Your Man Tours Hawaii March 2005 Trip Review
Mar 27th, 2005, 04:39 PM
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Your Man Tours Hawaii March 2005 Trip Review
Your Man Tours Hawaiian Vacation review
We chose Your Man Tours because of the price. I couldn’t find a way to visit all the islands we did for anywhere near what we paid through YMT.
This was an excellent way to see 4 islands in 2 weeks.
We were very impressed with how organized the tour was, but I guess they’ve been doing this same tour for many years. A tour was included with every island as well as some free time to go where we wanted.
I was worried about the accommodations, but all the reviews I read said the hotels were old and dated but clean. I found this to be true on all accounts, but can’t find any serious fault with any of them. I’ll speak to each of the hotels further on in my review.
Our Journey
We departed Toronto 8:50 AM on North West to Minneapolis; Left Minneapolis on North West 1:08 pm to Los Angeles; Left LA for Honolulu at 3:30 pm.
When we arrived at Honolulu we were greeted by Cousin Abu of Your Man Tours. Many of the bus drivers and tour people refer to themselves as Cousin, “we’re all family”.
Cousin Abu arranged for our luggage to get loaded, we received our leis, then off to the hotel.
Ocean Resort Waikiki
http://www.oceanresort.com/cgi-bin/e...page=hotelhome
The Hotel was an easy 2 block walk from the beach. We were assigned a room with 2 single beds, but we moved to a queen as soon as I requested a change. The room had a very small balcony but could sit 2 no problem. We had a fridge in the room, which was very convenient for us. There were 2 outdoor pools with very very cold water, but a nice sun deck.
A restaurant was located in the lobby; we ate breakfast there every morning. The coffee was good and service adequate. Price was fair, I would recommend it for breakfast, we never ate any other meals there.
The Ashton Waikiki was a couple doors down, we ate dinner there a couple times, and it was very good and had entertainment.
There are many ABC stores in the area where we could stock up on drinks (including beer, wine and spirits) and snacks.
The first morning (Tuesday) Cousin Abu had a meeting with “our group”, there were 2 other YMT groups that had arrived the same day. Cousin Abu gave us a briefing on what was organized each day and list of the optional tours.
Tuesday:
Optional: Outrigger Main Showroom the Society of Seven singing and dancing cost $65 including dinner.
Wednesday:
Included tour - Pearl Harbor / City Tour we went to the Arizona Memorial then to Iolani Palace, and Pali Lookout, Hilo Hatties and other stops. Cousin Pablo of Roberts tours was our driver and he was a wealth of information and very enjoyable to listen to.
Optional tour Hawaiian Hut Dinner Show. $62
Thursday:
Circle Island Tour Cost $51
We went to Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, O’ahu’s North Shore, and Pineapple fields and other stops. The bus stopped for lunch at our expense. We took this tour as did most of our group and enjoyed it. Cousin Pablo of Roberts was our driver again.
Optional: Magic of Polynesia Dinner Show Cost $78
Don Ho Dinner Show $63
We didn’t go to either of these shows.
Friday:
Polynesian Cultural Center Cost $84 This was an all day event, we left at 10:30 AM and got back about 10:00 PM. We had a guide, Cousin Patty, meet us at the bus and he stayed with us till the end of the show.
This was a busy day, Cousin Patty made sure we were in place to see each of the shows put on by the different islands. I won’t go into the detail as there is plenty written about the PCC. I felt rushed and really didn’t get to enjoy the displays in the different islands as we were ushered off to the next “show”. We had dinner served buffet style, not the luau. Then went to the Imax theatre, then to the nightly show, which was very good.
Saturday
We left in the morning for Kona on the Big Island. Cousin Abu introduced us to Pat the tour representative that would be with us the next 10 days.
When we arrived at Kona the bus drove thru town while Pat pointed out some of the places to have dinner.
Kona Seaside http://www.sand-seaside.com/Kona_Seaside.aspx?HotelID=1
The Kona Seaside was a nice hotel, 2 double beds in our room and a fridge. We looked over the pool and had a view of the ocean. I would spend quite a bit of time sitting on the patio overlooking the road beach and ocean. The hotel didn’t have a restaurant but several were close by. There was an ABC store across the street.
Take a walk up a very steep hill and there was a grocery store ,Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Post Office, Hilo Hatties and a mall.
I misplaced the sheet which had the optional tours for the rest of the trip so I won’t know what the cost was but I’ll try to remember what was available.
Optional Tour: Snorkelling YMT was booking with Body Glove
Sunday:
We elected to book with the Fair Winds to go snorkelling based on what we read in reviews and glad we did. The trip was more expensive and we had to take a cab to the boat, about $20. But I think it was the better choice. If you want to go with Fair Winds I would suggest you book a cab early the day before for both the ride to the Fair Wind and the ride home. There aren’t many cabs so you might have to wait a long time otherwise. We booked the night before and still had to go an hour early because the cabs were already booked. We didn’t think to book the return trip. Luckily we met a nice lady who gave us a ride back to the Seaside or we would’ve been waiting a long time.
Glass Bottom Boat we didn’t go
Captain Bean Dinner cruise. We went and enjoyed ourselves. There was dinner and dancing, and everyone got 2 drinks included in the price. The entertainment was enjoyable.
Monday:
My wife and I picked up a shuttle across the street from the hotel and went to Kahalu’u Beach Park for a morning of snorkelling. The shuttle is $2 per person each way and dropped us off right at the park. There is a place to rent snorkelling equipment as well as beach chairs and other stuff for a day at the beach. My wife ran into 2 turtles underwater and got a couple of great underwater pictures. The front desk has the shuttle schedule available.
Tuesday
We’re off by bus to Hilo. On the way we stop at many places including the Black Sand Beach, Volcano National Park, Rainbow Falls and the City of Hilo.
Optional Tour: Helicopter tour of Volcano National Park
Hilo Seaside http://www.sand-seaside.com/Hilo_Seaside.aspx?HotelID=2
The Hilo Seaside is right next to the airport so it sounds like the planes are going to land in the parking lot. But we’re only there one night. The room looks over a nice pool and gardens. It also has a fridge and 2 double beds. The restaurant has just re opened, we dinner and breakfast there, service was good, food was good, I would recommend it.
Wednesday
Off to Maui where we have a tour of Iao Valley and a couple of hours in the Whaling Town of Lahaina. The bus drops everyone off at Hilo Hatties and will pick you up there or you can walk to the other end of town and get picked up a couple hours later. We walked to Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Company for lunch then down to the other end of town.
Optional Tour: Whaling Cruise - Pacific Whale Foundation I spoke to a couple that took the cruise, they did get close to a couple whales. They enjoyed the trip.
Maui Seaside http://www.sand-seaside.com/Maui_Seaside.aspx?HotelID=3
The Maui Seaside is in Kahului. It was recommended we not eat in the hotel restaurant so we didn’t. It was the hotel I liked the least, our room was in a tower and a ways from the pool. But again we were only there 2 nights and no time to swim anyway. It did have 2 double beds and a fridge.
Thursday:
Optional Tour: Road to Hana. Price was I think about $80 ea. which included a boxed lunch.
By this time we had enough of traveling on a bus with non-stop commentary so we opted for a car rental. I rented it from Budget through the hotel desk. Budget sent a shuttle over to pick us up Wednesday night. The next day we drove the “Road to Hana”. It was a great drive, we had almost 12” of rain that day so all the water falls were really moving. The road had a couple trees down and lots of rock slides blocking our side of the road.
Another couple came with us and we had a great time. We picked up a CD Audio Tour for the “Road to Hana” but I didn’t think it was worth the money.
Just follow the Road tour at http://www.alternative-hawaii.com/byotgdxm.htm
I returned the car and the shuttle took me back to the hotel.
Friday:
Moved to Kauai. After we were picked up at the airport we were given a tour of Wailua River and then on a river boat tour to Fern Grotto.
Kauai Sands http://www.sand-seaside.com/Kauai_Sands.aspx?HotelID=4
Kauai Sands was the best of all the hotels. It’s located in Kaapa our room was on the second floor overlooking the pool and the ocean. The grounds were very nice; we had a large balcony, 2 double beds and a fridge. There is a mall right next door with quite a few restaurants open for breakfast. We ate once in the hotel and I was not really satisfied with the service or food
Optional Tours: 2 Tours of the island, we didn’t take either one and I didn’t speak to anyone who did.
Saturday:
I just rested at the hotel while my wife and some of the other women took a free shuttle to Hilo Hatties and went shopping. Then we walked to the beach around the corner and had a swim
The couple that went with us on the Road to Hana rented a car Wed. night, again from the desk at the hotel The shuttle picked us up and took us to the Airport so we could pick up the car. That night we drove to the other side of the town and had a lovely dinner at Coconuts.
