Plan our excursions for us, please...

[marmstro]

We will be doing a POA 7 day cruise in November of 2017 am looking for the best thing to do at each port ~ that "don't dare miss this" thing. We are four 40-50 year old non-drinking adults who enjoy nature and authentic experiences, as long as they are not too physically taxing. We do enjoy the occasional day at a beach, but sitting on a beach is not high on our priority list. What would be your best recommendation for our POA experience? (We'll be staying in Waikoloa on the Big Island for a week post-cruise). Any Hawaii experts want to give some suggestions?

[Susan-M]

Hi Mandy,

 

Some suggestions for coming up with ideas -

 

- scroll through a few pages of threads here, where you'll find lots of recommendations for how to spend time in ports.

 

- look at the list of excursions provided by the cruise line; even if you're not going to do cruise excursions, it's a good way to find out what the highlights are on each island and what you can fit into a day

 

- guidebooks (usually available at your local library if you don't want to purchase them)

 

- on line research, such as Hawaii's tourism website.

 

- Tripadvisor (there's a forum for each island, plus a general State of Hawaii forum.

 

The "don't dare miss this" sight or activity depends on the person doing it - my 'don't miss' might be your "give it a miss", so it's good if you can do some advance research to see what appeals to you. Once you get some ideas together, it will be easier for others here to give you advice. i.e. come back with a short list of possibilities for each island and we can help you weigh the pros and cons of them.

 

Have you decided how you want to tour - rent a car, do ship's excursions, or private tours - or a combination?

 

Good luck with your plans.:)

[cb at sea]

I second the guidebook idea...SO much info in there!

 

Hawaii is gorgeous...and you will have so many options! Get the guidebook, read it, decide what interests you, and we can certainly help with "how" to do that!

[punkincc]

Here are a few things that you'll find on any "top attraction" list for each island. Google is your friend. You can access tons of information and pictures on the internet in the time it takes you to drive to your local library or book store.

 

O'ahu. If you fly in early or stay over, Pearl Harbor, the North Shore, Hanauma Bay for snorkeling, or a full or partial Circle Island Tour taking in the Eastern, Windward and Northshore areas, Luaus.

 

Maui. Haleakala, the Highway to Hana, Lahaina, Kaanapali Beach, Luaus, whale watch tours if in whale season.

 

Hilo. Volcanoes National Park, Rainbow and Akaka Falls, Hilo Botanical Garden, farmers market in downtown Hilo.

 

Kona. Tops for snorkeling, Pu'uhonauau o Honaunau National Park, Captain Cook Monument, coffee plantations, coastal and scenic drives.

 

Kauai. Waimea Canyon, Na'Pali Coastline, helicopter tours, Princeville, Hanalie Bay. Luaus.

 

The great news is that most all of these things can be seen from your own car without expensive tours. Rental cars are easily accessed from the cruise ports and are very inexpensive.

[millineumwoman]

Well this is what we have planned for excurssions on the poa so far

Maui day 1- road to Hana with adventure Maui

Maui day 2- Maui molokini crater snorkelling- hawaiicruiseexcursions

Hilo - big island volcano national park and volcanic thermal pool swim tour -hawaiicruiseexcursions

Kona - just lazy day

Kauai -ultimate beautiful Kauai tour waterfalls & fern grotto - hawaiicruiseexcursions

Hope that helps

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[marmstro]

I love all your ideas! The problem is it seem like there is so much to do, I don't even know where to start! And I really know NOTHING about Hawaii! Thanks for the input.

Edited April 8, 2016 by marmstro

[Susan-M]

With a year and a half before your trip, you have loads of time for research.

 

Better to plug away at researching than choose a tour because someone else is doing it and their recommendation seems like an easy way for you to choose ... unless you really can't stand doing research, and don't mind taking a gamble on someone else's recommendation being the right choice for you.

 

Re not knowing where to start ... I gave you 5 ideas above. Other people gave you specific suggestions ... but many of the suggestions would be meaningless to you because you wouldn't know what they mean ... Haleakala, Waimea Canyon, Volcanoes National Park... all mysteries to you. So, one way or another, you pretty much have to look up what the highlights are and do some reading about them.

 

It will come together and make more sense as you do a bit more research.:)

[CruiserBruce]

Susan- hit it on the head again. Plenty of time. Just takes some research...

[punkincc]

I love all your ideas! The problem is it seem like there is so much to do, I don't even know where to start! And I really know NOTHING about Hawaii! Thanks for the input.

 

One step at a time, one port at a time.:). Otherwise, you are right, it does seem overwhelming and very confusing.

