Hawaii vacation in mid-October (Hilo, Waimanalo: neighborhood, live, price)

[tripleh]

After reading toosie's treads about their Hawaii vacation, I figure some (more) planning on my part would be benefitical in terms of having the best experience possible.

I'm a single guy early 30s who will be traveling alone (don't fear this is normal for me) -- therefore my interests won't exactly be the same as most, probably. Ideally I'd run into a local hulagirl (is that stereotyping?) who wants to show me around, but that's wishful thinking and probably another thread, lol.

Mostly I'm interested in Pearl Harbour and the history. That aside I'm very open to snorkeling and especially the opportunity to mingle with dolphins and such. I'm very interested in farmers markets and local stuff, but I think the time of my visit (mid October) might not be perfect for such things? Also I like to photograph wildlife.

Shopping really isn't my thing although I will come back with a lot more than I went out there with. The food choices here are going to be amazing and that is something else I'm very much looking forward to.

I've been reading about the zipping, is this referring to flying tree to tree? I could see this as quite entertaining! I've read about the volcano lava, on paper this doesn't really interest me--but I'm willing to give it a try as well.

I wanted to get my thoughts written down so I could have them nitpicked and pointed out if I am doing anything totally stupid. I'm coming from NC.

So whats the deal in Hawaii in mid October? Its a good time to visit / avoid the most busy seasons, or a bad idea, or... ? I'm looking at 3, maybe 4 days, that will be at the front of a week, like Sun to Wed.

Thanks for any input

[Waianaegirl]

October is a great time. Weather, beaches, waves are not too much (Nov is the big surfs) I grew up there and go back every year (now that I moved to the mainland). There is a lot to do. No matter what your interests are. Have a great time!

[mdand3boys]

3-4 days isn't much time after you account for the time it takes to fly here and back. You need at least a full week to make it worthwhile.

[divaskid]

I would highly recommend waiting until you have more time to spend in Hawaii because 3-4 days won't get you your money's worth, even if you get the best deals. Plus you just won't have time to see what you want to see. Just seeing one island takes more then that and I would recommend at least seeing two Plus youre coming all the way from NC!

From what you wrote, I would suggest seeing Oahu and the Big Island. I know that the prospect of seeing the volcano might not seem appealing on paper, but it is an awesome thing to see. I'd highly recommend it. Plus if youre a photographer you can get some amazing shots as well.

We don't have much wildlife to speak of here. Mostly birds, some wild pigs, chickens etc. But there is some wonderful scenery to take pictures of.

October is a good time to come. I personally think that the spring or fall time is a good time because its off season, not too hot like in August or too cloudy and rainy like the winter time. Even though Hawaii is beautiful all year round, I wouldn't suggest coming in the winter if you can help it. I always feel bad for the tourist who come at this time and they can't see anything because its raining the whole time. lol Although they don't seem to mind... I guess when youre coming from 13 degree weather with negative wind chills rain ain't so bad!

The good news is that the farmers markets are always going on every week in Hawaii because we don't have season like on the mainland. So you won't miss out on this for sure. I personally like the farmers market in Hilo on the Big Island. However if you miss it, pretty much every city has one somewhere.

As far as Pearl Harbor and the history, Oahu is an excellent place for this type of activity. There is a lot of historical sites here. There is the Palace, Bishop museum, and of course Pear Harbor. And if you stay on Oahu, I wouldn't stay in waikiki if you can help it. Its better to stay somewhere else and maybe just visit Waikiki once to say you've been there.

I haven't tried the zip line thing yet, but I want to. I think it looks like it would be a lot of fun as well.

If you need more info, I'll be glad to post more...
Good luck

[tripleh]

One thing I wanted to chime in on, this reason for 3-4 days is this is part of a 3 leg trip. I'm not flying NC->HI just to come back after 3-4 days.

I'm going NC->San Jose->HI->LA->NC, with 3-4 days in each area. The whole thing will cover almost 2 weeks. I do appreciate the nudge though, I understand the point about needing more time

Scenery pictures will be pretty high on the list. I think views from all the islands will be super, but would be there any thing that makes one necessarily give sweeter views than others?

