Favorite Excursions

[Luv2trav]

What was your favorite excursion and why?? I would love some ideas for our trip next spring.

 

[GoBears 1980]

What do you mean by excursion? Some trip organized by someone else?

 

[twodogs]

Climbworks for ziplining and Best of the West sailing with dolphins. See my trip report for details and photos: http://www.disboards.com/threads/mahalo-aulani-three-generation-first-timer-trip-report.3522920/

 

[Soccerluvinmama]

I've said it here before, but I will say it again, I highly encourage you to sign up for Groupon alerts for the Honolulu area. You will find AMAZING deals on excursions there. Almost every one we've been on has come through a Groupon deal, and we have yet to have a bad experience. The best, most amazing excursion I have been on was swimming with the wild dolphins off of "Electric Beach" just up the street from Aulani. This experience was offered by a company called Dolphins and You (https://www.dolphinsandyou.com/) TOP NOTCH company, top to bottom. They picked us up from the resort in a beautiful motor coach and took us to the marina about 35 minutes north of Aulani. Then, it was out on the boat to head out to "Electric Beach". There they dropped us in the water where we were surrounded by a pod of wild dolphins. I can't even begin to describe how amazing this experience was. Once the dolphins moved on we spent time in the area snorkeling where we saw incredible, beautiful fish! They put water toys in the water and a slide off the side of the boat, all this going on while they grilled us lunch. It was a full day excursion, and worth every minute away from Aulani. If you do something like this, I HIGHLY suggest you pay for the photo disk. So glad I did! Their pictures turned out a million times better than mine

One other excursion we booked, but were never able to go on due to the weather, was a shark cage dive. Again, another Groupon and one that is actually being offered right now (https://www.groupon.com/deals/hawaii-shark-encounters-3). Even though we never made it out on to the water, this company did everything they could to make the trip happened. They were AMAZING to work with! Also, normally if you can't use a Groupon you just receive the value of the voucher back into your Groupon account. However, this company has an agreement with Groupon that the buyer will instead receive a full refund, not a credit. So, no risk. Super great to work with and one we will try again when we are back in February.

 

[GoBears 1980]

A dolphin excursion is the one thing you absolutely do NOT want to do if you love dolphins. Any tour that is listed as a "dolphin tour" is probably violating federal law by harassing the dolphins.

It is too long to go into here, but you can read extensively on the topic on TripAdvisor on the Hawaii boards. Each island forum and the state forums has a "why not swim with dolphins" Top Question. Below are a couple of topics from those Top Questions and the official NOAA site on the matter.

I don't care how many of the operators of these boats claim to be BBB, and in this eco-group or that eco-group, if they are not part of the NOAA program then it is because they are operating outside the parameters of the Dolphin Smart program.

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/dolphinsmart/
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTop..._and_dolphins_article_please_read-Hawaii.html
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTop...What_s_the_Issue-Island_of_Hawaii_Hawaii.html

 

[Soccerluvinmama]

Interesting reading. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Luv2trav]

What do you mean by excursion? Some trip organized by someone else?

Both actually. Looking for your favorite offsite sightseeing or adventure that you did. Free or costs.

 

[GoBears 1980]

Both actually. Looking for your favorite offsite sightseeing or adventure that you did. Free or costs.

A trip to Pearl Harbor to see the USS Arizona Memorial is my #1 thing to do on Oahu.

Other things are to drive up to the North Shore, maybe go to Kuloa Ranch for the horseback riding, hiking Diamond Head and Manoa Falls, a visit to Chinatown, going to the beach at Waimanalo or Lanikai. A lot just depends on who is coming, what interests you and if you are spending time in Waikiki before going to Aulani.

Those would all be on your own. I don't do organized tours well in Hawaii because I know the area too well, I would be too impatient.

 

[Luv2trav]

It will be me, DH and DS 15 and DS 13. We don't plan on doing Waikiki before but we are now thinking of doing 1-2 nights there and 7 nights at Aulani? Do you suggest spending time there first?

 

[GoBears 1980]

It will be me, DH and DS 15 and DS 13. We don't plan on doing Waikiki before but we are now thinking of doing 1-2 nights there and 7 nights at Aulani? Do you suggest spending time there first?

Yes, I'd spend two nights in Waikiki before Aulani and do things like a family outrigger canoe ride, surfing lessons for the kids, a sunset catamaran ride, maybe do your Diamond Head hike then, the Honolulu Zoo and aquarium, all of which are right there.

 

[asunutgirl]

Hanauma Bay is not too far from Waikiki. It gets crowded and is definitely touristy but it is amazing snorkeling.

 

[SuJo]

The best excursion we took was through a tour company called Oahu Private Tours. It is a small company with 3 tour guides who have grown up on the islands and have great knowledge about places to go and see that tourists may not know about. It is a private tour, so you your family will be the only people on the tour, and it is customized to what you want to do. They can do hiking, swimming, shopping, sightseeing, etc... We did the 2-day tour package. They pick you up in the morning at Aulani, take you around and do amazing things, and then drop you back at the hotel around 4 (so about an 8 hour day). They have water, snacks, snorkel gear, and towels, pretty much everything you need for the day. Things that we did over 2 days included going to a beach and doing cliff jumping, snorkeling with turtles, hiking to a water fall where we did more cliff jumping, visiting an ancient temple, seeing the beach where part of Hunger Games was filmed, a cool cave that you can jump into and let the current take you out to the ocean and repeat, amazing local places for lunch, many beautiful overlooks through-out the island, and delicious shaved ice. The best part of it all was for a family of 4 it was way cheaper than any of the excursions offered by Disney at Aulani for an excursion this size. They were really nice and friendly, very outgoing and informative about the island, its history, and the customs. It was just an amazing 2 days and we all feel that it was the highlight of our trip to Hawaii. If you want more specifics please feel free to reach out and message me.

