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The thread title says it all. My wife and I will be in Honolulu in late-April. We've been there a few days back, did all of the typical tourist stuff (Pearl Harbour, The Punchbowl, Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, the Zoo, North Shore, to name a few), loved it, and we're going back. But this time, we'd like to avoid the typical tourist attractions. We'll be renting a car, so we won't have any issues getting around. A few tings we're looking for:
Also- is there any special events happening in April that we should put on our to-do list?
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| # ? Jan 11, 2013 07:09 |
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| # ? May 24, 2013 06:16 |
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It's kind of touristy, but the Old Pali lookout trail is worth a quick stroll, just ignore the "do not enter, falling rocks" signs. Mostly it's interesting because you get to see first hand how quickly the subtropics can reclaim a disused highway. Waialua is my favorite town, mostly because it reminds me of home in a way I can't quite put my finger on. Give up on the restaurants, I may just be priced out of anywhere decent, but food almost universally sucks here. Everything is shipped in except the tuna. Local, authentic food is....well, maybe you'd like to clarify what you mean by that before I say anything.
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| # ? Jan 12, 2013 04:38 |
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Sizone posted:It's kind of touristy, but the Old Pali lookout trail is worth a quick stroll, just ignore the "do not enter, falling rocks" signs. Mostly it's interesting because you get to see first hand how quickly the subtropics can reclaim a disused highway. Oh, and by local, authentic fare I mean food that locals would eat. It'd be really nice to walk into a restaurant and find locals eating there, instead of swaths of tourists. Last itme we were there, we weren't successful at finding such a place.
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| # ? Jan 12, 2013 06:45 |
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melon cat posted:I had no idea about Old Pali. We'll be sure to check it out! So not the food, just the atmosphere? Zippy's. Everyone eats there, I do not know why. They are all over the place, they're basically the Hawaiian Denny's. Do that first to get it out of your system, order chili over rice. You will not enjoy it. After you have endured Zippy's maybe a good thing to do would be to head over to Kaimuki, it's close to downtown, has good parking and is sort of neither too high or low brow. Just walk up the main drag until you find someplace that looks like someplace you would like to eat at. Don't forget to stop off at Toys 'n' Joys so you can buy a samurai sword and add a touch of official goonliness to your holiday photos. Just avoid Waikiki and the Ala Moana mall (and bits of the North Shore) and you should be fine. The Hoomaluhia botanical garden is also loving incredible. Sizone fucked around with this message at Jan 12, 2013 around 07:44 |
| # ? Jan 12, 2013 07:21 |
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Search out something called "poi." This is the staple food of all Hawaiians and you're bound to find it in any local's home. Make a local friend that can reveal the wonders of "poi" to you!
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| # ? Jan 12, 2013 07:22 |
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If you don't mind me asking where are you planning to stay at?
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| # ? Jan 12, 2013 08:55 |
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Sizone posted:So not the food, just the atmosphere? Zippy's. Everyone eats there, I do not know why. They are all over the place, they're basically the Hawaiian Denny's. Do that first to get it out of your system, order chili over rice. You will not enjoy it. Battle Rockers posted:Search out something called "poi." This is the staple food of all Hawaiians and you're bound to find it in any local's home. Make a local friend that can reveal the wonders of "poi" to you! obi_ant posted:If you don't mind me asking where are you planning to stay at? melon cat fucked around with this message at Jan 17, 2013 around 05:42 |
| # ? Jan 17, 2013 05:29 |
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You absolutely must go here: http://www.vthawaii.com/OAHU/Kaena/Kaena.html I went last April and on my last day rented a car to drive around the island while waiting for my 11pm flight home. I discovered this by accident, and it was incredible. If you want to drive the 3mi road, you'll need at least a truck/SUV. I did it with a Jeep Liberty and all the insurance they let me buy. Anyways, it's incredible, and there aren't too many people, and you can get within 2 ft of a gigantic baby albatross in their natural setting. It is such an incredible place. When I make it back to Hawaii it's gonna be the first place I go, just to make sure it's real. Also, get the $14 Mai tai at the Trump hotel bar on the 6th floor, and go to the tiny gay karaoke bar on the main strip in Waikiki. They make their own ginger beer.
