Suggestions for a 9 day trip to Hawaii...scenic areas, good local food, fun?? (Honolulu: rental car)

[jtpindc]

Hi all, so my fiance and I have never been to Hawaii and want some ideas on where to stay and do. we'll be there right before Halloween.

we're both 30, not into anything fancy, 2-3 star hotels is our preference,
-we love eating what the locals eat, talking and drinking with them.
-trying different, exotic foods, sushi, etc. but not at fancy restaurants.
-we want take pictures of beautiful scenery, luau's, halloween events
-and do fun things like ATV or horseback riding, snorkeling, etc.

we're flying into HNL so we'll do some touristy stuff like pearl harbor, waikiki beach,int'l market for a day or so, and possibly West Maui/ kaanapali? area ??

any advice/recommendations to fill up the 7+ days??
we want to go to at least 2 islands and like being around people so nothing too secluded.

any and all opinion is appreciated.

[whynot?]

Aloha. I live in Kaanapali. It's kind of split into two areas: a central zone with Grand Hyatt/Westin/Sheraton/a couple of local hotels and condos that are built around the two resort golf courses and Black Rock, then there's a northern stretch of timeshares and condos that adjoins Honokowai in a sort of commercial/residential zone. (Those include Kaanapali Beach Club, Mahana, ResortQuest Kaanapali Shores, and others.)

You can fly to Kapalua airport (in West Maui) direct from Honolulu, or take the SuperFerry (with or without a rental car) from Honolulu to Kahului, our port town in Central Maui (and the home of our main airport).

Kaanapali, Lahaina, and West Maui in general are fairly busy spots, so you won't be "too secluded." There's also a lively mix of tourists and residents, so you should have ample opportunity to meet and greet. There are tons of activities (and vendors), many free or nearly so. And the humpback whales sometimes start drifting in at the end of October, beginning of November.

Are you looking at particular properties here? I'm pretty familiar with them -- especially the resort area -- if you have a specific place in mind.

[marylee54]

For 9 days do no more than 2 islands, otherwise, its just island hopping. We really enjoyed Kauai, spent a week in a condo there, if you want night life Maui is the place, I'd spend some time on Oahu since you're flying in there anyways then just pick one other island.

Also, don't get a condo unless you're spending at least a week, for less time its not worth it to fool around finding grocery stores, setting up "housekeeping" etc.

[stan4]

On Oahu, make sure you hit Hanauma Bay and the North Shore (Shark's Cove) for some snorkeling. Take surfing lessons given by firemen on Barber's Point. Try to get a place to stay outside of Honolulu or you will regret the traffic insanity. H1/H2/H3 are very easy to negotiate and take you over most of the island. Drive along the coast of the east side of the island and stop for some freshly-caught shrimp (they will prepare it for you).

On Maui, get to Kaanapali and snorkel Black Rock (entrance just south of Sheraton Black Rock). Take a day trip to snorkel Turtle Town and the Molokini crater. Go up the volcano with a bike tour group and bike down the volcano (20 miles, picnic lunch). We did not much care for the "road to Hana" drive, but it is an opportunity to see jungle/waterfalls/etc. There are also some zip-lining opportunities on Maui. Just look on line.

[jtpindc]

thank you for the suggestions, we're definitely getting excited about this trip!

great point about the condo as we won't be staying at any place longer than 2-3 days, depending on activities, we'll probably stay 2-3 days on Oahu, and the last 6+ days on Maui at hopefully two different areas.
any suggestions on hotels between $60-100/night within close proximity to local food and activities ?

we love snorkeling, we want to do as many as we can, can someone rate the 5 'Stan' mentioned above so we won't miss the best ones ?

like the volcano bike tour idea but is that biking up and down? where can I find info on tours? don't think we have the energy for going up

also love any fresh seafood-oysters,lobster, etc. where can we find that locally prepared shrimp in East Oahu? anything like this on Maui?

are there any good online sites to look for these activities like zip-lining, bike tours, snorkling, etc.?

Thank you for any advice

[SkyBob]

Originally Posted by jtpindc

we love snorkeling, we want to do as many as we can, can someone rate the 5 'Stan' mentioned above so we won't miss the best ones ?

like the volcano bike tour idea but is that biking up and down? where can I find info on tours? don't think we have the energy for going up

I did the bike tour down Haleakala and loved it, even though it was trying to rain most of the time. Call one of the many bike tour businesses in the phone book, I don't remember which one I used. I was staying in Lahaina and they said they would pick me up at a nearby shopping center *very* early in the morning. I and the other customers were driven up to the top of the volcano in time to see the sunrise then we rode the bikes down some 20 or 30 miles with almost no peddling. Isn't gravity wonderful? The view was fantastic after the clouds cleared out. To answer your question, we didn't bike up the mountain. I couldn't imagine anybody having the energy for that.

The only snorkeling information I can offer to you is the Kealakekua area on the Big Island. You won't be disappointed.

Bob

[cynmkolohe]

whynot? Can you tell us if the bike tours are operating at Haleakala are operating again? I haven't heard anything lately...

[whynot?]

I've been looking into that, but I haven't been up there recently. There are several still advertising online, and a Star-Bulletin article from March mentioned that the remaining tours are now starting outside the park (around 6,500 ft. elevation), and riding down Haleakala Hwy. for 20 miles.

For posters who haven't been to Maui for a while, or who have never been, the bike tours from the summit of Haleakala had been put "on hold" several months ago after a tragic accident. The increasing number of bikers plus the increasing number of cars on Haleakala Highway were deemed a serious risk by the County.