Planing first trip in May (Kaneohe: rental car, rental, condo)

[fearnofish]

In May my Wife and I are planning our first trip to Hawaii for a week. I reserved the airfare from Seattle for just under a thousand round trip for the two of us and have found a 1 bed condo with full amenities for 950 for the week. The condo is in the Waikiki Beach area.

I plan on renting a car and have arranged a parking spot with our condo owner.

Those who I have talked to said they always packed too much stuff..so my idea is my wife and I will just pack what we need in a backpack and once there can hit WalMart or Costco or wherever and pick up any more clothing items or items we may need. Then if we do end up coming home with more than we left with we will buy another suitcase and check it on the way home. We need another suitcase anyway.

I am sure this has been asked a hundred times on here, I just did not see a thread where it was.

Any local knowledge or tips for items we should stay away from or definitely do?

Thank you.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Look at this very recent thread: First Trip to Oahu in January! Where To visit in four days?

[oceanus]

Asking locals about things to do in Hawaii is like asking if there are any walking paths in Washington State. There is too much to list. As you talk to locals, be sure to be specific about the location and any interests you have to get good feedback.

One importwnt thing to note is Waikiki is just one place. If you want to see true Island life, venture out of the city. Go up North. With a rental car on Oahu, you would be wise to spend this time to study the traffic congestion patterns around attractions on Oahu. If you don't you will spend a lot of your vacation sitting in traffic or standing in tourist lines.

Basic stuff:
Please leave the beaches and trails the way you found them.
Treat wildlife and local people with kindness. Never approach seals or turtles, for example.
Pay attention to signs on the beaches. The ocean currents are dangerous and change all the time.
Check for brown water advisories before entering the waters from the beaches you plan to visit.
Don't let rain in one town convince you that the day is ruined. Rain comes and goes quickly everyday somewhere on the Islands.

Leave any stress you have on the mainland and enjoy the slower pace here.
Never honk your car horn at anyone.
Don't take sand or rocks away or you will anger the Gods and have bad luck.
Don't leave valuables in your car, ever!

[ScottStielow]

The Arizona Memoral/visitor center is a must see. You should make it a whole day trip. You can reserve on line for the Arizona memoral.
Also check out Battleship Missouri Memorial
Uss Bowfin submarine Museum & Park next to the Arizona visitor center
You also have the Pacific Air Museum on Ford Island (near the Battleship Missouri)
USS Arizona Memorial Tour

This should ge you started. Enjoy the stay!

[hotzcatz]

Waikiki has some interesting things other than just the whole hustle bustle of Waikiki. Walk up and down the beach, it's scenic and great for people watching. Even at night, it's worth walking on. There is a zoo and aquarium directly across from each other and within walking distance to most of Waikiki. Wander through the big fancy hotels, the lobbies and shops are public spaces and well worth wandering through. I always liked going through Hilton Hawaiian Village. Along the beach is a free military museum by Fort DeRussey beach. During the summer, it's nicely air conditioned. A day or two just wandering through the craziness of Waikiki could be fun. It's not officially the real Hawaii, but it's fun in it's own kitschy and touristy way. Friday evenings there's fireworks on Waikiki beach over near the Hilton end of it.

Ala Moana shopping center is huge and full of fancy stores, although depending on where you're from, they may be stores you're used to.

There's some lovely botanical gardens and garden walks, I like the one up in the back of Manoa Valley as well as the one downtown by Chinatown.

If it's winter time, there might be big waves to see on North Shore. There's some lovely hiking in bamboo forests up at the top of Roundtop. There's the shorter and more organized hike up to the top of Diamond Head crater. Lots of stairs there, try to count them.

China town is interesting with it's little shops and bakeries, although it's hard to find parking downtown.

Once you get out of Waikiki, you can find local food (which is foods local people eat as opposed to food locally produced). Spam musubi is a favorite, manapua and malasadas, too.

Polynesian Cultural Center is worth the drive. You could pop into Byodo-in Temple in Kaneohe along the way.

You could also do a study of the different beaches on Oahu. Pop into a dozen of them to see which one is your favorite.

[RockyRoadg]

We were just there for the week of Thanksgiving, took the kids and grand kids. it was the best vacation ever, we stayed at the Wyndham at Waikiki Beach Walk. Which is right in the middle of all the hustle and bustle but a lot of fun. We went to the Aloha Stadium swap meet it was a lot of fun, good prices on souvenirs and a lot of interaction with the locals. It is also next to Pearl Harbor so you can easily do both in one day. We also stopped at Costco that day and got all of our booze, snacks and macadamia nut candy gift stuff. they have an entire row of it and it is half the price of anywhere else. We did most of the normal excursions like swimming with dolphins, the paradise cove luau, Sea Life Park, days at the beach ext. But by far the best think was spending a day driving around the island. We headed up around diamond head and stayed on the coast as much as possible checking out all the awesome beaches, Turtle Bay was beautiful, of course sunset beach and the big waves at north shore. Have some macadamia nut pie at Teds Bakery and some shaved ice at Matsumoto's. We spent hours on youtube and planning all our stops it saved a lot of time. Have a wonderful and safe trip.

[Bakeneko]

I'm confused - do you plan on shopping for clothing rather than packing clothes? If I was only going to a week - I wouldn't want to waste any time shopping for clothes at Costco myself. The Ross sells a shocking number of suitcases (like a hundred a day or something). My husband had to buy a case one year when his broke beyond repair and the "competition" for available suitcases was unreal. People snatched them up as soon as they were stocked. Most Japanese buy tons on clothing on the strip and at the outlet malls to send home.


I would say that every single time I go to Hawaii - I end up with more clothes than I need. I pack pretty light - swimsuit ,cover up, hats, undies, and a bunch of dresses (most pagota, Merrill, Royal Robbins, exOfficial). I share a suitcase with my five year old and can stash enough in my half for several weeks. I wear a dress during the day (and swimsuit if needed). Shower up in the room after the days activites and put on a fresh dress for dinner/going out. Wear the previous nights dress the next day.