Sunday, took the Rental Car to Waimea Canyhon and Pu’u o kila lookout. It was a very nice ride. There is no shuttle to take the car back to the airport and had to take a taxi from the airport back to the hotel about $20
Monday:
Groups were leaving at different times based on their flights leaving for home. Our flight didn’t leave from Honolulu till 11:00 PM so we spent the day at the hotel. We had to be out of our rooms by noon, which was very inconvenient. We could store our luggage in a room near the front desk, and I understand there was a room available for us to freshen up. But we had to share the room with over 20 other people, so we didn’t bother.
We left the Sands at 6:00PM for our journey home. Flew from Kauai to Honolulu then.
•Departed Honolulu at 11:05 PM on North West to LA; leave LA for Minneapolis 8:45 AM on North West, Leave Minn for Toronto at 3:00 PM on North West arriving in Toronto around 6:00 PM Tuesday.
A note about the flights, we had a movie on the flight from LA to Honolulu and Honolulu to LA but none of the other flights had movies or music. They sold headphones to listen to the movie but we brought our own from home.
We were going to pick up a bottle of RUM in the Minneapolis airport but there was not enough time between flights, we were also not allowed to purchase a bottle in LA to bring to Canada because we were stopping in Minneapolis. So if you want to bring any liquor back to Canada better purchase it in Kauai.
This was a great trip and very glad we went. I would recommend it to anyone that is not to fussy about the hotels they stay in. Don’t set your expectations high and you will be more than satisfied. I didn’t hear any complaints about the hotels.
Those of you that are live in Ontario the trip can be booked through
Smith and Laing Travel Phone: (519) 736-2158 or [email protected]
We chose Your Man Tours because of the price. I couldn’t find a way to visit all the islands we did for anywhere near what we paid through YMT.
This was an excellent way to see 4 islands in 2 weeks.
We were very impressed with how organized the tour was, but I guess they’ve been doing this same tour for many years. A tour was included with every island as well as some free time to go where we wanted.
I was worried about the accommodations, but all the reviews I read said the hotels were old and dated but clean. I found this to be true on all accounts, but can’t find any serious fault with any of them. I’ll speak to each of the hotels further on in my review.
Our Journey
We departed Toronto 8:50 AM on North West to Minneapolis; Left Minneapolis on North West 1:08 pm to Los Angeles; Left LA for Honolulu at 3:30 pm.
When we arrived at Honolulu we were greeted by Cousin Abu of Your Man Tours. Many of the bus drivers and tour people refer to themselves as Cousin, “we’re all family”.
Cousin Abu arranged for our luggage to get loaded, we received our leis, then off to the hotel.
Ocean Resort Waikiki
http://www.oceanresort.com/cgi-bin/e...page=hotelhome
The Hotel was an easy 2 block walk from the beach. We were assigned a room with 2 single beds, but we moved to a queen as soon as I requested a change. The room had a very small balcony but could sit 2 no problem. We had a fridge in the room, which was very convenient for us. There were 2 outdoor pools with very very cold water, but a nice sun deck.
A restaurant was located in the lobby; we ate breakfast there every morning. The coffee was good and service adequate. Price was fair, I would recommend it for breakfast, we never ate any other meals there.
The Ashton Waikiki was a couple doors down, we ate dinner there a couple times, and it was very good and had entertainment.
There are many ABC stores in the area where we could stock up on drinks (including beer, wine and spirits) and snacks.
The first morning (Tuesday) Cousin Abu had a meeting with “our group”, there were 2 other YMT groups that had arrived the same day. Cousin Abu gave us a briefing on what was organized each day and list of the optional tours.
Tuesday:
Optional: Outrigger Main Showroom the Society of Seven singing and dancing cost $65 including dinner.
Wednesday:
Included tour - Pearl Harbor / City Tour we went to the Arizona Memorial then to Iolani Palace, and Pali Lookout, Hilo Hatties and other stops. Cousin Pablo of Roberts tours was our driver and he was a wealth of information and very enjoyable to listen to.
Optional tour Hawaiian Hut Dinner Show. $62
Thursday:
Circle Island Tour Cost $51
We went to Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, O’ahu’s North Shore, and Pineapple fields and other stops. The bus stopped for lunch at our expense. We took this tour as did most of our group and enjoyed it. Cousin Pablo of Roberts was our driver again.
Optional: Magic of Polynesia Dinner Show Cost $78
Don Ho Dinner Show $63
We didn’t go to either of these shows.
Friday:
Polynesian Cultural Center Cost $84 This was an all day event, we left at 10:30 AM and got back about 10:00 PM. We had a guide, Cousin Patty, meet us at the bus and he stayed with us till the end of the show.
This was a busy day, Cousin Patty made sure we were in place to see each of the shows put on by the different islands. I won’t go into the detail as there is plenty written about the PCC. I felt rushed and really didn’t get to enjoy the displays in the different islands as we were ushered off to the next “show”. We had dinner served buffet style, not the luau. Then went to the Imax theatre, then to the nightly show, which was very good.
Saturday
We left in the morning for Kona on the Big Island. Cousin Abu introduced us to Pat the tour representative that would be with us the next 10 days.
When we arrived at Kona the bus drove thru town while Pat pointed out some of the places to have dinner.
Kona Seaside http://www.sand-seaside.com/Kona_Seaside.aspx?HotelID=1
The Kona Seaside was a nice hotel, 2 double beds in our room and a fridge. We looked over the pool and had a view of the ocean. I would spend quite a bit of time sitting on the patio overlooking the road beach and ocean. The hotel didn’t have a restaurant but several were close by. There was an ABC store across the street.
Take a walk up a very steep hill and there was a grocery store ,Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Post Office, Hilo Hatties and a mall.
I misplaced the sheet which had the optional tours for the rest of the trip so I won’t know what the cost was but I’ll try to remember what was available.
Optional Tour: Snorkelling YMT was booking with Body Glove
Sunday:
We elected to book with the Fair Winds to go snorkelling based on what we read in reviews and glad we did. The trip was more expensive and we had to take a cab to the boat, about $20. But I think it was the better choice. If you want to go with Fair Winds I would suggest you book a cab early the day before for both the ride to the Fair Wind and the ride home. There aren’t many cabs so you might have to wait a long time otherwise. We booked the night before and still had to go an hour early because the cabs were already booked. We didn’t think to book the return trip. Luckily we met a nice lady who gave us a ride back to the Seaside or we would’ve been waiting a long time.
Glass Bottom Boat we didn’t go
Captain Bean Dinner cruise. We went and enjoyed ourselves. There was dinner and dancing, and everyone got 2 drinks included in the price. The entertainment was enjoyable.
Monday:
My wife and I picked up a shuttle across the street from the hotel and went to Kahalu’u Beach Park for a morning of snorkelling. The shuttle is $2 per person each way and dropped us off right at the park. There is a place to rent snorkelling equipment as well as beach chairs and other stuff for a day at the beach. My wife ran into 2 turtles underwater and got a couple of great underwater pictures. The front desk has the shuttle schedule available.
Tuesday
We’re off by bus to Hilo. On the way we stop at many places including the Black Sand Beach, Volcano National Park, Rainbow Falls and the City of Hilo.
Optional Tour: Helicopter tour of Volcano National Park
Hilo Seaside http://www.sand-seaside.com/Hilo_Seaside.aspx?HotelID=2
The Hilo Seaside is right next to the airport so it sounds like the planes are going to land in the parking lot. But we’re only there one night. The room looks over a nice pool and gardens. It also has a fridge and 2 double beds. The restaurant has just re opened, we dinner and breakfast there, service was good, food was good, I would recommend it.
Wednesday
Off to Maui where we have a tour of Iao Valley and a couple of hours in the Whaling Town of Lahaina. The bus drops everyone off at Hilo Hatties and will pick you up there or you can walk to the other end of town and get picked up a couple hours later. We walked to Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Company for lunch then down to the other end of town.
Optional Tour: Whaling Cruise - Pacific Whale Foundation I spoke to a couple that took the cruise, they did get close to a couple whales. They enjoyed the trip.
Maui Seaside http://www.sand-seaside.com/Maui_Seaside.aspx?HotelID=3
The Maui Seaside is in Kahului. It was recommended we not eat in the hotel restaurant so we didn’t. It was the hotel I liked the least, our room was in a tower and a ways from the pool. But again we were only there 2 nights and no time to swim anyway. It did have 2 double beds and a fridge.
