 to 2 hours in port. One personal will have to take the shuttle to the airport to pick up the rest of the group.

How long are you in Honolulu? If one day your plan is to ambitious. Polynesian Cutural center requires about 5 hours to see it properly.

in Hilo if your going to use a car to goto Volcanoes National , you'll be required to by a Nationsl Park pass. Parking up there isn't very go.

I suggest a ship or private tour for the volcano. With a rental car you'l also lose about 1 to 2 hours in port. One personal will have to take the shuttle to the airport to pick up the rest of the group.

Good to know! Thanks. We will be in Honolulu for 3 days post cruise so we will have a good amount of time at each attraction

Kualoa ranch is well worth visiting especially if you like atv or horseback riding

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In Hilo, we booked a tour through Mary Lou's Big Island tours - http://www.marylousbigislandguidedtours.com/

They picked us up from the port and took us to the Volcanoes National Park, Thurston Lava Tube, the macadamia farm, the orchid farm and Rainbow Falls, to name a few. Ken was our driver and he was happy to take suggestions as to what people wanted to see and do. We thought it was quite reasonable.

On Kauai, I did a movie tour through the ship (not sure what ship you're on? I was on Pride of America). It was a movie tour but it was a great sightseeing tour as well, which is partly why I picked it. But there are other things to do on Kauai! If I ever go back, Kauai is the island I would spend the most time on. :) You could even just rent a car and drive it, I'm sure you'd have a fantastic time. Hanalei Bay was spectacular.

I did a Road to Hana tour through Valley Isle Excursions - https://www.tourmaui.com/

Also a good way to do it, and not that pricey! We did the loop all the way around and came back to the port. I'd definitely recommend. It went from about 8am to 4pm, from memory.

Hope this is a little helpful!

Edited to add that we did Kualoa Ranch as well on Oahu, and it was brilliant! We also did a private tour that took us along the Kamehama Highway to the north shore, which was fantastic as well.

In Hilo, we booked a tour through Mary Lou's Big Island tours - http://www.marylousbigislandguidedtours.com/

 

They picked us up from the port and took us to the Volcanoes National Park, Thurston Lava Tube, the macadamia farm, the orchid farm and Rainbow Falls, to name a few. Ken was our driver and he was happy to take suggestions as to what people wanted to see and do. We thought it was quite reasonable.

 

On Kauai, I did a movie tour through the ship (not sure what ship you're on? I was on Pride of America). It was a movie tour but it was a great sightseeing tour as well, which is partly why I picked it. But there are other things to do on Kauai! If I ever go back, Kauai is the island I would spend the most time on. :) You could even just rent a car and drive it, I'm sure you'd have a fantastic time. Hanalei Bay was spectacular.

 

I did a Road to Hana tour through Valley Isle Excursions - https://www.tourmaui.com/

 

Also a good way to do it, and not that pricey! We did the loop all the way around and came back to the port. I'd definitely recommend. It went from about 8am to 4pm, from memory.

 

Hope this is a little helpful!

 

Edited to add that we did Kualoa Ranch as well on Oahu, and it was brilliant! We also did a private tour that took us along the Kamehama Highway to the north shore, which was fantastic as well.

Thanks so much for your advice! I have just emailed the tour company in Hilo to see if they have availability. What was the size of the group when you went on this tour? I wish we could do the Road to Hana tour but it seems like it will interfere with our Luau at 5:15pm. =/ I wish we had 2 overnights in Maui! We will be on the NCL Jewel

Finally making it to Hawaii and was looking for any recommendations to see at each port of call. We will be stopping at Hilo, Nawiliwili, Kahuiui, and ending at Honolulu.

We already have a full plan for Honolulu which includes renting a car for the day and going to the North Shore, Diamond Head, Dole Plantation Factory, Polynesian Cultural Center and of course Pearl Harbor and the beach. If there are other recommendations, please share!

As for the other ports, having a little trouble deciding what to do. The ship's tours are quite pricey and was wondering if we rented a car and went to the attractions ourselves, would that be the best choice? We are aware of the ship excursion vs on your own risk. But hey, if we get left behind, we're still in Hawaii right? =P

 

Hilo- volcano national park I hear is something to do on this part of Hawaii. Is there any other suggestions? Also if we just rent a car and do it on our own? We rented a car and did the following:

• Drove to Rainbow Falls, stayed about 30 minutes.
  
