Just got back from Hawaii...added photos finally!

[Dan Murphy]

Great pictures!!!!! Is is so idyllic there in Hawaii. We went once, one of our very best trips ever. It is so nice there, so scenic. I took a ton of pictures back then, and no digital, LOL. Thanks for sharing, nice to see you back.

 

[lulubelle]

Thank you so much for sharing your trip and photos. Our DD was about 15 when we stayed on Oahu and did the surf lesson, too. She loved it. Did you buy their pictures? We did, they turned out so well and quite frankly, we may never see her standing on a surfboard in the ocean again! We enjoyed the temple you visited - did you ring the giant "gong"? We really love the Hiltons in Hawaii, Waikoloa Village is a favorite of ours We are planning on going back for our big vacation in 2007, you are making me anxious.

BTW - you have a lovely family - and everyone looks relaxed and happy ...but I bet Henry was lonely at home

 

[luvflorida]

Thanks for the TR and pics! We'll be going 2/4-2/10 to HGVC @ HHV. I can't wait as it's our first trip to HI. I'm going to sit back and study your TR for ideas.

Two questions:
1.) you didn't have a car rental, but did you wish did rent a car?
2.) If you'd be so kind, can you list your top 5 or 10 tips/must do's.

thanks!

Dave

There was only one day that we rented a car, the day we went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. We used the car in the morning for Hanauma Bay, and our daughter and her fiance took it in the afternoon and explored the North Shore. We figured it wouldn't be worth it to rent a car for the entire time we were on Oahu, figuring in the cost of rental, (and it would have had to be a minivan because there were six of us), and parking fees. Two of our days were spent on pre-planned tours where we were picked up at the hotel by shuttle buses, and the day we went to Diamond Head we took the public bus, which was very inexpensive. Everywhere else we walked or took taxis, which weren't too expensive either. One day we took a free trolley ride to Hilo Hatties and it gave us a pretty good tour of Waikiki Beach on the way. We really didn't feel the need for a rental car while we were on Oahu.

Okay, top five list- 1. Take a tour or go on your own, but get out and see as much of the island as you can. Honolulu is different from Waikiki and Waikiki is nothing like the North Shore. We never got a chance to go to the Western side of Oahu and I wish we had more time to do that.

2. Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay- It was amazing! I love to snorkel and have done so at many other locations outside of Hawaii, but Hanauma Bay was among the best. I saw plenty of fish and could have reached right out and touched them! I was hoping to see turtles, but never saw any.

3. We ate at Duke's famous place on the beach and the food was excellent and the view was gorgeous!

4. Hike up Diamond Head, but only if you're in good shape! I thought it was a pretty grueling hike, but well worth it in the end.

5. Catch the evening show at the Polynesian Cultural Center, even if you decide not to spend the day there. The night show, "Horizons", is very entertaining and extremely well done.

 

[luvflorida]

Great pictures!!!!! Is is so idyllic there in Hawaii. We went once, one of our very best trips ever. It is so nice there, so scenic. I took a ton of pictures back then, and no digital, LOL. Thanks for sharing, nice to see you back.

I am the only person in my family who still uses regular film! I had my photos put on CD's so I could put them on the computer. Everyone is tryng to convince me to go digital!

 

[luvflorida]

Thank you so much for sharing your trip and photos. Our DD was about 15 when we stayed on Oahu and did the surf lesson, too. She loved it. Did you buy their pictures? We did, they turned out so well and quite frankly, we may never see her standing on a surfboard in the ocean again! We enjoyed the temple you visited - did you ring the giant "gong"? We really love the Hiltons in Hawaii, Waikoloa Village is a favorite of ours We are planning on going back for our big vacation in 2007, you are making me anxious.

BTW - you have a lovely family - and everyone looks relaxed and happy ...but I bet Henry was lonely at home

Actually, we were disapointed in the photos that were taken of daughter surfing. The angle of the sun put her mostly in shadows and there was only one or two photos that we really liked, and of course we had to buy them! Like you said, we may never see her riding a wave again!

Yes, we took turns banging that heavy pole thing into the gong. My husband has a 'great' picture of me ringing that gong!

You're right, Henry missed us. He spent his time at my mother's house and he's just now deciding to forgive us for leaving him!

 

[kaygela]

We are going to Hawaii the beginning of July and I can't wait. We are also staying at the Hawaiian Village while we are in Oahu. We were warned that there is construction going on there. Were you at all bothered by it? I'm hoping it will be finished by the time we are there. I would love to hear all about your trips and any tips you can offer.

 

[SunFloridaDisney]

thanks so much for the pictures and trip report. It reminded me so much of our trip in July!

