I will be going to Maui in January. I have about 6 full days there and was wondering about making a day trip to see Pearl Harbor. I am sure it would be worthwhile but I was wondering if it's fairly simple and better to do with a tour company or on my own. Also can anyone give me an idea about how strenuous the Haleakaka Sunrise Bike Tour is? Appreciate the input. Thanks!

My DH just did the Haleakaka bike tour (downhill) last week and he said it was ok, the bikes weren't the best and real heavy and they couldn't go as fast as they wanted to. I didn't go because I thought it would be strenuous and everyone said it was not but one of the women said she had her brakes on the whole time.

If you just want to see Pearl Harbor, just fly over and take a taxi or shuttle there on your own and fly back later that evening. Last year we flew over from the big island and stayed all night and then flew back to the Mainland from there, but I would have rather just gone for the day.

BYW, you don't need a tour to do Pearl Harbor, just do it on your own.

How strenuous can a downhill-only bike ride be? (This is a serious question)

It's not strenuous, that's why DH didn't enjoy it, plus they had lousy bikes.

You might want to research a bit about that downhill ride. I've read reports of accidents. I only observed people doing it (we were going up & down in our rental car) but honestly it did not look very fun to me.

And as to Pearl Harbor, it seems to me it would be easier doing it either at the beginning or end of your trip, by routing your flight thru Honolulu.