Tourist Attractions in Hawaii (State of)

Everything is expensive in Waikiki--it's a tourist trap! The locals don't and won't usually shop here unless we're forced to. Walk around, enjoy the beautiful weather and sights, but--again--DO NOT SHOP HERE! (I cannot stress this enough.)

Unique Suggestions: If you *really* need to shop in Waikiki, then the DFS store is the place to shop at. This place is very reasonable. Everyone is allowed to shop on the first two floors; however, the third floor is accessible only to International travellers. (You need to show your flight ticket.) They have a lot of good souvenirs.

If you're looking for fast-food, then go to the Jack-In-The-Box restaurant near the Hyatt Regency. This is the only fast-food restaurant in Waikiki that doesn't jack up their prices for the tourists (i.e., the price here is the same as it is as the other JitB restaurants around the island.) The Waikiki McDonalds and Burger King on the other hand...

Finally, realize that *many* of the restaurants in Waikiki AUTOMATICALLY INCLUDE A 15-20% TIP in a customer's bill!! I once took a VIP friend out and ate at a Chinese restaurant in Waikiki (which I won't name). The waiter presented me the bill; I was paying via credit card so I filled it out, including a 20% tip. The bastard waiter never even mentioned that the tip was already included to me! Only after I left and returned home did I look over the receipt and saw that the scumbag received a double-tip (40%)! I called the restaurant the next day but was told that there was nothing they could do. They did have signs explaining the already-included tip, BUT THE SIGNS WERE WRITTEN IN JAPANESE!

Fun Alternatives: The best places to do your shopping is at Ala Moana, Waikele Outlet, Pearl Ridge, Windward Mall, and the Ward Warehouse and Center. For souvenirs, Long's Drugs stores are a great place to shop. You can get all the Hawaiian macadamia nuts, chocolates, and Kona coffees you need at an inexpensive price at Long's. A lot of locals shop at Long's for their everyday needs.

While it may provide some basic pineapple facts, it's really all about getting you to their souvenir shop. There are some really interesting pineapple plants in the back, and real pineapple facts, though many tourists never really make it back there. A pineapple plant yields approximately 3 pineapples in it's life cycle ... one after about 18 months, then another 13 months later, and again 13 or so months later.

Unique Suggestions: If you find yourself at the Dole Plantation, be sure to go in the back to see different types of pineapple that can grow here on the islands. Also, for fun though there is a $5 fee (or 2@$5 if you have a coupon) visit the "maze" to the right of the store. From aerial, the maze is a picture of a pineapple, though there are no pineapples at all in the maze.

Fun Alternatives: If you're really into pineapples, stop by the "pineapple corner" just down the road that has a large variety of other pineapples, all marked where they originated from.

Moanalua Gardens - This 25 acre public garden has 2 streams, a taro patch, and ancient stone carvings.



Punchbowl Crater - In the center of the crater lies the National Cemetery of the Pacific, home to 25,000 victims of WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

Ride Around Horseback - This ranch offers well-trained horses that will take you on a unique tour of rural Oahu that starts at Waimanalo, about 30 minutes from Waikiki.



Sunset Dinner Cruise - Enjoy dinner on a catamaran, a yacht, or a larger ship.
Tiny Bubbles with Don Ho - He's still singing his Hawaiian torch love songs and is surprisingly entertaining. A night with Don is a good way to celebrate a birthday, wedding, or anniversary.



Valley of the Temples - The valley of the Temples is a replica of the Byodo-In temple in Japan. The grounds have peacocks, ponds, and a 9-ft Buddha.

Sorry, folks, but it IS a tourist trap. I know this is going to offend a few, but somebody's gotta say it.

It's a rusting hulk, mostly invisible in murky water, or hidden by reflections off the water. If it were not for the huge turret mounts still sticking up out of the water, most of us wouldn't be able to tell that it is a ship at all.
At the end of the monument there is a big slab of stone with a bunch of names in it. Impressive, perhaps, if you're really into masonry or engraving, or if your uncle is listed there, but unimpressive for the average citizen.

And maybe we could send a diver down to plug the leak in the fuel tanks? The living aren't allowed to pollute the environment like that, why should the dead be allowed to do it?

And, last but not least, how about a bathroom on site?
If the old kidneys start acting up you can't just hang it over the side - that would be desecrating a grave. So you've got to wait until everybody is done and the tour boat gets back to the dock.

1000+ guys gave their lives here. It could be done a lot better in their memory.

PS: for you few hyper-patriots who want to send me email to complain about this review: don't bother. I'll just delete them.
The answer to speech that you don't agree with is more speech. If you think it is great, write your own review explaining why. ( And, when doing so, please, tell us why the fuel tank can take more leaks than a living person )

Unique Suggestions: Visit the bathroom before you go.

Fun Alternatives: Just next door is the submarine USS Bowfin. You can go inside and look around. It's fascinating.

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Probably it is the #1attraction on O`hau for tourists , but in my mind it is absolutely not worth to go there as it is sooo expensive and 2nd it is really boring.

the good thing is, PCC has 1,400 employees. PCC is about people and learning their cultures.
so its up to you!

