Must Do activities & sights on Oahu and Maui

I know this has been discussed many times before, so call me lazy.

I would like to hear your "must do or see" activities on Oahu and Maui. This will be our first trip to Oahu and second trip to Maui, spending a week on each island.

I would like to try and keep the expenses down to a bearable amount without sacrificing too much quality in the vacation. For instance, we would probably not want to eat at Roy's or spend $1200 for a helicopter tour. We would, however, like to eat at near-similar-quality, lesser priced establishments, as well at off-the-beaten-path, local restaurants (example - The Gazebo in Napili). We also want to do a couple of fun tours and/or excursions on each island.

There will be five of us on Oahu and six on Maui (DD's boyfriend joins us). Bring forth your ideas please.

Definitely pickup the Hawaii Revealed Books if you don't have them - http://wizardpub.com/

Here's a link to Frommer's suggested itinerary might help you decide on how you want to spend your time.
Frommers Suggested Itineraries
A Week on Oahu
A Week on Maui

There are some reviews on Tripadvisor
Kapolei restaurants - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g60654-Kapolei_Oahu_Hawaii.html
Lahaina restaurants - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g60634-Lahaina_Maui_Hawaii.html
Oahu Things to Do - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g29222-Activities-Oahu_Hawaii.html
Maui Things to do - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g29220-Activities-Maui_Hawaii.html


In Waikiki, you have all of the major chain restaurants - such as McDonalds, Subway, Red Lobster, Outback, IHOP, Denny's, Cheesecake Factory, Macaroni Grill, Panda Express, etc...

Here's a link to the local shopping centers in Waikiki which have restaurants
Ala Moana Mall - http://alamoanacenter.com/
Waikiki Beachwalk - http://www.waikikibeachwalk.com/
Royal Hawaiian Center - http://www.royalhawaiiancenter.com/

Yes, we have discussed it a lot and you can find some great info. by using the search function and searching for "Maui" and "Oahu."

alwysonvac said:

Definitely pickup the Hawaii Revealed Books if you don't have them - http://wizardpub.com/ ...

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Thanks. Emmy mentioned these publications to me quite a while back. I have three of them now which I have read bits and pieces of each. I will finish them before my July trip.

I am looking for Tuggers' personal experiences and hoping to have others agree or disagree with them. Obviously there are over 500 search results for each Maui and Oahu that I could sort through here on Tug, but that is why I qualified the first sentence of this thread.

I understand what you are saying, but I'd hate for you to miss out on the good info. that's already been posted. There are lots of great personal recommendations in the old posts - It really is worth reading.

You might want to try a google search instead (see TUG tip below my name.) And search for "Maui activities" and "Oahu activities." since the TUG search function isn't that great.

Thank you Denise.

Anyone have any experiences on Oahu or Maui they would like to share with me? I would love to hear them.

THANKS!

Terry, good luck and enjoy the trips!!

Personal favorites:

1) Walking the boardwalk at Kaanapali Beach
2) Sunset
3) Sunrise at Haleakala (once -- and it's very very very very cold)
4) Snorkeling by the Maui Prince in Wailea (lots of turtles)
5) Tide pools just north of Kamaole Beach in Kihei
6) Costco by the airport -- to keep the overall cost down!!
7) If going on the road to Hana, look for the little hut in town before you begin your search -- the tape/CD is well worth it and points out many things you'd never notice on the trip
8) Iao Valley is a beautiful hike -- freshwater (but cool) pools for wading/swimming
9) Sugar Cane Train from Kaanapali to Lahaina -- if you have young kids
10) Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant in Lahaina
11) Banyan Tree in Lahaina is neat to see
12) Drinking a Mai Tai at #1 - #11 above
13) Molokini is a terrific trip, but can be pricey -- we love Trilogy
14) If you have little kids, there's a Dairy Queen in Kihei and a Baskin Robbins in Whalers Village

I'll post more things as I think of them...

Have fun!!

thinze3 said:

Thank you Denise.

Anyone have any experiences on Oahu or Maui they would like to share with me? I would love to hear them.

THANKS!

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Find a good beach, and just relax. Live like a local.

If that beach gets too windy, drive up the road to the next beach and repeat.

-David

Here are some ideas for Oahu. Since I spend so much time here and I am not a local, they seem to work for many. Also, I spend most of my time in East Honolulu. So, you will see a lot of my recommendations centered around there.