That is good info about not coming in the winter, we get really hot summers here and sometimes some pretty tough winters too (I like to say we get both extremes!) --- I certainly wouldn't want it to rain the whole time! That said, it seems like fall would be an excellent time. I have to admit, I wouldn't have thought the summer months were all that tough hot-wise... atleast compared to what we get in the south. The hot+humid.

Thanks again!

[toosie]

Thanks for checking out my threads!

I recommend deciding what your top two or three priorities are and go from there as far as planning your trip. Andrew Doughty's Revealed series of blue travel books were helpful for us. They have a website and there's a book for each island.

From what you said, Pearl Harbor is one of your priorities. We did Pearl Harbor on two different days - both mornings - and that worked great for us. Gives you time to reflect, transition, and still enjoy an entire afternoon elsewhere on the island. Either way, get there early - like when they first open. You'll be assured a ticket (1st come, 1st serve), and will avoid some of the bus tours and mid day sun that way. No bags allowed but you can carry a camera, bottle of water, and whatever fits in your pockets. The Arizona is haunting - downside is that you boat over and your time there is restricted. The Mighty Mo was well worth it - several options for types of tours and you can spend as much time as you like on the huge historic ship. There's also the Bowfin sub and museum. We wanted to see it but ran out of time that day.

I agree with whomever said to avoid Waikiki. We stayed there and it was convenient to what we were doing but it was, IMO, blech. Congested, consumerism, no charm, etc. Wherever you stay, we had great luck bidding and booking through Priceline - even for next day accommodations.

Yes, essentially, zip lining is flying from tree to tree. Click the link in my vacation report thread for Big Island Eco adventures and you'll see pictures and video. There "might" be a zip line on Oahu at Kualoa Ranch but there might not be any zip lines on Oahu. The Ranch one might just be private - that means you "could" wrangle a ride if you work it right

Snorkeling - we enjoyed Hanauma Bay but I wouldn't recommend it for your trip. The Bay is closed for conservation on Tuesdays and we went first thing in the morning Wednesday. The water was clear and the visit was so amazing that we went back Thursday morning. Yes, it was a good experience but, getting there an hour later than Wed, there were lots more people already and the water was murky. Since you only have a few days and Wednesday isn't one of them, I'd try one of the many other snorkel sites on the island. If you're interested I can find my notes and let you know the other two I wanted to try on Oahu - they are top rated.

As for food - that's one way you could save some $$ if that's important to you. Farmer's markets for fruit, manapua from a gas station for lunch, local food like L&L BBQ for dinner - you could eat for less than $20 a day. Definitely try shave ice!

The volcano on the Big Island was the highlight for us - even if we'd only seen the older parts in the park. It's a big chunk of time, though, so, given your interests and that you seem like a guy who could make another trip to Hawaii happen in the next 5 years, I'd recommend sticking with Oahu only. There's plenty to keep your interest and your time will be your own for exploring or chilling. Our one regret was that we didn't have more time to just chill.

If you do a second island, I'd suggest flying into one and leaving for LA from the other. That way it's less than $200 (most likely) for a one way ticket and you only lose time to inter-island travel on one day. The inter island flight on Hawaiian Airlines was less than an hour but there's time to get to the airport and security and such. A good second island for you could be Maui. It's supposed to be the classic Hawaiian paradise that people picture (Oahu, most definitely, is not). Plus, they have fabulous snorkeling (might need to do a tour to..is it Turtle Bay?), a zip line or two, and plenty of scenic views.

If you stay on Oahu, you'll need to drive across to the east coast - the view as you drive through the tunnels and see K bay is The entire East coast all the way up to the North Shore is spectacular. If you like adventure and a work out, find the Haiku stairs (Stairway to heaven) and give them a try. They are off limits but my husband did them after I left and there were other people on them, too. LMK if you want more info. Plenty of "approved" hikes and scenic views too - again, LMK if you want more info.

