Hawaii minus the water

[TipsyTraveler]

I want to do the LOST tour (yes, really ) so my DH and I have decided to go to Hawaii in September. The problem is, I'm not finding much else that I'm interested in seeing or doing. We're not water/beach people. Other than maybe walking on the sand we'd never spend any time at a beach, and we have no interest in water activities (except we do like kayaking). Obviously, this eliminates a lot of things to do in Hawaii which is fine, we're happy to stick with land-based activities. But even that seems to be coming up short and what started as a three week, three island trip has been cut down to a two island, twelve day trip. Help me fill it? All I've got so far is:

Oahu -- 5-night stay at Aulani, one day for LOST tour and.... I guess we could do Pearl Harbor another day.

Big Island -- Open to accommodation suggestions (5 nights), Volcanoes National Park looks like a must-do, we're interested in the Mauna Kea star gazing, and that's all I've got.

We like nature activities, wildlife, hiking, local food, and places off the beaten path. We'd be very happy to spend a few days visiting national parks, I just need to figure out which ones because they're all looking more or less the same to me. Birdwatching is something I'd enjoy, we'd possibly be up for horseback riding, definitely on the lookout for good places to eat. Unless someone has good reason to convince me otherwise, right now all the pineapple/coffee/macadamia nut tours look like a total snooze fest to me. Whale watching is also out, unfortunately, because we'll be there in the wrong season for it.

So, with that stuff in mind, does anyone have recommendations for places to visit or suggestions for other things we could do? We'll have a rental car on both islands so transportation won't be a problem.

 

[gwynne]

The Bishop Museum is well worth a visit. There is also a planetarium nearby with regularly scheduled shows.

 

[Wishing on a star]

If you are not on trip-advisor, check it out.
Posters on the boards for each Island should be able to give you lots of suggestions!

I know this isn't on your list, but, have you checked out Kauai?
If you are looking for 'off the beaten path'... spectacular scenery where many movies have been filmed (Jurassic Park)... and 'non-beach' Hawaii, that would be it.
We have been to Kauai... Some serious hiking there.
Some VERY serious kayacking (the Napali Coast)
They have the only real river in Hawaii where one can canoe-Kayak.
Did Captain Andy's catamaran tour to see the Napali Coast, and that was fantastic!
Hawaiian music on the way up... James Brown on the way back.
A helicopter tour on Kauai would be so spectacular! But, couldn't to that with my vertigo... darn!

I am a beach-girl!!! And I missed a caribbean-like beach.
But Lumahai Beach was my bliss!!! I did a review on TA, a year ago, with a photo of me standing on that beach, with that bright blue water and the waves crashing on the huge lava-rock formations.

 

[bcla]

Aulani is kind of far away from most of the busy parts of Oahu. Might be a good thing. It may seem rather touristy, but the Polynesian Cultural Center is excellent.

If you're going to Maui, perhaps a sunrise at Haleakala National Park? I haven't seen a sunrise there, but it's legendary. However, the weather has to cooperate. Under good conditions, the sun will seem to climb out of the cloud layer. The hiking there is also incredible. It's the highest point in the state that can be easily driven. It's also colder because of the altitude. I saw people getting off a tour bus wearing tank tops and shorts, and they got right back on when the felt the cold. Perhaps drive to Hana?

On the Big Island of course Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. The drive down Chain of Craters Road is pretty awesome. Getting close to the lava flow is a little bit tough, and sometimes it's closed by the county if the air quality is poor. There is a small crater you can hike through. It safe, but there's steam rising out of cracks here and there.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Aulani is kind of far away from most of the busy parts of Oahu. Might be a good thing. It may seem rather touristy, but the Polynesian Cultural Center is excellent.

If you're going to Maui, perhaps a sunrise at Haleakala National Park? I haven't seen a sunrise there, but it's legendary. However, the weather has to cooperate. Under good conditions, the sun will seem to climb out of the cloud layer. The hiking there is also incredible. It's the highest point in the state that can be easily driven. It's also colder because of the altitude. I saw people getting off a tour bus wearing tank tops and shorts, and they got right back on when the felt the cold. Perhaps drive to Hana?

On the Big Island of course Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. The drive down Chain of Craters Road is pretty awesome. Getting close to the lava flow is a little bit tough, and sometimes it's closed by the county if the air quality is poor. There is a small crater you can hike through. It safe, but there's steam rising out of cracks here and there.