1) Spend a Sunday or half day at Kapiolani Park. If you go on Sunday, you can park for free. From there, you can do lots of stuff without getting in the car and without being directly in Waikiki.

From Kapiolani Park, you can do any of the following highly recommended activites:

a) walk to Waikiki to shop or eat. Or picnic in the park next to the beach.
b) ride a bike around Diamond Head and Kahala or run it. I ran from the tennis courts to Kahala and back just this morning.
c) eat at Ono Hawaiian Foods for authentic Hawaiian Food.
d) get the island's best Malasadas at Leonard's bakery.
e) if you go during the week, get the lunch special at Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin. $13 for what normally is double that. And, it's one of my favorite restaurants
f) go to the Farmer's market at Kapiolani Community College on Saturday.
g) go to Fatty's for authentic hole in the wall Chinese that is cheap. Right next to the international marketplace.
h) get a Puka Dog in the international marketplace.
i) drinks at the Yard House on Lewers or Jimmy Buffets with live music.
j) salad creations in Royal Hawaiian Center. You get 4 hours free parking in Waikiki if you eat at the food court.
k) Teddy's Bigger Burger. Best fast food burgers I've had in the islands. Great chili cheeze fries as well
l) Egg's 'n things. Great pancakes.

2) Best Saimin. Yotteko-Ya. Get there before Noon and order the special Kakuni. It's on the corner of McCully and Kapiolani. After you're done. Go to Waiola's for the island's best Shave Ice.

3) My favorite Breakfast joints.
- Jack's Cafe in Aina Haina. Went there this morning.
- Big City Diner in Kaimuki
- Royal Gardens Hotel breakfast buffet Waikiki ($6 per person).
- Moose McGillicuty's

4) My favorite lunches
- Salad creations
- Teddy's Bigger Burger
- Pearls Korean BBQ
- Panda Express
- Bale
- Fatty's

5) Favorite Dinner restaurants
- Maile's Thai Bistro. THIS IS A MUST DO. If you go anywhere near Hanauma Bay.
- Imanas. Authentic Japanese. Get the Shabu Shabu or Chaka nabe.
- Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin. Just went there Thursday night.

6) Bishop Museum and the Planetarium.

7) Shopping. Ala Moana Mall. Ward Center. Aloha Tower. Aloha Stadium swap meet.

8) Dole Plantation.

9) North Shore. Check it out. Drive around the island all the way to Kaneohe, Kailua and Waimanalo. Eat at Fumi's shrimp shack in Kahuku. Get a Lau Lau in Kailua. I forget the name of the place.

10) Sea Life park and Hanauma Bay are great. But, while you are doing that, try to hike the Koko Crater Trail. It's about 1000 steps up an old railway and when you get up there you see Sandy Beach, Hanauma Bay and Diamond Head. Definitely worth the trip and not a lot of people do it.

That should give you enough ideas. Let me know if you want more.

Jim

I did the above off the top of my head. Now that I am thinking about it, I've forgot some important restaurants.

1) Best Dim Sum. Royal Garden in the Ala Moana Hotel.

2) Great locals bar is Mai Tai in Ala Moana Center.

3) I've been to Alan Wong's. It's nice, but pricey. Good to do once and if you need to get fancy out of the way.

4) Roy's is good. We go there occasionally. They have bruch twice per year. Mother's day and Easter. They have the best Bloody Mary's I've ever had. For these special occasions, they make them and they make their own tomato juice.

Here is the best restaurant guide I've found for the islands. It's spot on for me: Honolulu Advertiser Best Restaurants. It has Phuket Thai as the best Thai, but it should be over taken by Maile's Thai Bistro this year. I used to go to Thai Pucket often, but now Maile's in the best. It just opened in December and is my favorite restaurant.

Oh yeah. The best deal in Hawaii is getting a Massage at "The Massage Specialists" in Century Center. It's the best value massage anywhere. $50 for a 60 minute massage. I usually get the 75 minute massage for $60. If you need a deep tissue massage and you can take the pain, I have the person for you. She's the best.

This place is right near the convention center. It's not fancy, but your eyes are closed during a massage anyway. The value is unbelievable. I go once a week.

We never miss a trip to Genki Sushi on Oahu - they have several locations. It's a conveyor belt sushi place, very reasonable and a local favorite (we used to live on Oahu). They have the best spicy tuna ever! Some locations offer byob, other no. And you can do a carry out platter as well.

