Hawaii

[kbaby]

Anyone been? were staying on O'aho. Wondered what its like and whats to do.

Thanks

Have been but haven't done Oaho. We did The Big Island, Kawaii and lanaii.

Loved it there - would go back but we think its a bit far at the moment - will wait till the children are older.

We went there for the second league of our honeymoon 3 years ago. It was fabulous. When you arrive at the airport, you will be greeted with a flower reef (I can't remember the exact name) which is placed round your neck by a young woman wearing traditional clothes. It's great because it sets the stage for what will be a wonderful experience. We stayed at Waikiki Circle Hotel in Honolulu which is just across the street from the Waikiki beach. We had a room on the 11th floor overlooking the beach. It was breathtakingly beautiful. The beach is fabulous but be sure to do plenty of walking and sightseeing. We visited Maui on a day trip (flew with Air Olaha!) and visited the famous dormant volcanic site which was 10,000ft above seawater. Needless to say we got a headache! Also did a tour of the island.

Also did a Luau, choose carefully though because some are better than others. The one we attended was not that good in terms of the food but the entertainment was excellent and I went up on stage with the dancers .

There is also an island tour by coach so that is worth doing. You must eat at the restaurant named after the the guy who introduced surfing to the world. At the moment I can't think of the name but the food there was superb, particularly the fish dishes.

There is a huge Nike store and both my DH and I bought trainers there because they were much cheaper than the ones in the UK. Lots of different shops at different price brackets. There is even a Tiffany store. We did not go inside!

There are also museums to visit. You must visit Pearl Harbour and see the USS Arizona Memorial - it is quite moving. Also, visit USS Missouri,the battleship. This is where the 2nd world war formally ended (wrt USA) when the Japanese signed the document to surrender, overseen by General MCArthur. The USS Missouri has also been used by Hollywood, e.g. Undersiege with Steven Seagal. You are allowed to walk about the ship, unless an area has restricted access.

In one of the nearby parks, there is a statue of Ghandi which was quite unexpected. You will find gems like these when you walk around. There are also plenty of restaurants and bars to try out. The weather was excellent and I don't recall that it rained at all.

All in all we had a fabulous, wonderful time and are planning to go there again for our silver wedding anniversary .

Liked Maui much more than O'aho. Found it a lot more commercial and expensive. Shopping I would recommend continuing on the bus past Pearl Harbour to one of the regional malls rather than the one in Waikiki. The one in Waikiki is huge but has soooo many expensive stores.
Agree about seeing Pearl Harbour, Missouri. Wished we had time to get to the North Shore out of Waikiki. Some of the snorkeling is supposed to be great as well. Enjoy!

Have been there a couple of times nwo and have enjoyed each visit there.

Oahu as an island is very nice but it is certainly not a quiet haven of tranquility. Parts of this island particularly the city and Waikiki are very built up indeed (it is very reminscent of the Mainland - this is what the locals call the US). The North shore of the island is much more peaceful.

You will indeed each be given a flower lei on arrival at Honolulu airport!!.

Would suggest you do a circle tour of the island along with a visit to Pearl Harbor. A word of warning re Pearl Harbor though - you will not be allowed to bring any items to carry stuff around (be they backpacks, bags of any sort) with you. It can take a long time to pass the various security checks and such like and is probably worth doing only as part of a tour.

Snorkelling at Hanauma Bay is worth doing (the beach is closed one day a week though - I believe its each Monday).

The mall Chuffed is referring to is the Ala Moana shopping center. You can easily get a bus or taxi from the centre of Waikiki to the mall. It is certainly huge and it shouldn't be too expensive there now primarily because of the exchange rate against the dollar. Not all the stores there are extremely expensive (shops like Louis Vuitton are mainly frequented by the Japanese). Oahy is popular with these people as Waikiki does also cater to them by offering them their own tours etc. There are some fine restaurants there (would recommend Bubba Gumps for lunch and especially so if you like seafood).

The Waikiki trolley that operates daily is worth riding around on and you can hop on and off those whenever you please throughout the day. You cannot though board the trolleys marked "Oli Oli" on the side - these are for the Japanese only!!!.

Where are you staying in Waikiki?.

Have a fab time!!.

Sam

Thanks.
Im getting married in vegas next March and then flying to hawaii for a honeymoon although we have to take dd who will only be 10 months with us. The hotel were staying in is renaissance ilikai which is to the left side of waikiki beach, I think its nearer the harbour. We tried to book the outrigger hotel but they wanted 113 pound per person per night for a supplement because we had the baby.

I know where that hotel is. The Renaissance Ilikai is a nice hotel (have read many favourable reviews); you shouldn't have any problems there and there is also a fair sized pool. Try and get a seaview if at all possible.

With best wishes

thanks hope its nice, you never can tell from the brochuers