Thursday:
Optional Tour: Road to Hana. Price was I think about $80 ea. which included a boxed lunch.
By this time we had enough of traveling on a bus with non-stop commentary so we opted for a car rental. I rented it from Budget through the hotel desk. Budget sent a shuttle over to pick us up Wednesday night. The next day we drove the “Road to Hana”. It was a great drive, we had almost 12” of rain that day so all the water falls were really moving. The road had a couple trees down and lots of rock slides blocking our side of the road.
Another couple came with us and we had a great time. We picked up a CD Audio Tour for the “Road to Hana” but I didn’t think it was worth the money.
Just follow the Road tour at http://www.alternative-hawaii.com/byotgdxm.htm
I returned the car and the shuttle took me back to the hotel.
Friday:
Moved to Kauai. After we were picked up at the airport we were given a tour of Wailua River and then on a river boat tour to Fern Grotto.
Kauai Sands http://www.sand-seaside.com/Kauai_Sands.aspx?HotelID=4
Kauai Sands was the best of all the hotels. It’s located in Kaapa our room was on the second floor overlooking the pool and the ocean. The grounds were very nice; we had a large balcony, 2 double beds and a fridge. There is a mall right next door with quite a few restaurants open for breakfast. We ate once in the hotel and I was not really satisfied with the service or food
Optional Tours: 2 Tours of the island, we didn’t take either one and I didn’t speak to anyone who did.
Saturday:
I just rested at the hotel while my wife and some of the other women took a free shuttle to Hilo Hatties and went shopping. Then we walked to the beach around the corner and had a swim
The couple that went with us on the Road to Hana rented a car Wed. night, again from the desk at the hotel The shuttle picked us up and took us to the Airport so we could pick up the car. That night we drove to the other side of the town and had a lovely dinner at Coconuts.
Sunday, took the Rental Car to Waimea Canyhon and Pu’u o kila lookout. It was a very nice ride. There is no shuttle to take the car back to the airport and had to take a taxi from the airport back to the hotel about $20
Monday:
Groups were leaving at different times based on their flights leaving for home. Our flight didn’t leave from Honolulu till 11:00 PM so we spent the day at the hotel. We had to be out of our rooms by noon, which was very inconvenient. We could store our luggage in a room near the front desk, and I understand there was a room available for us to freshen up. But we had to share the room with over 20 other people, so we didn’t bother.
We left the Sands at 6:00PM for our journey home. Flew from Kauai to Honolulu then.
•Departed Honolulu at 11:05 PM on North West to LA; leave LA for Minneapolis 8:45 AM on North West, Leave Minn for Toronto at 3:00 PM on North West arriving in Toronto around 6:00 PM Tuesday.
A note about the flights, we had a movie on the flight from LA to Honolulu and Honolulu to LA but none of the other flights had movies or music. They sold headphones to listen to the movie but we brought our own from home.
We were going to pick up a bottle of RUM in the Minneapolis airport but there was not enough time between flights, we were also not allowed to purchase a bottle in LA to bring to Canada because we were stopping in Minneapolis. So if you want to bring any liquor back to Canada better purchase it in Kauai.
This was a great trip and very glad we went. I would recommend it to anyone that is not to fussy about the hotels they stay in. Don’t set your expectations high and you will be more than satisfied. I didn’t hear any complaints about the hotels.
Those of you that are live in Ontario the trip can be booked through
Smith and Laing Travel Phone: (519) 736-2158 or [email protected]
Sep 22nd, 2005, 02:52 PM
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I agree with most everything Darrellg says. The price is good. No meals included. There is alot of free time but there are optional tours available most of the time. I suggest doing research before going to see what you want to do. Especially in Oahu there is alot of free time. We rented a car in Maui, & Kona and I would suggest that. The tour directors are not much help if it is NOT one of their optional tours. They were NO help renting cars nor were the hotels they use. Expect a big group on the tours and you spend unnecessary time going over details. Overall this is probably a good cheap way to see 4 islands for the first time. The next trip will be easier to go on your own and you'll know where you want to go and what you want to do. The tour directors are good at manipulating their story to make you sorry for them in order to give them tips. They have one tour director in Oahu and then another one for the other islands. The tour directors don't give you the actual tours. The bus drivers do that and we found them to be very very good. Of course they want tips also. They actually deserved more than the tour directors.
Sep 23rd, 2005, 06:56 PM
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Darrell, thanks very much for the review. Sounds like you had a nice time.
I'd like to make a few friendly comments on your first paragraph:
"I couldn’t find a way to visit all the islands we did for anywhere near what we paid through YMT. This was an excellent way to see 4 islands in 2 weeks."
While I'm not sure you could have done better than $4700 booking a 2-week, 4-island, 2-person trip on your own, I do know you could have come awfully close -- especially with those accomodations. Also, I know everyone has different ideas about what constitutes enjoyable travel. Personally I can't imagine spending that much money and having 90% of what I see go by through a bus window, at someone else's pace. It's like a more expensive version of the Travel Channel. We never go on ocean cruises for the exact same reason.
Again, I'm not trying to disparage you or anyone. I'm only suggesting people who have upwards of $5K to spend on a Hawaii vacation will do much better by booking their own trips.
Kailua is a good example. You probably paid in the neighborhood of $90 per night at the Kona Seaside. $10 more a night would have gotten you into the Royal Kona, which sits directly on the water, is quieter and has a host of resort amenities not found at the Seaside.
I'd like to make a few friendly comments on your first paragraph:
"I couldn’t find a way to visit all the islands we did for anywhere near what we paid through YMT. This was an excellent way to see 4 islands in 2 weeks."
While I'm not sure you could have done better than $4700 booking a 2-week, 4-island, 2-person trip on your own, I do know you could have come awfully close -- especially with those accomodations. Also, I know everyone has different ideas about what constitutes enjoyable travel. Personally I can't imagine spending that much money and having 90% of what I see go by through a bus window, at someone else's pace. It's like a more expensive version of the Travel Channel. We never go on ocean cruises for the exact same reason.
Again, I'm not trying to disparage you or anyone. I'm only suggesting people who have upwards of $5K to spend on a Hawaii vacation will do much better by booking their own trips.
Kailua is a good example. You probably paid in the neighborhood of $90 per night at the Kona Seaside. $10 more a night would have gotten you into the Royal Kona, which sits directly on the water, is quieter and has a host of resort amenities not found at the Seaside.
Sep 25th, 2005, 11:02 AM
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We did Your Man Tours a couple of years ago. We decided to skip the optional tours and rented a car and did our own tours.
One of the "Cousins" did not appreciate that he was not getting commissions. He was down right rude to us.
We found having our own car was wonderful, and we did not get stranded at the hotels that were not close to things.
One of the "Cousins" did not appreciate that he was not getting commissions. He was down right rude to us.
We found having our own car was wonderful, and we did not get stranded at the hotels that were not close to things.
Oct 28th, 2006, 07:07 AM
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We just returned from the YMT vacations Hawaii Queens tour. I kept a journal for review and am posting it.
Review of Your Man Tours trip to Hawaii
Oct 12 – 26, 2006
My husband and I went on this trip. All in all, it was a good deal for the money. Overall we were satisfied with the trip. We knew going into it that it was a “budget” trip, so the hotels were not going to be anything fancy, and there was only one main tour on each island that was included. In Honolulu you can do more of your own thing on the free days, because there are buses and tour companies that will pick you up. When you get to the outer islands, however, if you don’t take the optional trips or rent a car you really won’t see what the islands have to offer. Of course this adds more expense to the trip, but if you realize this you can plan for it. We ended up signing up for more optional trips that I thought we would. Keep in mind that you will be spending money on meals and tips for bus drivers and the tour directors. They suggest you give the bus drivers and tour directors about $3.00/person/day. So the actual cost of the trip is quite a bit more than what you paid, but it’s still reasonable compared to other tours out there for a two week 4 island trip. I feel like I got a good overall view of what Hawaii has to offer. If I ever go back I would concentrate on going to areas where I could do some hiking and more snorkeling. (Particularly Kauai and Maui) YMt uses Roberts Hawaii for their bus tours, and we found all these drivers to be informative and entertaining. I feel like I learned a lot going on the bus trips versus just driving around ourselves, especially for the first time visiting the islands.
Day 1 – (Thursday) Arrive in Honolulu. (8:30 pm)
Tip: put the tags YMT sends you on the luggage before you leave your home town. This way the YMT staff will get them for you when you get to Honolulu.
