Ladies, I have been to Oahu and the three other major islands four times, but it's been a few years now since my last visit. I have a couple of questions for you *current* experts ...

We're thinking of two weeks in September, with one week on Kailua Beach in a studio, and another in Waikiki at Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach. We want a really relaxed "all Oahu" visit this time, since there's so much to do there.

There are reviews on tripadvisor about walls at the Outrigger Waikiki being very thin. Do any of you have any experience with that? Otherwise, it gets great reviews and travel books praise it highly, and I love the location.

Also, the Aloha Festival will be happening the 4th day we're there, and that sounds like a lot of fun. Have you guys experienced this, and do you have any advice regarding it?

The studio/b&b in Kailua is one short block from the beach, two miles to center of town. The plan is to spend the first week out there, just chill, then re-visit historic sites and enjoy nightlife for a week in Honolulu/Waikiki.

Do Nick's Fishmarket and Matteo's still have good reputations? They're in the E book, and while I don't eat somewhere just because I have a coupon, if they're still very good, I might.

We'll use a car for Kailua, and a couple of the Waikiki days, but otherwise walk and use the trolley and buses around Waikiki. What do you think, experts?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

I'd love to help but I have no idea of the answer to any of your question -haha

Can you think of any others? Maybe I can still help!

p.s. Dusty's a guy.

(oops, I always thought Dusty was male, I realize I really don't know that for sure)

When I go to Oahu I spend all my time in Waikiki and mostly just go to the beach every day.

Though I did enjoy doing the Doris Duke ShangriLa estate tour and Honolulu Academy of the Arts very much one trip.

I stayed at the Outrigger for a couple of nights several years ago and didn't notice the walls being especially thin.

We had an oceanfront room and I noticed more noise coming from Duke's downstairs. However, we had the lanai doors open and the noise from the ocean and Duke's possibly masked any noise problems created by thin walls.

Can't help with the Aloha Festival, I stay far away from Waikiki whenever there's some sort of parade or ho`olaule`a happening.

Nick's is still good, but haven't heard much about Matteo's in a long time. Another favorite in Waikiki is Hy's.

I'm certainly no expert, but stayed at the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach summer '07 for 4 nts and it was great...would stay there again. Some people have complained of construction in the area, but that didn't bother us. Good location, employees all helpful, rms quiet and comfortable and we had an ocean view. Duke's is great.

I've never stayed at the Outrigger, but I have eaten at the bar at Duke's downstairs --- the restaurant and bar are always crowded, but once we found a table in the bar, we just stayed there to eat. It was fun, the food was good, the drinks were good, the ambiance was terrific and the view couldn't be beat!

Dusty is a guy.

Mick's & Mateo's are both decent.

Also try Makino Chaya in Aloha Tower Marketplace.

Don't know about the walls at Outrigger Waikiki being thin. I've read that on some of the forums, but my thought is that because they have live music outside at least part of the day/night people think the walls are thin.

Here is a site for Aloha Week events. I don't know why there are only 3 events listed.

http://alohafestivals.com/v3/pages/events/oahu.jsp

This is from last year. Of note is the floral parade. It is very colorful. But every year there seems to be talk about it being the last one:

http://gohawaii.about.com/od/festiva...estivals_2.htm

Thank you, everyone!!! I appreciate your comments so much. Suze, you can tell what *local* places you eat in when you're there for a month ... like for inexpensive brekkies/lunches??? I am happy to hear all the positive comments about the Outrigger ... I figure with it being off-season, if I get a noisy room, I can ask for a change, right?

Thank you for the links, Dusty (the guy ... For some reason, I thought you were a girl!) chepar, Momof3, dmlove ... thank you for your replies. Glad to hear you enjoyed Duke's. We plan to eat some breakfasts there, and also in the evenings, listen to some live music and drink some Mai Tai's there! I shall report back here after my trip in September.

I've not yet been lucky enough to stay for a whole month (darn) but I'm happy to share where I eat.

Breakfast I usually have in my room, I always get a hotel or apartment that has a kitchenette. I have fruit and maybe pastries from St Germaine bakery on Kuhio. I shop at the Food Pantry for basic groceries like yogurt, etc.

