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Community => Watto's Junk Yard => Topic started by: Morgbug on October 20, 2004, 10:49 PM
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We're likely going, so I'm looking for suggestions. I've been before, but always like to hear what other people have done or enjoyed doing.
Most likely we will go to Maui. Oahu/Honolulu seem a bit to city-ish and crowded for what we are after. I know you can get away and I'd really like to spend some (more) time at Pearl Harbor, but with a 4 year old it's probably not going to be really interesting for her. We'll do it later once she's in school and taking history classes and such.
So, give me your thoughts please.
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I went to Maui for 3 or 4 days last summer. I forget which hotel we stayed at, though it had a giant pool, and had a direct path to the beach. The best thing to do while your there is snorkeling, it's an activity your whole family can enjoy. It's kinda pricy though, depending on where you go.
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Raises Hand, we went on our Honeymoon
We stayed in Oahu/Waikiki
I've been told you should go to Hawaii at least twice and maybe thrice
We did all of the touristy stuff on Oahu...Pearl Harbor, walked the beach, went snorkling, took a tour around the island, watched surfing, took a dinner cruise, went to the Pineapple Plantation (raise your hand if you knew pineapples grow on the ground), didn't leave our hotel much at night :winkwinknundgenudge:
We also went to the Big Island and took a whirlwind tour in a day. Saw the lava flows and went through Volcano National Park, went to the nut plantation, saw some of the new resorts etc
Next time we go we are going to go to Maui and spend the time relaxing, it truly is paradise, perfect weather, beautiful scenery and a wonderful weird melting pot of culture (the natives, American, SE Asian and Japanese)
I can't recommend it enough
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I've been to Hawaii, but it was back in the 80's. Still it was incredibly memorable. While I was there, I spent a week on Oahu and a week on Maui. Oahu is definitely very urban. There are some great beaches like Waikiki and Hanauma Bay, but Honolulu dominates the island. If you're a surfer there are some great surfing beaches near Hanauma Bay and along the North Shore, but you have to know what you're doing or else you're gonna die. Seriously, you could die. There's also the Polynesion Clutural Center which was a cool way to spend a day. The coolest thing I did was take a glider ride at an airport near Hickam Field, and old Army air base. As for the historical aspect, for our family, it was good to go there. I have an uncle who was in the Army during the attack on Pearl Harbor and we visited the Army barracks where he was stationed. Since then I've learned a lot about the day, but that's between me and my uncle.
Maui was simply put, paradise. It's incredibly beautiful. The water is crystal clear, and you can even dive down to volcanic rock if you're a couple hundred feet offshore. That's just incredible.
If I was going to go, I'd want to check out the big island and Kauaii. Those are apparently among the best. There's so much to do on the big island. And if you go there, you can get me some Kona coffee, LOL!
A friend of mine went to Kauaii with his wife. It's one of the less traveled to islands, so it's pristine and beautiful. It's also got what some call the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific". I hear flying over this thing on a helicopter ride is awesome.
As for some of the smaller islands, Molokai isn't traveled to all that often. But then there's also the Leper colony there.
Lanai is among the smallest islands, and there really isn't much there. Although there is probably one of the most exclusive and probably equally expensive resorts in Hawaii on Lanai.
I think you can skip Oahu unless you're want to check it out for a couple of days. Maui is awesome, but seriously consider the Big Island and Kauaii.
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Went to Maui this past summer, Kauai 3 years ago.
Kauai is more intimate and laidback, less touched by development. Half of Maui is definitely suburban-ish; only the setting is tropical. Go to Yahoo Maps and plot the eateries in Maui and you'll see what I mean: Outback steakhouses, Ruth's Chris; Burger King; Krispy Kreme Donuts. Fortunately, there's a Walmart on both islands for your toy hunting childcare needs. ;)
For the natural scenery, I prefer K over M. If you've ever been to the Grand Canyon, you'll get the same feeling looking at the Waimea Canyon. But both have an abundance of wonders.
Maui is probably more geared for the family vacation. While it has the rep of being more costly than the other islands, buying in bulk at Costco will mitigate that. ;D
Get a copy of Maui Revealed if you decide on Maui.
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Went to Hawaii for 10+ days for our honeymoon two years ago. Spent three days on Oahu and four days each on Maui and Hawaii, the Big Island. Oahu was too over crowded for my liking, but it was pretty cool to see Diamond Head on Waikiki. Did a day trip to the Polynesian Culture Center. Pretty cool place and it got us a chance to see the rest of the island on the drive there.
Did a helicopter ride over the volcano on the Big Island. Seeing lava flow into the ocean was awesome. Really not much to do on that island if your a fan of night life but it was relaxing.