Ocean Resort Hotel: lobby was very nice. They have a few computer kiosks where you can get fast Internet connection for 15 cents a minute. You can also get a wireless connection with a laptop in the lobby, but this will cost you about $7.00/day. The desk said there was also a dial up connection in the rooms, but they didn’t know how much that would cost. The halls were dingy, but rooms were sufficient. We had a double bed. The toilet didn’t flush well and there was no bathtub. But it was clean, and we had a small little patio and refrigerator. There is no continental breakfast included at this hotel, but there is a restaurant.
There is an ABC grocery store next door. There are laundry facilities on 2nd floor but no change machines so you may want to bring a roll of quarters.
Day 2- (Friday) Meeting with YMT staff, then rest of day was free.
There was an orientation meeting at 8:00 a.m. with “cousins” Steve and Chris. There were about 120 people with this YMT group. (we heard this was the largest group they ever had)Most of the people were in their late 60's to 70's. (we are in our early 50's) We were going to eat breakfast at the hotel, but it was full and we didn’t want to be late for our meeting so we found a reasonable restaurant at a hotel a block away. (Queen Kapiolani Hotel, Peacock Restaurant on 3rd floor)
This was a free day, and I wanted to go snorkeling. I was going to take a bus but I got conflicting info from two different tour people regarding which bus to take, and one person said they only come once an hour and are often full. I asked the hotel concierge and there was a company “Sand and Sea Tours” that would take me to Hanauma Bay for $15.00, snorkeling equipment included. This turned out to be a great afternoon. It’s a wonderful and beautiful place to snorkel, and I saw a turtle! (the bay is closed on Tuesdays) That evening we just walked along the main drag where the shops are and then came back via the beach. There were lots of bands, entertainment groups at the various hotels and public places along the beach.
There was an optional dinner show “The Society of Seven at the Outrigger Showroom” ($77.00). We didn’t go but others that did said they enjoyed it.
Day 3 – (Saturday) Pearl Harbor/Honolulu tour
We left for the tour at 6:30 a.m., and returned to hotel around 1:30. We saw a lot on the tour (Pearl Harbor, scenic drive, Nuuanu Pali State Park lookout, Honolulu, Punchbowl crater cemetery, Chinatown, and ended up at Hilo Hatties store. We had 45 minutes there but they should have told us it would take 20 minutes to check out. The bus driver (Nick) was very knowledgeable and funny. He is a native Hawaiian and a retired police officer.
When we got back I wanted to hike Diamond Head Mountain, and I asked one of the front desk staff how far away it was. They gave me a little map and said it was probably 1 ½ miles to get there, so I decided to walk. It was probably more like 2 1/2 miles (at least it seemed like it), much of it uphill. Then once you get to Diamond Head it’s about .8 mile hike up the mountain. I did make it, and it was a beautiful view. If I had to do it again I would have taken a bus or shuttle to get there, and then do the hike.
We had dinner at the Peacock Room, very good and reasonable ($10 dinners, including salad, 2 veggies, and rolls)
There was an optional “Alii Kai Dinner Sail and Magic of Polynesia Show” ($89.00) We didn’t go,
but we talked to a few people who did. They said it was crowded, hot, and the food wasn’t good.
Day 4 – (Sunday) Free day
We took the optional Circle City Island Tour. ($56.00/person) There were two buses again and we had driver Nick again. We left at 7:00 and returned to the hotel around 2:30. This was the morning that the earthquake hit the island of Hawaii, so it was a rainy dreary day and we lost power for 14 hours. We were not able to drive up to Diamond Head because a marathon event had the road blocked, and we were not able to go to the Crouching Lion restaurant for lunch because all restaurants were closed, but we did pretty much everything else as planned. We stopped at a Coral Factory Store (their power was out and that’s when we found out about the earthquake), a macadamia nut farm store, a fruit stand (that was lunch), drove past rock formation “Chinaman’s Hat”, saw Sunset Beach where they have the major surfing competitions in the winter, (we got out for a ten minute stop and it had temporarily stopped raining), and stopped at the Dole Plantation. We were very glad we had gone on the tour because I don’t know what we would have done that day if we had stayed in Waikiki. Our driver Nick made the best of the situation with the weather being overcast and rainy, no traffic lights, and no restaurants open. When we got back to the hotel there were long lines at the ABC stores because all of the restaurants were closed. My husband stood in line (they only let in one person at a time.) The food was very picked over by the time he got in, so dinner was pringles and oreos. Unfortunately we were on the 7th floor of the hotel so it was a long walk up to the room! Around 6:00 or so they did get one elevator operational. Our hotel got power back around 9:30 p.m. (we found out later that our hotel restaurant was still serving dinner) We talked to one couple who rode the bus around the island for $2.00 each and said they enjoyed it.
There was supposed to be an optional “Hawaiian Hut Dinner Show” ($68.00) that night but it was cancelled due to the power outage..
Day 5 – (Monday) Free Day
We took the optional Polynesian Cultural Center Trip. ($96.00/person) We left at 10:30 and returned to hotel around 10 pm. Our tour director was cousin “Oz”. We saw all the villages (Tonga, Tahiti, Fiji, Hawaii, Marquesas) and a show at each, took a canoe ride, had a buffet dinner, saw an IMAX show about coral reefs, and saw a Polynesian show. 80% of the employees at the Polynesian Center are students at Brigham Young University. We really enjoyed this day and were glad we went on this tour. It was a very long day, however, and some folks mentioned that maybe this option should be earlier in the week at Waikiki so the last day would be free before you leave. Not a bad idea.
You have more options in Waikiki of other activities to do, because there are plenty of tour companies that will pick you up. If not directly at Ocean Resort, they will pick up at the Marriott across the street. On the other islands there are not many options outside of the YMT optional trips due to lack of transportation, and the fact that you are not staying at a major resort where they might have pick ups for trips. If you don’t want to sign up for their optional trips then you should plan on renting a car.
Day 6 (Tuesday) Fly to Kauai
Had a brief meeting at 7:00 am to find out which group we were in to leave. There were too many people to take the same flight to Kauai. Our bus tour driver “Nick” recommended that we ask for seats on the left side of the plane since that was a more scenic view flying into Kauai. They assigned them for us but fortunately we were on the left side. When we arrived in Kauai we took the bus to the restaurant where the Waialua River Cruise starts. After lunch we had an orientation meeting where the cousins “Sam” and “Dave” passed out schedules of the optional tours for the rest of the trip. Then we took a cruise up the Waialua River. It was supposed to end at the Fern Grotto but we couldn’t go that far due to high waters. They had Polynesian musicians and dancers entertain on the cruise back. We stopped at a waterfall on the way to the hotel. At the hotel, the cousins were available for us to book optional tours for the rest of the trip. At this point I wasn’t ready to decide everything, but figured I could sign up for some later.
The Kauai Sands hotel was nice. We had two double beds, a bathtub, a nice patio that faced the pool and we could also see the ocean, and a refrigerator. The bathroom sink was very small. There is no Internet connection at this hotel. There is an outdoor mall next door (Coconut Marketplace) with lots of shops and restaurants. There is a restaurant in the hotel with a view of the ocean but we never ate there.
There is a very nice beach at this hotel.
Day 7 (Wednesday) Optional Trip Waimea Canyon Tour ($46.00)
This tour left at 8:00 am, and we returned about 1:00. Along the way we stopped at the “spouting horn” and turtle cove, another lookout, and a shop where we had a restroom break. Fortunately we had a clear day and Waimea Canyon was beautiful. We had a 25 minute stop at the top of the canyon, then on the way back we stopped at Leonard’s for lunch/ice cream. I thought the trip was great, but if it was an overcast day apparently you don’t see much. The bus driver “Rocky” said many days it is so overcast you only see 5 feet in front of you. So you may want to check weather forecast before booking this tour. As all the bus drivers, he was very funny and informative. They also offered a tour of Hanalei this day (since our group was so large) but only 6 people signed up for that.
That afternoon we just walked along the beach. You can walk quite a ways and not see anyone. There are several small hotels but they are fairly far apart. The ocean is very rough along this stretch and not fit for swimming, but it is very scenic. I talked to some couples who decided to rent a car and they said they got it fairly cheaply and it was going to be delivered to them the next day, then they were going to follow the bus back to the airport on Friday and return the car. They were going to drive the same route we went on the tour to Waimea (personally I would hate to drive that rode myself, it was very narrow and full of hairpin turns.
