Hi everyone, I wanted to return the favour for all of the great tips I got from this wonderful board by posting the notes from my trip to Oahu last week (Feb 6th - 11th). I put it up on my website with photos and stuff so it's easiest to just view it there: http://slugboy.kicks-ass.net/hawaii.

Thanks tbayboy! a fun report. One thing I missed though...what hotel were you in?

An entertaining read. Good job. I love Oahu (have family there), and I think you captured quite well the heaven/hell that is Honolulu/Waikiki.

You missed a few places, even in addition to those you note, that I would have recommended: dinner at sunset at Roy's out in Hawaii Kai (traffic not withstanding), Makapuu Beach and maybe the Manoa Valley, up behind U of H, which I have grown to love for its lush tropical feel in a residential setting. Still, as I say, good job.

For your future endeavors, I recommend Costa Rica. Only one hour time difference from Toronto, for starters. It's more remote and even more exotic than Hawaii, and the Ticos are way friendlier, Aloha Spirit being more myth than fact. What you might miss, though, is the overwheming, gorgeous blueness of Hawaii; the predominate color in CR is green, from the dark emerald surf (at least on the Pacific side) to the lush tropical greens of the jungles and mountains.

Add to that calculation, though, the fact that Costa Rica is *way* cheaper than Hawaii.

Regards from a former Torontonian -

b

Great pictures! 32 days and counting until we are there.

Whoops I forgot to name the hotel! Sorry. It's the ohana Waikiki Village. Nothing fancy but clean and convenient and priced quite well. There's construction stuff across the street but they hadn't started anything when I was there so no extra noise but that may change as they do work. From my view (ie no active construction nearby) it was a great place IF you don't care about hotel facilities (no real pool, bar, restaurant to write about) but nice rooms at a good price.

Thanks for the tips Buzzer, I'm sure there's a zillion things I missed, 5 days just isn't enough. Thanks for the CR recommendation as well, I've been interested it in going there a few times but just wasn't sure how it would be for a solo trip. Once I pay off this one I might just have to find out

Enjoyed the trip report. Love your photos--especially the wide-angle ones.

The pics in this report alone deserve a bump, but it's a fun read, too.

I can't get the website to come up, Help! I will be there in ten days and want to see as many pics as possible!

I can't get to the website either.

Take the period off the end (after Hawaii) to go to the web site.

Thanks for sharing tbayboy, great photos and entertaining commentary. I actually took the time to download the video and it was a great teaser for my trip next month.