Driving up the east coast, stop at Uncle Bobo's for some yummy BBQ then continue up to the North Shore. Lots of famous and gorgeous beaches - cliff diving, surf boarding, and such. Park across the street from "turtle beach" and see the protected green sea turtles. When we were there, there was an adorable volunteer there who was eager to chat with us - not a hula girl but...

BTW, someone mentioned clouds. It was way hazier/cloudy than we expected - especially every morning. Snorkeling is good in the morning but make sure you'll have enough time to be there after the morning haze starts to burn off - much better visability and color.

[lost_traveler1]

I'm always up to help out a fellow traveler for activities to do. I'm born n' raised here, so my opinion may be a little different.

Oahu:
-Suggest a couple of days here, most of the generally popular things most would hear of Hawaii is located on this island. Get a car because the bus is slow and places are scattered.

-Suggest stay at Kahala Mandarin vs. Waikiki, you get a private-like beach and is located in the richest neighborhood on Oahu. They have a service which allows you to interact with dolphins on site.

-Hike up Diamond Head Crater, its an easy hike and the top has the greatest 360 views. Don't need to go on other trails, they take up your whole day and when you get to the top you could be sitting in white clouds and no view.

-Drive up to the North Shore, go swimming up there. Haleiwa town has some souvenier shopping and you suopport the locals. Eat shaved ice at Matsumoto's. You could spend the day there. Tip, drive West on the H1 highway around 8ish, you hit Haleiwa first. Then make your way down the East side past Waimanalo, Hawaii Kai to Kahala to avoid the traffic. Go on a weekday for less stress.

-Mai Tai bar at the top of Ala Moana shopping center. Open air bar with rattan furniture to chill in. Go around 5 and there is usually live music. Happy hour makes it cheap. Gets crowded around 8ish with local people, some may look mean but everyones cool and in good spirits when they go there.

-Eat local food, if you go to Denny's or McD's I'd label you as an ignorant uncultured dufuss.

Here are some great locations:

Ono Hawaiian food in Kapahulu - Laulau, Lomi Salmon, Kahlua pig, Squid luau, pipikaula. (write it down word for word and show it to your server)

Rainbow's Drive-in in Kapahulu - Mixed plate or loco moco with a slush float

Catch of the day in Kaimuki - Not open on Mondays. Be adventurous and try over 20 something types of poke. Poke is a Hawaiian version of cevechie. They let you sample most of them. Order a 1/4" lb of various kinds of poke for lunch. Ahi, tako, salmon, pipikaua, green salad, smoked marlin are a few. Also get the Furikaki salmon, its about $15 but the poached salmon with the aioli sauce will melt in your mouth.

Fine dining, Roy's waikiki and in the Kahala Mandarin Hoku's. Try fish dishes if you eat fine dining, the local fish are fresh.


Spend 2 nights here then go to either Kauai or Big Island for 2 nights for more greenery and outdoor activities. Population density is much less there than on Oahu. I'll leave othe others to chime in on activities on these islands. But you can get all you want on Oahu if you don't wanna jump around too much, just do you research. And yeah, do spend a day or evening in Waikiki, it can be fun. But late night can be violently dangerous. Don't neander around in Waikiki after 10pm.


If you need more info or want recommendation on your itinerary you can PM me. I'm right in the middle of planning trips to San Diego and Europe later this year, for the moment, I'm jacked-up about planning, research, and taking trips.

[sp727]

For a single guy - stay in Waikiki. The west coast is less people but less to do. North shore is beautiful but takes forever and be careful on waianae side! people are a lil crazy! Lol

[Hawaii4evr]

Yes, Waikiki is touristy, but it is a must do, especially if this is your first trip to Hawaii. It's the same as if someone goes to Miami without visiting South Beach. Yes, there's lots to do otherwise, but you're missing one of the best known places in the city. Waikiki may be crowded and consumerist, but most other places in the country are like that as well, and I think Waikiki gets WAY too much of a bad rep on this forum. The beach is beautiful there!

[MKWC]

Originally Posted by Hawaii4evr

Yes, Waikiki is touristy, but it is a must do, especially if this is your first trip to Hawaii.

Considering the post was made 2.5 year ago, i'm pretty sure that the OP made their own opinion of Waikiki.