Travel Honolulu, Hawaii

lorihmatthews

lorihmatthews

A taste for the arts
O.G.
Oct 7, 2006
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11,198
#1
Hi all, Hubby and I are going to Kauai for our 3rd anniversary next Saturday the 12th. We are just thrilled!

When we got our tickets through Hotels.com, we noticed that we have an 8 HOUR layover in Honolulu. We're arriving just after 11am and leaving around 7:30pm. Thankfully the flight to Kauai from there is only around 30 minutes.

Can anyone give suggestions for fun things to do while we're in Honolulu for such a short time? Trust me, I'd love to just shop, but that's not going to work for him, so I have to think of something that we'll both enjoy doing. Any input would be appreciated!
 
#3
With that much time you can rent a car and drive around the island--should take 2 hours top to drive all the way around.
If you don't want to rent a car you can take a taxi into Waikiki and walk around the there or take one to Ala Moana mall and walk around there.
 
#4
No suggestions, sorry, just wanted to wish you a wonderful trip! It must be sooo gorgoeus there, I watched a Rachel Ray $40 a day from there and I want to move there now! Enjoy.
 
#6
you can go to Pearl Harbor and the Arizona memorial.

http://www.nps.gov/usar/planyourvisit/hours.htm

I would love to go see that. I was born in Hawaii and moved when I was one so I don't know what it's like and I'd love to go back and also I am an army brat so military stuff ranks #1 with me. We recently went to San Diego and I made DH go to to the USS Midway with me. He thought it was weird that being a girl I wanted to tour the Midway. I told him it's cuz I have great pride in my country and so admire anyone who fights for our freedom.

One of his friends recently got called to go to Iraq and we sent him some really cool care packages (playstations 2 and like 15 games, and a PSP w/2 games and 2 movies), anywho he send us one of those folded flags in a cool case and a certificate stating the flag was flown over Iraq on a really cool fighter plane. I was so ecstatic to get it, I can't even tell you. I have always wanted one of those flags but never at the price you usually get one (when a family member dies in battle). So to have one that was flown to show pride for our country was the coolest thing ever!
 
#8
I've been to the Pearl Harbor memorial. It was very moving.

You could also go whale-watching.


Kauai's great, because it's not as 'touristy' as Oahu is.
{Go horseback riding on the beach. That's really cool.}
 
#10
Congratulations on your trip. I am sooo jealous.

Honolulu is lovely. I worked there for two months. Miss it dearly.

On thing to note- There is only 1 or 2 east-west thoroughfares in Oahu, so almost PLAN on encountering traffic. Esp if you venture toward Waikiki (which you should).

Anyway, once you get away from the airport, get a car and go straight to the Aloha Stadium (not too far from the airport, near Pearl Harbor). On weekends, with a $1 entrance fee, you can enter a stadium parking lot transformed literally into a humongous flea market. Pretty much everything you can think of "Hawaii" is here, and at the cheapest prices you'll find (not cheap, but cheapest still). T-shirts, Aloha shirts, luggage, coconuts, coffee, gosh everything you can find in a tourist shop and more... I spent probably $1000 here during my two months in Hawaii...

I took my non-shopping DH with me and he enjoyed the Aloha stadium swap meet.:yes:

Then you could do the Pearl Harbor/Arizona memorial (I was bad, never visited in my two months).

Or, you can head to the beach, but the beaches in Kauaii are probably nicer (and more quiet).

I don't know if you'll have time after the swap meet and Pearl Harbor...

But if you skip Pearl Harbor, you could head out towards Waikiki. There is a ton of high-end shopping there, and still interesting for just strolling if not purchasing.

Food-wise, have lots of fish/seafood. It's so fresh there. I had mahi-mahi from Denny's, and it was fab!

By the time you finish with Waikiki, it will probably be time to head back. Give yourself lots of time to head east-west. Again, I lived fairly close to the airport and often dreaded going into Waikiki because of the traffic.

PM me for any specifics/details, and have fun! I am really jealous!:P
 
#11
bonniec' ideas are great, however, depending on when you come in you may not be able to get tickets to the the Memorial. The Swap Meet at Aloha Stadium is open on Wed, Sat, Sunday. If you PM and let me know when you'll be in I can give you some specifics of traffic pattern and what may or may not be open and what may or may not be doable.
 
#14
Okay, I just saw that you said that you're going to be here on a Saturday. Duh! (sorry, not paying close attention).

If you get in Saturday at 11 I don't think you'll be able to do Pearl Harbor because they hand out tickets and then you have to wait until it is your group's turn. Also, I think the Swap Meet closes around 2 so that may also be tough for you.

I think your best bet is to walk through waikiki. You can start at one end and walk to the other end which ends at Waikiki Beach. If you're going to do this make sure that your airlines checks your bags all the way through to Kauai so you don't have to worry about them during your layover. Saturday afternoons and evenings can have bad traffic at times in the downtown area so you'll wan to to be mindful of that.
You may want to check if you can get an earlier connecting flight to Kauai, and being that you're going to arrive on island after 8 make sure you have dinner on Oahu because everything closes early on Kauai. LOL


As for Kauai, have a nice time there. If you're doing the beaches be mindful of the surf and currents. A lot of tourists have been in trouble in the surf lately and Kauai has an especially strong current. If no one is in the water there is a good reason for that! It is an absolutely beautiful island though and I hope you like nature. Have a wonderful anniversary.
 
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