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| # ? Jan 17, 2013 16:14 |
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majour333 posted:You absolutely must go here: http://www.vthawaii.com/OAHU/Kaena/Kaena.html I went last April and on my last day rented a car to drive around the island while waiting for my 11pm flight home. I discovered this by accident, and it was incredible. If you want to drive the 3mi road, you'll need at least a truck/SUV. I did it with a Jeep Liberty and all the insurance they let me buy. Anyways, it's incredible, and there aren't too many people, and you can get within 2 ft of a gigantic baby albatross in their natural setting. It is such an incredible place. When I make it back to Hawaii it's gonna be the first place I go, just to make sure it's real. melon cat fucked around with this message at Jan 17, 2013 around 16:54 |
| # ? Jan 17, 2013 16:46 |
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My friend and I are amateur (pretty amateur) free divers and our favorite place bar none is Shark's Cove. It's a relatively busy place just north of Waimea Bay. However, for diving it's incredible as there is a considerable amount of life as well as numerous underwater tunnels that you can dive down and swim through. For just snorkelling, there is a small secluded beach right near a power plant just past Ko Olina. The beach is nicknamed Electric Beach (Kahe Point) and it has a warm water discharge pipe that runs out into the ocean. Near the discharge you can find a lot of life. Go skydiving with one of the companies at Dillingham airfield on the North Shore. For hikes, one of my favorites I'm not really sure the name of, but there is a Buddhist temple that lies in Palolo Valley (one of the many valley's north of Honolulu). You drive past the temple and eventually you'll come across a field on the right hand side with a set of beige trailer looking buildings. From there you can get out and cross the street, and briefly cut across a property down into a ravine. Follow that ravine, and you'll come across a pipe, that pipe will cut back and forth across the ravine (as you will as well), but as you follow this trail you'll come across three waterfalls and eventually a crater. You can continue up a mountain, turn back the way you came, or follow a ridge line back. Anyway, I snapped this picture from that hike:  I also enjoyed swimming out to Chinamen's Hat near Kaneohe Bay and then climbing to the top (short, water is shallow all the way out, especially during low tide). Saw a monk seal chilling on a rock when I did this last. I haven't done three peaks yet, but eventually I will. This one is a bit dangerous though. Also, I tested out the new Go Pro at Electric Beach - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg0_-Gp-vxg. Boon fucked around with this message at Jan 18, 2013 around 05:01 |
| # ? Jan 18, 2013 04:53 |
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If you want to visit the "Tree Museum" mentioned in the song "Big Yellow Taxi" (much covered song that has the line "They paved over Paradise, and put up a parking lot") there's the Foster Botanical Gardens. The neatest tree in the gardens is probably the gigantic Bo Fig, grown from a sapling of the holy Mahabodhi tree in India.
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| # ? Jan 19, 2013 03:11 |
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The Foster botanic garden is literally across the street from a Zippy's, so you could kill two birds with one stone. If you go around 7pm, you'll see the old lady who always feeds the stray cats.
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| # ? Jan 19, 2013 03:27 |
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Boon posted:Also, I tested out the new Go Pro at Electric Beach - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg0_-Gp-vxg. Awesome footage (I made an odd squeak noise when I saw the turtle)! Was that a late night dive, or early morning? Which version of the GoPro did you use? Thanks for the travel tips, by the way. It was exactly what I was looking for. The Foster Botanical Gardens also looks bad rear end, too.
