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Hawaii - what are the best two islands to go to?

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May 24, 2008
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Mars2012 wrote: We usually go with Costco for car rentals...book it and keep checking for price drops...rebook and cancel old one as needed. Convertibles might be good for touring the island but it's not practical for luggage and security. Break-ins occur frequently and most are crimes of opportunity. Personally, I like having a car with a trunk so I can stow my things out of view.
Just booked car rentals for Maui, Kauai and Oahu for July/August through King of Car Rentals. You pay him a small fee, but it was still cheaper than any other option I looked at, including Costco, CAA and whatever Avis discount codes I could find on FlyerTalk. Mind you, this is for mid-size (which gets automatically upgraded to full-size through National), so there may be cheaper options if you just need a small car.
Glazers Out!
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alba_luvr wrote: Anyone have recommendations on car rentals (Convertible hopefully) for Oahu and Maui?
We will be spending 6 days at each place in October. Mainly going for hikes, beaches, and food.
Oops, this was the post I was trying to quote! :)
Glazers Out!
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Mar 14, 2006
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Going at the end of summer. Please give me tips on where to eat, visit etc. This is my BIG trip so I want to see everything that is a must... I also want to do come dolphin tours where you get to snorkle..pretty expensive..any suggestion or coupons? Much apppreciated.
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Dukes at Kannipali beach in Maui, the mango ribs with hula pie. Amazing.
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Smiley22 wrote: Going at the end of summer. Please give me tips on where to eat, visit etc. This is my BIG trip so I want to see everything that is a must... I also want to do come dolphin tours where you get to snorkle..pretty expensive..any suggestion or coupons? Much apppreciated.
Note that dolphin snorkel tours are illegal. They have a law that requires you to be 50 yards away. They have been proven to negatively affect the spinner dolphins. And unlike the Caribbean, I believe the entire state of Hawaii only has 1 dolphin prison (on Big Island), and the practice is highly discouraged.

Now you may see them or be lucky to be on a tour where the dolphins come into the bay, but the tours that chase and drop snorkelers are illegal.

For snorkeling in summer, i'd recommend staying in West Maui. Check out Kaanapali North/Kahekili Beach Park (also called old airport beach), Kapalua, Honolua. Kaanapali south and black rock are not good.

Lots of other threads on Maui, so a search will help.
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in Kannapali, pretty much every hour of the day whales/dolphins were swimming by. we watched them constantly from our condo rental. they come in pretty close to shore. this was in Feb though, might be different in summer.
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I literally just got back from a Hawaii trip - did 3 nights in Waikiki (Oahu), and 8 nights in Wailea (Maui).

1)We didn't rent a car for Waikiki. Bus transportation is quite good there.
- Went to Diamondhead: quite neat to be in the crater and then you hike up and the views from up top are just simply amazing. You take pictures, but it never does it justice.
- We also went to Pearl Harbour: they have some paid exhibits, but the main one, which is the USS Arizona Memorial is free. When we were there, they didn't dock at the Arizona Memorial because there was structural damage to the dock. They limit to 1500 tickets daily, so best to go earlier if you plan to do that tour.

- the one place that I will recommend for food/snack to try is Poke Bar (on Lewers St) - the ingredients were fresh, and it was a sizeable serving.