I'd add Pali Lookout to the list of must-do's. We loved it there - and were glad we had jackets with us!!

We also rented a car only one day, shuttle buses and even the regular city buses are enough to get around Honolulu. The North Shore was fabulous.

ABC stores are everywhere!

 

[Hermosa11]

This statue, there is a web cam up above and My daughter and SIL would go there and we would see them and talk to them on the phone! heeee
People were like , "who are you waving to?" hahahaha

GREAT photos!!!

Here is where the web cam is.........

 

[luvflorida]

This statue, there is a web cam up above and My daughter and SIL would go there and we would see them and talk to them on the phone! heeee
People were like , "who are you waving to?" hahahaha

GREAT photos!!!

Here is where the web cam is.........

Haha! We spent time at home before we left for Hawaii watching people at that webcam by the statue! DD15 didn't want to get close to the statue because she knew people could see her.

 

[luvflorida]

Day three trip report

I had made reservations for a tour of the island before we left home. This morning we boarded a small shuttle bus, (twenty-five people), that would take us all over Oahu. The tour company was E Noa Tours and I highly recommend them. It was definitely a highlight of our vacation and the tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and very friendly with a great sense of humor. He made an incredible tour even more fantastic with his outgoing personality.

We did the all day Royal Circle Island Tour, picking us up at 8:30am and returning us to our hotel at 5:30pm. We covered a 120 mile route that took us from Waikiki to the North Shore and back down through pineapple fields and to Honolulu. We drove through areas of poverty and areas with multimillion dollar homes, past Diamond Head Crater, through mountain tunnels, and along some of the prettiest coastline of pristine beaches that I've ever seen anywhere. I was in awe of the miles and miles of beautiful beaches with not a single person on them. We spent time at the lookout at Hanauma Bay, Halona Lookout, Pali Lookout, the Byodo-In Temple, the Macadamia Nut Hut and Fish Pond at Kualoa Ranch, and at the beaches on the North Shore. The tour guide pointed out locations where TV shows and movies have been filmed. We saw numerous places where the TV show 'Lost' is filmed and I enjoyed seeing various places where the movie '50 First Dates' was filmed. It's one of my favorites!

Lunch was at a country club/golf course somewhere along the way. Lunch was not part of the paid package and we found the food to be a little disappointing. It was buffet style, but very mediocre, nothing too tasty. We enjoyed sharing a table with a couple from England and a gentleman from Idaho. In fact, we ran into the English couple the next day at another location! We had one scary moment when a rather large man from another tour group decided to freak out and yell at one of the waiters. I guess the waiter took the man's plate away thinking he was done eating and the man jumped up and yelled at him and cursed and shouted that he wasn't finished eating and he was going to call the manager and have the waiter fired. Everyone was shocked by the man's outburst, but our table had to laugh at my son's reaction. He just looked at us and said, "Woah, dude, it's a BUFFET! Settle down, it's not like you can't go get more food!"

We learned more about the island on that one day tour than we ever could have on our own, and I'll always remember our tour guide's name. He was 'Shannon O'Brien the Irish Hawaiian"! His father was Irish but his mother was 100% Hawaiian.

For dinner we ate at the coffee house again, then back to the hotel. The guys watched a movie and the gals went swimming at the Ali'i tower pool. Nice way to end a fun day!

 

[Skatermom23]

Actually, we were disapointed in the photos that were taken of daughter surfing. The angle of the sun put her mostly in shadows and there was only one or two photos that we really liked, and of course we had to buy them! Like you said, we may never see her riding a wave again!

Do you mind telling us how much the surfing lesson was? We will be at the Hale Koa in July and DS will be 15 and DD will be 13. This sounds like something that they would like to do. I love reading your trip reports, they are getting me in the mood! Since we lived there prior, we won't be doing all the tourist things and do plan on getting a car so that we can visit all our usual spots when we were residents..... glad to hear you had a great trip....

 

[Minniespal]

Sounds fantastic and the piccies are beautiful.

 

[grlpwrd]

Thanks for sharing your trip report and pictures. I especially loved the pics if the Hilo Hattie shirt and those of your dd surfing. I loved all your pictures, though.

BTW it sure looks like you not only "luvflorida," but you "luvhawaii," too.

 

[luvflorida]

Do you mind telling us how much the surfing lesson was? We will be at the Hale Koa in July and DS will be 15 and DD will be 13. This sounds like something that they would like to do.

We paid $160. for a two hour, one-on-one lesson with the surfing instructor. I thought the whole lesson would be private, but the lesson on sand was with a group of eight and then daughter had a different instructor for just herself when she was in the water. I'm not sure of the exact price, but it is cheaper to go with a group. I think it was around $80.