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| # ? Jan 20, 2013 04:18 |
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Thats the Kaau crater hike. Its a nice hike but doesn't have a lot of amazing views until you get to the end (you can almost see my house in that picture). As mentioned you'll be criss-crossing a stream so make sure you're wearing something you don't mind getting wet. Vibrams or something similar work great as you don't have to pussy-foot through the water or worry about wet socks. Might want some bug spray as it can be a little buggy at the crater. As for snorkeling if you want some relatively light action I recommend going out to the Makapuu lighthouse area. You can look up the area, its called Ka Iwi Shoreline or just Makapuu Lightouse Trail. Park in the lot there and walk up the 'trail' (its really a paved road that provides vehicle access to the lighthouse). At the very beginning you'll have option #1: go right off the road and follow the dirt path to the little inlet about a 10 minute walk from the parking lot (you can see it from there). Theres a sandy beach to hang out but if you go to your left and out a bit you'll come to a rocky point where you can climb down and hop in the water and snorkeling around. Its about 10-15 deep on average and there are a goodly amount of fish. Nice clear water too. The surrounding area is interesting as well, if you go there, just poke around and explore. Option #2: continue on the walk up to the lighthouse, enjoy the view of Makapuu beach and the Waimanalo coastline, and then turn right back around. When you came up the trail you will have spotted an info board about Whale Watching. If you step off the road at this point you will see a trail, this is going to take you down the side of the hill. Its an interesting rocky descent but people do it all the time and you may even see folks going down there. Take your time, the trail is marked from the other direction, to aid folks coming up. Depending on how comfortable you are it can take between 10 and 20 minutes to get down. There are some awesome tidepools down there where you can hop it and swim around. One in particular is like swimming in somebody's aquarium. Oh, theres a blowhole too, so if the tide is right, you'll get to see that. If you're really adventurous you could do both in one day. Go earlier than later, that area is hotter and drier than most spots. Take lots of water and sunscreen and you'll be good. Oh, and take food. I'd recommend going to Foodland and getting some poke (if you like raw fish and haven't tried poke yet, please do). If you want more info you can e-mail me shieldmonkey@gmail.com
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| # ? Jan 25, 2013 20:04 |
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OlafSkrelnik posted:[snip] Thanks! Local knowledge is always awesome. I might have some questions about getting to those destinations, so I'll definitely email you if any clarification's needed. \/ 
melon cat fucked around with this message at Feb 2, 2013 around 21:23 |
| # ? Jan 30, 2013 01:09 |
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I hate poi. I'm a local. One of my favorite places is Masa & Joyce in Kaneohe. It's not high class cuisine but its a place locals go. They have a lot of options - I'd just order pretty much everything and anything if I were you. http://masaandjoyce.com/menu Try all the poke. When you order it, it's pronounced "poki".
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| # ? Feb 2, 2013 07:32 |
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I've been to Oahu a couple of times, and like to think I managed to avoid being "too touristy," but I might not know what the gently caress I'm talking about. I can't really recommend food, although I liked Banzai sushi on the North Shore and various sushi trucks. That said, my absolute favorite place on the island has been the stretch of coast from Dillingham Airfield to Kaena Point. It is virtually deserted, except for the occasional sleeping local or wind surfer. When the wind isn't too rough, you can swim along effortlessly with sea turtles all day long. My favorite place to snorkel, though, was Three Tables. It can be a little crowded, but the water is like bath water, and has an abundance of sea life. The only real trail I've done was the Maunawili falls hike. The length of the trail (about an hour hike) keeps a lot of tourists away, but there can still be a few. Worth it, though, either way. One thing I will recommend is a pair of Vibram Five Finger shoes. They're pretty lame looking, but they were absolutely perfect for everything active you can do on the island. Snorkeling, hiking, etc.
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| # ? Feb 4, 2013 01:56 |
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Thinking of heading over in the next few weeks, I get the impression the weather is a bit hit and miss. Is there still plenty of fun to be had if the weather turns?
