I love it so much that I lived there for five years. Now, the mainland is my home again, but I still vacation in a beautiful spot on the map. My next trip will be with the love of my life, Deborah, which will make it paradise.
Many times I am asked by people who are going to the islands for their first trip, “What should we do there?” It is one of my favorite questions to answer. Next to Deborah, Hawaii is my favorite topic of conversation. So, here are a few suggestions for your first trip to Hawaii, specifically your first day.
If you are like me you will have to save for this vacation, but you will not have to be wealthy to enjoy my suggestions. If by chance you are wealthy, read no further, charter a jet and hire a personal guide when you get to Hawaii. In fact, if you want to take along as a personal guide…wait, I better stay here and save for my next trip. That daytime job sure puts a damper on going to Hawaii when I want to go, but eating is nice so I guess I better keep working.
For those are planning a first trip to Hawaii I highly recommend the island of Oahu. All the things you read about are on that island. You can do day trips to other islands, but your best bet is to take subsequent vacations to all of the other islands. If you can see all of them, Oahu, Hawaii with is called The Big Island, Maui, Lanai, Molokai and Kauai, you will understand how much different each one is from the others, yet how much of a part they all play in completing the paradise chain.
So, pick a flight from the United States mainland and try to arrive in Honolulu around mid-afternoon. Forget the rental car for a couple of days. Most hotels have rental car dealers in their lobbies, or at least within a very short walking distance of the hotel. Remember you are in Hawaii, a place where walking is something you will enjoy.
Most vacation packages include transportation from the airport to your hotel door. Some include transportation back to the airport, but many do not, so be sure you understand in advance if you have your return trip to the airport covered. Otherwise, make sure you save cab fare. It would not be a fun walk to the airport and the airlines will not hold the flight for you.
When you get settled in your room, make your first excursion down to the tour desk. Like the car rental counter, most hotels have a tour desk in the lobby. They normally close between 4 or 5 PM, so find that desk soon after you check in.
Book a tour for the next day; your first full day on the island and make a trip around the island. The best one is called the Grand Circle Island tour. It leaves around 5:30 in the morning and you will get back to the hotel around 4 or 5 in the afternoon. You will not spend very long at each stop, but you will learn where everything is located for later. Do not be concerned about the early morning departure.
After you travel from the mainland, the time difference will have your internal clock so confused that you will awake very early on your first morning in Hawaii. On my first trip I was sitting in Denny's at 3AM talking to everyone else who had arrived the day before and could not sleep.
The Grand Circle Island tour will pick you up from your hotel on Waikiki beach, take you through the park, past the zoo (yes Honolulu has a zoo) and out to Diamond Head. After a tour inside the crater you will travel on around to Hanauma Bay, the marine sanctuary. The view is spectacular, it is a great place to snorkel and you will see where Elvis filmed scenes from Blue Hawaii.
Continuing on around the island, you will pass by a lighthouse, feast your eyes on some of the most beautiful coastline in the world. Of course, you will see that all day long. The tour stops at the famous blow hole and while there you can gaze down at a very famous piece of beach. Calling it a stretch of beach would be “stretching” the truth. It is a tiny spot of beach known as the “From Here to Eternity” beach. If memory serves me correctly, Charlton Heston filmed a love scene on that beach.
On this side of the island you will see magnificent cliffs, dozens of waterfalls, perhaps an occasional whale or two playing offshore, pass by a beautiful temple, see where the waves are higher than thirty feet, known as the North Shore, Sunset Beach and The Pipe Line.
You will move on around the island, see the beautiful Waimea Falls where cliff divers entertain several times each day. That side of the island also hosts the trip through a rain forest and an almost biting cold drive to the top of a very famous cliff.
On your way back into the opposite end of Waikiki Beach from which you left you will see the famous Turtle Beach where you can pose for pictures with some of the oldest creatures on the island. The turtles are happy to pose with you, but do not ask them to smile. They have to draw the line somewhere.
You will also pass by Pearl Harbor which is home to the Battleship Missouri and The Arizona Memorial. You will also see Punchbowl National Cemetery, which is inside an extinct volcano. Your driver, time permitting, will also take you through the famous China Town district of Honolulu.
All in all, this makes a pretty good first full day on the island. Now sit over dinner and plan what you want to go back and see more of on your next day. Enjoy your time and remember while you are there; do not rush, you are on Hawaiian time!