 

[Luv2trav]

The best excursion we took was through a tour company called Oahu Private Tours. It is a small company with 3 tour guides who have grown up on the islands and have great knowledge about places to go and see that tourists may not know about. It is a private tour, so you your family will be the only people on the tour, and it is customized to what you want to do. They can do hiking, swimming, shopping, sightseeing, etc... We did the 2-day tour package. They pick you up in the morning at Aulani, take you around and do amazing things, and then drop you back at the hotel around 4 (so about an 8 hour day). They have water, snacks, snorkel gear, and towels, pretty much everything you need for the day. Things that we did over 2 days included going to a beach and doing cliff jumping, snorkeling with turtles, hiking to a water fall where we did more cliff jumping, visiting an ancient temple, seeing the beach where part of Hunger Games was filmed, a cool cave that you can jump into and let the current take you out to the ocean and repeat, amazing local places for lunch, many beautiful overlooks through-out the island, and delicious shaved ice. The best part of it all was for a family of 4 it was way cheaper than any of the excursions offered by Disney at Aulani for an excursion this size. They were really nice and friendly, very outgoing and informative about the island, its history, and the customs. It was just an amazing 2 days and we all feel that it was the highlight of our trip to Hawaii. If you want more specifics please feel free to reach out and message me.

Yes I am VERY interested in this. Do they have a website or something that I can reference for pricing etc? This sounds AMAZING?

 

[sydneymorganmom]

By far our best 2 excursions were North Shore Shark Adventures and Mahina Hawaii. North Shore is a shark cage dive (snorkel equipment not SCUBA) www.sharktourshawaii.com. Online price is $96 and you can book online, too.

Mahina Hawaii is a private tour with a guide who was born and raised on Oahu. He plans everything around what you want to do (SUP/kayak, hiking to waterfalls/gardens, etc) He's fairly new to the business itself but it was AMAZING. www.mahinahawaii.com. Transportation is provided from your hotel and the price was amazing for a full day experience. We kayaked and snorkeled with spinner dolphins, sea turtles, etc., hiked to waterfalls, ate at a local Hawaiian beach park and drove around the North Shore. I can't stress enough how wonderful it was.

 

[AcuraTL]

Dolphins encounter at Sea Life park. It has a beautiful backdrop and you actually get to spend a lot of time with the dolphin. Plus, it was included with the Go Card.

 

[eeyorefanuk]

I've said it here before, but I will say it again, I highly encourage you to sign up for Groupon alerts for the Honolulu area. You will find AMAZING deals on excursions there. Almost every one we've been on has come through a Groupon deal, and we have yet to have a bad experience. The best, most amazing excursion I have been on was swimming with the wild dolphins off of "Electric Beach" just up the street from Aulani. This experience was offered by a company called Dolphins and You (https://www.dolphinsandyou.com/) TOP NOTCH company, top to bottom. They picked us up from the resort in a beautiful motor coach and took us to the marina about 35 minutes north of Aulani. Then, it was out on the boat to head out to "Electric Beach". There they dropped us in the water where we were surrounded by a pod of wild dolphins. I can't even begin to describe how amazing this experience was. Once the dolphins moved on we spent time in the area snorkeling where we saw incredible, beautiful fish! They put water toys in the water and a slide off the side of the boat, all this going on while they grilled us lunch. It was a full day excursion, and worth every minute away from Aulani. If you do something like this, I HIGHLY suggest you pay for the photo disk. So glad I did! Their pictures turned out a million times better than mine

One other excursion we booked, but were never able to go on due to the weather, was a shark cage dive. Again, another Groupon and one that is actually being offered right now (https://www.groupon.com/deals/hawaii-shark-encounters-3). Even though we never made it out on to the water, this company did everything they could to make the trip happened. They were AMAZING to work with! Also, normally if you can't use a Groupon you just receive the value of the voucher back into your Groupon account. However, this company has an agreement with Groupon that the buyer will instead receive a full refund, not a credit. So, no risk. Super great to work with and one we will try again when we are back in February.

Plus sometimes they have "another 20 percent off offer"

 

[TheHulamuffins]

SuJo, I am very interested in your post about Oahu Private Tours, but I have not figured out how to message someone yet! Can someone help with this?

 

[GoBears 1980]

Yes I am VERY interested in this. Do they have a website or something that I can reference for pricing etc? This sounds AMAZING?

Know that pretty much all the "cliff diving" in Hawaii is illegal. When some tourist dies doing it I am chastised for in insensitivity in praising Darwinism, but there are reasons it is illegal.

Dolphins encounter at Sea Life park. It has a beautiful backdrop and you actually get to spend a lot of time with the dolphin. Plus, it was included with the Go Card.

Please read the earlier post on why not to do dolphin excursions and the issues with dolphin encounters.

 

[Luv2trav]

Know that pretty much all the "cliff diving" in Hawaii is illegal. When some tourist dies doing it I am chastised for in insensitivity in praising Darwinism, but there are reasons it is illegal.



Please read the earlier post on why not to do dolphin excursions and the issues with dolphin encounters.

No worries. We are too afraid to jump off. Lol. I would love to see these places though.

 

[cgattis]

Yes, I'd spend two nights in Waikiki before Aulani and do things like a family outrigger canoe ride, surfing lessons for the kids, a sunset catamaran ride, maybe do your Diamond Head hike then, the Honolulu Zoo and aquarium, all of which are right there.

Do you have a particular company you'd recommend for the outrigger canoe rides? I've narrowed it down to two....(but I can't tell you which two until I find my notebook! Lol)