Q's for Lambs2

[cruisin24]

Lambs2

 

I have noticed that the itinerary you chose for your trip to Hawaii is very much like mine is planned for....Would you mind posting for me what you did on each island..so I can compare!

 

This is what we have planned and I know we need to be flexible! FYI we are a couple in early 40's and no kids or parents travelling with us.

 

Thrifty rental cars (blue chip member)booked on all islands except stop in Kona.

3 days pre-cruise on Oahu:

 

Day 1 (depends on weather)

Hanauma Bay snorkel (early morning)

Travel to north shore Waimea Beach to see surfers

Stop by Giovanni Shrimp (north) truck for late lunch/early dinner

 

Day 2

Pearl Harbour (early morning)

Drive Banzai Pipeline

 

Day3

Try Leonards Bakery for Malasadas

Hike Diamond Head

Return rental and board PofH May 21/07

 

Hilo:

Get rental early

VNP-spend 3-5 hrs

Punalu'u Beach

Akaka Falls

Rainbow Falls

Return rental

 

Kahului, Maui:

Day 1

Get rental

Road to Hana (I have mapped out the stops I want to make already)

Iao Valley/Needle

 

Day2

Halaekala Crater-2-3 hrs

Honolua Bay Reserve/Slaughterhouse Beach-snorkel-1hour at most

Black Rock-Kaanapali Beach-1 hour at most

Lahaina-for a drive through-stop if time-not really shoppers

Return rental

 

Kona:

Captain Cook monument snorkel-booked with NCL-early am

Relax rest of day or DH will get cranky--after all he will be doing most if not all of the driving + we are travelling from the East and have a 9 hour flight to get to Hawaii...so I should cut him some slack!

 

Nawiliwili, Kauai:

Day 1

Get rental

Waimea Canyon-1-2 hours

Jo-Jo's-Waimea-Shave Ice-got to try it!

Spouting Horn Blowhole-1/2 hour

Poipu Beach-1 hour

Return snorkel equipment-Snorkel Bob's

Wailua Falls

Opaeka'a Falls

Kilauea Lighthouse-Hopefully time to make a run up there for some pics-not planning on touring the grounds-I know they are only open 10-4...just want some pics...so we won't be there long

I know it will be a long day but!!!!

Return rental-not sure if I am going to keep and return day 2 after Air Ventures tour-I have to decide though so I can get my parking permit first thing in am if I plan to keep it overnight. I don't know if I have time on day 2 to return as our Air Ventures tour is 10:30-11:30 a.m. I would prefer to return day 1....do you think my plan is doable???

 

Day 2

Air Ventures tour over Kauai-1 hour

 

We will eat lunch as we go. What do you think?? If you think I should change the order of things...don't hesitate to let me know.

Thanks for all of your input!

Debbie

[lambs2]

Lambs2

 

I have noticed that the itinerary you chose for your trip to Hawaii is very much like mine is planned for....Would you mind posting for me what you did on each island..so I can compare!

 

This is what we have planned and I know we need to be flexible! FYI we are a couple in early 40's and no kids or parents travelling with us.

 

Thrifty rental cars (blue chip member)booked on all islands except stop in Kona.

3 days pre-cruise on Oahu:

 

Day 1 (depends on weather)

Hanauma Bay snorkel (early morning)

Travel to north shore Waimea Beach to see surfers

Stop by Giovanni Shrimp (north) truck for late lunch/early dinner

 

Day 2

Pearl Harbour (early morning)

Drive Banzai Pipeline

 

Day3

Try Leonards Bakery for Malasadas

Hike Diamond Head

Return rental and board PofH May 21/07

 

Hilo:

Get rental early

VNP-spend 3-5 hrs

Punalu'u Beach

Akaka Falls

Rainbow Falls

Return rental

 

Kahului, Maui:

Day 1

Get rental

Road to Hana (I have mapped out the stops I want to make already)

Iao Valley/Needle

 

Day2

Halaekala Crater-2-3 hrs

Honolua Bay Reserve/Slaughterhouse Beach-snorkel-1hour at most

Black Rock-Kaanapali Beach-1 hour at most

Lahaina-for a drive through-stop if time-not really shoppers

Return rental

 

Kona:

Captain Cook monument snorkel-booked with NCL-early am

Relax rest of day or DH will get cranky--after all he will be doing most if not all of the driving + we are travelling from the East and have a 9 hour flight to get to Hawaii...so I should cut him some slack!

 

Nawiliwili, Kauai:

Day 1

Get rental

Waimea Canyon-1-2 hours

Jo-Jo's-Waimea-Shave Ice-got to try it!

