This is my first trip report so let me know if I am supposed to do something differently.

I arrived at HNL on Friday, Feb 20. I flew in from Ontario, CA on Hawaiian. I came alone because I found a great deal on Hawaiian that I couldn't pass up. It was too short-notice for my friends, but I was feeling adventurous. So, I booked a quick weekend trip for $213 R/T. Since I was feeling brave, I pricelined my hotel and got the Radisson Prince Kuhio for $56/nt. Not too shabby. I was pleased with the flight. Hawaiian was comfortable and on time. The hotel was clean and in a great location. I was disappointed that I was given a room on the third floor with a view of the parking garage, but since I got such a great deal on Priceline, it didn't really bother me. Besides, how much time do you spend in your room anyway? I immediately headed to the beach on arrival. It was crowded, but the views of the coastline and Diamondhead were breathtaking. Then I took a walk down Kalakaua and went to the International Marketplace. I didn't buy any of the touristy knick-knacks, but it was fun to browse. I was tempted by some of the coral jewelry, but I was determined to do this whole trip on the cheap. I stopped for some yummy korean food in the food court before heading out. It wasn't the most scenic place to eat, but the food was good, cheap, and plentiful. I browsed the low-end and really high-end shops down the boulevard and gawked at some of the hotels like the Moana Surfrider and the Hale Kulani(sp?) which were beautiful. Finally. I ended up at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. After eating some pineapple flavored shaved ice, I caught their Friday night jubilee show at the pool. For seven bucks, you got a drink or a personal pan pizza and some entertainment. I recommend getting there early because it fills up quickly since most of the seats are reserved. There were quite a few problems with people not getting good seats or not getting seats at all when I was there. I enjoyed the show. A couple of the dancers didn't seem up to par, but on the whole it was good. It was only slightly cheesy in parts. Fireworks capped off the show. Later on the street, I heard my name being called which was weird since I didn't know anybody there. It ended up being a couple I had met at the show. They invited me out to dinner with them. That was really nice of them and I'm glad we met. I wish I could remember the name of the place, it had great jerk chicken quesadillas. The next morning, I decided to try to hike up Diamondhead. I started waiting for the bus in front of my hotel, but I wasn't sure of the schedule. Everything looked so close on the map and I could see Diamondhead from where I was, so I decided to walk there. This was probably not the brightest move since I have since heard that it takes twenty minutes to get there by bus because the entrance is all the way on the other side of the crater, but I didn't know this at the time. I stopped at McDonald's because I was wildly curious about this spam and eggs breakfast that I hear is commonplace in Hawaii. I ended up having spam, portuguese sausage, rice, and eggs. I've never had spam before. It's ummmm hmmm...salty. I did like the sausage and rice. On the way to Diamondhead, I passed the zoo and there was an art and craft fair going on at Kapiolani park. That was interesting. After I walked to the other side of Kapiolani park past several soccer and softball games, a gentleman kindly told me I was going the wrong way to get to the crater. Okee dokie. After stopping at a farmer's market a couple miles down the road, I finally made it up to the crater. The hike up probably would have been a lot easier if I hadn't been so completely wiped out by the walk there. The view from the top made the whole thing worth it though. It's panoramic. It's looks like a postcard no matter what direction you look. Of course, it's super crowded up there and on the trail. Everyone from little kids to ancient grandmothers with parasols is on that trail. Make sure to take water with you. The tunnel is now lighted so I didn't need a flashlight like I was told. While I was resting at the top of the trail, this guy walks up to me and addresses me by name. It was the guy I had been sitting next to on the plane. That was weird. After I came back from Diamondhead, I went Ala Moana mall. I meant to take a bus from the mall to the north shore, but it was getting late. I actually got off the city bus and decided to head back to the mall to catch a bus back to Waikiki. The next bus I caught went about three blocks before she told us she was no longer in service and kicked us all off. Apparently, this is not a rare occurence since it happened to me twice that day. The next bus driver wouldn't give me another transfer since I used my transfer to get on his bus, so basically I wasted two bucks on that three block trip. Oh well, make sure that you doublecheck the destination and not just the route number. The Ala Moana mall is huge and there is a Hilo Hatties in it. The Shirokiyu (sp?) department store has a wonderful market in it with asian foods. There is also a Longs Drugs in there in case you need sundries. The film there was a lot cheaper than at the ABC stores. Across the street is a good beach and park. When I got back to Waikiki, I went to Sunset on the Beach at Kuhio Beach. There was entertainment, food stalls from local eateries, and a free movie. It was packed and everyone seemed