Just Back from Hawaii - Itinerary & Pictures

[Lionesss]

You are getting me very excited for our land vacation this summer.

50 days and counting till WAIKIKI!

Thanks for the great pictures.

later

[adventuregrrl]

Thanks for the great review and beautiful pictures! Because of that, my husband and I cancelled our hotel in Waikiki and have a similar cottage rented on the north shore in August pre cruise --so excited! We will be picking up our car at the airport but would like to drop it off at the ala Moana location after we check in on the ship (Pride of America) Did you have to drag your luggage from the parking lot across the street or could you pull up to the pier first to drop it off? Thanks, Sue

PS Can't wait to get my little hula doll for the dashboard!

 

 

I hope you enjoy your cottage as much as we did ours! We were able to park in an unloading area with our bags before getting on the ship. I'm not sure if they have this at every dock, but a sky cap helped us get our bags to the security area. We then went back out and moved the car to a parking lot for the night, because our first night was while the ship was still docked. After using the car all day on day two, we returned the rental car to Ala Moana Alamo and they brought us back in the complimentary van.

 

The Hilo Hatties hula girl is now proudly on the dashboard of my Prius.

[SUEMARKOHOH]

Adventuregrrl

Thanks so much for all your info . I have now reserved our car through Alamo--they are the only company I could find that uses the Ala Moana location.

We are thrilled about the cottage! We were going to stay at the Outrigger Reef but after reading your review decided to skip all the craziness there and stay on a beautiful mostly private beach--more what I've always envisioned Hawaii to be. We used VRBO (123824)also--really loved yours but it was booked. By the way--loved your snorkeling pictures of the beautiful fish!

Thanks again, Sue

[adventuregrrl]

Adventuregrrl

We used VRBO (123824)also--really loved yours but it was booked. By the way--loved your snorkeling pictures of the beautiful fish!

Thanks again, Sue

 

Your cottage looks great! The snorkeling pics were with our trusty Olympus 770SW. We did take some pics with a temporary waterproof camera, but they weren't as good.

 

One tip about snorkeling from the shore. If you're not wearing your fins (and you may not have to in the lagoon at your cottage), you should pick up some good water shoes to protect your feet on the rocks. We picked up Teva's like this: http://www.amazon.com/Teva-Proton-Watershoes-Women-Black/dp/B000NGPMVI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=shoes&qid=1244250456&sr=1-4 when we saw them on sale.

[adventuregrrl]

I just realized that I didn't say much in my original post about the gear we bought for our trip. I did a lot of research and looked for ways to save money while buying high quality gear.

 

* Since I wear glasses, I wanted to buy a prescription mask. We were really happy with the snorkel gear for two we bought from www.snorkel-mart.com/ This good quality gear, was reasonably priced, and made in the USA. (I should have bought the shorter fins for Hawaii)

 

* We were so glad that we picked up rash guards from www.landsend.com before our trip. These quick drying shirts were great to keep us from getting our backsides sunburned while they were up in the air as we snorkeled.

 

* I really liked my women's board shorts from http://boardshortsworld.com/. These were really comfortable and came in a flattering cut.

 

* We also bought Teva watershoes that we used in more shallow waters and Simple flipflops at really excellent prices from www.sierratradingpost.com.

 

* We took along our waterproof bag (dry bag) that we use for kayaking that's like this: http://www.rei.com/product/784147 This gave us a place to put our keys and wallets when we were snorkeling at the public beach.

 

Here's a hint about active wear from either Land's End or Sierra Trading Post. Don't buy it all at once. Buy some when they're running shipping special and then buy more when they send you a coupon. We saved a lot of money this way.

[NYAustinGal]

Adventurr - thanks for the tips! Just had fun shopping on boardshortworld. Can't wait for that package to arrive!

[emste]

This thread also made us cancel our hotel in Waikiki for a week post cruise. We are now on a last minute search for a house on the North Shore. I am also looking for the Olympus 770 SW camera. I have a Nikon Rebel but would also like a point and shoot and figured the Olympus would kill two birds with one stone, with it also being waterproof. Thanks for all the suggestions!

[adventuregrrl]

This thread also made us cancel our hotel in Waikiki for a week post cruise. We are now on a last minute search for a house on the North Shore. I am also looking for the Olympus 770 SW camera. I have a Nikon Rebel but would also like a point and shoot and figured the Olympus would kill two birds with one stone, with it also being waterproof. Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

Good luck finding the right house! I have a friend that just bought the newer model of the Olympus - the Tough 8000. It's also waterproof to 30 feet.

 

 

NYAustinGal - Hope you enjoy those boardshorts.

[ScarletKND]

I absolutely love your pictures! They are beautiful. It really makes me miss snorkeling in Hawaii. I think it's time for another trip!

[adventuregrrl]

It really makes me miss snorkeling in Hawaii. I think it's time for another trip!

