Oahu for a Day

Hello!!

We will be in Oahu for a brief stop before heading to Kauai on our Honeymoon in 2 weeks. We get in at 5:00 on a Sunday and leave at noon on Tuesday. Are there any suggestions for what to do?

We are staying at the DoubleTree in Honolulu and have rented a car. We do not like museums or guided tours. We really like going off and exploring things. What are some suggestions for doing this?

Oh-and any local (non-touristy) restaurant recommendations would be appreciated!!

Thanks

Rolsen

Oahu for a Day

The lazy answer would be to tell you to get in the car and start driving along the coast while making stops at whatever looks interesting until you arrive back at your starting point.

Since no one but you knows what you like, I%26#39;d also recommend that you borrow a guide book from the library to get a general idea of what%26#39;s available on the islands and then ask for opinions on specific activities from the forums. Either way, you%26#39;ll find out that you should have spent more than one day on Oahu ... lol.

Oahu for a Day

We recently returned from Hawaii. Our flight arrived about the same time as yours, but it was on a Friday night. The traffic from the airport to Waikiki Beach was very slow. It took us over two hours from the time we landed to get to our hotel. We stayed at the DoubleTree in Honolulu the first night too. The hotel was fine for the first night and a short stay, but it isn’t a place I would highly recommend. After checking in to the hotel and getting something to eat we took a walk down to the beach (turned right) and ended up at a wonderful outdoor Polynesian show and watching spectacular fireworks over the ocean. It was a fantastic way to begin our vacation.

The next morning we woke up early went to Pearl Harbor. Waking up early was easy due to the time change. We were done touring Pearl Harbor about noon and then stopped at Stadium Market, which is a great place to buy reasonably priced souvenirs about a mile from Pearl Harbor.

From there we headed up to the North Shore of Oahu enjoying the sights along the way. We went all the way to Sunset Beach and then back to Marriott Ko Olina Resort for our second night stay. Marriott Ko Olina was a spectacular resort. I wish we could have taken more time just to enjoy it. If your reservations aren’t set in stone at the DoubleTree, I would recommend checking out Marriott’s Ko Olina. The second morning, we went for a fabulous early morning swim a protected cove prior to heading to the airport for Maui and then on to Kauai.

If I can remember right I think our flight was about 11:00 a.m. in Oahu and we didn’t get to our condo in Maui till 4 – 5 p.m. Relocating from one island to another takes the better part of a day. For our first trip to Hawaii I don’t have any regrets that we visited three islands, but you waste a lot of valuable vacation time transferring and it can be stressful.

Rolsen from Dallas,

After my last message to you I checked out your recent posts. I noticed you were asking about Hilton Kauai Beach resort #3130, Thats were we stayed in Kauai too. Are you still planning to stay there?

Even though you say you don%26#39;t like museums, don%26#39;t skip USS Arizona Memorial. It doesn%26#39;t take long %26amp; will be one of the most moving experiences you will ever have in your lifetime.

lots of info including a couple of driving tours on Oahu:

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g29222-i37-k647862…

Yes we are still staying at the Hilton in Lihue. Have you stayed there? Any suggestions or pieces of advice?

Thanks!!

Rolsen

Lookingfor advice: Just curious as to what took you so long on your Maui trip. The flight is only an half an hour long and you didn%26#39;t get to your hotel until 4? Where was the hold up?

Rolsen

Yes, we stayed in the exact condo at Hilton Kauai Beach Resort. The rooms were clean and adequately furnished. We rented it through VRBO. We had a late flight out on our last day and the person we rented the condo from granted us a late check out. While we were there it rained and the resort pool and outside facilities were closed due to the weather for two of our three days. But the day the sun was shining, the resort was beautiful! It has wonderful pools, waterslide, poolside bar and restaurants.

There was a coffee pot in the room, but no coffee and we didn’t feel at liberty to ask the hotel for any, since we didn’t actually rent from them. There is a small refrigerator and towels, soap, etc. provided. The view isn’t the best from Unit #3130. It’s ground level and near the pools. The ocean near the Hilton was quite dirty when we were there. In fact, I would go as far as to say it was the dirtiest beach we saw in Kauai, but we still enjoyed walking the beach. I was under the impression that there was a Polynesian show each evening, but when we were there it was cancelled. I don’t know if it is permanently cancelled or it was just cancelled when we were there. If that’s something you are looking forward to, you may want to check it out. Also, in researching Hilton Kauai Beach Resort on Trip Advisor I was under the impression they had happy hour with free drinks each evening – they don’t!

The only problem we really had was that the fees the Hotel directly charges were misrepresented by the person we rented through from VRBO. He had stated it would be $100 for a cleaning fee – the hotel actually charged $125. He also stated it would be $12.95 per day for parking, but if we had parking and internet it would be $25. The hotel charged $25 per day even though we didn’t use internet each day, they called the $25 per day a resort fee. You may want to clarify the fees the hotel charges directly if there is a discrepancy.

msfuss,

Lookingfor advice: Just curious as to what took you so long on your Maui trip. The flight is only an half an hour long and you didn%26#39;t get to your hotel until 4? Where was the hold up?

I notice you are from Hawaii. You have probably made the trip several times and know exactly where you are going and what to do.

After the flight we picked up our luggage, picked up Maui brochures, took a bus to the rental car company, rent a car, ate lunch, stopped at Walmart and a grocery store to pick up supplies, and drove to Kahana.

When you know what you’re doing and where you’re going it may seem like a hop-skip-and-a-jump. But trust me, by the time you start packing up in the morning till you get settled on another island it will take the better part of a day.