What to do before embarkation?!

[niki1785]

My fiancé and I will be on our honeymoon in just over a year. I'm already really excited about our trip to Hawaii, neither of us have been there before! We will arrive to Honolulu on the 9th of September and will be cruising on the 10th. What are some suggestions of things to do the day of embarkation? I was thinking maybe hiking Diamond Head?

 

We will be staying at the The Ilikai Hotel on Waikiki just for our first night. Is there something else we should consider doing the morning of embarkation that is relatively close to the hotel? We will be spending 4 days in Oahu after the cruise at the Hilton on Waikiki so we would like to save any far drives for those 4 days.

 

Oh and another question… Does anyone know how far The Ilikai Hotel is from the cruise port?

 

Thanks in advance!!!!!:D

[cathy_kearns]

The cruise port (Aloha Tower) is about 3 miles down Ala Moana Blvd from your hotel.

 

The morning you could just walk the Waikiki strip. If you are coming from the mainland you will probably be up early, and walking the beach is great at that time. You could hike Diamond Head, it's less than a miles hike, with great views, and opens at 6am. You could also go snorkeling in Hanama Bay. If you are up early enough it's not crowded, and it's out by Diamond Head, not too far.

[niki1785]

The cruise port (Aloha Tower) is about 3 miles down Ala Moana Blvd from your hotel.

 

The morning you could just walk the Waikiki strip. If you are coming from the mainland you will probably be up early, and walking the beach is great at that time. You could hike Diamond Head, it's less than a miles hike, with great views, and opens at 6am. You could also go snorkeling in Hanama Bay. If you are up early enough it's not crowded, and it's out by Diamond Head, not too far.

 

Thank you! Those are great suggestions. And yes, we are coming from NY, so I'm sure we will be wide awake in the early morning! Can we walk to Hanama Bay from Diamond Head?

 

Oh, this question is off the topic, and maybe I should be re-posting a new thread... but are there any moped rentals near the Ilikai Waikiki Hotel? I don't think we would walk to Diamond Head from the hotel, I've read it is about 2.5 miles... plus the hiking up Diamond Head. Or are there bus stops near the hotel? I don't want to rent a car that day.

 

Thank you!!!!!!

[vjblk]

No, you can not walk to Hanama Bay from Diamond Head. In fact it is not near Diamond Head. I would save that for when you have more time.

 

I believe you would have to go into main Waikiki or out to Ala Moana Center to catch the bus to Diamond Head. Also keep in mind that I believe the Bus drops you below where the hike starts up Diamond Head.

 

You could probably find somewhere near your hotel that rents mopeds. I personally don't like them as Waikiki traffic can be bad enough inside a car!

[cathy_kearns]

The bus (http://www.thebus.org) can also take you to Hanama bay, but again you have to walk a few blocks into Waikiki. Takes about 45 minutes to get there on the bus. I believe it's number 22 that goes out to Diamond Head and Hanama Bay, but there may be others too.

[Treven]

Or you could spend a couple hours wandering about the Ala Moana shopping center & then a couple more hours wandering the isles in Hilo Hatties (I spent WAY too much $ there).

[niki1785]

Thank you all for your thoughts. All of the information will really help me to plan my trip. Now only if I could decide what to do :rolleyes: ... good thing I have a year left to choose! But I really appreciate all of your information, I am slowly learning more about Hawaii!