RE: Hawaii

Good afternoon!

This is a forum that deals with Europe but since I have been to Hawaii several times, I will try to answer your questions.

First, where are you staying on Oahu? Waikiki area? What do you want to see and do? There is very good bus service around the island, or more particularly, around the eastern and northern side of the island. The bus service to the downtown area and to the Ala Moana shopping center is also very good. The bus is called The Bus.

Most of the things to see are on the eastern and northern sides. If you rent a car, you would be able to see things on your own and on your own timeframe. How comfortable are you in driving through city traffic? Honolulu is congested because there aren't a lot of secondary roads, just streets. However, if you follow directions, you can get out of the main traffic areas to the Kailua, Koko Head areas. Sea Life Park is just past Koko Head. Make the curve around the corner of the island and go north with the ocean on your right side. There are lots of turn-offs to stop and see things.

Once you get to the north shore, there are surfing beaches to see and then Haleiwa before going back to Honolulu. You can keep going west to the end of the road but you won't be able to circumnavigate the island. On the way back to Honolulu, stop at the Dole Pineapple Center. Watch for signs for the Na Pali lookout as you get near Honolulu. Beautiful but windy lookout.

If you don't want to go around the island, you can go to the Byodo Temple and return to Honolulu through the tunnels. Just get a good map and a tour book. It just depends on what you want to see and do. Depending on how much you want to see and do, you could rent a car for a looooong day.

I have only been to Maui once and don't remember the bus service since we rented a car. Where are you staying? What do you want to do? Seeing Haleakala will take most of the day. The Io Needle Valley is also very pretty. Going to Hana takes a lot of time...one slow road with lots of turns and waterfalls to see. Not many turn-outs for stopping. There is a very good whaling center on Maui but I don't remember how to spell the city name right now.

There is lots to see on both islands if you want to forego beach time. It just depends on your choice. Again, you could rent a car for one or two days depending on where you are staying on Maui.

In terms of luaus, most of the guidebooks can give you information. Ask at your hotel, big hotels usually have their own but it probably will only be once or twice a week. There are lots of fun foods to try and lots of fish with very long names. If you like pineapples and papayas, you can order them to be picked up at the airport for your flight home. You can not just buy them at the grocery store to take. The USDA will confiscate them. The main companies that advertise in the tourist magazines are usually Ok to use. I love papayas with sliced bananas and lemon or lime juice squeezed on top.

The Hawaiian language only has twelve letters and all of them are pronounced in words. A, E, I, O, U, H, K. L, M, N, P, W. Aloha works for hello and goodbye. Mahalo is the word for thank you.

I hope this helps. You can send a private message to me if you wish. Have fun! We love Hawaii! Aloha!

Oh, other RS posters may add more but as I said, this website is very good if you want to go to Europe.

I'd definitely recommend a car for Maui. And also for Oahu, unless you plan to spend all your time in Honolulu/Waikiki (which would be a shame I think).

Hi Marci, would definitely suggest having benefit of rental car during your stay on Maui. Regardless of where you're lodging, you'll need a car to get from (north-to-south) Kapalua, Lahaina, Kihei and Wailea, to say nothing of getting across the island over to Hana. The airport is in 'the boonies' and neither it nor tourist/lodging areas are near Haleakala (volcano) nor the aquarium. Unless you plan on staying the 5 or 6 days on one beach at one resort, do yourself a favor and have some wheels. Speaking of Haleakala, there's a great Sunrise Bike Ride down the hill (no peddling required) where tour companies take you to the top and then pick you up at the bottom, afterwards, for comfy ride back to hotel. Some of these tours include champagne/breakfast to enjoy while the sun's coming up.

Oahu, on the other hand, I find more concentrated if staying in main tourist areas (Honolulu, Waikiki Beach). It's much easier to get around that area 'on foot', and you can always take a taxi to Pearl Harbor or Diamond Head, if so interested. Expect crowds, especially in the summer.

The Outrigger (since closed) used to have a great luau at their then-Wailea [Maui] resort. There's a popular one in Lahaina, think it's called Old Town Lahaina Luau. You'll find the brochures in nearly every kiosk on the island.

Have a great trip!

As another person has already mentioned, this is 99% European information, both questions and answers. Since I spend most of the year living in Hawaii, I will send you a private message with, what I hope, will be helpful information.

We just returned from visiting Oahu. It was nice stopping at Las Vegas going and returning through San Francisco. By all means get rental cars on both islands. It's very hard to see the real Oahu without one.

We stayed in a bed and breakfast at Kailua. It's the real Hawaii with no hotels or commercialism. We did visit Waikiki twice but found it to be like Manhattan meets the tropics. It's just too congested.