That night we attended the only Luah scheduled for this trip ($65.00)
We left at 5:00 and returned to the hotel around 9:00. The Luah was at a nearby hotel, and included free drinks (Mai Tai’s, beer, and wine), some musical entertainment at the beginning outside, buffet dinner inside the hotel, then a Polynesian show. At the end there was a Samoan fire dance outside. If you went to the Polynesian Cultural Center buffet and show, this was basically a smaller version of the same thing. I would suggest not doing both. The buffet was ok but not as much variety of food as you might expect. We talked to others who were disappointed in what they got for the price.
Enjoy the beach at this hotel because for the rest of the trip you won’t have a beach area.
Day 8 (Thursday) Optional Trip Hanalei ($46.00)
The hotel restaurant had a 20 minute wait, so we went to the “Tropical Burger” restaurant at the mall complex. My husband went to play golf with three other guys that morning at the Wailua Golf Course. They got a cab to get to the golf course, ($12.00 each way) and it cost them about $80 each (this included club rental, golf cart, green fees, balls) for 18 holes. He really enjoyed it and said it was a beautiful course.
I took the tour to Hanalei. This tour left at 8:30 and we returned to the hotel around 12:30. We stopped at several beautiful lookouts, caves, guava plantation, and several beaches. We took small 10 passenger vans because the roads are too hard to navigate in the large motor coaches. It was nice to be in a smaller vehicle/less people.
I am really glad I took both the tours in Kauai. It is supposed to be the prettiest island, and I feel like I got to see most of it.
I wanted to snorkel that afternoon and was told there was snorkeling at Lyngate Beach about a mile away. I rented a snorkel set at a shop on the way ($5.00), and walked to the beach. The roads are kind of treacherous to walk on. The water was pretty murky, but I did see a few schools of fish. I would not really recommend this area for snorkeling. You would have to drive or take a cab to the best places to snorkel on this island. The only area I really didn’t see was the Na’Pali Coast (there are no roads, you have to hike, or see if by helicopter or boat) They did offer helicopter rides but they were $200, so very few people did this. The ones that did said it was absolutely awesome. If you want to see the most beautiful scenery this would be the helicopter ride to take.
For dinner we went to the mall complex and ate at TC ‘s Grill. It was very reasonable, good, and a huge plate of food.
Quite a few people just stayed in the hotel area for these two days, and I really think they made a mistake. This is probably the most beautiful island but you have to get away from the hotel area to see it. If you don’t want to take the organized tours then arrange to rent a car as soon as you get there.
Day 9 (Friday) Fly to Maui
We flew out in two different groups. Our group left at 7:30 for a 9:30 flight to Honolulu, then on to Maui.
When we got there we boarded the motor coach and headed to Lahaina. We had about three hours in this town, which was just a right amount of time. Many of the group (including us)ate at Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant. This town is a former whaling town and is full of shops, art galleries, restaurants. Then we drove to the Wailuku valley to see the Ioa Needle. Unfortunately it was raining pretty hard so we had a 15 minute stop and only a handful of people got out to take pictures. Then we were dropped off at the Maui Seaside Hotel. There were two different buildings that our group stayed in. We were in the tower building and we had a nice large room with two double beds, refrigerator, and a decent size bathroom. This is the largest room we have had so far, but no balcony. The people in the other building apparently had very tiny rooms with one bed and a small patio. There is no Internet connection here. There is no restaurant in the hotel (but they do have a free continental breakfast from 7:00 – 8:30 am) There is also a large shopping mall a couple blocks away. We used the laundry facilities as soon as we got there. Again, no change machine but the front desk staff helped us out. There are also ironing boards and irons in the laundry room. There was a cruise ship docked in the bay right by our hotel. The hotel is on the water, but there is really no beach area.
Day 10 (Saturday) Optional trip to Hana ($96.00)
We left at 8:00 and returned to the hotel around 5:00. I was surprised at how many people did not go on this trip. This is supposed to be one of the most beautiful areas of any of the islands, and it is our only full day in Maui. This was an unbelievably scenic trip. I took more pictures on this trip than anywhere else. We were on smaller 25 passenger vans, and there were only 15 people on ours. Our bus driver “Harry” was as usual funny and informative, and he knew the best places to stop. Due to the earthquake we could not go to the 7 pools area or see Charles Lindberg’s grave, but I believe we were still able to see the most scenic part of the drive. We started out going to a winery in the Makawao area, and then we backtracked and headed to road 360 toward Hana. We stopped at several lookouts on the way with beautiful waterfalls and beaches. He bought deli lunches for us and we stopped at Waianapanapa State Park to eat lunch and explore the black sand beach and caves. Then we drove to the town of Hana where we made a quick stop at a rest area. There was a snack bar and gift shop. Then we drove this same route back (normally they only have to drive this stretch once, but due to the portion of the road being closed past Hana we had to turn around and go back the same way.) We stopped at Hookipa Beach Park to watch the windsurfers, then back to the hotel. Some of the people who rented their own cars didn’t seem too impressed with this trip but I can’t imagine how you would enjoy it if you had to drive. Of course they went a lot cheaper than we did, but I think it was worth paying for. If I ever get back to Maui I would like to see Haleakiala Crater and go snorkeling at Molokini.
Day 11 (Sunday) Leave for Hilo
We had a 7:45 am flight to Hilo, direct flight. There were several options offered this day. One was a helicopter tour of the volcano ($200.00), and the other were a tour of Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens, ($50.00 including lunch) and the other was the Imiloa Astronomy Center. ($45.00 including lunch) I did the volcano tour and loved it. There were 6 of us in the helicopter. They offered us a DVD of the tour afterwards for $30.00, but none of us bought this. We did see lava in the center of the volcano, and where the steam rises from the areas going out to the ocean. Unfortunately my pictures of the actual lava were bleary.
I got back to the hotel around 11:30, and we did not get into our room until 1:30, so I waited two hours, but my husband had waited four hours. There was not a lot to do around the hotel. There was a Japanese garden nearby, and the town of Hilo was 1 ½ mile away. I walked there and found a few shops and restaurants open. They had some unique shops with good prices. We did eat in the hotel restaurant for dinner and it was good. The room itself was fine – two double beds, refrigerator, bathtub/shower.
We ate at the hotel restaurant that evening and it was good. There is no beach here, just a little pier area. I think the only reason they stop here is so people can do the helicopter rides. They are even more expensive if you do them from Kona.
Day 12 (Monday) Leave for Kona
We left at 8:00 am and got to our hotel around 6:00 pm. It was a full but enjoyable day.
We stopped at Rainbow Falls (unfortunately there was no rainbow because it was overcast, but pretty anyway), the Mauna Loa Macademia Nut Farm, which was interesting, and then an orchid place. (smelled wonderful) We then went to Volcano National Park, which was definitely the highlight of the day. Here we stopped at the lookout point to see the crater, and then we stopped at a place where the lava ran out in the 1982 eruption, and walked on the lava. We then stopped at the Volcano House for lunch. Next stop was the black sand beach at Punalu’u Beach Park, where turtles are often seen on the sand. We saw three of them! Then we stopped at a Portuguese Bakery in the town on Na’aleh, and the last stop was at a Kona Coffee Plantation. The bay area looking out from here was where Captain Cook was killed. One of the buses broke down at the coffee place so those passengers came on our bus.
My mother had recommended we see the “City of Refuge” That would have been interesting but it was not part of the tour.
We stayed at the Kona Seaside Hotel, and on the way to the hotel the bus driver drove us through the main drag and we were happy to see that there were lots of shops and restaurants, as well as activity booths.
Our room only had one double bed, but I talked to others we had two beds. I was not going to complain because we had other hotels where we had two beds and others just had one, so I figure maybe they rotate it. Our bathroom was a handicap accessible one (not sure why we had that) so the shower area was to accommodate a wheelchair, and there was no counter to the sink.
I wanted to snorkel in Kona but didn’t want to pay $100 to take the Body Glove snorkeling trip that YMT was booking. I checked with some of the other activity booth people in the area but found out that $100 was a pretty standard charge, unless you took an afternoon snorkeling trip and it was around $66. Other snorkeling companies left from other piers which would be another $10.00 cab ride. I talked to another couple who wanted to snorkel and not pay those prices either so we decided that we would take a cab to Kahalu’u Beach Park the next day and snorkel there. The bus driver they had said this was a good place to go, it would be cheap to rent equipment, and it was best to go in the afternoon.
YMT also offered optional trips: Atlantis Submarine ($85.00), Parasaling ($60.00), Glass Bottom Boat ($30.00), a nature cruise and dolphin adventure ($60.00), Captain Bean’s Sunset Dinner Cruise.
and a Kohala coast tour (to see the Hilton Waikoloa Village, Hawaiian Temple, statue of King Kamehameha, and the Parker Ranch Visitor Center) Not many people signed up for any of these trips.
