12 night Hawaii Review Part 2- the ports

[winewanderer]

Our first port was Hilo. I highly suggest in most ports on this itinerary to rent a car or take a tour, otherwise you're likely to be stuck around the port area or going shopping. There were free shopping shuttle at most ports except Maui. There is nothing free in Maui. There are shopping shuttles in Kahului for $7.50.

 

In Hilo we rented a car. Hilo was a pain to get off the ship as it was the first port and we had to go through immigration as we started in Ensenada MX. At 10:00am the line was still long. We didn't get off the ship until 10:30am.

 

I reserved with Thrifty on-line, their cheapest car was $30.00 including all taxes and fees. We were upgraded to a brand new PT cruiser for the same price. We called their office when we debardked and they sent a shuttle.

 

We drove to Volcano Nat'l park. (If you go bring a sweater, it's cold up there).Did part of the crater rim drive. It was fascinating. We then went to Volcano winery. Their wines are different to say the least, we did purchase a few bottles (by the way those bottles passed through the sacnner on the ship and no one took them). We took them to our room.

 

After the winery we drove back towards Hilo town and went to Rainbow Falls. That was pretty. Some locals told us Akaka Falls was nice too and we headed there but at 3:00pm when we hadn't found it decided to turn back as we had to still the return the car and be on the ship at 4:30pm.

 

Oh, on the way out of the port area there was an information center. They had the local Hilo bus system that for $2 would take you to the rainforest zoo which is part way to the volcano. If I didn't have a plan we would have done that.

 

Next day was Kauai. We did a small plane tour of the island. This was the highlight of our trip. We used http://www.airventureshawaii.com. They were great at answering e-mails and we had a wonderful flight. They picked us up at the pier and returned us at N/C. It was $99 for their circle island tour, it was great. After that we had lunch on the ship and went to Kalapaki Beach by the ship fronting the Kauai Marriott. We took our snorkle gear but that wasn't happening, the surf was too big and boy was that water cold. The beach is nice though and take a wake around the marriott, they have a lovely coi pond and lovely botanicals to look at.

 

Next 2 days Maui. We definitely didn't plan our time here well. We new they had a public bus system but we sort of just bummed around in the morning and by the time we decided we should see some things it was almost too late to take the buses. In my angst at myself I told hubby let's find a rental car. We found a rental car place close to the ship, Rainbow Rental Car (it should be called rent a disaster). They rent older cars. The one we got for $30.00 barely ran.

 

We returned it, got our money back and from a flyer we had called Alamo. Those folks were so helpful. They picked us right up from the pier. We rented the cheapest car $25.51 including tax and fees and they upgraded us to a Chevy Malibu. So with wheels we could now make tracks. We drove to the Iao Valley which is literally about 15 minutes from the ship. You can see the Iao Needle and there is a waterfall called he William Waterfall. There are also some gardens as you head up to the Valley with international gardens like Korean Garden, Japanese Garden. We parked our car overnight at the too small lot at the pier, got lucky as someone was leaving.

 

Next Day we went snorkeling. We're avid snorkelers but I had never done it in Hawaii. Friends told me some areas on the other side of the Island in the South (Weilea) area that had good snorkeling. They said to get that done before the afternoon because of the winds and surf. Uh, no, the winds and surf start and like 9:00am.

 

We found a cove near Makena beach but the water was too cold for hubby and I didn't like the surf. The surf kicked up the sand and hey, I like to know whats on the other side of the sand. I wasn't going in. A local we spotted told us about a cove past Ahini Beach, not sure what it's called but it had good snorkeling. We met a local scuba diver who was snorkeling there and she said this is the place everyone goes. Get there early, there isn't much parking and be prepared, it is very rocky. There was a ton of big brain coral and lots of fish.

 

After Snorkeling we went back to the ship for lunch and with little time left (and hubby wasn't feeling well) we drove to the Maui Tropical Plantation and part way up Haleakala. This mountain is on the ship side of the island. Even if you only drive that far the views are stunning. I'm glad we went.

 

Next day was Kona. Here I had learned from I think it was http://www.shorediving.com that you could snorkel by the pier. You literally get off the tender, walk a few steps to your left and there is a nice little sandy beach with very easy entry for snorkeling. We could see lots of fish just standing in the water. Here the water was very cold also. After 45 minutes we were chilled to the bone and had to get out.

 

There were tons of yellow tang, angelfish, parrot fish, needlefish, perch (I think), puffer fish and other assorted critters. Purple coral too. It was very enjoyable. After that we went back to the ship for lunch and then walked around town.

 

Next stop was Honolulu. I had been here 25 years ago. I went all around the island so one thing I wanted to do was hike Diamond Head. I'm glad we did. It is a strenuous hike (we saw a few people having problems) and we were so pooped after that all we did in the afternoon was walk around and saw a $1 movie at the theater by the pier. But the hike was worth it, the views are stunning.

 

We took the public bus. This is a great way to get around. From the ship you go out the door to your right and walk a little. You'll find the E bus that will take you to the Ala Moana Center. From there you can get just about anywhere.

 

I'll post a part three with my impressions of the ship, I enjoyed the ship thoroughly.

 

Diana