Maui was my favorite and if I go back, I'm flying straight there. Stayed at the Royal Lahana Resort, right on the ocean. Happy hour was every day at 4:30 and we got to watch the sun set behind one of the other islands. Went snorkeling at Molokini Crater, supposedly the number 2 dive site in the world. A whole new world underneath the ocean.
They say you haven't been to Maui unless you drive the Hana Highway. 61 one lane bridges and 530+ hair pin turns :o We did it, my wife was happy and I was a little nervous. She's saying "Oh, look at the waterfall" I'm like "Look at that ******* truck coming right at us" Got to Hana and beyond and walked to the top of a 400 foot waterfall and then back down to the Seven Pools.
Definitely a beautiful place and would go back in a heart beat.
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Just wanted to bump this up and say thanks for the responses. When I initially posted it, we were deciding where to go and what to do.
We're going (back) to Maui and staying in the same condo as before, it's not great, but it's all we need. Across the street from Kamaole Beach III, which is the smallest/shortest of the three, but it's got a nice coral/lava natural water break that makes the water much calmer, perfect for a 4.5 year old not great swimmer.
It's -24 C here right now and it's snowed (not constantly) for two days with more forecast for tonight. We board a plane tomorrow morning at 7:30 for Minneapolis, then on to Seatlle and finally Maui, getting in at 7:30ish local time. Forecast highs for the weekend are 29 C. Not bad, nearly 50 C temperature swing.
So, for those of you in Minnesota, come see me at the airport tomorrow between 9 and 11 am.
For those of you that call me old, well :P and I guess this is a perk of age. Neener, neener, neener.
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I thought about coming to see you but then remembered that you can't get in the terminal without a boarding pass, sorry
Have a great trip though and enjoy the paradise :)
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Have a great trip Brent & don't forget to pack a warm jacket for the return. ;)
I can picture Brent returning at the airport like John Candy in Cool Runnings! (http://www.cheesebuerger.de/images/midi/figuren/a014.gif)
Enjoy the warmth! (http://www.cheesebuerger.de/images/smilie/verschiedene/e100.gif)
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It sounds like you picked the perfect time to escape the weather. Have a blast, and hope you get lei'd. ;D
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I thought about coming to see you but then remembered that you can't get in the terminal without a boarding pass, sorry
Yeah, that all changed after 9/11 eh?
I remember flying into Minneapolis and being utterly amazed that everyone could just walk right up to the gate. Couldn't get on the plane, but pretty close. Never been like that here. I also recall the merchants being pretty ticked about the restrictions (I flew through on my way to San Diego in December of '01) Too bad, would have been cool to meet in person.
I mailed out all my packages today, everyone's except Famine's. Didn't have the address in time. Sorry Kev. Scott and Jim also have to wait until after I get back.
I know there's a Walmart, Costco and K-mart on Maui, but don't recall a Target :'( Will do a little hunting nonetheless.
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I know there's a Walmart, Costco and K-mart on Maui, but don't recall a Target :'( Will do a little hunting nonetheless.
I didn't see a Target when I was there and good luck at the Wal-Mart. It had ****.
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Brent, enjoy! A friend of mine just got back from his honeymoon on Maui, and he said that the Road to Hana is something you shouldn't pass up. Also, try to take the ride up to the top of Haleakala.
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I went to Hawaii for 3 weeks with my girlfriend, the summer after 10th grade in 1986 (which my parents schockingly agreed to let me do). Her parents were renting a beautiful house just off of Waikiki Beach for the summer, so the accomodations were top notch. Had a blast. Still one of the best 3 weeks of my life.
In my senile old age though, I can't remember a lot of the touristy types of places she took me to, other than the beach (duh), Ala Moana mall, some REAL windy spot up on a hill (like a wind tunnel cave or sumthin'), and a few other cool spots.
Haven't been back since, but one of my best friends from high school lives there now, and has been asking me to come visit for the last several years (he's in Maui), so we'll probably make our way out their soon enough.
Hope you're having a good time out there Brent! I wanna see a picture of your TAN ass when you return... ;)
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Aloha,
Lots of fun in Hawaii, no doubt about it. I’ll post an update, but feel free to ask questions, I’d be more than pleased to answer them.
12 days on Maui is actually too long, unless you have a ton of cash to spend. Lots and lots to do, lots of it free, but most of the free stuff you can accomplish in about a week or so. Then you need to start spending money, serious money. Helicopter tour of the island, 45 minutes, 3 people - $600! Zoiks.
Spent most of our time at the beach, playing in the waves (my four year old daughter is fearless) and snorkeling. Found a new place that we didn’t snorkel at last time, close to a beach (four year olds are not great swimmers) that was awesome. Swam with turtles on four different days, one that would fit Matt’s sweater even. It was awesomely huge, probably about 3 feet across, maybe 4 feet long, probably 400 pounds (like I said, like Matt).