Lunch I buy at an ABC Store and picnic on the beach most days. For ~$7 you can get things like cold noodles, salads, sandwich, or sushi AND a little cocktail or bottle of wine (or non-alcoholic beverage I suppose -haha).

Best lunch or dinner spot (open 10-10) is "Blue Water Shrimp & Seafood Co" which is a catering truck parked on Kuhio between Launiu & Kaiolu. For ~$10.95 you get a huge plate of food, shrimp, clams, or ahi, with salad, corn, garlic bread. You can eat at the picnic tables right in the parking lot, or walk to Fort de Russey picnic area nearby.

My favorite real restaurant is Arancino's Italian on BeachWalk. It's a nice place with great food. Dinner for two with 2 drinks, 1 appetizer, 2 entree was $60. It's popular and small so I try to go early in the evening.

We had breakfast at St. Germaine's three mornings during our recent visit. Their croissants are wonderful, as are the pastries. Custard-filled long johns may not be a real breakfast food, but they sure are good!

Suze, that's what I wanted to hear ... where to get good reasonable food for part of my visit. Blue Water Shrimp and also Germaine's sounds terrific. Carolyn, you've caught my attention! I LOVE long johns filled with custard! Yum ... thanks, girls!

There will be construction at the Royal Hawaiian - isn't that next door to the Outrigger? I don't know if there will be any impact on your stay but you may want to call to check. Maybe I am wrong about the location. Does anyone know what kind of construction is going on at the Hawaiian? Is it just interior updates?

If you're interested in breakfasts I've got a few suggestions: Seaside Cafe, on the corner of Seaside & Kuhio has pretty good deals - like $3 breakfasts that aren't bad at all. I really like breakfast at the Shorebird inside of the Outrigger Reef - you can even get a coupon for $1 off in the ad magazines. Much more pricey but worth it at least once is breakfast in the Hula Grill - it's upstairs in the Outrigger and the view & the food are both very good.

You mentioned not getting a car for your entire time in Waikiki and I agree with that - you only need it for a day or two, especially if you'll have one for the rest of your trip. You can get a 4 day bus pass at an ABC store for $20, or pay as you ride on The Bus. The Bus goes all over the place.

When you're in Kailua, be sure to stop in at Boots & Kimo's for VERY yummy mac nut pancakes.

While in Waikiki, if you're there on a Friday or Saturday night, stroll on over to the Hilton Hawaiian Village, the Rainbow Tower, in the Paradise Lounge and you can hear Olomana. They are a terrific local recording group. The lounge is open air and feels like you're sitting in someone's living room just listening to music. The Mai Tai's there beat out even Duke's - IMO of course. But be sure to get to Duke's for the sunset - I love going in there right before sunset and snagging a seat at the bar - preferrably facing the ocean - and ordering nachos & some paninis (a banana & rum concoction you have to ask for - it's no longer on the menu). WIth the trio on the patio playing Hawaiian music it's a heck of a way to enjoy the sunset.

BashfulLV, thank you for your reply, and for telling me about Olomana being at HHV on the weekend. I'm getting all set musically now ... Olomana on Friday night, then Henry Kapono at Duke's and Martin Pahinui, George Keo, Aaron Mahi at the Marriott on Sunday night. We love slack-key/Hawaiian music, and that's a big reason for staying in Waikiki part of our visit. Someone else had mentioned Boots & Kimo's pancakes to me, so that will be a must!

All the food advice sounds great ... we sample a little of everything from little egg & spam concoctions somewhere to an occasional fancy hotel brunch (not often, as I don't like to eat a lot early in the day.)

chepar, glad to hear that Nick's is till good. We'll have to check out Hy's, since you like that ... what kind of food there?

Renee, I will check out the construction near the hotel. That's something I'd want to know ... thank you.

Well, with every day, I'm more ready ... thanks to you all. Any other Oahu experts out there, keep it coming!

I like to eat breakfast sitting at the rail at Lulu's on Kalakaua just across from Kapiolani Park. Their banana-mac nut pancakes are pretty good, too.

Hy's is a steakhouse.

Lulu's is fun sports bar type place, as is Tiki's.

What I really like to do when I have the occasional seminar in Waikiki is get something from St. Germaine's in the morning and eat it while sitting on one of the benches fronting Waikiki Beach in the early morning.