• Drove to Punalu'u Beach to see the turtles and black sand. I highly recommend. We stayed about an hour here.
  
• Drove to Volcanoes National Park. Stopped at the visitors center, Thurston lava tube, steam vents, and Jaggar Museum.
  

Nawiliwili- Our port got changed last minute do to the Ironman race in Kona. Not sure what to do on this island. We had 2 days at this port and here is what we did: Day 1 – Rented a car

• Drove to Opaeka'a Falls and stopped at a few little stops in the area (spent about an hour or so in this area)
  
• Drove to Kilauea Lighthouse (spent about 45 minutes to an hour here.)
  
• Drove to Ke'e State Beach Park and hiked the first mile of the Kalalua Trail (we are spending a week on Kauai in March and we plan to try to hike much further on this.) The views were awesome J We hung out at the beach afterwards. Driving to Ke'e beach area can be a little challenging (quite a few one lane bridges, a few windy roads) and I highly recommend getting out of the area before it gets dark.
  

Kauai Day 2 – Wings Over Kauai airplane ride. I highly recommend doing either an airplane or a helicopter ride on this island. The views are amazing!

Kahuiui (Maui)- Overnight We have reservations for the Old Lahaina Luau at night which we are looking forward to. We were thinking of doing the Road to Hana--but have heard mixed reviews and also don't know if we want to be on the road for that long. I've been told there's a lot of congestion because the roads are hard to navigate. Also had 2 days at this port. Here is what we did: Maui Day 1 – Rented a car

• Drove to Lahaina to see the famous Banyan Tree – spent more time in Lahaina than I really wanted to (parking is tough to find.) Some people say this is a must see town, but I really found it touristy and I won't go back on the second trip this March.
  
• Drove north of Lahaina to Ka'anapali area and located a beach there (not sure which one) and spent a couple of hours there.
  
• Drove to Iao Needle and spent about 45 minutes to an hour there.
  

Maui Day 2 – Sunrise Bike Tour through Adventure Maui. We were driven to the top of Haleakala where we got to see the sunrise. You are above the clouds and this was a great experience that I feel everyone should do it at least once. After the sunrise, we got on bikes and rode 26 miles down the crater. This was AWESOME! You hardly ever pedal (most is downhill and a couple of spots were on flat road.) We will be doing this again in March. The only downfall to this tour was you are picked up at 3:15 am at the Maui Mall, which meant we had to get up at 2:00 am. The ride ended at the beach at Lower Paia Park. The tour will take you back to the ship from here, but my husband and I chose to go to a restaurant called Mama's Fishhouse from here. Not cheap, but the food was very good and the view was awesome.

Well any recommendations will be appreciated. Thanks!

I put in red what we did at those ports when we visited a couple of years ago.

I put in red what we did at those ports when we visited a couple of years ago.

This is awesome information! Thank you so much! I will definitely look into the helicopter ride in Kauai!

Thanks so much for your advice! I have just emailed the tour company in Hilo to see if they have availability. What was the size of the group when you went on this tour? I wish we could do the Road to Hana tour but it seems like it will interfere with our Luau at 5:15pm. =/ I wish we had 2 overnights in Maui! We will be on the NCL Jewel

There were only six passengers on the Marylou tour! The smallest tour I did. Our driver just asked us what we were interested in seeing and that's what we did! I thought the price was pretty good too.

Yeah I wouldn't risk doing the Road to Hana if your luau is at 5.15pm. I think there can be delays, and the traffic is quite heavy. It's a shame but I'm sure you'll enjoy the luau. :)

A guidebook on Hawaii is a good starting point..libraries have guidebooks!

Road to Hana is something that will kill your entire day....so save that for a land-based trip to Maui, when you have days and days to fill. There are so many better things to do on Maui than the RTH!

We use the port guides that Cruise Critic offers as well as going to http://www.frommers.com

as a starting point.

Keith

This is awesome information! Thank you so much! I will definitely look into the helicopter ride in Kauai!

I agree, this was awesome of you to provide your experiences!

I'm also on the Jewel cruise and looking for things to do. I've read Frommer's, read other guides and forums, watched You Tube videos, etc but sometimes it's best to hear from fellow CC members about how they spent their time at a port. :)