For more information please visit
http://www.polynesia.com//

Hilo Hattie is billed as "The Store of Hawaii". Well, that may be, but is is most assuredly the "Overpriced, Tourist Trap Store of Hawaii" as well! The chain has stores all throughout the islands, as well as some stores on the mainland U.S. And to be honest, they do have some decent items for sale. But everything in these stores is way more expensive than other retail shops on the islands. I can't argue with their marketing campaigns and promotional ploys to get people in their stores, it seems to work. Many hotels in Hawaii have "discount" coupons to take to the stores, but they are to the affect of "Buy $100 worth of stuff, get a free t-shirt" sort of thing. Most of the discounts offered initially require a purchase of some sort. Nice store, heck of a price!

Unique Suggestions: If you do plan on buying items from Hilo Hattie, I would suggest sticking to smaller items, small souvenirs and such. Stay away from the clothing and big items, unless it is just something you must have. This is just simply to save a little cash.

Fun Alternatives: There are endless numbers of retail stores on all of the islands that have an excellent selection of items for sale, i.e. clothing, souvenirs, etc., and for a much better price. Whichever respective island you may be visiting, just ask around, or look around for some better alternatives. Your wallet will thank you!

If you're considering trying introductory SCUBA diving, GREAT-- there's lots of good sites in Hawaii. However, be aware that many spots are chosen for their utter SAFETY, rather than their beauty. One such trouist trap is the spot on the northern side of Oahu's eastern tip, in the space between Sea Life Park and the research pier (near Waimanalo). It's shallow and without current, so it's utterly safe... but the visibility is less than 10', the bottom's murky silt, easily stirred up into a wall of murk. There's nothing to see other than a few thumbnail-sized fish hugging a couple of coral heads.

Unique Suggestions: Avoid touching the bottom, or stirring the bottom with your fins as you swim. Look out for lionfish, which're pretty and slow-moving but have a truly painful contact poison that's been compared to having your hand over a lit candle for a week.

Bring a Fuji Quicksnap snorkelling camera. The box says "good only to 15 feet/5 meters", but it's actually good to about double that (for shooting & winding the film forward) or 45' / 15 meters for taking a single shot... then go shallow to wind the film forward.

Focal length is abotu a yard to about 3 yards. Photos will be SHADES OF BLUE, but satisfying.

Don't get the Kodak snorkelling camera. The little red shutter push-button gets pushed by water-pressure, making this camera useless at more than 10 feet under water.

If you don't mind the obvious environmental concern, consider bringing a packet of hot-dogs to mash & feed to the fish. If the fish are used to it, they'll come close and eat from your hand. If they're not used to it, they'll ignore it.

Fun Alternatives: If your scuba shop suggests this place, say NO, NO, NO. Instead, ask for Hanauma Bay (will cost more, but totally worth it) or Shark's Cove (not during big wave season, oct~may) or Rainbow Reef/Magic Island, or Electic Beach. Hanauma Bay is closed on Tuesdays, and is more expensive, but an effortless, VERY satisfying intro dive. Rainbow Reef and Electric Beach are more challenging dives, at the high end of difficulty for an introductory SCUBA, but VERY VERY pretty, with a fair chance of seeing turtles.

If they suggest boat diving near Port Lock, make SURE that you're not going to "Jan's Spot", which is at least as boring.

If you're invited to go to Turtle Alley (or anything with "turtle" in the name), it'll be a somewhat challenging intro dive from a boat. Definitely get a beach- or pool-lesson BEFORE you go, because the lessons done in deep water from a boat can be... stressful & frightening for beginners. Practice SCUBA in a place where you can stand up in the water, BEFORE doing a boat dive.

The Port Lock "intro beach dive" is a bit challenging, but moderately satisfying.

Consider doing SNUBA instead of SCUBA, if at all possible (for intro divers only...it's far easier and less stressful).

Avoid "sea walker" like the plague....it's a helmeted march on the sea-bottom, short, and unpleasant. The helmet's shaped so everything looks far away, and you don't get nearly as much fun out of it as with SNUBA/SCUBA.

"Sea Walker" looks good on paper. It's an alternative to traditional introductory SCUBA diving. You put a big fishbowl helmet on your head, and walk on the sea floor like an old-fashioned sponge diver.

The down-side is, 1) the helmet is mostly convex, so everything looks faaar away. 2) you go down with alot of people and kick up the bottom sediment, so it's hard to see through the murk you create, and 3) typically it's alot shorter than a scuba or snuba dive.

Plus, let's face it-- walking with a heavy helmet is no substiture for swimming. Swimming's effortless & dreamy, like flying in a dream. Seawalker is... like the last mile of a 10-mile hike.

Unique Suggestions: Buy a Fuji quicksnap snorkelling camera (disposable, 27 pictures, $10) at a convenience store or supermarket before you go. This way, you won't be tempted to buy the photos they sell for $10~15, and will deliver to your hotel.

DO NOT buy the Kodak snorkelling camera. Both the fuji and the kodak boxes "say" they're good to about 7 ~ 15 feet, but the Fuji's actually good to about twice or 3x that depth.

Fun Alternatives: SNUBA at Hanauma Bay, or at any other place that's got clear water & starts off in shallow water where you can stand up.

(Snuba is LIKE scuba, but has a canoe above you, with a scuba tank in it. And, the scuba gear is stripped down to its simplest components, and kids age 8&up can do it.)

Or, do snorkelling/scuba at Hanauma Bay/Molokini crater.

Or, do the stingray-petting or dolphin-petting experience at Sea Life Park on O'ahu island.