 

Just start with your first port stop, do some research, and you'll start to find things that appeal to you. Once you've narrowed the choices, move on to the next stop. Print out some maps of each island so that you can easily reference the location of the various sites. Once you have some ideas in mind, it is fairly easy to set up your own itinerary using the maps and take in several things in a days time if you want.

[CruisnDeb]

When we went in October 2015, we stayed 3 nights pre-cruise and 4 nights post-cruise. I'll give you a brief summary of our days and if you want any specifics, just ask :)

 

Pre-cruise Days 1-3 (Oahu) Diamond Head Hike (took the bus), Paradise Cove Luau, Pearl Harbor

 

Day 4 (Honolulu) Embarkation Day! Had lunch in the MDR--asked for a window and everytime we went back for dinner, they gave us a table by a window

 

Day 5 (Maui) Rented a car and drove around West Maui (Lahaina, Kahekili Beach Park, Iao Needle)

 

Day 6 (Maui) Sunrise Bike Tour (early morning viewing at Haleakala Crater with 25 mile bike ride back down the crater) THIS WAS AWESOME!!

 

Day 7 (Hilo) Rented a car and drove to Rainbow Falls, black sand beach at Punalu'u Beach, and Volcanoes National Park

 

Day 8 (Kona) Rented a car (Dollar is right at the pier others needed a shuttle) and drove to Manini'owali Beach--clearest beach water I have ever been to--GORGEOUS. We returned the car and then walked to Kona Brewing company and had lunch

 

Day 9 (Kauai) Rented car and drove to Opaeka'a Falls/Wailua River lookout and Ke'e state Beach Park

 

Day 10 (Kauai) Airplane Ride--AWESOME. This is also the day of the Na Pali Coast sailby on the ship.

 

Post-Cruise Days 11-15 (Oahu) We rented a car most days and saw many sites including The North Shore, Makapu'u Point Lighthouse Trail, Nu'uani Pali Lookout, Lanikai Beach, Manoa Falls just to name a few

[marmstro]

CruisNDeb- Thanks so much! That's exactly what I was looking for. A couple of questions: did you reserve your car rentals or is there the opportunity to just do it the day of? The bike ride sounds incredible! How intense is it? I love that you didn't "hire" a lot of excursions. Thanks again.

[CruiserBruce]

You don't wait to reserve your car- if you do, you are subject to long lines, and the possibility they will be out of cars. I can't think of anywhere I would try to rent a car "spur of the moment".

[CruisnDeb]

CruisNDeb- Thanks so much! That's exactly what I was looking for. A couple of questions: did you reserve your car rentals or is there the opportunity to just do it the day of? The bike ride sounds incredible! How intense is it? I love that you didn't "hire" a lot of excursions. Thanks again.

 

Mandy I am glad I could help :D

 

We did all our car rentals through Discount Hawaii Car Rentals http://www.discounthawaiicarrental.com/. You can reserve your car, but you don't pay until you pick it up....no upfront credit card. If for whatever reason you don't pick up the car (missed port, change of plans, etc.) you aren't charged. When you do a search, you will get a list of available cars and the big name rental company (Enterprise, Dollar, Avis, etc.) I picked Dollar for all mine and then joined the "Dollar Express" membership (free). All the car rental places have their own free membership....members get to go through the VIP line at the rental counter--much shorter checkout time--so make sure you join for any and all rental companies. I also chose Dollar in Kona because it has a counter in the hotel right there at the port--all the other rental companies are at the airport that is several miles away.

 

The Sunrise Bike Tour was one of my favorite things we did. I am definitely NOT a thrill seeker and I loved this. I would not call it intense--I would say exhilarating--all downhill--you use the brakes more than you pedal lol. Here is a link to the one we did http://adventuremaui.com/biking_the_volcano.htm I chose this one because the bike ride was longer and ended in Paia right at the beach. I highly recommend this company. I had not been on a bike in over 10 years and I felt completely safe. They have an employee on a bike that leads the group and then a van that follows the last rider. If at any point anyone doesn't want to finish the ride, they will put the rider and their bike in the van for the remainder of the trip (but no one from our group did that.) And the sunrise is a definite not to be missed thing to do. It was incredible being above the clouds and seeing the sunrise.

[CruisnDeb]

You don't wait to reserve your car- if you do, you are subject to long lines, and the possibility they will be out of cars. I can't think of anywhere I would try to rent a car "spur of the moment".

 

CruiserBruce is right. I reserved all our car rentals 3-4 months in advance. I would go back and check quotes to see if prices had dropped and noticed the car supply was very low the closer it got to our trip.

[punkincc]

CruisNDeb- Thanks so much! That's exactly what I was looking for. A couple of questions: did you reserve your car rentals or is there the opportunity to just do it the day of? The bike ride sounds incredible! How intense is it? I love that you didn't "hire" a lot of excursions. Thanks again.

