Help with itinerary please

[emalemi]

Please feel free to help with suggestions! We really don't want to jam too much in...just want to enjoy Hawaii! (We love to swim, snorkel and just be beach bums).

 

Maui (rental car both days)

 

Day 1:

Kaanapli Beach

Lahaina

Old Lahaina Luau

 

Day 2:

(would like suggestions on snorkeling with the turtles and/or

watching surfers and just beachin' it)

 

Kona (rental car day 1 only)

 

Day 1:

Hapuna Beach

(not sure what else)

 

Day 2:

Cap Zodiak in the AM

Free shuttles for shopping

Beach near pier

 

Kauai (rental car day 1 only)

 

Day 1:

Drive the north shore with stops to Kailua Lighthouse,

Princeville & Hanelei

 

Day 2:

Beach near pier

 

How does this look to you guys? Thanks a bunch!

[HI_grey]

That sounds pretty good to me. We had a similar itinerary when we took our POH cruise. We didn't do any excursions through the ship, we just rented cars and did our own thing. We were all about relaxing and ended up snorkeling a lot because we enjoyed it so much. In Maui, I would recommend heading to the South shore. Drive past Kihei and there are great beaches with awesome snorkeling. We lost count at 8 turtles the day we were there. It was one of our favorite days of the cruise.

 

Also, if you can fit the Waimea canyon in when you are on Kauai, I would really try to do so. We only kept our car for one day as well, and drove the the North shore and then in the afternoon drove up to the canyon. It was A LOT of driving for one day, but totally worth it once we got up there. IMO it shouldn't be missed.

 

Hope that helps you some, have a great trip! :)

[lambs2]

That sounds pretty good to me. We had a similar itinerary when we took our POH cruise. We didn't do any excursions through the ship, we just rented cars and did our own thing. We were all about relaxing and ended up snorkeling a lot because we enjoyed it so much. In Maui, I would recommend heading to the South shore. Drive past Kihei and there are great beaches with awesome snorkeling. We lost count at 8 turtles the day we were there. It was one of our favorite days of the cruise.

 

Also, if you can fit the Waimea canyon in when you are on Kauai, I would really try to do so. We only kept our car for one day as well, and drove the the North shore and then in the afternoon drove up to the canyon. It was A LOT of driving for one day, but totally worth it once we got up there. IMO it shouldn't be missed.

 

Hope that helps you some, have a great trip! :)

 

 

I wholeheartedly agree! We did not find it difficult to drive the entire north shore of Kauai, see several waterfalls, lighthouse and many beaches all the way to Kee Beach, then do Waimea Canyon AND we ended our day with a drive to Poipu beach to see the Spouting Horn (blow hole). We made it back to return our rental car before dark. We got an early start and brought our lunch along (from the ship) so we did not waste any time stopping for food.

[emalemi]

Thanks to both of you for looking over our "plan" and offering advice. We REALLY appreciate it!!

 

Now when it comes to driving to the south shore of Maui, can you give us an idea of driving time? maybe we can do north one day, and south the next??

 

And yes...I have heard so much about Waimea Canyon. We were thinking of trying to squeeze this in, but I know we do not want to spend our whole day driving. I thought this might be pushing it. I'm assuming we would continue on our "south" day and hit this? Can you tell me how long this would be time wise?

 

Thanks!

[caserko]

We are still working on our itinerary for POH 1/29 but it looks somewhat similar to yours. I haven't read through our Kauai Revealed yet but I do know everyone says this island is where to do a helicopter/plane tour. I figured we're doing so much driving on the other islands, it would be nice to see everything (like Waimea Canyon) without being behind the wheel. SO...I've reserved us on Airventures for their plane tour--SO much cheaper than the helicopters and nothing but positive reviews on these boards. Just a suggestion. I'll post our itinerary when I'm good and ready...:)

[lambs2]

