nicolino

I have my Hotel booked and pretty much my daily travels set for the land part of my vacation. what i am hoping for is that someone has taken this cruise to kona, hilo, kahului, and nawiliwili and can recommend things to do off the ship without taking a tour or booking an excursion from the ship? pretty much have an 8 hour day on each island and was wondering how easy is it to get around from the cruise ports in these islands. any information would be greatly appreciated

Shar

have not taken a cruise but have passed through Nawiliwili many times on our trips to Kauai. There isn't much to do there without taking a tour or renting a car. Do not know how long you will be in Kauai? driving to Princeville/hanalei area takes over an hour depending on the time of day and traffic can get pretty hectic during rush hour. Poipu Beach is closer but there really is only beach time there which isn't bad in my book and Koloa Town for some shops... Waimea Canyon is also a long drive but very beautiful - Grand Canyon of the pacific. taking a cab to the Kauai Museum in Lihue would be close and very worth while as it tells the history of the island. The marriott at Kalapaki Beach is fairly close to Nawiliwili and you can have lunch at Dukes and enjoy the hotel or the beach but it is not the prettiest beach but it is beach. Not sure what your interest are.....

Kona us a funky town with lots of shops but not much beach. Great beach is Hapuna Beach but it is 35-40 minutes up to the Kahala Coast. Guess you can figure I like the beach! A trip to the Volcano would be an all day experience. Snorkeling is good on the Big Island but you would need a long time for that. Visiting some of the resorts in the Kohala area is interesting. Hope you find something you like to do....When on a cruise, you are always limited by the amount of time they give you and you don't want to miss the boat!

montereybob

If you are not taking excursions, to see anything of interest on these beautiful islands, you will need to rent a car when you get off the ship or take a local taxi. The natural beauty and major sights are not within walking distance of the ports. If you look at your ships excursion list, that will give you a good list of the best things to see on each island.

Placename

www.cruisecritic.com

You will find very specific information there about the activities in each port.

Songdoc

If you want to see the best of Kauai you need to either take a tour or rent a car. Nawilili is IMHO, the least attractive part of the island. The beach at the nearby Marriott can't compare with the North Shore beaches--and the town is nothing but tourist shops and restaurants catering to the cruise ships.

Depending on your interests, I would either rent a car and drive to the end of the road (Ke'e Beach) on the North Shore, with stops at the Menehune Salt Pond Overlook (quite close to where your ship docks); Wailua Falls; Hanalei Overlook; Hanalei Bay; Lumahai Beach ... or rent a car and drive to Waimea Canyon and Koke'e State Park to see the Kalalau Lookout.

Option #1 will show you the tropical beauty of the island; #2 is more like visiting the Grand Canyon (although the Kalalau Lookout provides a spectacular view of the ocean).

At Kealia Beach and Hanalei Bay there are restrooms and showers -- so you could change into swimsuits.

Either trip will require at least an hour of driving (without stops) -- but I can't imagine being in Kauai and not seeing at least one of these places.

Not sure why you want to avoid tours, but they might be your best bet. You can probably find tours that are not as expensive as the ship's excursions--if that's the issue.