 

We used the same company to rent as Deb, DHCR. You will often see it recommended on the board. Do book in advance. There will be shuttles for each company and you are supposed to ride "your" shuttle and have a reservation when you get on the shuttle. My advice is to get off the ship as soon as boarding starts and find the area where the shuttles pull up and get in line. It seemed rather more chaotic this cruise than the last. They don't have a designated spot for each company and no one knows if they are in the right place. We just missed one shuttle and had to wait for the next. We were too far back in line and that one filled up, so had to wait 20 min or so for the next. Probably 60 to 90 minutes before we were in our car. You may luck out with far less time, but I would pad your schedule with some time, especially if you are meeting a tour somewhere. Make sure you pick up a map book at the shuttle office which has lots of close up maps for each area or bring your GPS from home.

 

You can keep the car overnight in Mauai and Kauai if you plan to use it both days. You can find info on parking for each port if you look down the board or use the search function. There are a couple of threads now about the parking situation in Maui which has recently changed.

Edited April 9, 2016 by punkincc

[murphy4]

Excellent tips on this thread!

[D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL]

This is a great thread. Getting some great ideas for tours. Thanks to you all for your input and ideas.

 

We will be staying 2 nights pre cruise for our cruise next Feb and was wondering what the good luau's would be for Waikiki Beach area ? I did the Germaine's luau years ago and thoroughly enjoyed that one but was wondering what other good luau's are available ?

Edited April 12, 2016 by D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL

[CruisnDeb]

This is a great thread. Getting some great ideas for tours. Thanks to you all for your input and ideas.

 

We will be staying 2 nights pre cruise for our cruise next Feb and was wondering what the good luau's would be for Waikiki Beach area ? I did the Germaine's luau years ago and thoroughly enjoyed that one but was wondering what other good luau's are available ?

 

I don't know if you would call it Waikiki area, but we attended the Paradise Cove Luau (https://www.paradisecove.com/) and had a great time. It's about 40 minutes from Waikiki, but they offer shuttle service (for a fee) and they do pick-ups from some of the Waikiki hotels. If you have kids, they had lots of activities for them to participate in before the show starts.

[Kattus]

This is a great thread. Getting some great ideas for tours. Thanks to you all for your input and ideas.

 

We will be staying 2 nights pre cruise for our cruise next Feb and was wondering what the good luau's would be for Waikiki Beach area ? I did the Germaine's luau years ago and thoroughly enjoyed that one but was wondering what other good luau's are available ?

 

We're doing the Diamond Head Luau http://www.diamondheadbeachluau.com/ when we go in a few weeks. They might still have a great Groupon deal, 2 VIP tickets for the cost of one. Another plus is that it's within walking distance of Waikiki Beach hotels, so no concerns about traffic or late shuttle buses (read way too many stories about shuttle buses that came late and guests missing out on pre-dinner activities and even dinner!) When we come back, I'm going to try and do a full review, so hopefully it'll help those in the planning stages:)

[wanderbee]

oops, you already answered my question!

Edited April 30, 2016 by wanderbee
saw answered already

[CruisnDeb]

oops, you already answered my question!

 

LOL I was just getting ready to tell you that.

[horseymike]

Hi Marmstro

Fodors Hawaii book excellent...

Costco travel car rental, great rates , brand name rental companies

Oahu, Pearl Harbor, Hanauma Bay, North Shore Pipeline

Maui, Haleakala, Lahaina , Old Lahaina Luau

Kauai, Waimea Canyon, Boathouse restaurant in Poipu Beach for sunset

Big Island , Kona town,Mona Loa macadamia factory.

These are just a few of our favorites, have a great cruise and a great time

in Hawaii ! Aloha :D

Horseymike

[marmstro]

Thanks so much, Horseymike. Appreciate all your suggestions!

[horseymike]

Hi Marmstro,

 

The place in Kauai with the great sunsets is the BEACH HOUSE not the boathouse. Sorry for the error.

Mahalo.

 

Horseymike:D

[D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL]

We're doing the Diamond Head Luau http://www.diamondheadbeachluau.com/ when we go in a few weeks. They might still have a great Groupon deal, 2 VIP tickets for the cost of one. Another plus is that it's within walking distance of Waikiki Beach hotels, so no concerns about traffic or late shuttle buses (read way too many stories about shuttle buses that came late and guests missing out on pre-dinner activities and even dinner!) When we come back, I'm going to try and do a full review, so hopefully it'll help those in the planning stages:)

 

Yes they still do have a Groupon deal for the VIP tickets. This luau is very close to where we are staying and am anxious to hear how your luau went.