A Mai Tai at Hale Koa's barefoot bar - you don't have to be military (or at least they never used to card us) to have a drink there - and watch the sun set. Also the beach bar at the Moana Surfrider - great music and beautiful setting. These are at Waikiki.

Also I agree - shop Costco!

For Restaurants, Our favorite was always Haleiwa Joe's. There are two of them--one on the North Shore in Haleiwa and one in Kaneohe. Both are good (especially the Sunday Brunch) but we preferred the one in Kaneohe if for no other reason than the view:

http://www.haleiwajoes.com/111111_hjoes_kaneohemain.html

If you are headed out to Haleiwa, also be sure to check out Matsumoto for some Shave Ice--dozens of flavors mixed in with ice cream: good stuff!

http://www.matsumotoshaveice.com/

Finally for activities, something a little unique--in the middle of Kaneohe Bay there is a sand bar that pops up at low tide. If you can get out there, it becomes you own little private beach with a stunning view of the Windward side and the Ko'Olau mountains. Also some great snorkeling.

thinze3 said:

I am looking for Tuggers' personal experiences and hoping to have others agree or disagree with them.

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The agree or disagree discussion is pretty much a useless debate in my book. Everyone is different and like different things. One person may think Dole Plantation is "must do" while others think it's a huge tourist trap. For us, it's sorta on the "circle drive" we enjoy and by the time we're in that area, a nice cool pineapple whip is just about right on time.

The Hawaii Revealed books are outstanding - - I wish I had mine but they are still in storage from our move of a year ago. (I'll need to be sure to have them by August however, as that is when our next Hawaii trip is scheduled.)

Here are the links to the travel journals I've written on Oahu and Maui, complete with photos we took:

http://www.igougo.com/journal-j63295-Oahu-Oahu_-_Hawaiis_Gathering_Place.html

http://www.igougo.com/journal-j63284-Maui-Maui_-_Hawaiis_Treasure_Island.html

http://www.igougo.com/journal-j60060-Hawaii-National_Parks_of_the_USA_3.html

Timeshare Von said:

The agree or disagree discussion is pretty much a useless debate in my book. Everyone is different and like different things. One person may think Dole Plantation is "must do" while others think it's a huge tourist trap. For us, it's sorta on the "circle drive" we enjoy and by the time we're in that area, a nice cool pineapple whip is just about right on time.

The Hawaii Revealed books are outstanding - - I wish I had mine but they are still in storage from our move of a year ago. (I'll need to be sure to have them by August however, as that is when our next Hawaii trip is scheduled.)

Here are the links to the travel journals I've written on Oahu and Maui, complete with photos we took:

http://www.igougo.com/journal-j63295-Oahu-Oahu_-_Hawaiis_Gathering_Place.html

http://www.igougo.com/journal-j63284-Maui-Maui_-_Hawaiis_Treasure_Island.html

http://www.igougo.com/journal-j60060-Hawaii-National_Parks_of_the_USA_3.html

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I completely agree about the Dole Whip. It's worth going to the plantation just to get one.

You can get Dole Whip at various locations around the island, but it's just not as good as it is at the plantation.

Terry,

Here are a few of my favorite things to do on Oahu

Go to Lanikai Beach. Has been ranked best beach in Hawaii by Travel Channel. Very popular beach for photo travel ads for Hawaii. Marriott has it used it in a few of theirs. Very few tourists go there. Also if your into kayaking you can rent kayaks and kayak out to the islands.

I like Hanauma Bay. Good place to snorkel

Go to turtle beach at North shore to see turtles. Also be sure to drive to North Shore and see famous surf spots and town of Haleiwa.

Climb up Diamond Head.

Go to Waikiki for dinner one night and walk around the town.

Go out on the Ko Olina Kat for a snorkel tour if you want a sail boat ride.

Stay at the resort and lay on the beach. Do a lot of this....

Pearl Harbor if you have never been there.

Talk a walk along the paths to the Marriott JW. At the JW continue walking to the sacred pools that the bays were made after.

Here are a couple of pictures of Lanikai and Hanamu Bay from one of our trips.

Jim, thanks for the "inside" tips on Oahu. This is exactly what I was looking for! Might have to send the family in for a massage.

Greg, most likely we will do some of the things on your list. The Ka'anapali boardwalk is going to be a shuttle ride away as we will be at the Westin up the road.

Thanks Chris. Great pics! I have seen many of your photos before. Your family reminds me so much of my own (3 DDs aged 14-22).