to be having a good time. I decided to skip the movie and catch the polynesian review "Creations", at the Sheraton PK. I used a coupon and got the cocktail seating for I think 25 bucks. I enjoy doing things on my own and when I was feeling more social, I found a lot of people to talk to while I was there, but waiting for the show to start was the only time on my whole trip that I felt lonely. It probably was because I wasn't given a very good seat and there were only two other people at my table. The show itself was a mix of dancing, music, and some special effects and "magic" with a liberal dose of kitsch mixed in. The performers were good, but the show itself was pretty lame. There was better entertainment for free at the pool. I regret wasting time on it. I walked back to my hotel and did some shopping along the way. I was happy to note that I never felt particularly in danger when I was there even though I was alone. Sure, there is crime even in Oahu, but there were a lot of people on the street even at night and things were fairly well lit. If you take the proper precautions and stay alert, you probably wouldn't run into too many problems. Of course, you should always be careful whether you are on vacation or not. I got up early the next morning and after breakfast, I took a bus to the North Shore. The city bus ride was really long, about an 1.5 hours from the Ala Moana transfer point. The bus was one of the Circle Isle ones and it stops at the Dole plantation on the way out to North Shore and then continues around the whole island. On my way back, it took a slightly different route stopping by some places downtown that we had missed going up like Iolani Palace, Chinatown, Ward Center etc., but I missed the other sights that were between after North Shore like PCC. At Pipeline, I caught the Hansen's surf competition, which was amazing. The surfers were so good in huge waves. Later, I just walked down the road until I got to a beach that was less crowded. There was hardly anyone on this beach, though there were some surfers in the water and people in the distance. It was a really nice place to just relax. It was especially nice in comparison to the hustle and bustle of Waikiki beach. There was also huge surf at Wameia Bay. Haleiwa was quaint, though I do regret not having enough time to get a shave ice at Matsumoto's. The line was long and so was my bus ride back. When I got back, I headed to the Outrigger Waikiki. I had reservations for a sunset cruise ($30 minus a $5 coupon) The boat was a racing catamaran. Since it was a sunset cruise, there was an open bar. Believe me, most of us took full advantage of that fact. There were so many cool people on that cruise. I had so much fun with them sitting on the net, talking, and drinking. The sunset was beautiful and I got some fantastic pictures of Waikiki and Diamondhead from out on the water. Leaving the Outrigger, I realized that somehow, during all this, I screwed up my foot. I could barely walk so I hobbled back to my hotel. On the way, I got drawn to the area by the Duke's statue by some sweet music. There was a beautiful hula show there. I ran into some people there that I had met on my Diamondhead hike. Waikiki really is small. Later, I debated going out, but I ended up just heading out to dinner. I was exhausted and my foot wasn't helping matters. I took a short walk (hobble) to the Tiki Grill and had the chef's signature salmon on okinawan sweet potatoes (which are PURPLE, who knew?). It was so yummy. Then I went back to my hotel and basically passed out. Monday morning was my last morning in Hawaii. I was so bummed out. I went down to the beach one last time. It rained a little bit, but the water was still so perfect and warm. I wanted to take a outrigger canoe ride, but I still hadn't bought souvenirs for my friends and family. I rushed over to DFS to buy some things before heading off to the airport. Outside, I ran into some people from the catamaran doing the same thing. Nothing like waiting to the last minute, right? I shopped in a frenzy and had to take a cab back to the hotel. I showered, dressed, packed, and was waiting outside for my shuttle in less than an hour. I was so sad leaving Hawaii. I didn't get to do half of what I wanted to do. I felt like I wasted so much time. But I really enjoyed my trip. Some of my friends said I was crazy to go to Hawaii by myself, but I had a great time. I found people to be wonderfully friendly. If I wanted to talk to people, there were usually people to talk to. I also found that I enjoyed spending time on my own and doing things without worrying about someone else's schedule. Back at the airport, I went through security and hung out a bit with the guy I had sat next to on the way over. We were going to try to sit together again. He didn't have a seat assignment though. All he was given was a seat request or something to give to the gate agent. I think the plane was overbooked. There were a lot of people waiting, trying to get on that flight. While he went to check on getting a seat, I went to go find some food which took a long time since it was a long walk on a sore foot. I ended up being one of the last people on the plane. I don't even know if my prospective seatmate made it on. It was okay though. After a long weekend of talking to a lot of people that I kept running into, I was fine with just kicking back. I fell asleep soon after takeoff and dreamed of my next trip to Hawaii.