I talked to one person who said they didn’t see much on the submarine trip, but another person who said they saw a lot and loved it. Talked to a couple who had gone on the nature/Dolphin cruise and the Captain Bean’s cruise and liked them both.
If you go up the hill across from the hotel, there is a Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Wendy’s, Hilo Hatties, and a little farther up (long hill) is a Walmart. At this point in the trip we were ready to cut down on food expenses and were glad to have some other options.
The Ironman competition was Saturday but there were still some parties, etc going on related to this.
Day 13 (Tuesday) Free Day
Another couple and I took a cab to Kahalu’u Beach Park. It was $16.00 each way for the cab. (I think it was about 4-5 miles south) Snorkel rental was $8.50, and there was another $5.00 charge to look up your valuables. This was a great place to snorkel. The water was clean, and there was a lot of coral and fish. This whole bay area was also shallow. There were many sea turtles that actually came in to the shallow pool areas. I didn’t see any turtles when I was snorkeling, but just walking on the rock areas I saw about six of them. One of them came all the way in to the shore.
There is a shuttle that runs three times a day, I guess it would have been $10.00 each way, but it
they said sometimes it only runs when the cruise ship is in. The cruise ship was going to be in the next day but we thought it might be much more crowded then so we were glad we went when we did. There is also a snack shop at this park. You have to wait about ½ hour on the cabs, we used Paradise Cabs. Our tour director Dave called them for us, then the cab driver gave us his card so we could call him when we were that evening we walked along the main drag along the beach. It gets dark here at 6:30 this time of year.
Day 14 (Wednesday) Free Day
I had found a pamphlet about a seahorse farm that was located a mile from the airport. They have tours at 2:00 each day. You have to make reservations, and it’s $20.00 (808-329-6840) I called and they said they had to close down until Saturday due to earthquake damage. I decided to drop my film off at Walmart. Since the cruise ships were in, there were free shuttles to Walmart, Kmart, and the International Shops. I took at shuttle back to Walmart at 2:00, and they said they were having problems with their machines so it would be at least another 1 ½ hour. So I took the shuttle back to the pier, then hopped on another shuttle to the International Shops. There are some nice shops over there, but by the time the shuttle picked us up there were no more shuttles to Walmart. So I had to walk over there again. The machines were still not working for the digital pictures, but they were able to develop my underwater camera pictures.
We picked up an evaluation form from the tour directors. Basically they wanted us to rate the bus drivers, and any other comments we wanted to make.
I thought the bus drivers and tour directors were very good, and I was satisfied with the trip overall. The only things I indicated I would change were having the groups smaller (apparently some folks were told our group would only be 48 people), having our rooms ready in Hilo when we get there or get there later, and include the “place of refuge” on the Hilo to Kona tour. I think most people I talked to were satisfied with the tour, and realized they could not do everything they did in Hawaii for 14 days any cheaper.
Day 15 (Thursday) Leave for home
We had our bags ready y 10:30 am, had a group meeting at 11:30, then people left at different times for Honolulu. We left at 12:00 to catch at 2:20 flight from Honolullu to Atlanta, then our final flight home.
Review of Your Man Tours trip to Hawaii
Oct 12 – 26, 2006
My husband and I went on this trip. All in all, it was a good deal for the money. Overall we were satisfied with the trip. We knew going into it that it was a “budget” trip, so the hotels were not going to be anything fancy, and there was only one main tour on each island that was included. In Honolulu you can do more of your own thing on the free days, because there are buses and tour companies that will pick you up. When you get to the outer islands, however, if you don’t take the optional trips or rent a car you really won’t see what the islands have to offer. Of course this adds more expense to the trip, but if you realize this you can plan for it. We ended up signing up for more optional trips that I thought we would. Keep in mind that you will be spending money on meals and tips for bus drivers and the tour directors. They suggest you give the bus drivers and tour directors about $3.00/person/day. So the actual cost of the trip is quite a bit more than what you paid, but it’s still reasonable compared to other tours out there for a two week 4 island trip. I feel like I got a good overall view of what Hawaii has to offer. If I ever go back I would concentrate on going to areas where I could do some hiking and more snorkeling. (Particularly Kauai and Maui) YMt uses Roberts Hawaii for their bus tours, and we found all these drivers to be informative and entertaining. I feel like I learned a lot going on the bus trips versus just driving around ourselves, especially for the first time visiting the islands.
Day 1 – (Thursday) Arrive in Honolulu. (8:30 pm)
Tip: put the tags YMT sends you on the luggage before you leave your home town. This way the YMT staff will get them for you when you get to Honolulu.
Ocean Resort Hotel: lobby was very nice. They have a few computer kiosks where you can get fast Internet connection for 15 cents a minute. You can also get a wireless connection with a laptop in the lobby, but this will cost you about $7.00/day. The desk said there was also a dial up connection in the rooms, but they didn’t know how much that would cost. The halls were dingy, but rooms were sufficient. We had a double bed. The toilet didn’t flush well and there was no bathtub. But it was clean, and we had a small little patio and refrigerator. There is no continental breakfast included at this hotel, but there is a restaurant.
There is an ABC grocery store next door. There are laundry facilities on 2nd floor but no change machines so you may want to bring a roll of quarters.
Day 2- (Friday) Meeting with YMT staff, then rest of day was free.
There was an orientation meeting at 8:00 a.m. with “cousins” Steve and Chris. There were about 120 people with this YMT group. (we heard this was the largest group they ever had)Most of the people were in their late 60's to 70's. (we are in our early 50's) We were going to eat breakfast at the hotel, but it was full and we didn’t want to be late for our meeting so we found a reasonable restaurant at a hotel a block away. (Queen Kapiolani Hotel, Peacock Restaurant on 3rd floor)
This was a free day, and I wanted to go snorkeling. I was going to take a bus but I got conflicting info from two different tour people regarding which bus to take, and one person said they only come once an hour and are often full. I asked the hotel concierge and there was a company “Sand and Sea Tours” that would take me to Hanauma Bay for $15.00, snorkeling equipment included. This turned out to be a great afternoon. It’s a wonderful and beautiful place to snorkel, and I saw a turtle! (the bay is closed on Tuesdays) That evening we just walked along the main drag where the shops are and then came back via the beach. There were lots of bands, entertainment groups at the various hotels and public places along the beach.
There was an optional dinner show “The Society of Seven at the Outrigger Showroom” ($77.00). We didn’t go but others that did said they enjoyed it.
Day 3 – (Saturday) Pearl Harbor/Honolulu tour
We left for the tour at 6:30 a.m., and returned to hotel around 1:30. We saw a lot on the tour (Pearl Harbor, scenic drive, Nuuanu Pali State Park lookout, Honolulu, Punchbowl crater cemetery, Chinatown, and ended up at Hilo Hatties store. We had 45 minutes there but they should have told us it would take 20 minutes to check out. The bus driver (Nick) was very knowledgeable and funny. He is a native Hawaiian and a retired police officer.
When we got back I wanted to hike Diamond Head Mountain, and I asked one of the front desk staff how far away it was. They gave me a little map and said it was probably 1 ½ miles to get there, so I decided to walk. It was probably more like 2 1/2 miles (at least it seemed like it), much of it uphill. Then once you get to Diamond Head it’s about .8 mile hike up the mountain. I did make it, and it was a beautiful view. If I had to do it again I would have taken a bus or shuttle to get there, and then do the hike.
We had dinner at the Peacock Room, very good and reasonable ($10 dinners, including salad, 2 veggies, and rolls)
There was an optional “Alii Kai Dinner Sail and Magic of Polynesia Show” ($89.00) We didn’t go,
but we talked to a few people who did. They said it was crowded, hot, and the food wasn’t good.
Day 4 – (Sunday) Free day
We took the optional Circle City Island Tour. ($56.00/person) There were two buses again and we had driver Nick again. We left at 7:00 and returned to the hotel around 2:30. This was the morning that the earthquake hit the island of Hawaii, so it was a rainy dreary day and we lost power for 14 hours. We were not able to drive up to Diamond Head because a marathon event had the road blocked, and we were not able to go to the Crouching Lion restaurant for lunch because all restaurants were closed, but we did pretty much everything else as planned. We stopped at a Coral Factory Store (their power was out and that’s when we found out about the earthquake), a macadamia nut farm store, a fruit stand (that was lunch), drove past rock formation “Chinaman’s Hat”, saw Sunset Beach where they have the major surfing competitions in the winter, (we got out for a ten minute stop and it had temporarily stopped raining), and stopped at the Dole Plantation. We were very glad we had gone on the tour because I don’t know what we would have done that day if we had stayed in Waikiki. Our driver Nick made the best of the situation with the weather being overcast and rainy, no traffic lights, and no restaurants open. When we got back to the hotel there were long lines at the ABC stores because all of the restaurants were closed. My husband stood in line (they only let in one person at a time.) The food was very picked over by the time he got in, so dinner was pringles and oreos. Unfortunately we were on the 7th floor of the hotel so it was a long walk up to the room! Around 6:00 or so they did get one elevator operational. Our hotel got power back around 9:30 p.m. (we found out later that our hotel restaurant was still serving dinner) We talked to one couple who rode the bus around the island for $2.00 each and said they enjoyed it.
