Honolulu Things to Do Tips by K.Knight

The drive up to Nuuanu Pali Lookout is nothing short of spectacular and one thing is for sure on the Island of Oahu, nowhere is very far to drive!
Atop Nuuanu Pali, periodic wind gusts can make it difficult for visitors to walk to the lookout point. Perched 3,000 feet above Oahu, Nuuanu Pali is the site of a famous Battle of Nuuanu led by Kamehameha I in 1795 when he drove hundreds of warriors over the cliff.

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Hanauma Bay Nature Park is one of the more popular recreational swimming, snorkeling and picnicing areas on O`ahu. There are a multitude of tour operators that will "Rip you off" if you book through them though. Most will charge up to US$50.00 for a half day tour.
Take my advice and catch "the bus" public transport (http://www.thebus.org) The bus #22 terminates at Hanauma Bay and it only cost around $2.00 each way!! When you get to Hanauma Bay you will pay an entry fee of approx US$3.00 for entry. This means that you can go to Hanauma Bay all day for under US$10.00!!!!!!!!!!

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Address: Swimming; Snorkeling

There seems to be a common thread in Honolulu....Tourist operators that wish to rip you off!!
Pearl Harbour is a National memorial and as such, it is FREE ENTRY. Once again The Bus will take you to the memorial for US$2.00 each way. An entire day at the memorial will cost you US$4.00. Some tour companies will charge you upwards of US$60.00 for the tour!!!

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Address: Arizona Memorial; Battleship Missouri; Bowfin

Pearl Harbor is Hawaii's largest harbor and the nation's only naval base designated as a National Historic Landmark with three significant memorials: the USS Arizona Memorial, honoring the 1,100 men of the Pearl Harbor attack; the Battleship Missouri Memorial, a living museum of the most celebrated and last-built battleship; and the USS Bowfin Museum, featuring a World War II submarine, a Japanese mini submarine and extensive submarine history.

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Address: Arizona Memorial; Battleship Missouri; Bowfin

Once you enter the memorial I would suggest that you go straight to the ticket window and receive a free ticket for the movie and boat tour. These tickets are numbered and when you (and around 50 others) are called you proceed to the theatre. After a film of live footage from the Japanese invasion of Dec 7 1941, you board a navy boat and are taken out to the USS Arizona.

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Address: Arizona Memorial; Battleship Missouri; Bowfin

To me, this was a humbling experience.....
The USS Arizona is the final resting place for many of the ship's 1,177 crewmen who lost their lives on December 7, 1941. The 184-foot-long Memorial structure spanning the mid-portion of the sunken battleship consists of three main sections: the entry and assembly rooms; a central area designed for ceremonies and general observation; and the shrine room, where the names of those killed on the Arizona are engraved on the marble wall.

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Address: Arizona Memorial; Battleship Missouri; Bowfin

Diamond Head is Oahu's largest tuff cone formed over 100,000 years ago by an active bubbling volcano. Nineteenth century British sailors nicknamed the crater Diamond Head when they mistook the calcite crystals for diamonds. A well-graded trail leads you up the 760-feet summit to a World War II bunker with a bird's eye view of Honolulu.

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Address: Scenic; Hiking Trail

Our flight home to Brisbane did not leave until midnight and a room for an extra night at our motel was US$170.00.
We decided to hire a car for the day and drive around the Island. The car cost us $29.00 and we had not seen the North shore. I would recommend this as an option for any traveler because of the easy driving conditions, great roads, fantastic scenery and the chance to get away from the main stream attractions around Honolulu, not to mention the cost savings.
You can collect the car from Waikiki and drop it back at the airport.

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When walking around the streets we were often aproached by people wishing to sell us dinner cruises etc. At first we were a little wary of these people because we thought we would get ripped off.
After talking with "other tourists" we found that these dinner cruises we often half price to fill the boat.
On Anne's birthday we decided to purchase two tickets for the dinner/sunset cruise and I can tell you that it was well worth it. A bus collected us from our hotel and took us to the boat, dinner was a seafood buffet and the entertainment was first class before we were taken back to the hotel by the same bus....all for the tidy sum of US$27.00 per person.

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On our drive around the Island we visited the very laid back North Shore. As you can imagine there were all types of visitors from around the world waiting to capture some surfing action. Anne and I chose Sunset beach to enjoy our lunch, but alas, the surf was very very flat! We sat and watched the kids climb the rocky outcrop and then dive into the water.

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