<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by poolmom:
We have a 4 hour wait in HNL before catching our Northwest flight to SEA. Is it worth leaving the airport to do some sightseeing or should we just stay put.</font>
A 4-hour layover is right on the border of being able to do something outside the airport.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">We have an 8:30 am flight from OGG on Aloha. Our flight to SEA on Northwest leaves at 1:15 pm</font>
In looking at the schedule, my guess would be that you're on the 8:25am departure, which arrives at HNL at 8:56am.
If you leave the airport, you'll have to clear security again on the way back in. Assuming that you already have your boarding passes for the NW flight, I'd want to arrive at the airport no later than 12pm for a 1:15pm departure.
Assuming you took the quickest mode of transport, which would be a taxi to either the Arizona Memorial or Waikiki, you'd have about 2 hours to spend at your destination. The problem with the Arizona memorial is that you get a (free) ticket at the visitor's center when you get there that lets you into a movie at a given time on a first-come, first served basis. There is often a wait unless you get there first thing in the morning. Once the movie is done, you take the Navy boat out the memorial itself. There's no guarantee that you can get this done in 2 hours.
In your situation, I'd recommend to you that you take a cab to Waikiki. You'd have time to have a quick lunch and just walk around for an hour or so. If you've never been there before, it would give you a chance to get a flavor of the place. To add to what someone else already said, I'd probably recommend Duke's as opposed to the Hilton Hawaiian Village, as you'd be more in the center of things once you're done eating.
One option available to you if you plan to stay at the airport is to visit the aviation museum. It's not all that large, but I think it's a unique airport amenity - I can't think of another airport that I've been to that has such an exhibit. It's airside in the main terminal, so you don't have to exit the terminal area and go back through security.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">StudentExplorer wrote:
Along those same lines, I have an 8 hour layover.
Arriving NRT-HNL at 9:20 am and departing for MSP at 5:30 pm.
Clearly, we're going to want to leave the airport. My questions then are:
1) How long would it take to clear customs?</font>
I've only cleared customs once at HNL, and I don't remember how long it took. It probably wasn't terribly long, or I would have remembered that. Keep in mind that you will be doing this in HNL regardless of whether or not you leave the airport, as it is your first port of entry into the US. With a 9:20am international arrival, I'd say that you could be at the curb no later than 10:30am.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">2) How easy is it to get into the city and what are the best options for doing so?
3)How long does it take for getting from the airport to the city?</font>
As others have pointed out, it's about 30 minutes by shuttle, or 45 minutes by The Bus. The problem with these numbers is that they don't take into account the time it takes to figure out the route, buy the ticket (in the case of the shuttle), or wait for the next scheduled service.
I'd probably recommend a taxi, as it will be a faster than the shuttle as it will go directly to where you want to go, no advance ticket is required, and most importantly, it will leave immediately on your demand in either direction. It's about $25 each way via taxi between the airport and Waikiki.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">4) What do you recommend doing?</font>
As others have recommended, the Arizona Memorial and Waikiki are two great options.
Normally, I'd put the Arizona Memorial as a "must see" item for any first visit to Oahu. You would definately have enough time to get there, wait in line for your time, see the movie, and visit the memorial itself. But you'd probably not have time to do this, and get somewhere else like Waikiki, and make it back to the airport in time for your flight.
If you choose the Arizona Memorial, there's also two other adjacent WWII exhibits that could fill the rest of your time: The USS Bowfin submarine museum (where you board the actual submarine in addition to walking through the museum), and the Battleship Missouri. The Missouri is a very interesting ship. It served in WWII, and the formal papers for the Japanese surrender were signed on its deck while anchored in Tokyo Bay. It also served in the first Gulf War, and launched Tomahawk cruise missiles into Iraq. So, it has certainly seen a lot of service in terms of US military history. I would see the Arizona first, then see the Missouri (spend the extra money for the guided tour - it's highly worth it), then the Bowfin if you have any extra time. If by chance historical stuff totally bores you, or if you've been there before, I'd opt for Waikiki (but I don't think that a particular interest in history or WWII is necessary in order to greatly appreciate the Arizona and Missouri).
[This message has been edited by Steve M (edited 07-20-2003).]