ilene's activity reviews | Book tours, activities & fun things to do on HawaiiActivities.com

North Shore Experience

The tour started with a prompt and convenient pickup from our hotel by our driver and guide, Jonah. It was nice that we stopped for malasadas from a Leonard’s bakery truck since we had such an early breakfast. As we made it out of the city our guide gave us local facts and insights about the different neighborhoods we passed through.
It was interesting to learn about an abandoned tramway used by the military in WW II that is now a hike trail near the Koko Head Crater. There were plenty of photo-ops at the Makapuu and Halona blowhole lookout and the Ka Iwi Scenic shoreline.
Although we ran into some traffic due to road construction, we still made it on schedule for the Macadamia Nut farm stop for shopping and the KuaLoa Park for more photos. Lunch at the Kahuku Sugar Mill was one of the trip’s highlights where we even got to chat with some local folks. We chose Da Bald guy food truck-- the fried ahi tuna and garlic shrimp plate combo was the best!
Next, we watched surfers catch waves and spotted turtles near Haleiwa shores. We then enjoyed driving through a stretch of farmland leading to the last of the trip stop which was the Dole Plantation.
I was happy to have chosen this “smaller group-size tour” in a smaller but comfortable van rather than being in a bus tour with fifty or more people. Our guide was personable…He offered to take our photos, gave us bottled water, and had a small stool ready for petite folks like us. We were even impressed by his knowledge of all Hawaii-Five-O and CSI Hawaii trivia! Overall, we got a grasp of life in the North shore. I would recommend this tour if you like a relaxed pace tour or for first time visitors.