There was supposed to be an optional “Hawaiian Hut Dinner Show” ($68.00) that night but it was cancelled due to the power outage..
Day 5 – (Monday) Free Day
We took the optional Polynesian Cultural Center Trip. ($96.00/person) We left at 10:30 and returned to hotel around 10 pm. Our tour director was cousin “Oz”. We saw all the villages (Tonga, Tahiti, Fiji, Hawaii, Marquesas) and a show at each, took a canoe ride, had a buffet dinner, saw an IMAX show about coral reefs, and saw a Polynesian show. 80% of the employees at the Polynesian Center are students at Brigham Young University. We really enjoyed this day and were glad we went on this tour. It was a very long day, however, and some folks mentioned that maybe this option should be earlier in the week at Waikiki so the last day would be free before you leave. Not a bad idea.
You have more options in Waikiki of other activities to do, because there are plenty of tour companies that will pick you up. If not directly at Ocean Resort, they will pick up at the Marriott across the street. On the other islands there are not many options outside of the YMT optional trips due to lack of transportation, and the fact that you are not staying at a major resort where they might have pick ups for trips. If you don’t want to sign up for their optional trips then you should plan on renting a car.
Day 6 (Tuesday) Fly to Kauai
Had a brief meeting at 7:00 am to find out which group we were in to leave. There were too many people to take the same flight to Kauai. Our bus tour driver “Nick” recommended that we ask for seats on the left side of the plane since that was a more scenic view flying into Kauai. They assigned them for us but fortunately we were on the left side. When we arrived in Kauai we took the bus to the restaurant where the Waialua River Cruise starts. After lunch we had an orientation meeting where the cousins “Sam” and “Dave” passed out schedules of the optional tours for the rest of the trip. Then we took a cruise up the Waialua River. It was supposed to end at the Fern Grotto but we couldn’t go that far due to high waters. They had Polynesian musicians and dancers entertain on the cruise back. We stopped at a waterfall on the way to the hotel. At the hotel, the cousins were available for us to book optional tours for the rest of the trip. At this point I wasn’t ready to decide everything, but figured I could sign up for some later.
The Kauai Sands hotel was nice. We had two double beds, a bathtub, a nice patio that faced the pool and we could also see the ocean, and a refrigerator. The bathroom sink was very small. There is no Internet connection at this hotel. There is an outdoor mall next door (Coconut Marketplace) with lots of shops and restaurants. There is a restaurant in the hotel with a view of the ocean but we never ate there.
There is a very nice beach at this hotel.
Day 7 (Wednesday) Optional Trip Waimea Canyon Tour ($46.00)
This tour left at 8:00 am, and we returned about 1:00. Along the way we stopped at the “spouting horn” and turtle cove, another lookout, and a shop where we had a restroom break. Fortunately we had a clear day and Waimea Canyon was beautiful. We had a 25 minute stop at the top of the canyon, then on the way back we stopped at Leonard’s for lunch/ice cream. I thought the trip was great, but if it was an overcast day apparently you don’t see much. The bus driver “Rocky” said many days it is so overcast you only see 5 feet in front of you. So you may want to check weather forecast before booking this tour. As all the bus drivers, he was very funny and informative. They also offered a tour of Hanalei this day (since our group was so large) but only 6 people signed up for that.
That afternoon we just walked along the beach. You can walk quite a ways and not see anyone. There are several small hotels but they are fairly far apart. The ocean is very rough along this stretch and not fit for swimming, but it is very scenic. I talked to some couples who decided to rent a car and they said they got it fairly cheaply and it was going to be delivered to them the next day, then they were going to follow the bus back to the airport on Friday and return the car. They were going to drive the same route we went on the tour to Waimea (personally I would hate to drive that rode myself, it was very narrow and full of hairpin turns.
That night we attended the only Luah scheduled for this trip ($65.00)
We left at 5:00 and returned to the hotel around 9:00. The Luah was at a nearby hotel, and included free drinks (Mai Tai’s, beer, and wine), some musical entertainment at the beginning outside, buffet dinner inside the hotel, then a Polynesian show. At the end there was a Samoan fire dance outside. If you went to the Polynesian Cultural Center buffet and show, this was basically a smaller version of the same thing. I would suggest not doing both. The buffet was ok but not as much variety of food as you might expect. We talked to others who were disappointed in what they got for the price.
Enjoy the beach at this hotel because for the rest of the trip you won’t have a beach area.
Day 8 (Thursday) Optional Trip Hanalei ($46.00)
The hotel restaurant had a 20 minute wait, so we went to the “Tropical Burger” restaurant at the mall complex. My husband went to play golf with three other guys that morning at the Wailua Golf Course. They got a cab to get to the golf course, ($12.00 each way) and it cost them about $80 each (this included club rental, golf cart, green fees, balls) for 18 holes. He really enjoyed it and said it was a beautiful course.
I took the tour to Hanalei. This tour left at 8:30 and we returned to the hotel around 12:30. We stopped at several beautiful lookouts, caves, guava plantation, and several beaches. We took small 10 passenger vans because the roads are too hard to navigate in the large motor coaches. It was nice to be in a smaller vehicle/less people.
I am really glad I took both the tours in Kauai. It is supposed to be the prettiest island, and I feel like I got to see most of it.
I wanted to snorkel that afternoon and was told there was snorkeling at Lyngate Beach about a mile away. I rented a snorkel set at a shop on the way ($5.00), and walked to the beach. The roads are kind of treacherous to walk on. The water was pretty murky, but I did see a few schools of fish. I would not really recommend this area for snorkeling. You would have to drive or take a cab to the best places to snorkel on this island. The only area I really didn’t see was the Na’Pali Coast (there are no roads, you have to hike, or see if by helicopter or boat) They did offer helicopter rides but they were $200, so very few people did this. The ones that did said it was absolutely awesome. If you want to see the most beautiful scenery this would be the helicopter ride to take.
For dinner we went to the mall complex and ate at TC ‘s Grill. It was very reasonable, good, and a huge plate of food.
Quite a few people just stayed in the hotel area for these two days, and I really think they made a mistake. This is probably the most beautiful island but you have to get away from the hotel area to see it. If you don’t want to take the organized tours then arrange to rent a car as soon as you get there.
Day 9 (Friday) Fly to Maui
We flew out in two different groups. Our group left at 7:30 for a 9:30 flight to Honolulu, then on to Maui.
When we got there we boarded the motor coach and headed to Lahaina. We had about three hours in this town, which was just a right amount of time. Many of the group (including us)ate at Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant. This town is a former whaling town and is full of shops, art galleries, restaurants. Then we drove to the Wailuku valley to see the Ioa Needle. Unfortunately it was raining pretty hard so we had a 15 minute stop and only a handful of people got out to take pictures. Then we were dropped off at the Maui Seaside Hotel. There were two different buildings that our group stayed in. We were in the tower building and we had a nice large room with two double beds, refrigerator, and a decent size bathroom. This is the largest room we have had so far, but no balcony. The people in the other building apparently had very tiny rooms with one bed and a small patio. There is no Internet connection here. There is no restaurant in the hotel (but they do have a free continental breakfast from 7:00 – 8:30 am) There is also a large shopping mall a couple blocks away. We used the laundry facilities as soon as we got there. Again, no change machine but the front desk staff helped us out. There are also ironing boards and irons in the laundry room. There was a cruise ship docked in the bay right by our hotel. The hotel is on the water, but there is really no beach area.
