Overall, honestly? Some parts were gorgeous...but would I go over BCS or some parts of the Carribbean I've visited...no. The flight alone was pretty brutal.
I come away with the feel that (what I was able to see of) Hawai'i is very touristy. I'm sure a lot of it had to do with us being on a ship
...but even a lot of the parts reached an hour by car away colored the picture.
About the ship: What I didn't like:
I didn't care for being on a cruise ship. My first experience, and it was as I thought:
- too many people,
- I felt like we were cattle
- food was awful and dodging people at the buffet was a beating,
- hardly any time to see things on land
- I got (and maybe still am?) a little dizzy on land
- the "hurry up and wait" about killed me....
About the ship: What I did like:
we would never have been able to see all the islands in this short of time otherwise.
(Besides the sea day diversion from hurricane guillermo)...we had no time to be bored...it was go go go.
The rocking of the ship made for a surprisingly good night's sleep, and we upgraded to a balcony room so plenty of storage room and sitting out on the balcony was nice. Having breakfast out on the outdoor back deck overlooking the ocean was also nice. I guess not having to unpack was good too.
About Hawai'i - What I didn't like:
again I caveat ****though we rented a car each time and tried to get as far away from the ship as possible, this one week island hopping in no way allowed us to get a good feel for anything so I am by no means saying I'm an expert at Hawaiian island travel.****
Oahu - Honolulu/Waikiki Beach - big city...traffic. Definitely Uber over taxi. Taxi was $10+ more! I'm not sure why Waikiki beach is such a draw? From what we saw...the sand was rough and very sticky. You had to have watershoes with all the rocks going into the ocean, then the waves were very strong. Plus people...evvvvverrryyywheerrre.
Oahu Pearl Harbor/USS Arizona Memorial - go early. get a reservation for the boat asap (or online if you can). Cannot take any bags in. They charge $3 per to store your bags
Maui - from where we docked (near the airport) it takes a while to get anywhere. Rentals are across the street in Wailea discouraged my first paddle boarding attempt. the (drive up to the) summit was underwhelming. Go early cause clouds block any kind of view later. Mama's Fish House was really good food but SUPER expensive.
Kauai - if you don't have your own stuff it's not easy to find rental gear
Big Island Hilo - from glancing as we zoomed by..there's nothing in Hilo? Rainbow Falls, was ok, no rainbows but it is a water fall (as it rained that day).
We saw no molton lava at the volcanoes. I think I read it's an 11 mile hike to see it? No way were we going to be able to do that with Jamie's parents. And quite frankly, besides seeing the initial devestation within 10 minutes of the drive...the lava tubes were kinda "eh" and think it was a bit of a waste of time?
The (amazing) Kapoho tide pools near Pahoa are on lock down from the community surrounding it. It's a half mile walk from parking (if you're dogged enough to find the public parking)
Big Island Kona side - waiting to tender is no fun. tourist town anywhere. Definitely much better south away from the dock.
About Hawai'i - What I did like:
Oahu Waikiki - there's a food truck park off Waikiki beach, one called 5 Star shrimp. OMG amazing. Also Nico's on Pier38. Wonderful food. Will crave Opah when in the mood for fish.
Oahu Pearl Harbor - it is worth seeing this piece of history. This reinforces how important it is to not forget. One of the 8 last survivors was there.
Maui - bus system (had to ask where the bus was going, no obvious tell in Queen's center) but easy ride and cheap $4 day pass. Leoda's pie shop on the way to Lahaina is worth the stop. Pie...yum!!! Old Lahaina Luau was interesting (worth the $?...umm? I'd rather have gone to a not so touristy one...just couldn't find it.)
Kauai - my favorite Hawaiian island. Drove to Haena Beach (pic below)...if we had rental options and time we would have stayed. Regardless...worth the drive up. Lunch at Olympic cafe in Kapa'a was great. Dinner at Hukilau Lanai was good. Our helicopter tour was cancelled (due to the hurricane's wind shears)...i think it definitely would've been worth the money though. Since we had diverted, we had to cancel the sugar plantation canal tube float tour also..boo
Big Island Hilo - lunch at Kaleo's was wonderful. Kapoho tide pools are amazing. Wish we could've stayed (beware... the community is very stingy with it. Follow rules) GPS led us a bit wrong but worth the 1/2 mile walk from public parking lot (if you can find it). No facilities fyi.
Big Island Kona - breakfast at Big Island Grill was yum!! Try the Loco Moco with Spam.
Drove down to Kona Boys to rent snorkel gear. They steered us to Ho'okena Beach. Wonderful. Bathrooms/Chair rentals/snacks/water avail. Careful with the black/volcanic sand though..it gets super hot. Seeing dolphins and turtles is not unheard of. Huli side street BBQ (especially the chicken) across from Kona Boys was yummy.
Really, I think the best way to see Hawaii's realness is if you're a hiker/surfer and have time to find the hidden spots away from the tourists.
For me personally...I don't see us going back...unless on the way to Australia maybe? Stay in Kauai.
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| our view of Haena Beach, Kauai |
