Hawaii

[R1pper]

Going to Hawaii from 20 JAN to 27 JAN with the GF for my best friends wedding. I am staying at MCBH (Marine Corps Base Hawaii). For those of you that been to Hawaii before what do you recommend doing. We are looking for some things along the line of hiking and good off the beaten path type stuff. I would love to do some wheeling but I obviously cant bring my truck. We are gonna do some of the touristy type stuff such as see Pearl Harbor and the memorials and what not.

Thanks for the info
-DM-

[NoBody]

1. U.S.S. Arizona Memorial
2. U.S.S. Missouri (Note: Mighty Mo will be re-opened to the Public mid-January 2010)
3. The Big Island (bring a jacket for the rain forest....it's a bit cold!)
4. North Shore

[Robb Jensen]

Check out Hanauma Bay, awesome snorkeling there.

[ToddG]

Off Beaten Path = Kauai. Some of the best parts of the island can't be reached by car. You either hike there or boat there.

If you like to snorkel, Molokini Crater really is pretty spectacular. It's a half- or full-day boat tour thing. If you don't want to go to that much trouble and are happy just seeing a bazillion little colorful fish instead of the big rays, etc., you can just go to the Sheraton on Maui at Black Rock. You wade three feet into the water and you're in the middle of a kaleidoscope.

Sunday Brunch in Honolulu: the Hanohano room. Trust me.

[Urabus23]

If you're going to Hanauma Bay, you could also hike up Koko Head as it's close by. It also happens to be next to our outdoor shooting range!

The beaches out in Lanikai is pretty nice; real close to MCBH too.

Go to Champion Malasadas...I only bring this up because I'm eating malasadas as I type...good stuff.

http://www.championmalasadas.com/

[kmrtnsn]

Are you staying at the beach cottages? Get off of Oahu, get over to Maui, Kaui, and Molokai.

[tweakmeister]

Check out Hanauma Bay, awesome snorkeling there.

This and hike Diamond Head. Also Hickam AFB is worth a quick trip to check out the beach. Could also head up to the Dole Plantation for some pineapple icecream, or get some Giovanni's shrimp on the north shore.

[Jeffy]

If you're going to Hanauma Bay, you could also hike up Koko Head as it's close by. It also happens to be next to our outdoor shooting range!

The beaches out in Lanikai is pretty nice; real close to MCBH too.

Go to Champion Malasadas...I only bring this up because I'm eating malasadas as I type...good stuff.

http://www.championmalasadas.com/

What and not Lenard's?

If you like hiking there are a lot of trails. You could do Diamond Head but they have been charging to do that. I really like Yokohama bay on the west coast line. The beach is usually pretty quiet and it's a long grade. January is the start of whale watching season so you may see them breaching off the coast around Kaena Point. There is some hiking trails/offroad trails up the hill at Peacock Flats but they won't allow rentals up there. You can hike up from the gate below. This area is off limits to vehicles unless you have a permit, which is free. I think you can hike up there without any permit. There is an armed guard post at the entrance since the area is also used as the govt. sat. tracking station. The view up there is pretty spectacular. On one side you can see the Sandy's Beach coastline while the other side you can see all the way down to Eva Beach.

I've never been hiking around Koko Head BUT the range is one of the BEST. It's free but well maintained. When I was there it was closed on Mondays and I think Tuesdays as HPD practiced there on those days. There are volunteer RO's who spend their day just hanging out and talking story. The best part is that it's free. I sure miss that range. The chickens were funny as they don't care what you're doing. They will wander down range on occasion.

I agree that the Dole Pineapple plantation is a good place to stop. The ice cream is really good, too. There are actually two Shrimp Trucks. These are really a must stop. The shrimp is really good as it's fresh. Giovanni's Shrimp Truck is/was the original and it easy to spot as it's a white truck in Kohuku. If you're in Haleiva then you might want to have lunch at Haleiva Joe's.

Pearl Harbor is not to be missed. Also visit the Mighty Mo and the Submarine Museum as well. When you go to the Mighty Mo you might want to ask if there are any tours of the USS Utah. Sometimes they take small groups to see the memorial. The Utah is the other ship that never left Pearl during the attack.

Duke's in Waikiki is a good place to get a meal. The bar is open to the beach and it's just a nice place to hang out. The Honohono Room mentioned earlier is in the Sheridan Waikiki and offers a nice Sunday brunch but I believe they stopped this. The Queen Kapiolani Hotel also has a breakfast, lunch and dinner brunch and is very nice as well. The room overlooks Kapiolani Park and Diamond head.

Don't eat at MacDonalds, Burger King or Jack in the Box, go Local and try L&L Drive-In, Zippy's and Yummy's Korean BBQ. You can find these just about everywhere.

If you make it to Ala Moana, then there is a really nice food court there as well as your usual mall shopping. Pearl Ridge Shopping Center is a bit less touristy if you want to just buy something 'normal'. Winward Mall is pretty dead whenever I went there. It's fairly small too. if you want to get souvenirs then you'll want to go to Aloha Stadium. It's usually cheaper then the ABC Stores.

Haunama Bay is nice but you will either want to go there really early or late as parking is a bit tight. Although, you can probably park at the Koko Head shooting range and walk over. I doubt you'll have to worry about break-ins there. You'll also have to spend some time watching a movie about the bay. You can't just walk down there and feed the fish like you used to. You can rent fins and masks there or you can buy them in town before hand. There is a Sports Authority in town or you can get cheap stuff at any ABC store.