2) For Maui, we rented a car - it's more necessary and convenient.
- There's a Costco and WalMart in Maui, if you're staying in those vacation home rentals that have full kitchens, laundry, etc. and wanted to make your own meals for breakfast or lunch or something (if it's a larger group).
- Maui is a lot better for beaches (Keawakapu was really nice and less busy - sea turtles do swim close to shore - be sure to not touch any sea turtles as it's illegal).
- Ka'anapali beach is also really nice, although more busy. The waves were much bigger here and also some undercurrent even right by shore, so if you have small children coming along, or weaker swimmers, excercise caution. You can snorkel here by the black rocks, and there's lots of fish to see.
- Ulua beach is close to Keawakapu and there's also a lot of fish here as well.
- We did the Road to Hana tour. You can drive it on your own, but you don't want to be driving back at night time when it's dark because I imagine it would be a very stressful drive. The disadvantages of doing a tour is limited time at the various sites - for example, I would have loved to have spent more time at the black sand beach (Waianapanapa).
- We drove up Haleakala. There's a stop at 7,000 feet, and you're basically in the clouds, and it's really neat to see the activity of the clours. Then you drive up to the top, which is above 10,000 feet, and it's like a bed of clouds below you. This volcano is actually active and scientists believe that sometime in the future it will erupt. If you want to get to Haleakala for the sunrise, it requires reservations that are up to 60 days out I think. So check now, for end of Summer, if that's something you think you'd want to do. We just did early morning, but not actual sunrise (so no reservations required).
- The one place you must, absolutely must go to is Ho'okipa Beach - sea turtles love to congregate on the sand at a special section there and bask in the sun. There were like 30-40 of them when we were there. There's also a lot of people that go there to surf - you'll see a bunch waiting in the middle of the water and catching some nice waves.
- If you're into snorkeling you should look into those tours that take you to Molokini Crater to snorkel. People say it's amazing. People are not allowed to go onto the island, boats just stop there and people dive in and snorkel.

- Ulululani's shaved ice is really good. Best shaved ice, I think.
- Aloha Mixed Plate in Laihana is probably the best restaurant for value/local style food
- Maui Tacos is quite good for mexican fare
- there's a food truck in close to Kamaole Beach I on Alanui Ke Alii Rd close to S Kihei Rd that has amazing Garlic Shrimp haha
- couple of other places with good eats are Da Kitchen and Coconut Fish Cafe
- we also did some nicer dinners at Five Palms, some of my family went to Pacific'O (but some didn't fully enjoy it). There's a lot of pricier restaurants as well, but they're not necessarily "local" style foods.
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Oct 1, 2009
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West coast
I'm price conscious so one of the budget places to eat are me bbq (korean bbq joint) and foodland for poke in Waikiki. For a an ultra quick snack, dollar menu at McDonald's is fine
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we didn't like Maui Taco, was overpriced, bland. felt like more of a urban legend then an actual good spot to eat.

The Costco in Maui is right by the airport, stop here first, get the beef brisket sandwich from the food court, its really good. Also if you like wine, try the Maui Blanc, its at Costco, its a white wine with a pineapple taste, I really liked it, you can get it in Canada but usually have to ask the store to order it in, and its like 25$ here vs 10$ there.
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Jun 16, 2009
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Mississauga
Visit website called beatofhawaii.com , you might pick up some money saving tips there. I guess you will be flying between Oahu and Maui. Join Hawaiian Airlines Frequent flyer program ( Free ).
You will save on Intra Island Checked Baggage fees
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I would skip the Molokini snorkel tour, unless you don't mind swimming with hundreds of others at the same time and not really seeing all that much.. highly over done snorkel spot, I really wished I didn't waste my day on this.. I've seen much much better snorkeling in majority of Caribbean spots I've been

For food look up the food trucks, there's quite a few around the island, some of the better food we had was from trucks

Couple highlights:
- Thai Fusion
- South Maui Fish Co.

Make sure to try lots of Poke!

If you do the Hana drive my advice after doing it once, and depending on your interests, is to get up early and drive straight past everything and just past Hana to the red sand beach (Kaihalulu Beach) which I missed as it was getting late in the day from all the stops, you will fly by all the tours and be one of the few at this stop

Start coming back and you will also be one of the few at the black sand beach just before Hana, as everyone will still be hitting stops near the start of the road, then continue driving back and hit your stops and you go.. it's most likely you will be hitting the stops after all the tours have already gone and you will be getting back into Paia for dinner at the Fish Market (excellent food) or even Mamma's Fish House

There's a couple good phone apps to guide you on the road which are a must, either the Shakka app or the Gypsy app, both have solid reviews
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There was a big thread last year for Hawaii, do a search. A lot of us contribute valuable information for this destination,
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doradxplorer wrote: I'm price conscious so one of the budget places to eat are me bbq (korean bbq joint) and foodland for poke in Waikiki. For a an ultra quick snack, dollar menu at McDonald's is fine