We are still working on our itinerary for POH 1/29 but it looks somewhat similar to yours. I haven't read through our Kauai Revealed yet but I do know everyone says this island is where to do a helicopter/plane tour. I figured we're doing so much driving on the other islands, it would be nice to see everything (like Waimea Canyon) without being behind the wheel. SO...I've reserved us on Airventures for their plane tour--SO much cheaper than the helicopters and nothing but positive reviews on these boards. Just a suggestion. I'll post our itinerary when I'm good and ready...:)

 

 

You will love your tour with Airventures! It was so awesome to see the entire island from the air, especially after our drive all over kauai the day before. We took our flight the second morning we were in Kauai this past June on our Pride of America cruise. Say HI to Billy Z. from the Hunsingers from Florida - he will give you a SUPER tour!!

[CaliforniaDreamer]

just wanted to point one thing out. someone who does a cruise in June with 3-4 more hours of daylight will definitely get more sightseeing in than someone who cruises in the winter months.

[HI_grey]

Thanks to both of you for looking over our "plan" and offering advice. We REALLY appreciate it!!

 

Now when it comes to driving to the south shore of Maui, can you give us an idea of driving time? maybe we can do north one day, and south the next??

 

And yes...I have heard so much about Waimea Canyon. We were thinking of trying to squeeze this in, but I know we do not want to spend our whole day driving. I thought this might be pushing it. I'm assuming we would continue on our "south" day and hit this? Can you tell me how long this would be time wise?

 

Thanks!

Oh, it isn't far from Kahului to the South Shore of Maui (I am assuming that's where you are docking). It took us about 45 mins maybe and we drove all the way south.

 

In Kauai, we drove up to the North Shore first, with some stops along the way. We stayed at a beach on the North Shore for a good 2 hrs, then stopped for lunch, and then drove up to the canyon. So while it was a lot of driving, we also had time to relax. I think we returned the car around 6:30.

[beachchick]

I wholeheartedly agree! We did not find it difficult to drive the entire north shore of Kauai, see several waterfalls, lighthouse and many beaches all the way to Kee Beach, then do Waimea Canyon AND we ended our day with a drive to Poipu beach to see the Spouting Horn (blow hole). We made it back to return our rental car before dark. We got an early start and brought our lunch along (from the ship) so we did not waste any time stopping for food.

 

It's great that you had a good time doing this, but IMO that's an awful lot to cram into one day. Considering that emalemi doesn't want to "jam too much" into each day, I would suggest an early start (7 am or so) on day 2 up to Waimea Canyon if that's something they decide to do. There will still be time to do a little beaching at Poipu before departure (at 2 pm?). OTOH, that would mean keeping the car overnight, so maybe a great suggestion on my part. Doing it all in one day means a good deal of the day will be spent in the car and on the road. So, emalemi, if you don't mind lots of car time (hours and hours, literally--but not all at once), you could try to do all of that on day 1. Otherwise, I have to suggest that you keep the car for day 2 if you decide that Waimea Canyon is a must do. (It really is beautiful, and unlike the Grand Canyon. Some people have said that if you've seen the Grand Canyon then Waimea isn't "all that." I disagree. I saw the Grand Canyon first and still loved Waimea.)

 

Overall, I think the schedule looks good.

 

For Maui, if you like party boats, there are several that do the Molokini snorkel trip. There are also a couple that do full day (5 hours or more) over to Lanai (usually several snorkel spots). If you want a small boat and don't need the whole big meal, bar, waterslide, glass bottom deal, then you could look into Maui Dive Shop's 7 am (:eek:) or 10 am Molokini Snorkel. (The website lists the trips as something like 7 - 10, when it should read "7 & 10.") The boats are small 24ish pax, the crew is good, they do serve snacks and non-alcohol beverages. The thing we like is that the 10 am trip gets to Molokini between the morning and afternoon times of almost all of the big boats--so you're not trying to snorkel with 400 other people in the water. Yet it's still early enough that you don't have to be as concerned about the pm winds and waves that kick up and sometimes make Molokini inaccessible in the afternoon.