On Kauai, there is an old local restaurant called the Bull Shed that serves up lots of grub. Anything like this in the Kan'anapali area?

Here's my BIL at Bull Shed.

A couple more ideas

Someone else mentioned the Farmer's Market at Kapiolani Community College-this really is an especially good one....lots of variety, plenty of parking at the college.
On Maui, I guess some people hate it because of the curvy road, but I think the drive to Hana is one of the most beautiful rides in the islands. Get an early start so you return before the sun goes down. Hana is just a small town....it's the drive, and the stops along the way that make it special.
Another votes for the Hawaii Revealed books.
There is a Costco on Maui, too, right near the airport. The ones on Oahu aren't quite as conveniently located, but still worth while for the savings.
Enjoy!

Timeshare Von said:

... One person may think Dole Plantation is "must do" while others think it's a huge tourist trap. For us, it's sorta on the "circle drive" we enjoy and by the time we're in that area, a nice cool pineapple whip is just about right on time...

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This is something my wife and I would enjoy with or without the kids.

Hawaiibarb said:

... On Maui, I guess some people hate it because of the curvy road, but I think the drive to Hana is one of the most beautiful rides in the islands. Get an early start so you return before the sun goes down. Hana is just a small town....it's the drive, and the stops along the way that make it special. ...

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The Road to Hana is one of our all-time favorite experiences.
Here's one of my old posts on it.

The key to the Road to Hana is to start out really early and take a slow pace. A trip to Maui wouldn't be the same for us without a drive on the Road to Hana. We just love it when we reach Hamoa Beach, right outside of Hana, and can do a little body surfing.

If you are headed to Hana, I would keep going to the 7 pools and the bamboo forrest. It's one of my favorite things to do on Maui.

Maybe old news, but...

thinze3 said:

Anyone have any experiences on Oahu or Maui they would like to share with me? I would love to hear them.

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It has been some years now and the outfit may or may not even still be operating, but on Maui we took a "sunrise" bike trip with Maui Downhill.
Their van took us (and bikes with heavy duty brakes, provided by them) to the top of Mount Haleakala (apologies if my spelling is wrong). After watching the sunrise, participants then rode the bikes down the mountain road to a pre-arranged breakfast spot located on the way down. It was a whole lot of fun and not overly expensive. But it was a while ago...

In our lawsuit happy society, this business may no longer even be around;
I do not claim to know. I remember easily imagining that someone would sooner or later inevitably ride off the road while not paying attention and get injured or killed, with suit-happy lawyers soon to follow. I'd love to be dead wrong and hear from someone else that Maui Downhill is still alive and well and fully functional, but I just plain don't know...

thinze3 said:

Thanks Chris. Great pics! I have seen many of your photos before. Your family reminds me so much of my own (3 DDs aged 14-22).

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Great picture Terry. You have a beautiful family. I agree it reminds me of my own my girls who are just a couple of years ahead of yours. They are lots of fun. Two of mine are out of college now so planning family vacations has just gotten a lot harder. Enjoy your trips with your girls while you can they will end soon due to all sorts of reasons. They have told me to count them out on all vacations unless its Hawaii!!

Maui

We really enjoyed the road to Hana. However you need to allow a full day for a round trip journey. Make sure you got a full tank of gas and leave early in the morning to allow time to get there and back.

Things to do on Maui

A great site that is maintained by the owners of the different things to do is http://www.Hawaiifun.org You probably saw them in the Frommer's pages. You can filter and see companies, their prices, even some have their availability and you can book right there on the site.

When you book it's not a middleman.....these businesses listed collectively own this site. It's a cooperative marketing thing and great for researching things to do on Maui or any of the islands. Not as much on the Big Island (that's where my time share is).

You'll save money too if you buy one of their gold cards...only $30 good for up to 4 people. On the Maui Downhill bike ride mentioned it'll save you $35 a person. On helicopter trips it's even more. There's a special bonus once a month where a limited number of tickets 1/2 off are sold.

Lots of the advice listed here has been great - free stuff, the stuff the local people do. If you want to do activities and visit attractions other than parks and beaches check out this page - if nothing else to research.

I have decided that our one luau on this trip will be on Maui.
Do you have a luau that you would recommend?

Last time we did the luau at the Hyatt and would like to try some thing different this time. Do they still have any luaus where you can watch the pig actually being pulled out of the Imu? In Kauai they claim the the health department stopped this activity.

Are there any discount coupons for luaus on Maui that you know of?