NorthShore

Info found below on what looks to be an interesting way to spend an hour. Anybody gone on the tour or have similiar recommendations?


SHERATON MOANA SURFRIDER OFFERS FREE HISTORICAL TOUR IN WAIKIKI

Waikiki Beach, Oahu, Hawaii - Visitors to the first hotel on Waikiki Beach, the Sheraton Moana Surfrider built in 1901, can experience nearly ten decades of Waikiki’s history with the resort’s popular Historical Tour. The tour originates on the second floor of its main building, the historic Banyan Wing every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. It is here on the second floor where the hotel built its own historical room to house and display memorabilia dating back to the early 1900s.

The historical tour is a free program provided by the Sheraton Moana Surfrider to educate the general public on the history of this turn-of-the-century resort and the evolution of Waikiki as a leading travel destination. The tour is open to the public and lasts approximately one hour. A display guide and Waikiki map are included for all participants.

bashfulLV

I took this tour in July 2003 and it was fun and very intersting. The tour guide was very funny and knowledgable and I learned a lot.

suze

Thanks for the specifics, I was interested in the details as I'll be there in a few weeks.

My other recommendations (although they cost money and I should say "ideas" instead because I haven't done them yet!) are Doris Duke's Shangri La and the Ioloni place tours.

vivi

The Shangri-La tour of Doris Duke's oceanfront esate thru the Honolulu Academy of Arts is outstanding! Reservations are a must.

I have been to the Iolani Palace tour, very interesting but the docents are pretty crabby, LOL.

bashfulLV

I've taken the Iolani Palace tour also - I loved it, and the docents I had that day were charming, friendly and really knew their stuff. It was $20 pp and was very interesting. I've heard the tour of the Bishop Museum & Queen Emma's Summer Home are good too, but am saving those for my next trip.

ms_go

We had a little time to kill last March while waiting for a flight, so we took the Moana Surfrider tour in between having some drinks on the verandah. On balance it was pretty interesting. You spend probably half the time in a small meeting room where they do a little talk and show some slides or video covering history of the hotel and development of Waikiki. The last part of it ended up in one of the guest rooms in what seemed like a bit of a marketing pitch, but I found the first 45 minutes or so worthwhile. It's free, and you can leave if you decide you don't like it.

NorthShore

Thanks for the feedback - looks like it worth a try!