Touring Poll

[cleobella]

Hi Everyone,

 

I am going crazy trying to decide if we should tour the islands on our own with a car rental or sign up for NCL shore excursions when we go on our Hawaii cruise in Dec. So, since many of you are seasoned cruisers, I am conducting a poll. Which do you think is the better way to go when seeing Hawaii-pre booked excursions or drive the island and see the attractions on your own. Be honest and help me make some decisions. Thanks!

[englishlady]

I'm not a seasoned Hawaii visitor, but I've done tons of research for our upcoming trip. IMHO getting a car and driving around yourselves give you much more flexibility to see the things you want to see. Of course, that does involve a bit more in-depth research, so that you have some knowledge about those places. Going on tours does usually provide more information into history, culture, nature, customs, etc. So you have to balance out what's more your style. I like to research, and we like the freedom to stop when, where, and for however long, we like.

[salty dingo]

We are renting a car in every port. I feel it gives us the best options and the most flexibility and overall the best experience.

[marym933]

I say go with a private tour company like Roberts http://www.gorabbitgo.com It saves money over NCL. We went to all the same places as NCL. Their tour buses parked right beside ours. There is so much to see!! The poor person stuck driving will miss a lot.

[Reimer]

I haven't been to Hawaii yet. But after comparing the ships excursions to renting a car and paying gas I choose the car route very easily. You save a ton of money and you will have a ton more flexibility. The information from tour guides is often educating and cool, but at the same time they spew off far more information than your brain will remember so that can be hit and miss depending on the person.

[riofriotex]

If you don't like to drive and/or don't want or have time to do research, and don't mind being on buses (some as small as 10 passenger, but others the huge ones), do tours with someone other than NCL. If you want more flexibility and to save money, rent cars. We did the latter except for Road to Hana; we had a private tour (driver plus the five of us) with www.hawaiilimo.com for that and it was totally worth the money (since I would have been the one driving that Sunday, and was tired from only arriving in Hawaii on Friday).

[vbmom87]

Everyone has a different preferred style for travel. Our group did a bit of everything. We rented cars, we booked excursions independently and through NCL.

 

We all wanted to tour the Road to Hana and we wanted to do the full loop. We originally planned to drive it ourselves, but we found out that we would be violating our car rental contract if we drove the full loop. I called the major rental agencies to be sure and they all told me I could not drive the loop with their rental cars. (Yes many still do drive the loop, but if they had any problems with the car, they would be responsible to get it back to port). I am a rule follower, so we booked a tour independently with Valley Isles Excursions. I have to say we were so happy we did. Even my 22 year old daughter commented many times that she was so glad we did the tour rather than drive it on our own. The reason we enjoyed the tour so much was our driver. He shared such a wealth of knowledge with us. We would never have known what we were driving by. He was a running commentary that we really appreciated. It was just great.

 

For day two on Maui we had a car and drove to Haleakala, Ioa Needle and Lahaina. I have to say I missed not having someone telling me what everything was that I was passing passing by. ALso, I was the driver, and my viewing was definitely compromised. However, we simply could not afford a tour for everything. We had a great day.

 

In Hilo we enjoyed driving to Volanoes National Park on our own. We could stop where we wanted and for how long we wanted. I originally had three stops planned for this day. HOwever, we loved VNP so much, that was the only place we visited.

 

In Kona we split up. My DH and DD went on the NCL tour with Captain Zodiac. It would have been cheaper booking independently, but my DH likes simple. He did not like the idea of having to get up earlier and getting in line for a tender ticket. As much as some complain about meeting in the theater, he thought it was great. It worked for him. In Kona, I rented a car.

 

In Kauai we rented a car and drove the north shore on day 1. Three of us booked a garden tour and my daughter was booked independently on a zipline tour. ON day 2 we booked a helicopter tour, but did that independently rather than through NCL. Then we drove to a few falls and did some shopping before turning our car in.

 

Ultimately it depends on your preferred style of travel and your budget. Tours are easy. You don't have to plan. You sign up and pay your money and someone else takes care of you. YOu will usually have a knowledgable guide who can offer you lots of interesting and sometimes humorous information. However, they are very costly. Some are on large buses with lots of time lost loading, unloading and waiting for others who dally. The smaller tours are ideal in my mind. Our RTH tour had only 12 on a bus.

 

I suggest you do a little more research and I am sure you will figure out what will be best for you.

[FloatYourBoatSince2003]

I heartily agree that it depends on the type of activity - but booking independently is usually VERY easy, if you would prefer a tour. That way you can still save some $$$.

 

Just make sure you check out independent operators on Tripadvisor (weigh comments of posters with multiple posts more heavily) and ask about cancellation policies. I always ask "what happens if the ship doesn't make it to the port" and to date they have always agreed not to charge me in that case. Most are very experienced with cruise passengers and want to make sure you get back safely and on time just as much as you do. (who wants to deal with a hysterical client?;))

 

In Hawaii we're renting cars everywhere but Kona (where we'll do some sort of snorkelling excursion...) In our case the activities will be less about the drive and more about what we do when we get there. I think I would book with someone else too if we did the Road to Hana for example... but I would NEVER get on a bus with 40 other people. Waiting for all of them to board the bus would drive me crazy... :D

[flipflops62]

We booked toure through independent companies. Except for Kona, where we rented a car as none of the tours fit what we wanted to do. I'm so glad we did tours as we would have missed so much touring oon our own. We would NEVER have found Lindberg's grave on Road to Hana, or completed the entire circuit. We would never have stopped at the orchid nursery in Hilo and we ended up buying an orchid to send home to MIL for watching the kids.

That being said, if we ever go back to Hawaii, I would be more inclined to rent a car now as we know what is there and where it is. Tours are terrific for an overview. Our tours were all on small vans.

[cleobella]

Thanks one and all. This is turning out to be the most difficult trip to get my head around but your advice and suggestions are helping!

[trbasso]

You have to do what makes you comfortable, but we always book excursions on our own outside the ship. Seems like you get twice the experience at half the price and with a lot less people.

 

It's really important to find reputable companies that CC people recommend. This is their livelihood - they'll make sure to get you back to the ship on time. That's what a lot of people worry about.

 

We did the POH cruise a couple years ago and rental cars are very easy and affordable. Some places like Hilo and Oahu are easy to navigate (especially with a tom tom). Other places you may want to sign up with a private tour company.

 

Good luck!

[Giantfan13]

There are several things to consider. regardless of what everyone else did, it really depends on how you, and who you are traveling with, feel about certain things.

first, do you like to drive??

Second, do you like to drive on unknown roads??

Third, do you mind if you are told where to go, when to get on and off a bus and how long you can stay at any particular place???

 

For me, when we went to Hawaii, I answered yes to 1 and 2 and no to question 3.

I love to drive and explore (I never get lost, I am always exploring new directions). In Hawaii, it is not that easy to get lost as there aren't that many main roads to travel. (A question for Hawaii people, why are there interstates in Hawaii????)

 

We despise the 'cattle call' type of excursions where you are hoarded onto some bus, and taken here and there, and if you wish to take a picture from a different angle, you cannot because the bus wants to move on.

 

With a car, you have the freedom to spend an extra hour some where you really enjoy, stop at some local place for shaved ice, lunch, a snack, you come and go as you please, and see what you want and eliminate things you really don't care about.

 

Everyone gave you suggestions, but in the end, how do YOU fell about the options.

 

Cheers

 

Len