 

If you want to snorkel on your own, you could drive up to Honolua Marine Preserve (just about as far north as the west bays/beaches go). The second cove there is Slaughterhouse Beach, which is sometimes not beach in the winter. It's fairly seasonal. The snorkeling at Honolua/Slaughterhouse is usually good depending on runoff from a creek that's on the south side (I think). Kapalua can have good snorkeling on the right side (facing the water). Again, it depends on conditions, of course. Kapalua is a really nice beach for just hanging out too. Napili is a good hanging out beach. Airport Beach has facilities, easy water entry for decent snorkeling, and is good for swimming and lounging around (or even having a picnic lunch). You're already going to be at Ka'anapali, so you've got snorkeling at Black Rock (saw several turtles one time, but it was during the summer). There are a couple of good beaches down in Wailea/Makena, but we usually stay on the north-west, so I don't have much info on the south beaches.

 

For your first Kona day, you could easily just do a couple of terrific beaches and call it a day. I've heard that the snorkeling is good at A-Bay (no way I'm going to try to spell it!) which is north of Kona too. If you wanted to do more, you could always go to a couple of Kona coffee farms (almost all are south of Kailua-Kona). Kona is a fun walking town along the water for your second day.

 

Sounds like you are ready to cruise and you've already got the aloha spirit going.:D Have a great time.

 

beachchick

[beachchick]

Oops...sorry. I meant to write "OTOH, that would mean keeping the car overnight, so maybe not a great suggestion on my part."

 

I don't know what happened to my "eek" smilie. I think the parens messed it up. Oh well.

 

(Note to self: Proofread better.)

 

beachchick

[emalemi]

WOW!! This is fantastic! You guys are so wonderful-thank you all! I have printed this off and added this to my "file"...it's getting fatter everyday :-)

 

Beachchick: Special thanks to you for such a detailed post. I think we will play it by ear to see if we are up to renting a car for a 2nd day to head to waimea. I would love to see this, but it just might be too much for us. (guess we'll need to go back for another visit...darn! :-) I love having more recommendations on beaches too. This is right up our alley! We are getting close....coming up on only THREE MORE WEEKS!!

 

I will try and calm down now...

[beachchick]

emalemi: This is one of my mottos for Hawaii: There's always a next trip in our future. So, shoot yes, you're going to have to go back to see some of what you don't get to on this trip! What a shame. LOL.

 

beachchick

[emalemi]

emalemi: This is one of my mottos for Hawaii: There's always a next trip in our future. So, shoot yes, you're going to have to go back to see some of what you don't get to on this trip! What a shame. LOL.

 

beachchick

 

beachchick:

 

OKAY then!! I guess we need to start planning our return trip!! LOL!!

 

I do have another question for you if you don't mind...

 

Our last day our flights leave late enough that we rented a car. We are heading to Pearl harbor/Az. Mem first to try and get tickets right away. If we have time to see one or 2 more things after that, any suggestions?

 

You are always so helpful on these boards. Thanks for always taking the time!

[beachchick]

emalemi: I don't mind a bit, but I must warn you that I am not all that knowledgeable about Oahu. We stayed for a week in Kailua and did a bunch of relaxing, but we did tour the island. Hm...you could always do the circle drive up to the north shore. A stop at the Dole Plantation for a pineapple whip would not be amiss. You could drive down to Diamond Head, but I've heard that hiking there later in the day is usually just too darn hot. There's always a stroll down Waikiki Beach and a walk through the historic hotels (Royal Hawaiian, Moana Surfrider). I thought the Iolani Palace tour was excellent. Bishop Museum was really interesting. There are any number of lovely beaches, including Kailua, which is still my favorite swimming beach in Hawaii.

 

If you are a history buff, the USS Missouri is at Ford Island. It is not free, but tix can be purchased at the Bowfin (right by the Pearl Harbor buildings). You have to take a shuttle to the Missouri because there is no public access to Ford Island. There are guided tours or you can opt to just explore on your own.

 

Be sure to squeeze in a sunset cocktail in Waikiki if you have time.

 

I'm sure that our excellent local members will chime in with suggestions for you as well.

