Leonora

How much of a hassle is it to take a bus from Waikiki to the North Shore? We're debating about whether or not to rent a car.

MikeT

It's a hassle. It's slow and will completely control your schedule. The bus is fine for short commutes around Oahu, but is not meant for touring.

dusty56438

Totally agree with MikeT.

Don't try to take the bus to tour Oahu. It will take 4 hours plus any stops.

Rent a car. You can stop where you want & as long as you want.

There are two driving tours on this thread:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34812564

Paytons_Grandma

By all means, rent a car.
Then go to amazon.com and buy the book O'AHU REVEALED by Andrew Doughty & Harriett Friedman. This book tells you everything there is along every road, mile by mile.. where to stop to see things you surely would not see on your own or on a bus. Like, Pohaku Loa Way (Turtle Beach) to see the big sea turtles, all restaurants & the best ones, best lookouts for the best views, picturesque beaches, best places to see whales, best roads for shortcuts, tunnels, lava rocks that form a silhouette of a lion on a mountain and on and on! The book is a wealth of information. All of their "Revealed" books of all the islands are EXCELLENT!!! I'd never go to any of the islands without these books.

We drove from Honolulu and all around the island counterclockwise, going east first, then north, around the north shore and coming back south thru the middle of the island past the Dole Pineapple Plantation (we did the plantation on a different day). We made MANY stops, bought picnic groceries at a Foodland near Turtle Beach, had a picnic at Waimea Bay, saw water spouts, whales, dolphins, Chinaman's Hat, had legendary chocolate/haupia (made from coconut) pie from Ted's Bakery at Sunset Beach that was absolutely THE BEST, and so much more. I wouldn't trade that day for all the bus rides they have, even if they were free. We started at 9 a.m. and were back to Honolulu at 5 p.m.

These books also include everything there is is do, see, eat & shop in all the towns. You can't go wrong with this book. You can buy them all over the island, but amazon.com will be much cheaper and you can research and see things you'd like to do before your go. It's a great read for the long flight. Just be sure to get a good highlighter pen and some small sticky tabs to mark the pages.

Can't wait to read about what all you did if you post a report when you get back. When do you go?

Leonora

I head out Aug. 11 and will be there until the 23rd. It's a last minute dream trip as my dh works for the coast guard. He gets to go to many great places, but we can only tag along if it's in the summer. Our luck would usually be that he'd get to go to HI in January, but this time we lucked out. Can't wait.

suze

Too much time and hassle (in my research, I decided not to do it).

I'd either rent a car for a day, or go on an organized tour for that excursion.

Paytons_Grandma

Leonora,
how lucky for you for sure. You will have a great time. That's a nice # of days to be there, and of the memories you'll have. Do have a wonderful trip. I'm green with envy. I love that place!!!

elsiemoo

According to Frommers' Oahu website, in their latest update on going to the North Shore, they advise that recently tourists were robbed in broad daylight at the bus stop there, and advise people not to use the bus to visit there.

STACY21

We just went to Oahu about 2 months ago and found that the bus system takes forever so we ended up renting a car and the trip was much more enjoyable and time was back on our side. It will take forever if you take the bus and like others have said...bus stops and what not are a trap for tourists and many times they are robbed.

STACY
www.edufire.com

carolyn

We are senior citizens and did it for a lark for $1 each. (And were not robbed.) It did take a long time, but it was fun.

chepar

I am not sure that I agree with the statement that "many times" tourists riding The Bus are robbed.

Bus stops out in the North Shore area are spaced further apart and may be in more "remote" areas without a lot of traffic or pedestrians going by. I think that the tourists being robbed at a North Shore bus stop was somewhat a crime of opportunity - no one around to witness and/or help.

Tourists tend to stick to riding The Bus in the Honolulu area, and that should be fine. Taking The Bus out to the North Shore is (as others have said) a big hassle and would take a long time.

suze

I decided not to do it (take the Bus to the North Shore) but not for fear of being robbed.