Day 10 (Saturday) Optional trip to Hana ($96.00)
We left at 8:00 and returned to the hotel around 5:00. I was surprised at how many people did not go on this trip. This is supposed to be one of the most beautiful areas of any of the islands, and it is our only full day in Maui. This was an unbelievably scenic trip. I took more pictures on this trip than anywhere else. We were on smaller 25 passenger vans, and there were only 15 people on ours. Our bus driver “Harry” was as usual funny and informative, and he knew the best places to stop. Due to the earthquake we could not go to the 7 pools area or see Charles Lindberg’s grave, but I believe we were still able to see the most scenic part of the drive. We started out going to a winery in the Makawao area, and then we backtracked and headed to road 360 toward Hana. We stopped at several lookouts on the way with beautiful waterfalls and beaches. He bought deli lunches for us and we stopped at Waianapanapa State Park to eat lunch and explore the black sand beach and caves. Then we drove to the town of Hana where we made a quick stop at a rest area. There was a snack bar and gift shop. Then we drove this same route back (normally they only have to drive this stretch once, but due to the portion of the road being closed past Hana we had to turn around and go back the same way.) We stopped at Hookipa Beach Park to watch the windsurfers, then back to the hotel. Some of the people who rented their own cars didn’t seem too impressed with this trip but I can’t imagine how you would enjoy it if you had to drive. Of course they went a lot cheaper than we did, but I think it was worth paying for. If I ever get back to Maui I would like to see Haleakiala Crater and go snorkeling at Molokini.
Day 11 (Sunday) Leave for Hilo
We had a 7:45 am flight to Hilo, direct flight. There were several options offered this day. One was a helicopter tour of the volcano ($200.00), and the other were a tour of Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens, ($50.00 including lunch) and the other was the Imiloa Astronomy Center. ($45.00 including lunch) I did the volcano tour and loved it. There were 6 of us in the helicopter. They offered us a DVD of the tour afterwards for $30.00, but none of us bought this. We did see lava in the center of the volcano, and where the steam rises from the areas going out to the ocean. Unfortunately my pictures of the actual lava were bleary.
I got back to the hotel around 11:30, and we did not get into our room until 1:30, so I waited two hours, but my husband had waited four hours. There was not a lot to do around the hotel. There was a Japanese garden nearby, and the town of Hilo was 1 ½ mile away. I walked there and found a few shops and restaurants open. They had some unique shops with good prices. We did eat in the hotel restaurant for dinner and it was good. The room itself was fine – two double beds, refrigerator, bathtub/shower.
We ate at the hotel restaurant that evening and it was good. There is no beach here, just a little pier area. I think the only reason they stop here is so people can do the helicopter rides. They are even more expensive if you do them from Kona.
Day 12 (Monday) Leave for Kona
We left at 8:00 am and got to our hotel around 6:00 pm. It was a full but enjoyable day.
We stopped at Rainbow Falls (unfortunately there was no rainbow because it was overcast, but pretty anyway), the Mauna Loa Macademia Nut Farm, which was interesting, and then an orchid place. (smelled wonderful) We then went to Volcano National Park, which was definitely the highlight of the day. Here we stopped at the lookout point to see the crater, and then we stopped at a place where the lava ran out in the 1982 eruption, and walked on the lava. We then stopped at the Volcano House for lunch. Next stop was the black sand beach at Punalu’u Beach Park, where turtles are often seen on the sand. We saw three of them! Then we stopped at a Portuguese Bakery in the town on Na’aleh, and the last stop was at a Kona Coffee Plantation. The bay area looking out from here was where Captain Cook was killed. One of the buses broke down at the coffee place so those passengers came on our bus.
My mother had recommended we see the “City of Refuge” That would have been interesting but it was not part of the tour.
We stayed at the Kona Seaside Hotel, and on the way to the hotel the bus driver drove us through the main drag and we were happy to see that there were lots of shops and restaurants, as well as activity booths.
Our room only had one double bed, but I talked to others we had two beds. I was not going to complain because we had other hotels where we had two beds and others just had one, so I figure maybe they rotate it. Our bathroom was a handicap accessible one (not sure why we had that) so the shower area was to accommodate a wheelchair, and there was no counter to the sink.
I wanted to snorkel in Kona but didn’t want to pay $100 to take the Body Glove snorkeling trip that YMT was booking. I checked with some of the other activity booth people in the area but found out that $100 was a pretty standard charge, unless you took an afternoon snorkeling trip and it was around $66. Other snorkeling companies left from other piers which would be another $10.00 cab ride. I talked to another couple who wanted to snorkel and not pay those prices either so we decided that we would take a cab to Kahalu’u Beach Park the next day and snorkel there. The bus driver they had said this was a good place to go, it would be cheap to rent equipment, and it was best to go in the afternoon.
YMT also offered optional trips: Atlantis Submarine ($85.00), Parasaling ($60.00), Glass Bottom Boat ($30.00), a nature cruise and dolphin adventure ($60.00), Captain Bean’s Sunset Dinner Cruise.
and a Kohala coast tour (to see the Hilton Waikoloa Village, Hawaiian Temple, statue of King Kamehameha, and the Parker Ranch Visitor Center) Not many people signed up for any of these trips.
I talked to one person who said they didn’t see much on the submarine trip, but another person who said they saw a lot and loved it. Talked to a couple who had gone on the nature/Dolphin cruise and the Captain Bean’s cruise and liked them both.
If you go up the hill across from the hotel, there is a Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Wendy’s, Hilo Hatties, and a little farther up (long hill) is a Walmart. At this point in the trip we were ready to cut down on food expenses and were glad to have some other options.
The Ironman competition was Saturday but there were still some parties, etc going on related to this.
Day 13 (Tuesday) Free Day
Another couple and I took a cab to Kahalu’u Beach Park. It was $16.00 each way for the cab. (I think it was about 4-5 miles south) Snorkel rental was $8.50, and there was another $5.00 charge to look up your valuables. This was a great place to snorkel. The water was clean, and there was a lot of coral and fish. This whole bay area was also shallow. There were many sea turtles that actually came in to the shallow pool areas. I didn’t see any turtles when I was snorkeling, but just walking on the rock areas I saw about six of them. One of them came all the way in to the shore.
There is a shuttle that runs three times a day, I guess it would have been $10.00 each way, but it
they said sometimes it only runs when the cruise ship is in. The cruise ship was going to be in the next day but we thought it might be much more crowded then so we were glad we went when we did. There is also a snack shop at this park. You have to wait about ½ hour on the cabs, we used Paradise Cabs. Our tour director Dave called them for us, then the cab driver gave us his card so we could call him when we were that evening we walked along the main drag along the beach. It gets dark here at 6:30 this time of year.
Day 14 (Wednesday) Free Day
I had found a pamphlet about a seahorse farm that was located a mile from the airport. They have tours at 2:00 each day. You have to make reservations, and it’s $20.00 (808-329-6840) I called and they said they had to close down until Saturday due to earthquake damage. I decided to drop my film off at Walmart. Since the cruise ships were in, there were free shuttles to Walmart, Kmart, and the International Shops. I took at shuttle back to Walmart at 2:00, and they said they were having problems with their machines so it would be at least another 1 ½ hour. So I took the shuttle back to the pier, then hopped on another shuttle to the International Shops. There are some nice shops over there, but by the time the shuttle picked us up there were no more shuttles to Walmart. So I had to walk over there again. The machines were still not working for the digital pictures, but they were able to develop my underwater camera pictures.
We picked up an evaluation form from the tour directors. Basically they wanted us to rate the bus drivers, and any other comments we wanted to make.
I thought the bus drivers and tour directors were very good, and I was satisfied with the trip overall. The only things I indicated I would change were having the groups smaller (apparently some folks were told our group would only be 48 people), having our rooms ready in Hilo when we get there or get there later, and include the “place of refuge” on the Hilo to Kona tour. I think most people I talked to were satisfied with the tour, and realized they could not do everything they did in Hawaii for 14 days any cheaper.
Day 15 (Thursday) Leave for home
We had our bags ready y 10:30 am, had a group meeting at 11:30, then people left at different times for Honolulu. We left at 12:00 to catch at 2:20 flight from Honolullu to Atlanta, then our final flight home.
Oct 28th, 2006, 11:09 AM
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DW, That is a great trip report; thank you for posting. It sounds like you did get to see and do a lot. Glad you enjoyed the beach at Kauai Sands; we stayed at the Islander next door a few years ago---that is a nice beach for walking, and we saw some beautiful sunrises there. Congratulations on seeing turtles--that is a thrill isn't it? I enjoyed your description of going to snorkel at Kahalu'u. Do you think you will return to Hawai'i in the future?
Aug 9th, 2007, 12:45 PM
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YMT Vacations is glad that your trip with us was such a pleasant experience—it’s what we’ve been doing for forty years in Hawaii, our second home. The islands really are a tropical paradise with a multitude of great sights to see, and we love to know that you enjoyed witnessing the highlights we showed you. Thank you for your compliments! We look forward to traveling with you again in the future.
www.ymtvacations.com
www.ymtvacations.com
