Oahu trip report
 

Just a quick note to post some info about our trip 6/5-6/11. I appreciate the replies and help to plan our trip. I hope this post will help some others plan theirs.

First, the great surprise-we got bumped to first class on our leg from LAX to Honolulu. We travel somewhat regularly, but would never pay for this extravagance and don't accumulate enough miles to warrant it. Nice surprise for my son's graduation trip-now we know how the top 10% lives!

We stayed at the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel-had a great view of the bay, beach and hotel strip from our 15th floor balconies. Pleasant staff, no complaints whatsoever. The beach breakfast was included, but no variety at all day after day, so after the first day, morning coffee was the main priority. Very clean and well-maintained hotel with Hawaiian themed decor. Great location across from the beach-I can't imagine staying at a hotel that wasn't on the beach now.

Activities-we rented a Jeep one day and drove to the North Shore. Had shrimp scampi at Giovanni's, one of the shrimp shacks (very good) and shave ice at the General Store (recommend the ice cream at the bottom-didn't try the beans). We snorkled at Shark's Cove-multitudes of beautiful fish and saw several sea turtles-$48 for gear rental for 3.

Without a car the rest of the time, I probably paid more than necessary for some activities, but didn't want the hassle of arranging transportation and getting tickets. We took a tour that included the USS Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor (very moving, you don't want to miss the video-$33 each) and a short city tour. We also took an Oahu Nature Tour which included the Diamond Head hike ($27 each) which included a guide-very interesting with wonderful views-but it IS a hike! The 6 am pick up is early, but highly recommend it because you're through before it gets hot.

My son and daughter took surfing lessons and loved it ($55 each for semi-private lessons for an hour), plus $10 for an additional hour's use of the boards. Recommend Thomas at Waikiki Rentals, I think it's called-under an Ezekiel tent across from the Hyatt Regency. Also parasailed at Xtreme Parasail-$45 each for about 8 minutes, 700 feet up. Look toward the city and not down at the water to avoid nausea!

We also went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Interesting. The food at the Ali'i Luau was pretty average to disappointing. The show HA-The Breath of Life was entertaining, but a little monotonous until the fire dancers and handlers performed. With transportation, it was about $100 a person-honestly can't say I would recommend it too highly.

Food-we weren't too adventurous since our main mode of transportation was by foot. Had excellent burgers at Jimmy Buffett's and Yard House (I think this is a chain). Duke's Canoe Club was excellent-tasty steak and seafood and great service. Chuck's in the same hotel was a disappointment-tasteless mahi mahi and poor petite filet (at $34)-service was also terrible. Tried a sandwich place called Giovanni Pastrami, which was very good, too.

Overall, we had a wonderful time and I can't believe we had not gone sooner. The Hawaiian people were so friendly and everywhere was so clean. There was no graffiti and people were constantly sweeping and picking up what little trash there was. And the drivers were so sane-not like the 80+ mph nuts we have in Texas. Speed limits were 55 tops and there wasn't a billboard in sight.

Oahu is one of my favorite islands. I love the variety there. Glad you enjoyed your trip, thanks for posting the report.

Thanks for taking the time to write up your trip report. I love reading about Oahu.

Aloha and awesome report centex!
Glad you had fun..isn't it great to get bumped to 1st class without paying for it!
O'ahu is a great islands and has it all vs. the other islands.
Thank you for reporting back!

Great trip report. We are staying at the Hyatt in August. Will look for the surfboard rentals across the street. Thanks for the dining tips.

Love Oahu as well. Thanks for sharing your time!

MBnancy... theres also a booth on the beach that will take pictures of your group surfing...they go right in the water and take action shots of the kids riding the waves... then you return to the booth and pick out favorites... ask on the beach and they will direct you to them... cool souvenier...

centex, thanks for "taking me back to Oahu" in a fashion. I love the place ... so much variety, never a boring moment. Hope you will get back soon! :)

To follow up on the surfing, pictures are available at about $20 each, or $80 for a CD with all of them, for each individual. I thought it was a little pricey.

Also, forgot to mention that we went to Eggs n Things one morning. Waited about 30 minutes at least, but it was worth it. As suze said, it's kind of expensive for breakfast-there was so much food that two could have easily shared an order of a huge, tasty omelet and deluxe pancakes. I don't remember if the menu said anything about sharing.

ksucat, forgot to mention-glad our Baylor Bears and Wildcats will still be competing together. Was pretty worried for a while there!

what time did you visit Pearl Harbor and what was the wait?

We bargained the guy to $80 for both kids for the surf pix... they are worthless to him after you say no... go low!

Centex, I enjoyed reading your trip report, thanks for posting!

I read all Oahu trip reports. If I can't go this year, at least I can read about it. Thanks from me, too, for posting.

Voltaire: We took a Best Tours which picked us up at 7:30 am. From what I understand, there are a limited number of tickets available daily due to the boat transfer to the memorial, which makes sense. I think the tour cos. take reservations and pick up tickets for all tour members early in the day. Parking is limited, so if you have a car, you probably need to get there very early to get a ticket. Our ticket time was 9:20-we had time to watch the video and walk to the dock. Then, after going to the memorial, we had time after to walk around. I wish we had toured the Missouri and Bowfin.

Garyt22: Didn't think about bargaining-after paying the cost or lessons and tip, I was tapped out ;) Good suggestion, though.

Great post....but Jimmy Buffets?? What possessed you ..... ahh never mind :>

Yes I discovered Duke's by accident my last visit....the food is GREAT...it is truly a gem that you would not otherwise think of.

A couple of other smaller places to try next time is Skippy's and Some great little places in Chinatown.

I think Duke's has become extra popular since the Royal Hawaiin jacked up their prices after their dreadful redo of the facility....ohh but don't get me going....I mean if I wanted to go to South Beach I'd GO TO SOUTH BEACH and NOT the Royal Hawaiin....are you hearing that NEW YORK MANAGEMENT!!!

Last time I stayed, all the regulars were complaining of the changes, and the staff was not happy either....oops I veered off topic!

I recently saw a Luau on the travel channel that looked SUPER Authentic....but I can't remember where it was. Could be on another Island. The Royal Hawaiin Luau is not bad....certainly better than the Poly Center, especially when you factor in the cost.

If anyone knows of this "authentic" like Luau plz let me know.

Old Lahaina Luau is on Maui... that's probably the featured luau on the Islands...

I think you are correct! That does ring a bell.