H/C Excursions in Hawaii

[Shebbieal]

Hi,

 

I am looking for excursions in Hawaii.

 

I can't walk (balance) but strength is fine, I am able to transfer pretty easily, and can get on/off bus by using handholds. I can get on/off helicopters with minor assistance.

 

I am interseted in helicopters on Kauai and the big Island (Hawaii). Anyone have any experiences with these? What about land (or Island) tours on Maui and Oahu? Should I go with the cruiseline (we have 14 cruises of experience) or go independant? We are going in September on the Radiance of the Seas 14 day r/t Los Angeles.

 

Any help is much appreciated!!

Sherry

[DEL67]

Sherry:

 

My husband uses a wheelchair and we have been to Hawaii twice, once on a cruise. He can not get on a bus so we rented a car on each island and toured independently. Actually I did not find Hawaii particularly accessible, partially because the beach is the big draw. What did surprise me was that the state tourism bureau has little accessibility information and much of it is outdated.

 

The Culture Center and Pearl Harbor on Oahu are accessible. The Missouri is mostly accessible. They use a crane to get you on the ship. What a photo opportunity! We drove up the Volcano and went part way to Hana on Maui. On Hawaii we visted Volcano National Park and on Kauai we visited the "Grand Canyon of the West" (I do not remember the name), a water spout and falls that could be viewed from the road.

[Shebbieal]

Thanks,

 

I posted on the port boards also.

 

We also are not beach people. We live in Florida, so the ocean isn't a big deal. Altho hubby scuba dives!! We don't do water stuff while cruising (go figure).

 

We usually do city/Island tours. Hubby HATES to drive while sight-seeiing. Are there independant tours at the ports, like in the Caribbean?

 

Thanks again,

Sherry

[DesrtDrmr]

Hello,

We did as Del67 did and rented cars. We booked a shore excursion that was a glass bottom boat in Kona.

The other thing we booked was Smiths Tropical Gardens tour and luau on Kauai. This was pretty tame, but we did enjoy seeing all of the flowers and trees, and enjoyed the entertainment at the luau. Other folks on our cruise enjoyed the bus tour which went to where different movies were filmed. We tend to like half day tours.

We rented a car in Honolulu and drove all around, just getting a feel for the island. We rented a car and went to the volcano in Hilo. We had been to Maui several times before, so stayed on the ship, watched a few whales in the harbor and did our laundry. :) That was a tender port, too. I took my scooter off in Honolulu after we returned the car, and then we poked around the Aloha Village center. Some people did book an evening luau on Oahu through the cruiseline.

We didn't do any helicopter tours, but friends did, and they enjoyed them. They booked through the ship. I don't know the name of the company.

Hope you have a wonderful cruise.

[Splinter]

I agree. If you can transfer, rent a car. Although there are some accessible tour buses, they are few and far between, and expensive, and your ship may not be able or willing to guarantee them. We did get tours our last trip through Princess to Volcano National Park (through Hilo) and Kauai to Waimea Canyon, but it was with a lot of effort and many "maybes" from the excursion staff both before and after enbarkation.

 

In Honolulu the Bus (city bus) is fully accessible and an easy and cheap way to get to Waikiki area of Honolulu or to sights like the Waikiki Aquarium.

 

The town shuttle in Hilo is accessible, but there is not much to do in town. Ask at the visitors assistance desk on the pier for assistance with this. It is $3 each way.

 

There are two companies that have accessible helicopter rides that I know of:

 

http://www.bluehawaiian.com/

 

http://www.sunshinehelicopters.com/

 

I can recommend the Maui Ocean Center aquarium highly, but you will need a car (or long taxi ride) to get there.

[Queenie2]

Sunshine helicopters does have a portable lift at their facility in Kona so you can do an air tour over the volcano. But truth be told, they are very nice and they will share their lift with the other helicopter companies. You just have to make sure the other companies are willing to accommodate you. You need to transfer to the lift (whihc is kind of like a sideways stair lift) and then transfer to seat at the top. There is a picture of the helicopter with the lift (at their Maui facility) in this article I did on Cruising Hawaii.

http://www.goworldtravel.com/ex/aspx/articleGuid.%7BF9107B6E-5471-49B7-9919-46EBEA8E099C%7D/xe/article.htm

 

Candy

[daju22]

Hi Sherry,

 

My husband is disabled and he uses a travel scooter to get around in port. He can climb bus steps. We went on Infinity Celebrity 14 day to Hawaii. We did the cruiseline bus tours to Wiamea Canyon on Kawaii, Pearl Harbor on Oahu, and Volcano Nat. Park at Hilo, Hawaii. Just tendered into Kona and Lahaina and walked around. Tendering was fine and they carried the scooter up and down the stairs to the tender. Helped my husband into and out of the tender.

 

All of the tours were extremely accessible. We put the scooter under the bus. Bus driver and many passengers wanted to help with putting it in and taking it out.

We had reserved seats in the front of the bus. We were treated extremely well and were happy with the tours. The weather didn't cooperate at Wiamea and it was fogged in. We only saw wild chickens there, but the lookout was so accessible. It had stairs and ramps going back and forth up the hill so the scooter could climb up. If the day was sunny it would have been fantastic.

 

Hope this helps a little. Please ask if you have any more questions.