 

beachchick

 

p.s. Now you're in the right frame of mind...always planning on that next trip to Hawaii!

[emalemi]

emalemi: I don't mind a bit, but I must warn you that I am not all that knowledgeable about Oahu. We stayed for a week in Kailua and did a bunch of relaxing, but we did tour the island. Hm...you could always do the circle drive up to the north shore. A stop at the Dole Plantation for a pineapple whip would not be amiss. You could drive down to Diamond Head, but I've heard that hiking there later in the day is usually just too darn hot. There's always a stroll down Waikiki Beach and a walk through the historic hotels (Royal Hawaiian, Moana Surfrider). I thought the Iolani Palace tour was excellent. Bishop Museum was really interesting. There are any number of lovely beaches, including Kailua, which is still my favorite swimming beach in Hawaii.

 

If you are a history buff, the USS Missouri is at Ford Island. It is not free, but tix can be purchased at the Bowfin (right by the Pearl Harbor buildings). You have to take a shuttle to the Missouri because there is no public access to Ford Island. There are guided tours or you can opt to just explore on your own.

 

Be sure to squeeze in a sunset cocktail in Waikiki if you have time.

 

I'm sure that our excellent local members will chime in with suggestions for you as well.

 

beachchick

 

p.s. Now you're in the right frame of mind...always planning on that next trip to Hawaii!

 

OKAY!!! I will start that planning right away! See how good I listen?? heehee

 

Thanks for all the tips in Hono. The sunset cocktail sounds wonderful but unfortunately we will have to be on the stupid plane by then. Do you have any ideas to do this within walking distance for my hubby some evening(s) on Maui, Kona or Kauai?

 

Thanks a bunch! or should I say...mahalo!!

[DonahCBrown]

just wanted to point one thing out. someone who does a cruise in June with 3-4 more hours of daylight will definitely get more sightseeing in than someone who cruises in the winter months.

 

Not really - our shortest day is about 11 hours, our longest is 13 or so. Too near to the equator to have much of swing season to season.

 

Do note, however, that sunset is sunset - we don't have much twilight. Sun goes down, it gets dark. Again, it is the close to the equator thing - has to do with the curvature of the earth, etc. etc.

[beachchick]

OKAY!!! I will start that planning right away! See how good I listen?? heehee

 

Thanks for all the tips in Hono. The sunset cocktail sounds wonderful but unfortunately we will have to be on the stupid plane by then. Do you have any ideas to do this within walking distance for my hubby some evening(s) on Maui, Kona or Kauai?

 

Thanks a bunch! or should I say...mahalo!!

 

Yes, mahalo will do very well. And I guess you've figured out that DH and I love to visit the islands...so, the CC forum gives me a chance to "keep in touch" with Hawaii between trips. It's gotten really bad too. Our trips have been about 2 years apart up until now. Last trip was June 2005 to the BI and Maui. We had planned a trip for this October, but had to cancel because of health and home issues. (Ironically, had we not cancelled, the day the earthquake hit, we would have been at LAX waiting for our connecting flight to Maui. Weird--my Grandma always said "things happen for a reason," but what a reason.) We rescheduled for May 2007, but when I found a super deal on PoH this winter and my Mom offered to gift us with enough of her FF miles as a Christmas gift...well, what can I say? We're going this winter with a few days pre- and post-cruise, and we have a land trip planned for October 2007. Yep, we're "Hawaii junkies.":D

 

To answer your actual questions. I'm afraid there's really nothing "to do" within walking distance for Maui (Kahului) or Kauai, especially at night. During the day, you can walk from the pier on Kauai to a hotel and beach nearby (sorry, don't remember which). I know it's not a "nice" walk, but I've heard it's pretty easy and that the beach is nice. For evening, there's just nothing I can think of within walking distance for either port.