 

 

Thanks ScarletKND! I was telling a coworker today that I'm still carrying a little of that Aloha Spirit with me, but think it's time to start planning another visit.

[NYAustinGal]

* I really liked my women's board shorts from http://boardshortsworld.com/. These were really comfortable and came in a flattering cut.

 

Oh AdventureGirl - what a GREAT recommendation!!! I went onto their website and ordered board shorts and a board skirt (and matching bathing suit tops). The shorts and skirt are awesome! I swear I look two sizes smaller. I got them today and ordered another pair of shorts and another board skirt. Love them! Sizes run true. The bathing suit tops run small.

 

Great tip - thanks!

[adventuregrrl]

Oh AdventureGirl - what a GREAT recommendation!!! I went onto their website and ordered board shorts and a board skirt (and matching bathing suit tops). The shorts and skirt are awesome! I swear I look two sizes smaller. I got them today and ordered another pair of shorts and another board skirt. Love them! Sizes run true. The bathing suit tops run small.

 

Great tip - thanks!

 

 

I'm so glad to hear that it worked out for you! And, you can feel good that this is all made in the USA...in a sweatshop free environment. You are helping our economy and looking good too.

 

I really liked that I could wear my board shorts on my Hawaii excursions without having to do a lot of changing.

[chachi]

You had some stunning photos. Thank you for sharing. It makes me want to go back!

[adventuregrrl]

You had some stunning photos. Thank you for sharing. It makes me want to go back!

 

 

Thanks. I'm ready to join you!

[theozwalrus]

This thread also made us cancel our hotel in Waikiki for a week post cruise. We are now on a last minute search for a house on the North Shore. I am also looking for the Olympus 770 SW camera. I have a Nikon Rebel but would also like a point and shoot and figured the Olympus would kill two birds with one stone, with it also being waterproof. Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

Hi Emste,

I do not know when you are travelling but thought this might help. We have booked the following house in Kaaawa http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p214590 and will be arriving on 26/09 so have not stayed there YET!! I can tell you however we looked and many many places and have had no problems with Sasha the owner even allowing for the fact we have arranged everything from Australia. I also felt it was the best value for money out of all the houses we looked at. The rate we have been quoted $200 USD p/night is all inclusive, cleaning fees, taxes EVERYTHING !!

 

Hope this helps

Cheers

David

[tourguy1]

The wind was fine and the water was mostly calm. We truly enjoyed the snorkeling in calm, clear water. I'm not quite sure where the "windward" name comes from. There is a bit of a pennisula near Chinaman's Hat, so maybe it served as a wind breaker.

 

In Hawaii, the term Windward is the direction from which our trade winds come from. The opposite side of the island is called leeward. During the hot seasons, you will pray for the trade winds to come in and cool you off. My suggestion is to find a place to stay on the windward side as often as possible. I live on Kauai and the east side of the island is windward.

[kezza]

Adventuregrrl, what great photos, thanks for sharing. We've got 45 days and counting. The tours sounds wonderful, can't wait.

 

Thanks again,

 

Kerri

[adventuregrrl]

In Hawaii, the term Windward is the direction from which our trade winds come from. The opposite side of the island is called leeward. During the hot seasons, you will pray for the trade winds to come in and cool you off. My suggestion is to find a place to stay on the windward side as often as possible. I live on Kauai and the east side of the island is windward.

 

 

Thanks for the explanation! I'll try not to be jealous that you actually get to live in paradise.

[Jeanny]

Jeanny - thanks for the "wicked cool" comment. We did have to skip our annual trip to Maine in order to go on our Hawaiian cruise this year.

 

yeah, the "wicked cool" is a dead giveaway as to where I live! :D

 

thanks for all the advice and tips you're giving all of us... we still have a lot of planning to do!

[adventuregrrl]

It's a busy time in Washington, DC. I'm definitely ready to go back to Hawaii! But, Maine would be "wicked cool" too.

[adventuregrrl]

So, I've booked my next cruise, but am still thinking about Hawaii. This was truly one of our best trips.

[chachi]

Your photos are absolutely stunning!

[Sue's Mom]

Thanks for posting those wonderful photos. We are off to Hawaii on our cruise in less than 2 weeks. Can you please rate your visit to VNP? We were planning to hire a car and do this trip under our own steam. Was it worth it?

[redzin]

I loved the house in Oahu before I read your post. We are going to Oahu 3 days pre cruise with friends that we are cruising with. We are staying in Honolulu to catch up on jet lag and do taxi together. We have 3 days post cruise that we were thinking of going back to Maui ....Westin for the remainder of trip before we head back to New York. So in your opinion....should we do Maui or stay in Oahu and rent the house that you stayed in . It looks like a once in a lifetime online. What is your opinion??????Never been to Hawaii. Rona

[Caribbean Sunsets]

Fantastic photos! I enjoyed your review. It brought back lots of memories of Maui and Oahu.