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| # ? Feb 17, 2013 22:09 |
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Scapegoat posted:Thinking of heading over in the next few weeks, I get the impression the weather is a bit hit and miss. Is there still plenty of fun to be had if the weather turns? ? Unless it's a goddamn tsunami, if it starts raining it will probably stop in 1/2 an hour at most. When it rains, even when it rains HARD it isn't cold, it's kind of like taking a nice shower. Even if you get soaking wet you'll dry out pretty quickly. Only real adverse thing is, like right now, it's very windy. Basically don't be a pussy and you'll be fine.
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| # ? Feb 18, 2013 01:52 |
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Sizone posted:?
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| # ? Feb 18, 2013 02:32 |
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melon cat posted:Speaking of which- what's the weather like in late April/early May? low-mid 80s, maybe mid-high 80s if it's a hot spell. Perpetually humid, though usually not super unpleasantly so. Wear long sleeved shirts and good sunglasses, the sun is hot and bright year round even if the temperature doesn't really reflect that. There will be no snow. Rain is always likely, though somewhat less likely in spring than it is now. As previously stated, do not fear the rain, it is almost always mild and brief. People who have been here longer than I hate and fear it. Either they have never been, are not from, or have forgotten what it is like in, the Pacific Northwest. Bring an umbrella if you feel you must.
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| # ? Feb 18, 2013 04:16 |
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I'm pretty sure I'm going to do a Maui/Kauai 2 week trip this year and was considering September, likely after Labor Day weekend. Am I right in assuming this will be a less busy time in Maui (it seems like it is off season)? I would guess the weather will also be decent this time of year, accepting that in places like Kauai it will be wildly different location to location, or so I've read? I live on the East coast so it's a bit of a haul and just want to make sure I'm not picking a bad time to visit. Everything I have read says September is fine, but since there are locals here thought I would ask. Saltin fucked around with this message at Feb 21, 2013 around 01:06 |
| # ? Feb 21, 2013 01:04 |
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No time is a bad time to visit Hawaii. Please come on vacation and spend your money here! For a "local experience" go to Dong Yang Inn in Wahiawa and order a plate of Meat Chun.
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| # ? Mar 29, 2013 07:41 |
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Tokelau All Star posted:No time is a bad time to visit Hawaii. Please come on vacation and spend your money here!
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| # ? Mar 29, 2013 19:10 |
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Yeah Hawaii Korean. It's me and my grandma's favorite restaurant.
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| # ? Apr 11, 2013 02:24 |
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If you want local food eat at Bob's Bar-B-Que 1366 Dillingham Boulevard Honolulu, HI 96817 (808) 842-3663 Shiro's Saimin Haven 98-020 Kamehameha Hwy, Aiea, HI (808) 488-4834 Also gonna Nth Zippys. Get the chilli.
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| # ? Apr 15, 2013 01:18 |
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Stealing this thread to ask a question about big island. I'm going to be there for 4 or so days in May. I definitely want to do Mauna Kea and the observatories (or wherever I can get in a rental car), see come volcanic action and lava, and also hike and lay around on a less touristy beach. Should I go to Kona? Hilo? Rent a car or not? Or any other good big island stuff.
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| # ? Apr 16, 2013 22:37 |
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Seconding. I'm going to be on the big island for a week in October with the girlfriend, and would love ideas on things to do.
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| # ? Apr 19, 2013 06:10 |
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| # ? May 24, 2013 06:16 |
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Well, Kona is on the West side and Volcanoes is on the East side with the observatories sort of in the middle. My mom's family is original from the area north of Hilo so I've spent the majority of my time on the Big Island on the East side. Beaches are better on the West so if thats your biggest criteria then do Kona. Otherwise I'd say do Hilo. You can go half an hour north Waipio and do the black sand beach after you walk down into the valley, so there is that. I'd say just spend as much time as you can at Volcanoes, my favorite part of my state. Surec, unfortunately I can't really recommend more than that. When I go Big Island I either go to Volcanoes or spend time with family in Ookala so sadly, my exposure to the rest of the island is limited. But like I said, Volcanoes is where you want to be.
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| # ? Apr 19, 2013 19:30 |
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