 

As you're doing OLL on Maui, I suggest you drive down to Lahaina afterwards for coffee. (Parking can be a buggah, but there are several lots and parking at a couple of shopping centers. Most places are pay parking. Ask for the Maui Driving Map when you pick up your car. There's a basic map of Lahaina inset, which shows several of the parking locations.) There are several places on Front St. that have music and other entertainment at night. I assume you only have the 1 overnight, so you're set there.

 

Now for Kona, that's another story. When you get off the tender, head toward the street and hang a right onto Ali'i Dr. You'll walk next to a seawall, which is a great place to stop and look out at the ship(s) and the water, especially if there's a full moon. It's lovely. After that, you'll stay on Ali'i and walk along the waterfront. There are restaurants (many with lounges and music at night), shops, and so forth. It's an easy walk, which DH and I have done at night more than once with no problems. You could also walk straight up Palani Rd. As I recall, there are a couple of shopping centers on the left (if you're walking up the hill away from the water). I'm not sure exactly what kind of nightlife you'd find at those shopping centers though. In that part of town, all we ever seem to do is hit the Safeway for supplies.

 

(Not that you asked, but a little tidbit for you: makai means "toward the sea," while mauka means "toward the mountain"; so if you ask for directions and are told to go "mauka" or "makai" you'll know what it means.)

 

beachchick

 

p.s. I am very impressed with your listening skills.:D

[cruisefrk]

Just wanted to add we did the Zodiac last November and it was a great experience!!! Highly recommend it.

[emalemi]

Yes, mahalo will do very well. And I guess you've figured out that DH and I love to visit the islands...so, the CC forum gives me a chance to "keep in touch" with Hawaii between trips. It's gotten really bad too. Our trips have been about 2 years apart up until now. Last trip was June 2005 to the BI and Maui. We had planned a trip for this October, but had to cancel because of health and home issues. (Ironically, had we not cancelled, the day the earthquake hit, we would have been at LAX waiting for our connecting flight to Maui. Weird--my Grandma always said "things happen for a reason," but what a reason.) We rescheduled for May 2007, but when I found a super deal on PoH this winter and my Mom offered to gift us with enough of her FF miles as a Christmas gift...well, what can I say? We're going this winter with a few days pre- and post-cruise, and we have a land trip planned for October 2007. Yep, we're "Hawaii junkies.":D>>>

 

Wow-I'm glad you missed the earthquake. That was cutting it real close. Lucky you to be going this winter, and then again in October! I think my hubby and I would like to plan a land trip next. The cruise will give us a "taste" of things, and then we can pick a spot or 2 to visit a couple weeks on the next trip. See? It's contagious!!

 

<<<Now for Kona, that's another story. When you get off the tender, head toward the street and hang a right onto Ali'i Dr. You'll walk next to a seawall, which is a great place to stop and look out at the ship(s) and the water, especially if there's a full moon. It's lovely. After that, you'll stay on Ali'i and walk along the waterfront. There are restaurants (many with lounges and music at night), shops, and so forth. It's an easy walk, which DH and I have done at night more than once with no problems. You could also walk straight up Palani Rd. As I recall, there are a couple of shopping centers on the left (if you're walking up the hill away from the water). I'm not sure exactly what kind of nightlife you'd find at those shopping centers though. In that part of town, all we ever seem to do is hit the Safeway for supplies.>>>

 

Thanks for the Kona tips. This sounds very nice to just take a walk and check some of this stuff out. We do the Zodiak in the am, but this will give us some ideas for the rest of the day. Thanks!

 

<<<(Not that you asked, but a little tidbit for you: makai means "toward the sea," while mauka means "toward the mountain"; so if you ask for directions and are told to go "mauka" or "makai" you'll know what it means.)>>>

 

Well...I will do my best to remember this, and if we get lost...SO WHAT!! We are in HAWAII!!

 

MAHALO Beachchick:-)

[emalemi]

Just wanted to add we did the Zodiac last November and it was a great experience!!! Highly recommend it.

 

Hey cruisefrk! Thanks for the word on Zodiak. We can't wait for this and hope to see lots of beautiful fish.

 

Just over 2 weeks to go so the excitment is building!!!!

 

:-)