Our Itinerary - what do you think?

[lv2bgoofy]

We aren't leaving until February but I am a major planner so I have been working on this since we booked....I'm not excited or anything....

 

We are spending two days on Oahu prior to the cruise and we plan on renting a car and doing the Circle and also Pearl Harbor...want to eat at Dukes as well. Thinking of doing a luau the first night we arrive because I don't know when else we will fit it in.....leaning towards Paradise Cove

 

Maui - doing the Road to Hana - having someone else drive...I don't want to miss anything - looking at Valley Isle or Mahalo Tours for this

 

Maui - day 2 - renting a car and driving to the volcano and doing Iao Valley?

 

Hilo - renting a car and doing VNP on our own along with the waterfalls......

 

Kona - Body Glove snorkeling through NCL - neither of us have ever snorkeled before.....

 

Kauai - helicopter ride with Blue Hawaiian - 10:00 am - also plan on renting a car and driving Waimea on our own and the coast

 

This may be the other time that we would be able to get a luau in at Smith's?

 

Kauai - day 2? Don't have anything planned at this point??

 

Thanks for your help!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Shannon-

We haven't been yet, so maybe I'm not the best one to advise you. But since no one else has stepped in I thought I would! I am also a major planner and have been reading and studying these boards, TA and guide books for over a year. From what I can tell your plans look great. Everything you are doing is well recommended.:)

 

The only thing I would consider is Kauai. Since the canyon tends to cloud up later in the day I would have chosen to do the canyon in the early morning on Day 1 - as soon as you can get your rental car. Then do Smith's luau in the late afternoon/evening. Save the helicopter ride for the morning of Day 2. That is really the order of things in one of my guide books and I think it makes sense.

 

That was my original plan for us, but my DH does not want us to be on the go all the time so I scaled back our plans a bit. So our revised plans for Kauai are to have a leisurely breakfast on Day 1 and then go to the beach by the ship or shopping. Basically, we will have the morning & early afternoon free to do whatever we want to do on or near the ship. Then we are booked with Robert's Tours for the Wailua River/Luau Combination tour. We will be picked up at the ship by Robert's at 2:30 and go on their river tour & see the Fern Grotto, followed by the luau. Robert's will return us to the ship after the luau.

 

On Day 2 we are booked with AirVentures Hawaii for a flightseeing tour in the morning before we go back to the ship for the Napali Coast sail-by. We are crossing our fingers for wonderful weather!

 

I will let you know how it goes when we return. We leave for Hawaii the day after tomorrow.:D

[lv2bgoofy]

Thanks so much for the information. I had originally booked the helicopter ride for the first day in case they couldn't fly we would have the following day to get on but they may not make those kind of allowances so I will take your advice and change it to the second day so we have all of the first day to play

 

I bet you are so excited that you can't sit still leaving in two days. I know I would be bouncing off the walls. Can't wait to hear about your trip!! Here is hoping that the weather is wonderful for you

[brunolvr]

Shannon-

We haven't been yet, so maybe I'm not the best one to advise you. But since no one else has stepped in I thought I would! I am also a major planner and have been reading and studying these boards, TA and guide books for over a year. From what I can tell your plans look great. Everything you are doing is well recommended.:)

 

The only thing I would consider is Kauai. Since the canyon tends to cloud up later in the day I would have chosen to do the canyon in the early morning on Day 1 - as soon as you can get your rental car. Then do Smith's luau in the late afternoon/evening. Save the helicopter ride for the morning of Day 2. That is really the order of things in one of my guide books and I think it makes sense.

 

That was my original plan for us, but my DH does not want us to be on the go all the time so I scaled back our plans a bit. So our revised plans for Kauai are to have a leisurely breakfast on Day 1 and then go to the beach by the ship or shopping. Basically, we will have the morning & early afternoon free to do whatever we want to do on or near the ship. Then we are booked with Robert's Tours for the Wailua River/Luau Combination tour. We will be picked up at the ship by Robert's at 2:30 and go on their river tour & see the Fern Grotto, followed by the luau. Robert's will return us to the ship after the luau.

 

On Day 2 we are booked with AirVentures Hawaii for a flightseeing tour in the morning before we go back to the ship for the Napali Coast sail-by. We are crossing our fingers for wonderful weather!

