Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Just back from Oahu & Maui

Aloha fodorites! Just returned from 18 days in paradise... this was my 4th trip to the islands (3rd to Oahu, and 2nd to Maui...) traveling with hubby (2nd trip) and parents (1st trip).

I know some folks enjoy the details and stories...while others just want to get right down to it. For the later group, you can skip down through to the end.

Part I - Oahu
Started out on Oahu for 3 days, staying at the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel ($120/night on Expedia) Just okay. Wasn't expecting much but would have rather been at the Hawaiiana or Queen's Surf. Enjoyed Tiki's for dinner, and Wolfgang Puck Express was convenient for a quick breakfast or lunch. Grab and go across the street to the beach! Starbucks, is around the corner too...not really a fan, but there are no coffee makers in the rooms. Had a partial ocean view which was nice, but above Tiki's so kind of noisy at night. One night there were fireworks that sounded liked they were just outside our room...futher inspection confirmed they were being set off from the beach just across the street. Pretty cool.

It was overcast with occasional showers the day we flew in. Picked up the rental car around 3:30pm and sat in rush hour traffic on the H1 for at least an hour. Popped in the cd of Hawaiian tunes I burned. (Shout out to the fodorites that listed all their favorites on a thread awhile back!) Hit Dukes for our maiden mai-tai and so my folks could experience the scene there, and Tikis for dinner which has in my experience always been not great, but consistently good. The first night it poured rain and continued to come down well into the morning with flash flood warnings for Honolulu/Waikiki. Enjoyed a morning stroll in the rain, walked along the road (Kahala Ave?) that takes you from the edge of Kapiolani Park, up around Daimond Head to a lookout on the frontside of the volcano. Beautiful landscaping done along the road. One of my favorite places to just sit and watch the surfers and take in the view. Eventually the sun came out allowing us to dry out and warm up on Waikiki Beach. Decided to take an outrigger canoe ride - so much fun! I only wish we would have grabbed the disposable camera. Nice to see the coast, hotels, Diamond Head etc from the water. Saw turtles. Caught a few fun waves. Mom squealed like a little kid. :-) Had a few close calls almost running over clueless kids on surfboards (really became clear just how dangerous it is out there when it's crowded and people do not know what they are doing)

Stumbled upon Sansei for dinner (had been to the Kapalua location on Maui a few yrs ago...) Did the Omasaka (tasting menu) So so good! Can't remember it all...but there was a yummy rock shrimp dish, crab & mango hand roll, butterfish, panko-crusted ahi sashimi. One of the best meals of the trip!

Hubby and I surfed early the next morning (before the crowds), very fun...but forgot how quickly we tire out paddling. Had planned to take my parents around the island (by way of the windward coast and north shore...) somewhow managed to miss the news about the mudslides/flooding and were quickly turned around on the Pali Highway. Managed to get over to Kaneohe via another route. Along the way we picked up a newspaper, realized the devastation, and then saw it all first hand. We continued cautiously north along the windward coast. The skies were grey, the ocean brown, homes flooded, businesses & schools closed....however, if you turned your gaze to the mountains there were hundreds and hundreds of waterfalls just pouring down a green canvas. A reminder of the power & beauty of mother nature.

In the area of Punalu'u (I think) we found a bar/restaurant that was OPEN. woohoo! We were the only ones there and got the royal treatment from our bartender Nicole. Had burgers and bloody marys and played horse shoes out back. One of those fun, little unexpected discoveries...

We continued north and hit the shrimp trucks just in time for an afternoon snack. Nicole, the bartender, recommended Maki's across from Turtle Bay and they did not disappoint. Perfectly dressed in butter & garlic and washed down with tropical smoothies. YUM!

We drove along the north shore and pulled over at Pipeline. The Women's T&C Pipeline contest holding period had begun...but was not on this day. I couldn't believe how poor the conditions were (small and dirty)and the fam was not impressed. We hung out for awhile and watched the girls practice then moved on to Laniakai (Turtle Beach) NO turtles and the weather/ocean conditions were ick so we didn't stay long. Stopped to the right of Haleiwa Harbor and took a walk around the point towards the set of Lost. It started to pour so we turned around before seeing the set and headed into Haleiwa for a little shopping. Scored some yummy shave ice (Lilikoi) at Aoki's and finally some aunthentic smelling plumeria oil. :-)

Headed back down to Waikiki. It was a fun day, but would have been nice if my family could have seen the sights and beaches of the windward coast and north shore the way it really is. They really didn't seem to mind though, they were more concerned for everyone's safety and well-being.

Last night in Waikiki. I think we were all ready to move on and settle into our digs on Maui. Baggage Direct met us at our hotel and delivered our boarding passes and took our bags - highly recommend this service! We would be going to Pearl Harbor early before our flight out and didn't want to have all our bags in the rental car.

On the way to Pearl Harbor, a stop at Leonard's for malasadas. They open at 6:30 which was perfect. Enjoyed our warm, doughy goodness outside the store. Favorites were the plain and haupia filled. Arrived at the Arizona Memorial around 7:15 and there were already several tour busses and several hundred people ahead of us. Once they started letting everyone in, the line moved quicky and we were assigned to the 3rd group. Just enough time to wander about, take pics, check out the bookstore etc. The first rainbow we saw happened to be here over Pearl Harbor, profound. We did the optional audio tour, which I found helpful for some things but not everything. My parents really appreciated having it. The movie was really good and the whole tour quite moving (just like everyone says...) It was especially so for my stepfather who was in the Navy. It was not something my husband and I would have done on our own...but I'm glad we did it. We did not tour the Missouri or Bowfin, and were done by 11am.

Since we had a few hours before our flight and didn't have to check-in... we decided to take the Round Top/Tantalus Drive. Very nice! Really enjoyed the drive, seeing all the beautiful homes hanging off the side of the mountain, and pulling over to take in the views. We pulled into Punchbowl for a short time before our stomachs began to growl...time to go find food. I had no idea where we were headed, but we found a plate lunch fundraiser going on outside a grocery store and that looked good to us. So we tailgated in the parking lot, enjoying our bbq chicken, 2 scoop rice and side salad.

Oahu favorites (from this trip)
- outrigger canoe ride
- early morning surf
- early morning walk around Kapiolani park & Diamond Head
- Sensai's tasting menu
- Okinawan (purple sweet) mashed potatoes at Tiki's (or anywhere you can get them!)
- Burgers at local place in Punalu'u
- Maki's Shrimp Truck
- Aoki's Lilikoi
- Terranova plumeria oil
- Baggage Direct!
- Malasadas from Leonards (haupia-filled)
- Arizona Memorial
- Round Top/Tantalus Drive

Part II and III to come...