Need Hawaii vacation tips!

[IluvKingLouis]

I'm so excited! I was born and raised in Hawaii (Kaneohe) and haven't been back since 1980. Due to some great airfares and cheap condo rates, it looks like we will be visiting for a month around Christmas.

Would love to hear about local restaurants (have no interest in the chain restaurants or the high end places), and other wonderful off the beat kind of places. Want some great shave ice, dim sum, and local spots (plate lunches would be great).

I would like to know if (since we are staying for a month) we should look into family annual passes for the zoo and Sea Life Park. Usually the break-even for these passes are 2 and a half visits.

Please, please share! I'm so looking forward to putting this trip together and learning about all the new stuff there is to see and do.

 

[cjnix29]

Sorry I can't help, but how did you score the cheap airfare? We had been looking to go to Hawaii, but couldn't find any decent fares! So...we decided to go to Disney instead. Good luck with your trip, happy for you that you get to go home!!

 

[IluvKingLouis]

Well, I haven't bought the tix just yet, but saw on tripadvisor $349 RT from denver. I was open with our dates. Looks like I can get a better deal on a condo for a month then for a hotel for two weeks.

 

[cjnix29]

Good for you!! Have fun!

 

[JB2K]

How about a "local chain"?

L & L Hawaiian Barbecue

 

[MrsPooh]

Will you island hopping or staying just on Oahu? I've got some good "budget" sightseeing tips for Maui I can share if you'll be hopping over there.

 

[jsmith]

Kenike's in Waimanolo for plate lunch, any of the shrimp shacks on the North Shore (the red one-can remember the name has hot and sweet that are to die for) Matsumotos in Haile ewa for shave ice, Leonards in Honolulu just off Waikiki for Malasadas. None of those are chains-they do get tourist traffic although Kenikes not a ton because of where it is and it look like an old garage-you can get a huge meal for 2 people there for less than 20 bucks
Im not good with what is a good value on admissions-my husband is in the military so we dont pay full price for anything.

ETA-just noticed your just up the road from me-im in Colorado Springs. When you are getting airfare-if you havent already-look at flying from here as well as Denver-we went in November and it was about 200 dollars cheaper to go from here thru pheonix-and it is wayyyyyyyy less hassle to fly out of here than DIA.

 

[musical2]

When we went to Oahu last year we bought the Go Card for each member of our family. That was like pre-purchasing tickets to various venues across the island. We used the Go Card for admission to the Pearl Harbor areas, the Polynesian Cultural Center, museums, boogie boards, the Dole Plantation, Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park, Iolani Palace, Honolulu City Tour, Sea Life Park, and the Makani Catamaran Cruise. But there are other things that it gets you into. You just need to buy like a 3, 5, or 7 day card and cram as much stuff in those days as you feel comfortable doing.

Other than that we spent time on the North Shore on the beach, snorkeling at Shark's Cove (no sharks), having hawaiian shaved ice at Aoki's, and climbing Diamond Head.