 

I will let you know how it goes when we return. We leave for Hawaii the day after tomorrow.:D

 

Have a wonderful trip, Ginny! I'll be anxiously awaiting your return (not to rush you or anything, though;)), so I can hear all about your cruise and excursions. We also are planning on the Robert's "Wailua River/Luau Combination and would like to hear how you liked it.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Thanks so much for the information. I had originally booked the helicopter ride for the first day in case they couldn't fly we would have the following day to get on but they may not make those kind of allowances so I will take your advice and change it to the second day so we have all of the first day to play

 

I bet you are so excited that you can't sit still leaving in two days. I know I would be bouncing off the walls. Can't wait to hear about your trip!! Here is hoping that the weather is wonderful for you

I had originally thought the same thing about the timing of the flight. However, I realized later and after talking to AirVentures that they usually all booked when the ships are in & they would not be able to change us anyway. I asked them when they recommended us to do the flight and they said early morning - best on day 2 when we can get there earlier.

 

Weather is so iffy. Right now many of our days say 60% rain. I am not sure what that means in Hawaii, so will just go and hope that the rain will not interfere with our plans too much.:)

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Have a wonderful trip, Ginny! I'll be anxiously awaiting your return (not to rush you or anything, though;)), so I can hear all about your cruise and excursions. We also are planning on the Robert's "Wailua River/Luau Combination and would like to hear how you liked it.

I will post a review as fast as I can. However, I will also be frantically studying for a mid -June credentialing exam upon my return, too. I hope to write a daily review each night if not too tired and also get my pictures uploaded each day to save time later. I will not try to post anything until I get home, though. I know that internet connections on the ship are painfully slow, especially if pictures are involved!:eek:

[lv2bgoofy]

I had originally thought the same thing about the timing of the flight. However, I realized later and after talking to AirVentures that they usually all booked when the ships are in & they would not be able to change us anyway. I asked them when they recommended us to do the flight and they said early morning - best on day 2 when we can get there earlier.

 

Weather is so iffy. Right now many of our days say 60% rain. I am not sure what that means in Hawaii, so will just go and hope that the rain will not interfere with our plans too much.:)

 

 

I will keep my fingers crossed that 60% is normal for Hawaii and thanks for the information on the flights....going to change my flight tomorrow-and have a fantastic trip!

[Raison]

I think your plans look pretty good too.

 

Don't forget to put in some relaxing time by the pool or at the beach with a nice book!

 

I agree to change your flight to the second day, but only because it gives you a full day to explore in the car. Call in at Hanapepe on the way to or from the Canyon, we thought it was a cute place and had a lovely cafe/bakery.

 

Our first helicopter flight was cancelled due to the weather(it was booked for 9am). We were able to reschedule for the following week and we chose a 3.30 pm time slot so we could still do the other things we had planned. We had great views on the afternoon flight, even if there was a bit of cloud around. The weather is just so unpredictable!

[lv2bgoofy]

thanks Raison...I have changed my heli ride to the next day this morning so now we have all of the first day in Kauai to spend how we want to.....we kept the same time period of 10 a.m. and will keep our fingers crossed for great weather. I remember reading your trip report on getting cancelled....hopefully that won't happen but then it will just give me an excuse to plan another trip.

[luvhanalei]

After you go to Waimea, you may want to continue on to Polihale--a very beautiful beach. The second day I'd head north to the end of the road--Ke'e Beach stopping at the lighthouse, Hanalei, etc. The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook is a great source.

[lv2bgoofy]

Thanks so much Luv - we are going to do all of that....I'm using the book Kauai Revealed...do you think that Ultimate Kauai is better? Hoping to head all the way to where we can't drive any further....

[luvhanalei]

I haven't used Kauai Revealed. I like UKG for the easy-to-read maps. You can probably get a good deal on one from Amazon--really no need to get the latest edition.

[luvhanalei]

I haven't used Kauai Revealed. I like UKG for the easy-to-read maps. You can probably get a good deal on one from Amazon--really no need to get the latest edition.

[kwbound]

I agree with getting an earlier flight on day 2 in Kauai. That's what we did and then had plenty of time to enjoy Kalapaki (sp?) beach before returning to the ship.

 

We did the Smith Family Luau in Kauai and loved it. If you try to do a luau in Oahu the day you arrive, you may be really tired and not enjoy it as much.

 

Have a wonderful trip.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

It's good you listened to Ginny & changed your flight to day 2. Since Waimea canyon often gets cloudy or foggy in the later morning, I suggest you go straight to the top of Waimea after you get your rental car. Work your way back down so you get the best views. Spend the afternoon doing other sights with your rental car like waterfalls etc.

[lv2bgoofy]

I have read that about the Canyon and plan on going straight to the top.....and then easing my way back down the mountain...figure it will take care of two problems....fog and/or cloud cover and traffic as well....since a majority of people won't be doing it this way or at least that is what I am hoping for.

 

I also booked our rental cars for Oahu, Hilo, Maui and Kauai through Thrifty - Blue Chip customer.....

 

So much of these tips I owe directly to all of you wonderful people who have been there done that! Thanks!!