If this was a joke, sorry, doesn't look like good humor to me.

LOL

just to let you know - back in the 80's we made a trip to Oahu and did _not_ have a good time. Three months ago made a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii and absolutely loved it. However, all in all, I'll take a trip to Europe ANYTIME over Hawaii.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Read the novel Hawaii by Michener. At least have some appreciation of the great melding of the cultures there.

BTW - I love Europe as well as going to Hawaii. Hawaii is the warm/laid back type of place to just chill and go with it. What's not to like about incredible tropical beauty and swimming in a warm ocean, with plenty of fresh seafood and fruit to enjoy?

We rotate Paris/France and Hawaii every year. Love them both for many of the same reasons. Great food, culture, beauty, people, nature, and uniqueness.

Well if it is an April Fool's, it's a strange one. Because I think plenty of people truly love the major cities of Europe but aren't big on tropical island destinations.

"For nightly entertainment, there are several luaus to choose from. "

I have to respond to this. I can't imagine anything I'd less want to do than go to a luau. It is exactly the type of predigested, canned goop that plays on tourist desperation to have a local experience, even if it is artificial and phony and consists of a show that they wouldn't walk across the street to see at home. Yet an amazing number of people feel compelled to go to when traveling. I've never understood

Of course, there probably a large sampling bias due to self selection. The people who like such things are the people who go to Hawaii. The people who don't generally avoid Hawaii. This results in very misleading advice.

It's like advice about driving. You read all these posts from people say its no problem with some winding narrow road. Most people likely to find the the ride scary never take it, so they don't respond. So you only get responses from more adventurous types who are up for this sort of thing. That one reason why the usefulness of sites like this and tripadvisor is very limited.

I bet your just a barrel of fun to travel with.

I am sure that most people who visit who Hawaii mutliple times don't return to a luau. I am also sure that most people who are visiting for the first time do go to a luau. It is somewhat like going to Disney and riding Dumbo is "a must". Stand in line for an hour to ride a 2 minute stupid ride. Somewhat like going to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. Most of the time, on a first visit to a place, I like to see and I do enjoy the touristy things.

As for the narrow roads, I love them so this sight is very useful for me. I didn't know that only adventurous people tell or write about their travels. I guess I shouldn't read about nice beaches/swimming because only adventurous people get in the water?

You asked for suggestions, btw.

I have been to Hawaii at least 10 times, and have never been to a luau -- I have absolutely no interest in attending one. I LOVE Hawaii (I also love Paris, London, Egypt, New York, etc., etc., etc.).

(spiro, I had to laugh at your Dumbo reference -- we did exactly what you said the first time we took my DS to Disneyland, and swore we'd never again stand in line for ANY ride that starts and stops every 30 seconds ).

BTW, to the OP, if you're not interested in the outdoors (i.e. beach, kayaking, snorkeling, I'm assuming also hiking), I would suggest you do one of two things - stay home (seriously), or, if staying home is out of the question, at least on Maui, take a good book with you and stay indoors. On Oahu, you might find some things to keep your interest for a few days that do not involve the kinds of things you disdain. Personally, I've never been to Shangri-La, or the Bishop Museum, Iolani Palace or the Dole Pineapple Plantation --- I go to Hawaii for the outdoors, beaches, kayaking, snorkeling, hiking, beautiful scenery.

>

I think you're wrong.

I'm not a luau person. I love Hawaii, but I love it for the reasons sf listed above: outdoor activities and exercise and scenery. I also love the fresh fish and sushi.

1hughes, i think you have the idea that Hawai'i is only for people who like "predigested" touristy activities. In fact there is so much more! The actual history of the place is very interesting and there are numerous museums and serious venues for learning about it. But if you just are not intetested in that, there are plenty of other things to do without getting into the touristy stuff.

As with any online forum, you have to weigh the suggestions given, use them as a starting point for your own research. If any of the suggestions given so far did jibe with what you are seeking, you might want to comment to that effect, to give some direction for further suggestions.

Interesting that the OP would return to comment after WhereAreWe outted the thread as an April Fool's prank (which seems obvious in light of the OP's short history on Fodor's). And then only to dis travelers to the place he's asking about.

I too love Paris, London, and Rome. And Hawaii. But for different reasons. And frankly, I'd rather attend a good luau (or more accurately, pa'ina) than any ballet, opera, or symphony performance.

Too bad 1hughes is such a snob. If s/he had mentioned them earlier, i might have been motivated to look up a real luau for them to attend- eg a church or school fundraiser. Nothing canned, predigested or touristy about them. Most locals look forward to them, especially the food and dancing.

But then, Op is probably one of those tourists who feels obligated to sit in a sidewalk cafe in Paris and have a drink, because goodness knows only tourists do that...

My mother always said, "Don't knock it if you haven't tried it".

I always thought Hawaii would be too pedestrian for my tastes and had no desire to visit. I only came to use it as a jumping off point for a trip to Tahiti. That was over 36 years ago, and I still live here!

Great answer lcuy. I have been to about three "commercial" luau's - long ago - including a very good one at the King Kam hotel in Kona, and the Polynesian Culture Center used to have a good one - before the price zoomed up (again - both of these are over 20 years ago and had very good entertainment), and I think the 3rd was on Kauai, somewhere mid-island - which was also a long time ago - but also "old school".

Especially agree - that today - if you can find a Church social/fundraiser - those are where there is real Ohana - and good food and entertainment to boot. Have been to several of these through some of my law school friends - who live over in Paradise.

Or as we did when I caught a 30 lb Mahi Mahi off Oahu - have your own luau.

1hughes, I can't believe how absolutely RUDE you are!!!! And that is a nice word for what you are being. Out of my entire reply to you that I thoughtfully sat down and spent a LOT of time writing ONLY TRYING TO HELP YOU, *THAT* is what you pick out!!!!!!!! If you reread my the first part of my reply to you, you will see that it states "here a few suggestions for Maui. They are kind of all over the board since, as someone else stated, you've only mentioned your dislikes and not your likes." I have no idea what interests you or doesn't, BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T GIVE ANYONE ANY IDEA, so I threw a lot of different suggestions out for you to mull over. We don't need the snipy remarks about our suggestions, which again, are only done out of a desire to help a fellow traveler who has sought out advice on a travel forum. If a certain suggestion doesn't seem like something you want to do, DON'T DO IT. No need to be a jerk.

The best travelers are those that keep an open mind. And as lcuy said, don't knock it til you try it.

The next time you post a question on a forum, don't post such an idiotic question. If you want something "that would be more suited to someone with my interests", post what those interests might be. Just because I've loved 2 trips to Hawaii, doesn't mean that I also didn't love the trip I took to Italy and France. You don't have to only like one sort of destination. Again, have an open mind.