Hawaii Travel: My Itineraries

This is not meant to be a comprehensive guide, but rather a summary of the activities I have done while living and traveling in Hawaii. I won't go into each activity too much here, since my photo pages have good descriptions of them. Instead, you will find links to those pages. Hopefully, seeing what my itineraries were on my trips will help you plan yours.

Read more about me (as in, why you should listen to my advice?)

Oahu

I live on Oahu, so I don't exactly have an itinerary to provide you. But, I can recommend a bunch of one-day or part-day activities and you can piece those together to make your itinerary. I will spend more time on this soon, but for now, I'm just going to refer you to my Oahu photos page.

Maui

Trip 1
Date: September 2003
Length: Two days, two nights

My first trip to Maui was a whirlwind tour of the island with my friend Lanthy from college. We were on a tight budget and were under 25, so we booked our rental car through Priceline. We spent day one driving the Road to Hana and stopping at every waterfall and overlook. We arrived in Hana in the early afternoon, excited to go to the waterfalls at the Seven Sacred Pools of Oheo. But what we expected to be a pristine natural wonder, looked more like Disneyland (I love Disneyland, but I HATE the crowds). Hundreds of people were swimming and running around, so we left, explored the road past Hana, and spent the night at a beautiful house in the mountains of Kipahulu, "Anya's House", which will run you $150/night.

The next morning we returned to the pools at sunrise to find them empty... exactly the way I imagined them. After walking around and hiking up the river, we went kayaking and snorkeling in Hana Bay. We then spent the rest of the day driving around the leeward side of the island. We watched the sunset over Kaholawe and found a cheap hotel (Maui Seaside, $90/night) near the Kahului airport. We drove about 45 minutes over to Lahaina, explored the galleries, ate at Bubba Gump's, and returned to the hotel to go to bed. We left early the next morning for Kauai.

Trip 2
Date: February 2004
Length: Three days, two nights

My second trip back to Maui was with Gary, another friend of mine from college. We had a bit more time to explore, as well as some camping gear, so we really got some diversity on the trip. We met up with a few girls on Oahu who joined us for the first day in Maui, so we all drove the Road to Hana in a convertible (definitely the way to do it). We found Blue Pool and of course hiked to lots of waterfalls. That evening we returned back to the airport to drop off the girls, had dinner in Lahaina, and spent the night in the Maui Seaside ($90/night).

The next morning we drove up Haleakala with the top down the whole way, even though it got real cold towards the top. We hiked into the crater on the Sliding Sands trail and then went back down the mountain to have dinner. I highly recommend NOT doing that, as going back up and down the mountain gets tiring. Its a beautiful drive, but don't do it over and over again. Bring food with you is the moral of the story. After dinner we setup the tent at our campsite near the summit of Haleakala (again, bad idea to do that in the dark without a good flashlight).

Early the next morning while it was dark and freezing cold, we drove to the summit of Haleakala to watch its famous sunrise. DEFINITELY worth it. It's like the view from an airplane, as you are above the clouds. Dress warm. Dress warm. Dress warm.

After breaking down our campsite, we drove to Ma'alea Bay to go whale watching with the Pacific Whale Foundation. The guides were very knowledgeable, and we saw TONS of whales, but the boat was a bit too crowded for my taste. Still though, it was an awesome experience for a reasonable price, with the money going to a good cause.

After whale watching we explored Ka'anapali Beach and then drove back to the airport to leave.

Trip 3
Date: February 11-14, 2005
Length: Four days, three nights

My third trip to Maui, we did our best to explore the whole island and skipped some main spots we'd already been to. We were looking to keep the trip at a reasonable budget, so we really looked around for good hotel deals. Finding none, we ended up doing B&B's, which were surprisingly less expensive. More details below.

Our first day, we left the Kahului airport around 10ish and headed towards Hana. We first stopped in Paia for breakfast. It's a nice little hippie-type town right along the beginning of the Road to Hana. We stopped at a number of waterfalls and did some short hikes, like Twin Falls. We went to Blue Pool and fortunately the B&B we were staying at was right there at the Maui Botanical Gardens.