Yes, but I would avoid McDonald. I don't eat chain store fastfood when I go travel.
There is a Gyu Korean BBQ place in Waikiki (now they expanded it in other cities in Canada too). The offer happy hours specials, check the hours, probably just avoid the lunch or dinner hours and most stuff have a special price.
Other places have these happy hours special, Remember I went to a Sushi restaurant near Marriott Hotel and most stuff are half price off the menu after 10pm.
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MP3_SKY wrote: Yes, but I would avoid McDonald. I don't eat chain store fastfood when I go travel.
There is a Gyu Korean BBQ place in Waikiki (now they expanded it in other cities in Canada too). The offer happy hours specials, check the hours, probably just avoid the lunch or dinner hours and most stuff have a special price.
Other places have these happy hours special, Remember I went to a Sushi restaurant near Marriott Hotel and most stuff are half price off the menu after 10pm.
I will however, say that it's worthwhile to pop into a McDonald's just to try the Taro Pie (instead of hot apple pie). It's delicious!
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kenchau wrote: I will however, say that it's worthwhile to pop into a McDonald's just to try the Taro Pie (instead of hot apple pie). It's delicious!
Right, I did try the Taro pie at the McDonald Waikiki too.
I meant not to eat the same type of food that you can eat when you are at home even it is a bit more expensive.
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Nov 8, 2006
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kenchau wrote: I will however, say that it's worthwhile to pop into a McDonald's just to try the Taro Pie (instead of hot apple pie). It's delicious!
The Spam with rice on the breakfast menu was to die for! (yes, me pinoy)
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Sep 2, 2014
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We love both Duke's in Waikiki and the one on Maui just north of Kaanapali. The Gazebo near Kapalua is an awesome place for breakfast, The drive north of Kapalua is worth doing too. I pretty much turn around at the blow hole. The road gets narrow and rough a little past there - not for the faint of heart.

For a cheap (relatively speaking) meal, we like Honokowai Okazuya.
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kenchau wrote: I literally just got back from a Hawaii trip - did 3 nights in Waikiki (Oahu), and 8 nights in Wailea (Maui).

- We drove up Haleakala. There's a stop at 7,000 feet, and you're basically in the clouds, and it's really neat to see the activity of the clours. Then you drive up to the top, which is above 10,000 feet, and it's like a bed of clouds below you. This volcano is actually active and scientists believe that sometime in the future it will erupt. If you want to get to Haleakala for the sunrise, it requires reservations that are up to 60 days out I think. So check now, for end of Summer, if that's something you think you'd want to do. We just did early morning, but not actual sunrise (so no reservations required).
- The one place you must, absolutely must go to is Ho'okipa Beach - sea turtles love to congregate on the sand at a special section there and bask in the sun. There were like 30-40 of them when we were there. There's also a lot of people that go there to surf - you'll see a bunch waiting in the middle of the water and catching some nice waves.
- If you're into snorkeling you should look into those tours that take you to Molokini Crater to snorkel. People say it's amazing. People are not allowed to go onto the island, boats just stop there and people dive in and snorkel.
Thanks..that is real helpful!1 We are planning to do the Halekala (the Summit side)..how do you dress as I hear it is real cold..... Does it mean I have to wear winter like clothing??
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Smiley22 wrote: Thanks..that is real helpful!1 We are planning to do the Halekala (the Summit side)..how do you dress as I hear it is real cold..... Does it mean I have to wear winter like clothing??
It's cold, relatively speaking. I wore shorts and t-shirt, but brought a jacket (think tracksuit like thickness).

When we were up there, the car reading indicated 60 degrees fahrenheit, so roughly 15-16 degrees celsius. But it was very windy up there, so feels a couple of degrees cooler.

I think you'd be fine with a pair of jeans and two layers up top (so long as one is a jacket with some thickness to it...or a hoodie, if you're the type that traditionally feels hotter than most).

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