 

[Kristi1357]

Thanks for posting the pictures!

DH & I plan on finally going to Hawaii for our 10th anniversary in 2009. I want to start planning it NOW!!!

 

[rascalmom]

Great pictures - thanks for sharing your report! I would love to go there someday - but I hesitate because of my fish allergy. Did you find that the restaurants had many "non-seafood" selections?

 

[4greatboys]

Great pictures - thanks for sharing your report! I would love to go there someday - but I hesitate because of my fish allergy. Did you find that the restaurants had many "non-seafood" selections?

I always found enough to eat when we went to Hawaii and I dont eat any seafood at all. No allergies I just dont like any of it.

 

[luvflorida]

Day four trip report

Day four we spent at the Polynesian Cultural Center. I made reservations in advance from home. A shuttle bus picked us up at the hotel at 10am and returned us later that night around 11pm.

The drive up took almost two hours, (some of that time was spent in front of another hotel waiting to pick up people who were not ready when they should have been), and we stopped a couple of times very briefly so people could snap some pictures of the scenery. The trip home took less time.

The Polynesian Cultural Center is a place that recreates villages from seven Polynesian islands-Samoa, Tonga, Hawaii, Tahiti, Marquesas, New Zealand, and Fiji. Each village has live demonstrations and activities related to that particular island's culture. There is also an IMAX theatre, canoe pageant, luau, and evening show. The way the demonstrations are timed, it's hard to see everything in one day. There are package plans that include certain things, like the luau, or you can just pay admission for the villages.

We chose the Ambassador Buffet plan. Our package included transportation, a guided tour of the villages, shell lei greeting, buffet dinner, evening show and a pineapple delite dessert during intermission. We chose the buffet over the luau mainly because DD15 did not want to have anything to do with the roasted pig ceremony. She is a vegetarian and animal lover and can't imagine anyone celebrating the cooking of a sweet piggy.

Overall, we enjoyed the PCC, but we never found time to see the IMAX presentation and didn't get around to some of the villages. Early in the day we excused ourselves from the tour guide because we wanted to explore on our own and he seemed to be spending too much time trying to herd everyone together. Lunch was at an outdoor snack bar and it was okay, nothing special. The canoe pageant was very entertaining and fun to watch. We enjoyed the demonstration in Samoa of fire making and coconut tree climbing. The Samoan doing the presentation had a great sense of humor. The village of Tonga's drum beating demonstration was excellent, and when three guys from the audience were chosen to don grass skirts and participate, it was a riot. I wish we had missed the pig hunting and killing demonstration in the village of Marquesas. Of course, they didn't really hunt and kill a poor pig, but they had spears and did all the chanting and ritual that went along with it. I thought DD15 was going to walk out, but she just sat there and chose not to watch or applaud. We could have done without that little demonstration!

The highlight of the day was the Ambassador Buffet and the evening show, 'Horizons'. I mentioned how we didn't care for the buffet on the island tour on day three. Now THIS was an amazing buffet! The food was delicious and the selection was terrific. Our waiter was a young man from Japan and he was absolutely delightful. Most of the young men and women who work at the PCC are students at nearby Brigham Young Hawaii University, and the PCC is affiliated with the Mormon Church. We found it interesting to see and talk to these young men and women. They were all friendly and eager to answer any questions we had. Our meal reminded me of the scene in "A Christmas Story" where the family goes out to eat on Christmas Day at the Chinese restaurant. Our waiter from Japan made a heroic effort at pronouncing all our names. Every time he would try a different name, he would laugh and that made us laugh. He just couldn't get around the consonants in 'Larry' or 'Mallory', but he thought it was the funniest thing trying to say those names!

The evening show, "Where the Horizon Meets the Sky", was exceptionally well done and very entertaining. The performers showcased each Polynesian Island with singing, dancing, drums, and even some fire dancing and throwing.

It was late when we got back to the hotel, so it was pretty much right to bed.

 

[lap3]

Thanks for your report and pics. They are awesome! For our trip next year, I think we've decided on the HHV. It seems like everything is close by and if you wanted to venture off, a taxi or city bus will do the trick for little money, right?

 

[Skatermom23]

We paid $160. for a two hour, one-on-one lesson with the surfing instructor. I thought the whole lesson would be private, but the lesson on sand was with a group of eight and then daughter had a different instructor for just herself when she was in the water. I'm not sure of the exact price, but it is cheaper to go with a group. I think it was around $80.

Thanks for the info! This sounds perfect for DS. I am not sure if DD will be adventurous enough to try it. Where did you sign up for this?