Movie Tours a general yes or no? Oahu vs Kauai

[mousefan73]

My mom and I will be cruising to Hawaii and I am on the fench on what activities to do while on Oahu and Kauai in reference to the movie tours. For reference:

• My mom is older at 71, mobile but cannot walk fast  with a group
• We are 2 days in Kauai with a cruiseship overnight.
• Oahu we are one day as port stop at beginning of HI part of cruise and disembark HNL with 2 nights staying on Waikiki. 
• We have a car for Oahu and could get one for Kauai.
• Right now we have a cruise port activity booked the Kauai Movie Tour 
• We are looking at doing the Kualoa Ranch on our own in Oahu

 

 

So I have been reading reviews on TA and most are saying theses movie tours are bad. Is Kualoa comparible to the tours on kauai? I am thinking as Kualoa Ranch is a location in itself, it cant be bad right?

 

To be honest we dont really care about the "movieness" of it all, though a shot of Jurastic park scense would be cool to see in real life. We are looking more for an easy way for my mom and I to see pretty parts of hawaii, where one FEELS like wow we are on Hawaii. 

 

I am more concerned about Kauai, if we keep this as a cruise ship tour.. Or is Kauai and those locations easy to do with a rental? And if Kaulao Ranch is worth a trip? We have only 2 days on Oahu and need to pick what we want to do.. and this is: Half a day touring Hawaiian scenery (does Kualoa ranch offers this?), a calm beach for a few hours, and quick stop Aulani to buy disney hawaiian stuff. and a target/walmart/abc stop for shopping.. Waikiki is hotel so that is covered

 

Sorry If this post is all over the place,, my question in a nutshell Are these movie tours worth it paying as a group thing? Do you get that wow we are in Hawaii feeling? Or should be do our own thing, and can you compare the Kaulao Ranch with Kauai tours or are they completly differnt seeing the Ranch is a destination in itself.

 

thanks!

[KeepCalmBearOn]

Ha ha, yes, the post is all over the place.

 

When you say "movie tours" are you trying to compare Kipu Ranch (Kauai) to Kualoa Ranch (Oahu)?

 

Kipu Ranch has an off road tour (4 passenger vehicles) that is pretty cool. You get to see the incredible beauty of Kauai while that nagging fear of a raptor coming out of the brush to bite your head off is in the back of your mind.

 

Kualoa Ranch has a similar tour,  also great.

 

This assumes you aren't looking for a self drive ATV tour or a horseback riding tour (the best tour).

 

I loved both because I spent a lot of time on both Oahu and Kauai and have the luxury of time. I also love the Jurassic Park movies, the Lost TV series and the other shows filmed at these places so it geeks me out. Even without being a movie fan, you can get an appreciation for the beauty of both islands, especially Oahu.

 

Is it worth it given your limited time? That is a call only you can make. My #1 must see item on Oahu for visitors is visiting the USS Arizona Memorial, but since that is best done before 10AM (and the earlier the better), you have a whole day after that.

 

As a piece of trivia, watch the YouTube video below. Most people don't know that in the last couple of days of shooting the original Jurassic Park movie the cast and crew got caught in the worst hurricane to ever hit Kauai. The cast and crew were staying at the Kauai Surf hotel, which was devastated by the hurricane. Luckily the main tower was well built enough that it survived the onslaught.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP_drlbBpRM

 

[Leela]

Visiting pretty places on O'ahu and Kaua'i is easy with a rental car. It would probably be good to map out your own self-drive itinerary in advance so that you will be sure to see the things you really want to see in the time you have available. Like perhaps you'd like to stop at a mountain or valley lookout, and a couple of beach parks, and drive a scenic road: this is where a guide book or web site or other reference can help you plan. I also suggest using a driving app like Google Maps or Wayze to give you an idea of how long it takes to get the the places you want to go, with time estimates that take into account commuter traffic and that sort of thing. 

If that kind of planning isn't something that you feel you want to do, then a tour where someone else handles the planning and details might be better after all. If possible, you might want to consider having a private tour so that you and your mother are on your own flexible schedule and not tied to a larger group. 

You will definitely get the "in Hawaiʻi" feeling no matter what you do. Unless you just stay by the boat harbor all day you won't be disappointed.

[Greg4502]

I did a movie tour in Kauai. The tour guide was very knowledgeable. A nice part about the tour was that, they showed the movie or TV show of the place visited. You could see it then and now. One of the places we visited, they actually planted palm trees, as there not enough there at the time of filming.

[QueenofEverything]

We did the movie tour on Kauai several years ago.  It was just ok.  However,  if your goal is to see lots of nice scenery, you  will probably like it.  It covered quite a few places.  We have also rented cars in all of the Hawaii ports and enjoyed that.  Waimea Canyon on Kauai is very pretty but a ways off.  You can get a peek of the Napali Coast close by.