Cruised up Haleakala one day, beautiful weather, could see all the way to the big Island of Hawaii, about 80-100 miles away. Lots of fun, but long, twisty drive. Fortunately my daughter survived it this time without yakking. That was also the reason we didn’t do the road to Hana, as recommended here. My daughter has (had?) A propensity to be car sick on really twisty roads. We’ll do it next time. She also isn’t entirely into the beauty thing just yet (another reason we didn’t cruise over to the big Island - only two beaches there, but spectacular history and scenery).
Did the Luau, whale cruise, scuba diving, snorkel cruise. No golfing though, did last time. A little expensive, but just didn’t golf enough this past summer to justify it. Maybe next time. Ate some great food and I’d highly recommend Bubba Gump shrimp if you’re ever over there (or wherever else they have them). Kind of chain restaurant-ish, but still enjoyable. Had the Cajun shrimp and Mahi Mahi combo. Yummy.
Got the sunburn on the 7th day. Thought we were going to the beach for about ½ hour, came back in 5 hours later. Oops, forgot the sunscreen. It’s cool though, weather here sucked so much this past summer it’s the first opportunity I’ve had for a while.
Great place to go, no doubt about it. Toys were pretty limited. K-mart would have been great, had Matt not already sent up the screen scenes. Also had the OTC generals wave and a couple of bad (Lando) VOTC. Had 12" figures as well, so pretty neat. Saw remnants of the Scorpion wave at a couple of places, but came home without. At least now I’ve seen the wave and know what to look for. Walmart was ok, not so bad as Mikey’s experience. There was some limited star wars stuff, OTC and VOTC and on the last day they had the post-OTC wave on the pegs, about three cases worth. Naturally I already have these on the way (thanks Mikey) so didn’t bother with them. Missed out on a case of NFL10 but just a little bit too - would have been nice as Canadian cases have no retros in them. There’s still a KB in the big mall in Kahului so I had to check that out to. Like the other KB’s stateside, they’re getting in the wave with Ephant Mon. I happened upon three, bought two for a grand total of $4.97. So I did find toys in paradise, just not much. I think if you lived in Kahului you could do ok. KB even had NHL Legends in stock and only 7 on the pegs.
It sucks to be back; it’s cold and slippery. Looks a lot more like Christmas for sure, but I could live without the snow. Really.
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You did the whale crusie??....and...did you get to see Big Blue????
Sounds like heaven or as close as one can get. Welcome back to the land of frozen hell :P.
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Welcome back Brent, I know I've missed you :) Sounds like you had a wonderful time. I still dream of our next trip there and I can't wait to make it happen. Were you able to get in your driveway when you got home or was it piled to the roof?
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Big grey, Beth. Humpback whales are the ones that everyone goes looking for. We saw about three, but nothing up close like they show you in the pictures. To be fair, we were early in the season though.
Scott, had the neighbour and his daughter taking care of the mail and he was kind enough to clean the driveway three times :o Beer for him.
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Swam with turtles on four different days, one that would fit Matt’s sweater even. It was awesomely huge, probably about 3 feet across, maybe 4 feet long, probably 400 pounds .
Wow. That must have been one of those "I'll never forget this" occasions. It's great that you such a successful trip.
Oh, and welcome back to the fluffy white stuff.
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Welcome back Brent. :)
Man, swimming with turtles, lucky bastard. I love turtles, did you catch a ride or are you allowed to do that?
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In a valinesque manouvre, I'm bumping this up, mostly to be a prick. ;D
Sunday morning we head off to Hawaii (again). We've been in 2002, 2004 and now again in 2006 (and yes, my daughter has no idea how spoiled and lucky she is). We're off to Oahu for six days and Maui for eight days this time, a pretty long duration but we managed to get the flights on Aeroplan (Air Canada frequent flyer miles) so it's starting out pretty cheaply, but my wife seems intent on spending what we saved ::) It should make for a fun vacation to say the least.
If anyone has some sage advice, I'm all for it. I haven't been to Oahu since 1988 so things might have changed. Biggest bummer for me is missing the Pearl Jam/U2 concert by about 2 days :'( I imagine I might live without being there though ;D
Aloha baby. 8)
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Pardon the double post, but I should point out that lamely, I'm looking forward to shopping for toys on the vacation. KB toys, Walmart and K-mart on Maui. TRU, Hot Topic, KayBee, Walmart on Oahu. Yeah, sadly I've looked already. I've actually had decent luck in past on the Islands so we'll see how that holds. I collect too much crap so usually I can find something. ;) It'll be kind of neat to see how that goes.
Probably no Hana yet again (six year old - bored in the car) but lots of awesome plans again - Haleakala, snorkel cruise to Molokini; golf on Lanai, might scuba dive if the opportunity presents itself. Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu; wife and daughter are going to swim with the dolphins (I'm too cheap to do it) as well.
