Korean Job Discussion Forums

[northway]

I'm meeting my folks for a couple weeks in Hawaii in July/August. I'll have a few days to myself, most likely in the Honolulu area, and the time with my parents will be spent on the Big Island. Anyone have any recommendations on things to do, places to stay, places to eat (most importantly)? Any advice would be much appreciated.

[travelnguy]

We stayed at the Ilima Hotel. It was less than $100 per night. You could walk to the beach and International Market. Our room was on the 10th or 11th floor I believe. We had a great view of the canal and mountains.

You can play golf behind the hotel at Ala Wai Golf Course (about $50-60 I think). The Dole plantation trip was fun. We also visited the aquarium. It's very near the hotel too.

Can't give any more info that that, as we were only there as a stopover for a few days.

[Lazio]

It depends what you are into. How many days do you have?
You could do the usual tourist spots or at least most famous ones. I guess it is your first time there so you should check out Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, Pearl Harbour, hanging around in Waikiki. You could do some hiking. It's really spectacular there and on most routes you would barely see a soul. Manoa Falls can be a good tour, just in the back of Manoa Valley (Honolulu) I suggest you rent a car, at least for a day or 2 and do a circle (you can't go all the way around) on the island. Something I call beach hopping. Throw some drinks and snacks in your car, bring a camera and a towel, put on sunglasses, roll down the windows and turn your radio to FM 98.5, crank up the volume and enjoy the drive up on the windward side of the island. You can stop at any beaches you like. Watch the locals riding the waves at Sandy beach, enjoy a 4 mile long beach at Waimanalo, relax at one of the most beautiful beaches in the World (Lanikai) or at the Kailua which is just right next to it. At Kailua beach, just across the parking lot there is a great BBQ burger place called Buzz's. Bill Clinton had some meal there a few years back.
Keep going North, pass the stunningly beautiful Kahana Valley which appears in hundreds of movies.
Eat some awesome garlic shrimp at one of the shrimp trucks on the North Eastern corner of the island.
Check out the world famous beaches of North Shore. There won't be any waves in summer: Turtle Beach, Sunset Beach, Waimea Bay. You can drive West untill the road ends. It was a major shooting location in LOST. The water is crystal clear on the North Shore. And at the end of the day you can drive back to Honolulu in the middle of the Island.

Waikiki offers a lot of restaurants with different price ranges. You could do some shopping at the Ala Moana shopping center. There is a big foodcourt there, and plenty of other restaurants: California Pizza Kitchen if you fancy.
You can visit a Jack in the Box. I know it's not the healthiest thing but if you haven't tried their bacon cheeseburger, you must do it.

[legrande]

Lazio just about covered it- rent a car and get out to some of those places, rather than being fleeced in Waikiki. The Manoa Falls trail is a nice walk. If you drive up to Tantalus at night just keep going past the cars parked by the side of the road, lest your voyeur tendancies get the best of you

[West Coast Tatterdemalion]

Bring lots of money. Hawaii is expensive as hell. Awesome place and I love it, but it does take the cash.

[Patrick Bateman]

Lazio covered a lot of it already.

When you go to the north shore, check out Matsumoto's shaved ice. It is criminal how good it is.

There's a place called Moose Mcgillycuddy's in downtown Waikiki that's great for breakfast and doesn't cost too much.

The Polynesian Cultural Center is also a day well spent: http://www.polynesia.com/

There's a flea market at the football stadium every week that's a lot of fun if you're in to those kinds of things.

It's been awhile since I last visited the island, but those are the things (other than the general tourist places) that really stand out.

Oh, there's one place not too far from the military (Air Force?) base that has amazingly strong winds. I don't remember much about it, but a large battle took place there a long time ago. I remember it being really cool.

[northway]

I'm still working out the exact dates and how long I'll be there. I'll probably have about a week on the Big Island with my folks, and another four days or so prior to that, most likely hanging out somewhere within a reasonable distance of Honolulu. I don't think I want to bother with the expense of a rental car, though my buddy is stationed in the service there and might be able to help me out with transportation in one way or another. Thanks for the advice, I'll check back here later once I've done more research on the places you mentioned.

[SeoulCat]

You should definitely check out Helena's Hawaiian Food, they have a Michelin award and the lady that works there is the nicest person ever. Its near UH Manoa in Honolulu. Diamond Head Grill and Market is also good its at the foot of diamond head. Eat some Loco Moco! Romy's Prawns and Shrimp is definitely worth the drive from Honolulu.

I would recommend getting a car and going up to the North Shore (Haleiwa area). I'm not a fan of Waikiki beach, there are way too many tourists and crowds. North Shore is more relaxing, but there is still def. a lot of tourists. The windward side of the island (Kailua, Kaneohe) is really nice and quiet.

Theres a lot of hiking as well, I can't think of anything in particular.

[northway]

I actually decided to just spend the whole time on the Big Island, as that's where my folks wanted to go and I don't really feel like hopping around too much. Thanks for the Honolulu advice in any case (and any Big Island advice would be much appreciated).