Going to HNL with the nwa deal for 2 nights and it looks like rain the entire time!
Any suggestions of what can be done in the rain?

Go to Ala Moana and cruise every level. I was saddened to find it has become almost like every other mall in America, but there are still tiny shops that are "local" enough. I tend to spend a lot of time in the Crack Seed shop inhaling the scents of my childhood :) And then I wander over every inch of Shirokiya (what's left of it).

Bishop Museum is good for a rainy day, too. It's a very Victorian experience, and in the rain you'll feel like part of a gothic novel.

International Market is fun. Get the ahi skewers for lunch from Aloha Broiler.

Into architecture and history? Visit the Kawaiahao or Central Union churches. Or the Palace. Or the state museum.

go snorkeling the rain wont make a difference :)

With the rain, it's a neat experience 'cause the water looks like it's boiling around you. Besides, you're already in the water, so getting soaked is not a problem.

I'm with Owlchick - SHOP!!! And eat - great food to be had on Oahu!

I wouldn't worry too much about what the weather says. I'm in Waikiki now. Right before we left the forecast said it was going to rain (versus showers) all this week.

The sun has been shining since we arrived and the first hint of rain in the forecast is for Thursday. I wouldn't worry about it too much. It's likely the forecast will change.

If it does rain, often you can hop in the car, drive 15 mintues, and the weather will be different.

If you don't want to do that, I love the Bishop Museum, and Ala Moana is an excellent place to people watch & spend some money. The food court, believe it or not, isn't half bad. It's far superior to those on the mainland.

go snorkeling the rain wont make a difference :)
:)

I wouldn't worry too much about what the weather says. I'm in Waikiki now. Right before we left the forecast said it was going to rain (versus showers) all this week.

The sun has been shining since we arrived and the first hint of rain in the forecast is for Thursday. I wouldn't worry about it too much. It's likely the forecast will change.



Prediction. @:-)

It will rain so heavily this Friday that NW will cancel all inbound flight Mary2e . You know what that means don't you? ;)

Dan

Go to Ala Moana and cruise every level.

Ala Moana has a weird configuration it's half indoors and half out. I don't know how it would be like if it rained. But it's a great place to visit.

Seems like it has been raining a ton over there... although the national news usually says "rain in Hawaii" when it's not raining. I just pulled a 30 day forecast from weather.com for big island, and they are forecasting rain for the next 10 days.

We spent a rainy day 2 years ago at the Hyatt Regency Maui. Got some games from the game room, and hung out in the hotel.

Bummer that rain is forcasted while you will be there such a short time... but usually when it rains there it does not last all day.

Locals, any weather comments?

Most days where we are it will rain for a very short period a time or two each day, and quite a bit more at night.

But the last two weeks it has rained pretty much non-stop, with just a few breaks. There is some indication that maybe the pattern is supposed to go back to normal this weekend.

Without the rain, Hawaii wouldn't be lush.....

Edit: An overview here http://www.thehawaiichannel.com/news/7851632/detail.html

go snorkeling the rain wont make a difference :)

the ocean water here is presently a thick dull brown with weeks of runoff. some beaches have been closed due to bacteria, and perhaps others should be. bad idea.

If it does rain, often you can hop in the car, drive 15 mintues, and the weather will be different.

you can drive somewhere else during normal minor weather disturbances. however during hawaii's typical 2-4 weeks of strong winter rains (like this week), the storms cover most or all of the island or main chain.

the ocean water here is presently a thick dull brown with weeks of runoff. some beaches have been closed due to bacteria, and perhaps others should be. bad idea.

Yes. Whole Hamakua coast on the Big Island is churning brown stuff. The Wailuku River and Akaka Stream are magnificent to look at at their mouths right now but they are full of debris and "stuff"

It's not the entire island. Other parts of Oahu is still accessible like the North Shore and Central/East Oahu. Only the Windward side has been disrupted significantly.

entire island of kauai has been/is affected. oahu appeared similarly when i was there on thursday.

in any event, the concept still stands. when the big winter storms come, usually two to four weeks a year, it just isn't beach weather, period. when planning travel to the islands, especially for november and february/march, this can be an issue. there are exceptions. like a year ago, when november's rain came over xmas/new year.

and in today's (3/13) weather: "THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HONOLULU HAS ISSUED A FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR ALL OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON. WIDESPREAD HEAVY RAIN IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER THE NEXT TWO DAYS AND WILL LIKELY AFFECT ALL ISLANDS."

On the Big Island...we hiked the Volcano in the rain (with a rain coat)
In HNL we shopped the Swap meat in the rain (be finished by 3, they close up.) Ususally we just got in the car and drove 15 minutes until we found sunshine... :)

I had a tough time finding good weather during the first week of this month on Oahu. We stayed on the Windward side (Kailua), which was pretty much steady rain for the entire trip. We drove all over the place every day to escape the rain and brown water. Hanauma bay was fine in the rain and even had a bit of sun on one of the mornings. The North Shore was showery with sun breaks at times until we got East of Waimea Bay, where the water turned brown and the rain was pretty much constant. Yokohama beach (end of the H1 past Wainae) was nice for an hour or two as well, but the showers rolled in early in the afternoon and the swell was a bit too big to enter the water. I did end up with a good tan when I got back, so it wasn't an entire waste. It was also cool to be able to see pretty much the entire island in just a few days.

Moral of the story: be sure you have a car to chase the sun around the island.

Why not do something completely different? When arriving at HNL rent the
biggest Pickup/SUV you can get (it won't hurt, it's only for 2 days). Reserve a table at the revolving restaurant in Waikiki for the second evening.
Stand up early, drive all the way to the north west, past Camp Erdmann.
At the end of the highway get out and watch one of the most impressing
sights during heavy rain on Oahu.
On your way back you will pass several people needing help, old kama'aina,
hapa haole - either flooded or carrying home their shopping. Stop. Offer your
help. Bring them home with your pickup/SUV. Live the spirit of Aloha.
In the evening, relax, sit down in the revolving restaurant and have a look
at Waikiki getting wet.
I think you will look back to this day longer than to a day at Ala Moana. :D

Going to HNL with the nwa deal for 2 nights and it looks like rain the entire time!
Any suggestions of what can be done in the rain?

You can go on a shark tour, scuba or snorkel...like the other poster noted you're going to get wet anyhow.
Bishop Museum and Iolani Palace will both give you a glimpse of our Hawaiian culture.
Bring an umbrella or buy one. The sites are still the same and there will be less crowds. I enjoyed Paris in the same fashion, it's just water.

Take photos of the all the rainbows......"No rain, no rainbows".
Now having said all that, I am thrilled to say (for today) the skies are blue, and the sun is shining over our North Shore kua aina.

Up through May, there is a great exhibit at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, of several hundred objects collected in the South Pacific by Captain Cook in the 18th Century. It is the most comprehensive presentation of eighteenth century cultural objects from the Pacific ever presented in Hawaii or the Pacific and they have not been seen outside of Europe since they were collected.

http://cms.honoluluacademy.org/cmshaa/academy/index.aspx?id=413

Timeshare presentations for free hotel points?

Timeshare presentations for free hotel points?

or for 1/2 off one of polihale's suggestions or some other adventure.

go snorkeling the rain wont make a difference :)

Won't you be getting a lot of rainwater in your snorkel? That would surely make a difference. Maybe you meant scuba?

ill be on my honeymoon so raining days arent sych a bad thing ;)