The next morning we drove to Oheo Gulch and its Seven Sacred Pools. Getting there just after sunrise is incredible, since you get the place to yourself. The drive there is actually prettier, and more narrow, than the Road to Hana. There were some incredible waterfalls, since it had rained the night before. We drove back into Hana and went to the Red Sand Beach, which is a "clothing optional" beach hidden from easy access. We opted to keep our clothing on. We then drove back to central Maui and went to the Iao Valley to see the Iao Needle. Very high, steep, green cliffs and surround this beautiful valley. After that, we drove to Lahaina and stayed at the Lahaina Inn, a nice little B&B right off the main street. At about $110 a night, it was a great deal (since all hotels in the area were over $200).

On our third day, we did a whale watch with Captain Steve's in Lahaina. Though I liked the small Zodiac boat as a way of seeing whales, since you're so close to the water, I wasn't overly impressed with the company itself. Still, I'd recommend the tour if you like small groups. I'll write more detailed reviews soon. After the whale watch, we picked up some groceries and drove up Haleakala to camp out for the night. We explored the top and watched the sunset with a beautiful view of central Maui and what seemed to be an infinite ocean behind it.

We woke up the next morning at 5:15am or so to make sure we were at the top in time to watch the famous Haleakala sunrise. As I said in my previous Maui itinerary, this is DEFINITELY worth doing. Afterwards, we packed up our tent and headed down to south Maui. We drove along the coast through Kihei, Wailea, and Makena, past all the expensive resorts and beautiful beaches. We stopped at Big Beach and Little Beach (where we sadly discovered lots of old naked men basking in the sun... echh). Then we drove over to Ma'alea Bay for a whale watch with the Pacific Whale Foundation. I was not as impressed with this trip as my last one, as the captain decided to stay with one pod of whales the whole time, which never once breached. It was also a really windy day, which makes it hard to spot whales. Not a single photo on my website is from this whale watch trip. Afterwards, we went out past Makena to the Ahihi-Kinau Natural Reserve, where we strolled along the lava rocks and had a beautiful view of Kaho'olawe and Molokini. We headed back to the airport, stopped to pick up some Krispy Kreme donuts, and ate them on the flight back to Oahu.

 

Kauai

Trip 1
Date: September 2003
Length: Two days, one night

My first trip to Kauai was with my friend Lanthy. It was a short trip, but we saw a lot. We used Priceline for our rental car and also for our hotel. We ended up paying $100 for an incredible room in the Poipu Marriot that normally costs almost $300 a night. Not a bad deal. We spent a day driving out to the west side of the island to see Waimea Canyon and the Na Pali coast overlook. When you get to the end of the road, there is a short trail that takes you to a better viewpoint of the Na Pali than where you park your car. We also saw some nene birds there. That evening we watched the sunset and drank Corona right next to Poipu Beach.

The next day we drove north along the east side of the island, visiting the Kilauea Lighthouse and other scenic overlooks. We checked out some of the little shops along the way, and then went back to the airport to leave. All in all, we probably had shave ice about a half dozen times.

Trip 2
Date: January 2004
Length: Three days, two nights

On my second trip to Kauai, I went with my family. I don't remember the order of everything we did, but we spent one day very much like the first day on my last trip to Kauai. We spent another day on Poipu Beach and I went surfing for a few hours. Our condo was in Poipu, and early one morning I woke up to take photos and saw a Hawaiian monk seal basking on the beach. We spent a day driving up to the north shore of Kauai, and had lunch at the ultra-fancy, beautiful Princeville Hotel. We drove to the end of the road, where the Na Pali coast begins. Next time back I'll hike that trail, which is 11 miles each way. The highlight of the trip was taking a helicopter ride over Waimea Canyon, the mountain ranges, and the Na Pali coast. We even saw whales swimming below us as we flew around. Parts of Jurassic Park and The Lost World were filmed in that area.

Big Island

Coming soon...

Molokai

Coming soon...

 

About Me

I have been living in Honolulu, Hawaii since May 2003 and have frequently traveled throughout the islands.