Great report, thanks!

You sound like someone who's easy to meet. I highly recommend you try Kona on the Big Island next time -- not nearly as big and crowded as Waikiki, and the locals are friendly beyond belief. I've gone to Kona by myself twice, and both times had a blast.. The last time I wound up diving off some lava cliffs at "End of the World" with a group of locals. It was amazing, within an hour of meeting them they had taken me in as one of their own, and it was like I'd known them all my life.

IMO that's what travel is all about. I wish everyone would try their favorite destination by themselves, just once.

Sounds like you got a great deal and had a really good time. Good for you for being so adventurous and willing to explore on your own!

I agree with the previous poster - Kona is a wonderful place and will give you an entirely different Hawaiian experience.

Happy travels!

Great trip report, cynic (funny, you don't sound like one...) It was fascinating reading because it is a fantasy of mine to travel alone as you did. I usually don't because I hate to leave my husband home alone slogging off to work while I'm enjoying myself. The only improvement you could possibly make next time is to include a few paragraphs in your text.

I was impressed with the outstanding airfare you got from Ontario - how did you find it? I live across the lake from you in the Detroit area and have never seen anything like that. Good for you! Well, now you're hooked. When are you going back?

Glad to hear you had a good time! I saw that same fare from ONT and was soooooooo tempted but couldn't find the time to get away

Maggi,
That fare is from Ontario, California, $99 one way good through Feb 29. I'm signed up for their email specials so got notification of the sale. There was a very short window of opportunity to take advantage of it.

BTW Hawaiian is discontinuing ONT-HNL flights starting March 1.

Sorry, Maggi, I should have specified Ontario, California. I should know better. Everyone always thinks I mean Canada when I say Ontario. You probably got all excited too about $200 R/T from Canada.

Sidenote: When I first moved to Southern California, I kept seeing these strange license plates with Front, B.C. on them. I kept thinking how strange it was that all these Canadians drove down from British Columbia. Yeah, embarrassing to admit, but you guys could not possibly tease me more than I was teased by my friends when I admitted that one.

See, unlike my writing example above, I can use paragraphs! I'll have to try that in the future.

Oh, and thanks for the Kona suggestion, guys. I am going to have to check into that. I can't wait to take another trip!

You very clearly DID write Ontario, CA, I just missed it. I would have been all over that $200 fare too! Setting myself up to be teased as well, but what does Front, B.C. mean?

Cynic - good for you! Great report, you had me wishing it was me. I went to Hawaii for two weeks by myself this past summer and I had the best time ever. You're right about never having to worry about what someone else wants to do (or not do). I can't wait until the next one too.

Maggi, B.C.stands for Baja California. Considering I was in San Diego, I guess British Columbia wasn't the most logical assumption.