Can Volcanoes NP be explored pretty thoroughly in one day or should we allow two for that?

 

[jdb in AZ]

Pearl Harbor is definitely worth seeing, and the battleship Missouri right next to Pearl Harbor. The Polynesian Cultural Center on the north shore can take a whole day -- make sure you catch the evening program. There's also a light house you can hike to on the north shore. http://www.best-of-oahu.com/makapuu-lighthouse.html

Volcanoes NP can be done in one day. We took a flight-seeing private plane tour that flew right over one of the volcanoes. The Big Island also has lava tubes you can walk through. https://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/craterrimtour_tube.htm

We visited a macadamia nut farm on the Big Island, and you're right, it was a snooze fest.

 

[bcla]

Can Volcanoes NP be explored pretty thoroughly in one day or should we allow two for that?

Depends on what you want to do. I went with my in-laws who weren't interested in hiking. The other thing about hiking there in fairly recent lava flows is that you'll need gloves. Tripping on the uneven surface is common, and the first thing most people do is put their hands out. It's relatively stable to walk on, but it breaks into sharp pieces and many have ended up with palm lacerations.

This is the park list of what to do. Conditions change too. When the air quality is bad, parts of the main road are closed off. The smell of hydrogen sulfide gas can also be intense. I've heard it described as "the odor of a thousand farts", even on a good day. I've been to Yellowstone, Bumpass Hell (Lassen Volcanic NP), and other geothermal areas. Nothing came close when it came to smell. People start collapsing when the H2S levels are high.

https://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/things2do.htm

 

[bcla]

We visited a macadamia nut farm on the Big Island, and you're right, it was a snooze fest.

We went to the Mauna Loa factory. We drove past the trees. Still - I heard that most are grown in Australia these days. There's not much to the factory other than looking through a window. The noise level was pretty loud even though it was sealed. However, the store was pretty good, with lots of items really cheap.

 

[bcla]

Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden on the north side of the Big Island.

http://www.htbg.com

 

[scrappydew]

There is a book series that is supposed to be very good - Oahu Revealed, etc. A hike would be Diamond Head, and there is a lighthouse nearby. If you go past Honolulu and drive on Route 72, there are numerous outlooks, the Halona Blowhole, the Makapuu Tide Pools, etc. We didn't have enough time for the Waimea Falls, but maybe next time. If you go up Farrington Highway, there is an old lava cave you can enter. There is the Pali overlook, and the North Shore. Have fun planning! I'd love to go back.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Everyone's giving me great suggestions, thank you! I've already added a couple new things to my short list, and thanks for the links -- I'll be combing through those shortly.

Aside from Volcanoes NP, any recommendations for other parks worth visiting?

ETA: I have been doing my own research, I promise. I've spent a lot of time on trip advisor, but it's just hard to get a sense of which parks, tide pools, scenic overlooks, etc are more worthwhile than others and how much time should be allotted for certain things, so I thought I'd ask all you helpful DISers.

 

[bcla]

Everyone's giving me great suggestions, thank you! I've already added a couple new things to my short list, and thanks for the links -- I'll be combing through those shortly.

Aside from Volcanoes NP, any recommendations for other parks worth visiting?

Here's the National Park Service list of parks in Hawaii.

https://www.nps.gov/state/hi/index.htm

We went to this place a night where nothing was happening. I was to,d it was impressive during the day.

https://www.nps.gov/puho/index.htm

 

[nkereina]

Other things that came to mind for Oahu are the Dole Plantation, Kualoa Ranch, and Diamond Head. At Kualoa Ranch, they have several different tours that include movie and TV show sites, including LOST.

If you visit the North Shore area, there's a beach called Papailoa where the LOST "campground" scenes were from. You'll probably go there on the tour, but it may be fun to visit the area yourself. There's some shopping and dining in the town of Haleiwa, you can check out the surfing and sea turtles, and there's also Waimea Valley where there's a beautiful waterfall and some hiking.

We are also going in September and after we do the Kualoa Ranch, we're stopping at the Byodo-In Temple. This is where some scenes with Jin and Sun from LOST were filmed. It's not far from the Ranch. We're then going to the town of Kailua which is supposed to be a quaint little town with beautiful views/beaches on the east side of the island, and a few shops and restaurants.