On our honeymoon, we stayed at Kapalua Bay Resort on the northwest end of Maui. It and the Kaanipali and Lahaina areas are great places to stay with incredible hotels.

I assume you're asking about a luau? There are many available on both islands after you arrive. Just look for the little free magazines all over offering attractions.

Oahu:
If you stay in Waikiki a car will be a handicap in terms of parking fees. The Bus works well and even goes beyond metropolitan Honolulu. You may want to do a one day rental to see areas not easily accessible using The Bus, then return at the end of the day and let the rental agency deal with parking. We have been staying at the Ilikaii because it's on the outskirts of Waikiki. They have an Advantage Rental agent at the hotel but you should book early as they seem to run out of vehicles.

http://www.thebus.org

Maui:
You will need a rental to see the attractions. Good news is that it's a small area so you don't burn a lot of gas. Downside is all the tourist driving around. Note that some Asian countries drive left. My brother's car was totaled when a tourist forgot . Fortunately my brother was driving a Lincoln and the tourist a Toyoda.

We have made several trips to Hawaii, unquestionably in my opinion, one of the most beautiful and friendly places we have ever visited. They talk about the aloha spirit, and they have it...in spades. I would absolutely take a car in Maui, particularly as you have five days. With less time in Oahu, I assume Honolulu, it would be easy to skip the car, for reasons already mentioned. The bus service was ample for us. On our last trip we rented in Maui, Kauai, and the Big island with Discount Hawaii Car rental. Great prices, excellent service and everything was flawless. The first trip we made was with my elderly father and his lady friend, and she insisted we go "first class". If only I knew how that would influence our following trips. We are low-need guys when it comes to lodging anywhere and almost always choose the cheapest place in the right location that we can find...places that many people would not even want to walk past, much less sleep in. But Hawaii is the only place, ever, that we have opted for mega-bucks resorts with no regrets ( except the one place that tried to charge us a daily add-on for the room safe, and I told them they were welcome to come tear it out of the closet wall before I'd pay). Some of these places are just jaw dropping and although we travel, tour, sightsee and move around like madmen, we found ourselves inclined to often just crash and smell the orchids. Check out Discount Hawaii Car rental, and have a wonderful time. Aloha!

Marci,

Whether to rent a car in Oahu will depend to some extent on where you want to go. I've been there during the Pro Bowl (or whatever it's called) and the traffic was horrendous. There's no way I'd want to be driving in that. If you just want to get a brief look at the north beach area, Valley of the Temples and so on, I'd suggest taking a tour with Robert's Hawaii and let someone else do the driving. I found that a very relaxing way to see the sights without the hassles.

Having a car on Maui would probably be a good idea, as there are fewer transportation options.

(BTW, your home location looks beautiful in the TV shows).

In Maui you need a car otherwise you'll be limited and stuck at your resort.
In Oahu it depends on where you stay. In Waikiki sometimes I've rented the car for the entire stay, sometimes I relied 100% on "The Bus" or organized tours. Sometimes I did I mix of the two: relied on buses and maybe rented a car on the spot for a day or two when I wanted to venture out to more secluded areas on the north side of the island. For Waikiki itself the car is useless. It will stay parked the whole time (at a fee) because the traffic is horrible. Hanauma Bay is very easily reached by "The Bus". Pearl Harbor can be done by bus/taxi/or organized tour. The Polynesian Cultural Center can be done also by organized tour or taxi. You can go by bus but it takes forever and the show ends too late at night. I would use a car or organized tour for that. All other exploring on the north side is better by car. I'd rent a car for just for the days you want to explore the north side.
While you hang in Waikiki or Hanauma Bay you are better off without a car.

Definitely you'll want a car on Maui. The last time, I rented from Kihei Car Rental. I liked having a normal-looking car that didn't scream RENTAL (i.e. a Sebring or 'stang convertible). They were lovely and even returned a CD which I left in the car to the public library. BTW, the library in Kihei was excellent. Great to get out of the heat, do storytime, crafts with kid and to borrow books, CDs and DVDs. They had a 3 month temporary membership for a nominal cost. Yes, I am a library geek.

Old Town Lahaina was enjoyable and in a beautiful setting. I recall the alcohol was free flowing but I was the DD. : (

Europe or Hawaii? It's a dilemma.

When we were last in Hawaii probably 5 years ago, there was an option of MORE car insurance which was to cover the time the car would be out of service in case of an accident and repairs. This was a new thing for us and it was a big charge as I remember. It would be covered by American Express card only. Again this is 5 year old information but something to check into before renting a car in Hawaii. And definitely rent a car in Maui. Beautiful places to go. We did take a tour on the Hana road so that we could see the scenery while not driving.