As I said on the previous page, this is one hell of a perk for being older than most of you :-*
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Snorkeling at Molokini was awesome and I enjoyed the Polynesian Cultural Center. We did that as part of a tour group and it was much better than just showing up and walking throught the Center blind. The tour guide knew the best way to get around and plan the day and gave out facts that you wouldn't get just by walking around by yourself. Plus he was part of the Figi show (him being from Figi and all). And stay for the night show, you won't be disappointed (and make sure you get one of those ice cream and fruit in a pineapple thingamagigs. Delicious). Good stuff.
Didn't get a chance to golf while I was out there, hopefully next time. You bringing your own clubs or just renting on the island?
I'm trying to talk my family into doing Christmas there one year instead of the usual buy gifts and exchange routine we do every year. Probably not next year, but hopefully 2008. I'd love to go back, there's so much I didn't see last time I was there.
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Enjoy Brent! I remember the Polynesian cultural center pretty well, and it's 20 years since I've been to Hawaii. The whole place was pretty cool, although it's a little touristy. It could probably be pretty cool to check out the North end of Oahu and see some of the big surf that's coming in at this time of year.
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Well, I cant say anything about Maui and Oahu, but ive been to the big island. it is very nice. the toy selection at a walmart there got me all my post-OTCs! have fun. 8)
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My family went to Hawaii again this past June, but we only stayed on Waikiki/Oahu. Your daughter will probably enjoy the Honolulu Zoo, although it's quite fun for everyone. You should also try going to the north of the island and all of the famous beaches, though you should get there early. Otherwise you'll either not be able to find a parking spot or you'll have to walk a ways to get to the beaches. Also, climb Diamondhead. It's a great view once you get to the top, although it is quite a hike to the top. I don't know if you or your family are up for it. Also, you may get to see the giant waves, maybe even the famous surfers who ride them.
We went to an awesome snorkeling spot, I think it was Wayamea Bay (sp?)? I can't remember for sure, but it's the crater where you have to get there early before all the parking spots fill up. The best way to get there is to take the city bus there, it's much less of a hassle, although they stop going there after a certain time so you have to watch the time.
Restaurants on Oahu. There's a place next to the Honolulu Zoo called Teddy's Better Burgers. Eat there. Best burgers and shakes I think I've ever eaten. Another great restaurant on Oahu is Keo's, it's supposed to be world famous so you might have heard of it. Thai food. Good stuff, and awesome service. Our waiter's name was Hal I think, so ask for him if you like to laugh. And then there's always Duke's Canoe Club which has pretty good food as well.
Have fun, hopefully some of this advice will pay off for you. :)
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Thanks guys for the comments.
I've actually been to the PCC before, but it was, um, before many of you were born. LOL. We're planning on doing the full tour thing there with dinner and the evening show as well. $300 beans for the three of us but it should be fun.
As for golfing Mikey, last time I golfed I just rented. They tend to be pretty high end clubs at the courses and you can rent off course too. The hitch is I'm a lefty, so it's a bit tricky finding clubs in the US at times. Fortunately Hawaii gets so many tourists, they often have LH clubs in stock for rentals if nothing else. We might go back for 2008 and we're staying right up until two days before Christmas, so I'm very curious to see how the crowds are. If they're not too bad, we might be back and stay until January next time. Might also swing Fiji into the trip. I think it's only another 6 hours beyond Hawaii if memory serves me correctly.
Diddly, thanks for the restaurant advice, it'll help. I think I mentioned I was there back in 1988 but that's obviously a long time. I think the bay you wee at was Hanauma Bay on the south end of the island. We took the bus back in 88 and it was cool. We may do the same again this time. I climbed Diamond Head before when I went with my parents, but that's before the last ice age. I'd like to do it again.
As for eating, we'll be eating at Maui Taco a bunch ;D
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Awesome snorkling spot on Oahu is almost always going to be Hanauma Bay. I can remember snorkling there like it was yesterday. Too bad that was 1986! But I definitely preferred the beach there to Waikiki.
So where are you staying on Maui, Brent? Anywhere near the Lahaina area? That area is just amazing. I'm still amazed about what it was like to swim there. I think I swam about a hundred yards off shore and dove down to the bottom. Probably about 20 - 30 feet down, and the ocean floor was nothing but volcanic basalt. Very cool to see if you're used to swimming where it's all sandy. But I imagine that you might be there around a decent time of year to see some whales in the waters between Maui and Lanai. And get some shaved ice while you're there!
Maui was amazing, but I still really want to see the Big Island. I really need to get back there!
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Brent, you suck. >:(
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In Honolulu, go to Leonards bakery and get yourself some Malasada's. The bell hope gave me great directions there so I tipped him with 1/2 doxen of the chocolate filled ones!
I second that of KEO's...EXCELLENT food...and I am not crazy about Thai!
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Enjoy you’re vacation Brent. :)