 

[scrappydew]

Don't forget the turtles! There is Turtle Beach on the North Shore, but turtles also come to a cove near Aulani. It's neat just to watch them, even if you don't get in the water. We did the Kualoa Ranch tour and really enjoyed it. There is a lot of military history on the ranch since it was used during WWII.

 

[JoeA]

Rent a 4WD Jeep on the Big Island if you want to go up to the observatory. It's a pretty steep road and they HIGHLY discourage taking a standard vehicle (if not outright ban them). If you're going to visit Volcanos then I would highly recommend spending the night on that side of the island, reason being you can hike during the day and then see the volcano at night and won't have to mess with driving far. We stayed at the Inn inside the park and it was awesome (the bed was by far the worse I've slept in, small room and tiny bathroom, and no TV but LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!

Not sure if it is mentioned, but Waimea Falls on Ohau is a pretty walk. Diamond Head is something nice but arrive EARLY or you'll be hard pressed to find parking.

Agree with a previous poster re: the "Revealed" books. We use them for all the islands and they are helpful.

 

[bcla]

Don't forget the turtles! There is Turtle Beach on the North Shore, but turtles also come to a cove near Aulani. It's neat just to watch them, even if you don't get in the water. We did the Kualoa Ranch tour and really enjoyed it. There is a lot of military history on the ranch since it was used during WWII.

Visitors of course need to keep their distance. We saw one on a black sand beach on the Big Island. My FIL wanted to get near it and kick it. He thought it was dead. I could tell it was just sunning itself. Harassment of sea turtles us illegal.

Also, Kona Airport is really old school. They still use ramps instead of jetways. The gate area was a set of covered patios.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Yes! Speaking of the turtles... Lol. I definitely consider seeing them a priority for me, I just haven't figured out the best places to see them yet. Are they there year round? Everywhere else we've ever been only has them seasonally and we've never been in the right season.

@nkereina, maybe we'll see you at the Kualoa Ranch! We'll be the bamas on the LOST tour.

@JoeA, we're only planning to go as high as the Mauna Kea Visitors Center, not all the way to the summit (I can't do the altitude). We can get to the visitors center without a 4wd drive, right?

 

[JoeA]

Yes! Speaking of the turtles... Lol. I definitely consider seeing them a priority for me, I just haven't figured out the best places to see them yet. Are they there year round? Everywhere else we've ever been only has them seasonally and we've never been in the right season.

@nkereina, maybe we'll see you at the Kualoa Ranch! We'll be the bamas on the LOST tour.

@JoeA, we're only planning to go as high as the Mauna Kea Visitors Center, not all the way to the summit (I can't do the altitude). We can get to the visitors center without a 4wd drive, right?

Absolutely! We drove up there this past March in a standard rental car w/o any issues!

 

[Vernie822]

We are heading to Hawaii in September for our honeymoon. I'm a cross between doing non-beachy things and laying on the beach/swimming. We plan to do Halekala (Maui) at sunrise. Pearl Harbor, Aloha Stadium Swapmeet, and DiamondHead on Oahu.

Other things we've considered...
Ziplining (saw lots of good ones on Maui)
Road to Hana (likely won't do due to time constraints, also on Maui)
Fishing excursion of some kind
Golfing/Spa
Turtles near Aulani
Luau
Dole Plantation

 

[Milhouse_]

I'm not a lay-on-the-beach person either and I spent 2 weeks in Hawaii and absolutely loved it.

My tip: don't worry too much about pre-planning everything. The whole tourist industry there is set up to make it as easy as possible for visitors. I often called or booked stuff online at the recommendation of the hotel or other guests the night before and the tour guide picked me up at my hotel in the AM.

Recommendations:

• Lost/Movie tour at Kualoa Ranch (they actually do several, so make sure you check out the options)
• Dole Plantation (don't get lost in the maze...!)
• Pearl Harbour
• Iolani Palace/Queen Emma's Summer Palace
• Manoa Falls Hike
• Luau (there are several. Was worried it would be cheesy, but I loved the dancing/performances)
• Day trip to the Big Island for a Volcano tour
• Bishop Museum (history of Hawaii and polynesian people)
• Surf Lessons (think I used "Girls Who Surf")
• Hike Diamond Head (2 hrs if I remember correctly)
• Honolulu Zoo
• Kayaking Tour
  
• International Market Place
• Ride the trolley, get lost for a few hours
• And lots and lots and lots of walking along the beaches.

Pace yourselves, take it easy and you'll have a fab time.