Spouting Horn Blowhole-1/2 hour

Poipu Beach-1 hour

Return snorkel equipment-Snorkel Bob's

Wailua Falls

Opaeka'a Falls

Kilauea Lighthouse-Hopefully time to make a run up there for some pics-not planning on touring the grounds-I know they are only open 10-4...just want some pics...so we won't be there long

I know it will be a long day but!!!!

Return rental-not sure if I am going to keep and return day 2 after Air Ventures tour-I have to decide though so I can get my parking permit first thing in am if I plan to keep it overnight. I don't know if I have time on day 2 to return as our Air Ventures tour is 10:30-11:30 a.m. I would prefer to return day 1....do you think my plan is doable???

 

Day 2

Air Ventures tour over Kauai-1 hour

 

We will eat lunch as we go. What do you think?? If you think I should change the order of things...don't hesitate to let me know.

Thanks for all of your input!

Debbie

 

 

Aloha Debbie!

Three days pre-cruise on Oahu is wonderful! We only had one full day pre-cruise and then another day post-cruise. Your Oahu itinerary sounds good and you will have plenty of time to see all the sights and do the activities you planned. One suggestion: Consider combining the Northshore excursion shown on Day 1 with the north shore drive on Day 2. Better yet: Devoting a full day to the North Shore and then spending the other two days on the Waikiki side would work out well. You could actually start the day with Haunama Bay snorkel and then go on to do the North shore! Also, be sure and try a Shave Ice from Aoki's or Matsumotos on the North Shore (I loved the kind with Pina Colada flavors and with the sweet beans in the bottom of the cup. DH liked Ice Cream in the bottom of his!) read my review to see how we did the entire North Shore on our last day on Oahu.

 

Hiking Diamond Head the morning you board the ship may be a 'sweaty' affair for you (it was for us), so go early enough that you can get back to your hotel before checkout time to take a quick shower to freshen up before you board the ship!

 

Hilo: The Punalu'u beach portion of your day is a long drive and may cause you to short-change the other things on your agenda. Our day on Hilo did not include this drive and we were the absolutely first prople off our ship that morning AND on the last shuttle from Thrifty back to the ship. We did do most of the short hikes on the VNP route and also stopped to see Banyan Drive on our way to Akaka Falls Park. We did Rainbow Falls and the Boiling Pots right before we returned the rental car. We ordered room service sandwiches from the ship the night before and I had a small collapsible cooler and refreezable ice pack plus some bottled water and baggies so lunch was 'on-the-go'!.

 

Maui: Road to Hana may be all you can do that day. Not sure how late the Iao Park is open. You only need about 45 minutes to see it and photograph. We loved this place and you could easily do it on the next morning on your way to Kaanapali/Lahaina. Not sure about just where that snorkeling beach is. You may find it difficult to find a place to shower/change after a snorkel in order to "do" the rest of your ambitious schedule for that day.

 

Kona: Good plan. After the snorkeling excursion we had time to go back to the ship for a leisurely lunch and then went back on the tender to Kona just to walk around the cute town for a bit. Oh yes, we also took the free shuttle to Walmart on Kona where we got some inexpensive souveneirs and some more bottles water and soda.

 

Kauai: Your Day 1 plan sounds good. The snorkeling part MAY be a bit over ambitious, but if that is a priority for you I'm sure you can find a way. We did not get to Poipu or the Spouting Horn until quite late in the afternoon and were not there very long - certainly not long enough to snorkel. Our day was in the reverse order of your plans. After Waimea Canyon and the Poipu area we drove back to the rental car return and caught the shuttle to the ship. We spent more than an hour at the Kilauea Lighhouse, but you can see and photograph some of the views from the "free" parking area and overlook without paying the entrance fee. One thought: since we went to Waimea Canyon in the afternoon it was fogged in by the time we reached the high points. Therefore we spent less time there than folks would on a clear day. Basically, we drove up to all the overlooks, got out, but with the fog couldn't see too much, and then drove back down and headed to Spouting Horn and the Poipu area. Glad we had the Airventures flight the next day and it was a perfectly clear gorgeous day!! alos we found the drive all the way to Ke'e Beach and the start of the Napali Coast just great (not on your plan). I would try to do your best to return that rental car after Day 1 on Kauai, if at all possible. You will not need it for day 2 as Air Ventures will pick you up right at the pier area.

 

Hope there is something helpful here for you. Enjoy Hawaii!!!! Any other questions feel free to ask. My full review on our Hawaiian vacation and Pride of America cruise is linked below in case you have not seen it:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=19765

[cruisin24]

Thank you,thank you, thank you!!!

 

All that typing...wow!

 

I will print it and revise my notes!

 

Debbie

[lambs2]

You are most welcome. We got lots of help planning our hawaiian trip and just wan to return the favor.

Aloha!