Great food, helpful guide, useful local knowledge
I took the Local Eats Ala Moana Area Hawaii Food Tour in August 2016. There were only four people plus the guide in our group. The cafes, bars and delis we visited weren't fancy but the food was superb and interesting. The guide was friendly and shared a wealth of local knowledge about the best places to buy food as well as eating out. I returned to several later during my vacation and will do so again in future.
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| Packages: | Ala Moana Area Local Eats Food Tour | ||
| Attended as: | Solo Travelers | ||
| Posted on: | 2016/08/25 | ||
| Activity Date: | 2016/08/02 | ||
| See individual review | |||
Helpful
1-Hour Waikiki Fireworks Sail Cruise with Drinks Included - Holokai Catamaran / Friday Fireworks Sail
A serene experience
I went on the Friday Fireworks Sail in August 2016. I'd been on two sunset sails before and wanted to try something different. When we set off after sunset there was still enough light to see the coast clearly and everything looked a little magical in the twilight. As darkness fell the clouds were illuminated with a golden glow from the last rays of the Sun. The twinkling lights from Waikiki shone brightly as the cooling ocean breeze wafted gently across the boat. It was a serene experience. The climax of the trip is the fireworks display at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. It only lasts a few minutes but you get a perfect view from the catamaran.
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| Packages: | Friday Fireworks Sail | ||
| Attended as: | Solo Travelers | ||
| Posted on: | 2016/08/25 | ||
| Activity Date: | 2016/08/05 | ||
| See individual review | |||
Helpful
Only scratches the surface
This tour visits several great locations but too quickly to enjoy them properly. Indeed, one of the advertised highlights was skipped presumably because we were running a bit late.
The North Shore of Hawaii has many beautiful spots. At Sunset Beach you'll want to kick off your shoes and enjoy the sand and surf. Sadly with this tour there's only enough time to snap some photos. It was the same at several of the other stops.
The Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) visit started with an unappealing buffet lunch followed by a series of "entertainments" that seemed largely to involve college students wearing
Polynesian-themed costumes. There's probably a lot more to the PCC but you won't see much else on this tour.
Our guide was friendly and professional but he had a very limited knowledge of Hawaii and its culture. His narration sounded like it was scripted and he struggled to answer even basic questions from my companion travelers.
With hindsight, it would have been better to take separate tours of the North Shore and the PCC.
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| Attended as: | Solo Travelers | ||
| Posted on: | 2014/09/03 | ||
| See individual review | |||
Helpful
Oahu to Molokai - Kalaupapa Father Damien Tour
Educational, not the usual kind of tour
My fellow travelers on this tour included Christians inspired by the life of Father Damien, a student writing her dissertation on a doctor who had served here and a physician interested in Hanson's disease (a.k.a. leprosy). However most, like myself, were just tourists looking for something different.
The flight from Honolulu was an experience in itself. The airplane was tiny, just 10 seats including the pilot. The "airport" at Kalaupapa was also tiny, really just an airstrip with a small seating area and restrooms.
After about 30 minutes our guide arrived and we boarded an ancient school bus. En route to the meeting place he gave us a mini-tour including the dock where the annual barge was being unloaded. Large items that can't be transported by the small plane or on the back of a mule are carried across from Honolulu just once a year on Barge Day!
At 10am we joined up with some other travelers who had hiked down the trail on foot or on a mule.
The tour itself visited various places of interest in the history of the colony and in the life and work of Father Damien. A number of aspects stick in the mind. The cruelty of the banishment. Father Damien's devotion to the patients and respect for Hawaiian culture. He was a true humanitarian. The extraordinary beauty and tranquility of the place. Kalaupapa is like a time capsule barely touched by the modern world. No cell phone signal, no wi-fi, no fast food restaurants.
The stop for lunch was memorable for the serenity of the location, which was the site of the first settlement at Kalawao on the windward side of the peninsular. We sat beneath the trees overlooking the ocean.
We were dropped off at the "airport" more than an hour before our return flight. So it's a good idea to bring some reading material to pass the time.
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| Attended as: | Solo Travelers | ||
| Posted on: | 2014/08/26 | ||
| Activity Date: | 2014/08/02 | ||
| See individual review | |||
Helpful
