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I agree with Viper! What was that agent thinking. Have her/him change you to one of the nice hotels in Waikiki, if it's still possible. You will find those shuttle arrangements really annoying. Whereas if in Waikiki, you can just roll out of bed and partake in the plethora of activities in the nearby area.
Location: not sure, but there's a hell of a lot of water around here!
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A hana hou for Vipe... Stay in Waikiki, and be thankful you're not here during the peak tourist season!!! Take in Harrys Underwater Bar and Grill while you're at it!
We are staying in Kahala. I have to admit, I have no idea where that is, lol. We are going thru a travel agency and, because I'm too busy, I trusting them completely. However, I'm starting to get worried, since usually I take care of all the details.
Kahala is a nice resort outside of the tourist mecca of Waikiki. It is ideal to experience Hawaii away from the crowds but you would need a car to get around to see the sights. If you do not want to drive then you shouldn't stay in Kahala because you'll feel trapped and isolated. Shuttles have its limitations.
The way I see it, if you are willing to save up and spend all this money to get here you should get the best experience out of your buck. Get a car, you cannot get lost, especially with GPS. Hanauma Bay is like 15 minutes from Kahala. You could spend a day there.
Another day could be spent driving the island. You can drive to Kailua which for some reason has become some sort of tourist hot spot. There you can meet whtviper1 and ask him for recommendations to food places like boots n' kimos.
Head up the coastline to Haleiwa and have some shaved ice at matsumoto's. Then wrap around the island to Waipahu to take a tour of the plantation village, then to then bishop museum to get culture of hawaii. Your kids would enjoy these and get a greater experience than in waikiki.
Oh yeah and visit the arizona memorial, as a born n raised local I have never been there, so I can't comment on that. Finish up at Ala Moana shopping center in the evening. Its a great open air shopping center with lots of food places.
You can do a lot in 6 days, it just depends on the amount of research to find the good things that 900,000 people do on a regular basis spread out around the island. You can also cut it short and add Maui, but there is not much in Maui in regards of activities that cannot be done on Oahu. I'd svae the extra money it'd take to add Maui to the list and spend a little more time researching local food and family friendly places to visit.
The way I see it, if you are willing to save up and spend all this money to get here you should get the best experience out of your buck. Get a car, you cannot get lost, especially with GPS. Hanauma Bay is like 15 minutes from Kahala. You could spend a day there.
Another day could be spent driving the island. You can drive to Kailua which for some reason has become some sort of tourist hot spot. There you can meet whtviper1 and ask him for recommendations to food places like boots n' kimos.
We will definitely have a car. As for staying off the beaten path, I think that may work for us since my kids will be more about nature, getting the island feel, than being in a city. it's funny because my kids (now 14 and 17) liked our vacation to Niagra Falls over our trip Disney. In fact, the didn't like Disney because everything was man-made. I think I have the only in the world who didn't care for Disney, lol.
Anyhow, I'm feeling better about the six days, and I think my friend who told me that 6 days was too much, was limited by not having a car.
I've been to Oahu three times, for ten days each time. Headed back on the 21st for another nine days. I NEVER have enough time! And I've seen most of the tourist "hot spots"! Six days would be way too short for me.
You didn't mention where you're coming from. Due to the time change for me, we usually don't feel like doing much the first day also.
Enjoy your trip. I am looking forward to some much needed R and R myself!
Kixette,
We're coming from Long Island, so we'll need time to adjust too.
I think we'll be fine. And, if by some miracle, we run out of places to go, we can always just hang by the beach. I'm starting to get so excited...
Also instead of eating at the places at Kahala you can dine at some rather more affordable places at Kahala Mall, grab snacks at whole foods, morning coffee at starbucks. The mall is like 3 minutes away. Zippy's is across the street.
There is a Times supermarket to get water and stuff from. you can get supplies there and hike up diamond head which is about 5 mins away. If you have a small 15 quart cooler use that as a carry on bag or use one of those soft coolers. They come in handy to hold drinks and snacks when you are at a hike or at the beach.
Actually The Kahala seems like a great home base to head out from.
Thanks, lost_traveler, that sounds like a great plan. We do want to hike, also do some hiking at Volcano Park, and it never occurred to me to bring a cooler!
If you can, pick up a copy of the "Discover Oahu" book. Tons of great ideas and places to see in there. They make these for all the major islands actually. When we first started coming out here, those books were very helpful.
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