First timer to Hawaii
 

I am planning my first trip to Hawaii in December from the 7th till the 12th. I will be travelling alone and will be renting a car. Will there be a shuttle to take me to the rental car and where do I get the shuttle if there is one? I would assume right outside arrivals but I just want to make sure.

I intend to stay in the Waikiki area. What would be a nice mid-range hotel to stay by the beach with a nice pool? I assume the weather will be similar to The Philippines since Hawaii is pretty much right on the same longitude. Would staying in a resort be ok or it might be too much?

I am looking as well for some good eats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I'm interested in the local sutff like BBQ's, Hawaiian pancakes, saimin noodles, seafood, loco mocos, plate lunches, Hawaiian desserts and stuff like that. Sam Choy is on my mind.

For things to do, I am looking to go to the Pearl Harbor Memorial. How do I get tickets, is there parking, etc? Besides that, I would like to do other stuff as well like Snorkeling, ATV's, etc.. Maybe someone has recommendations on things to do.

I would also like to bring some Hawaiian food back home like nuts, coffee, etc. So maybe some can recommend places to get those.

How much pocket money should I bring?

Lastly, when would be a good time to book the hotel and car?

Tips and suggestions greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Go to Nico's Pier 38 for a tuna steak. :D It's amazing.

If arriving at HNL airport, there are rental car shuttles immediately outside Baggage Claim. Depending on the Terminal, and if you had only light luggage, you might ask Airport Staff on walking to car rental on-airport sites.
Waikiki-area has a great selection of hotels. Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, etc. Most have fine pools. My favorite, not too expensive, is the large Hilton Hawaiian Village (ocean front location).
Hotel information desk will provide large list of local "good eats".
Again, hotel information desk will provide tourist site information. On "Pearl Harbor Memorial" visit, there is only ONE approved boat access to step onto memorial (as compared to boating around it).
If you are a Costco member, they have many Hawaiian food items that are very reasonable.
In addition to credit cards, cash use should be similar to your personal experience in most cities you have travelled to. Hawaii is expensive, partly because most items need to be shipped in from elsewhere.
Now is a good time to book hotel and car.
By the way, do ask hotel tour desk about choices for a LUAU.
Reat assured...you should have a fine visit to "Paradise".

The three major car rental companies are right outside and across the street from baggage claim. They all have shuttles but it is just so much faster and easier to walk. Just turn right as you exit the terminal and walk down almost to the end of the terminal building to the pedestrian lights and cross the street. You'll see signs directing you to Budget, Hertz, Avis. Advantage is also right there.

Some of the other companies, Thrifty, Alamo, Dollar, Enterprise, Firefly, A1, all require a shuttle as they are farther away up on Nimitz and are not easy/are too far to walk to. All of the shuttles pick up in the same place - on the centre island right across the street from the terminal building.

The best snorkeling is at Hanauma Bay just beyond Diamond Head. It's often very crowded but it's terrific. I've been kayaking on the other side but I don't remember the name of the town. There's lots to do and see. Pali point is a nice trip. Lots of folks look down on Oahu but I love it

For your rental car, check out discounthawaiirental.com They have great rates, as does Costco. The site to get tickets to the Arizona Memorial is recreation.gov, use it to book your tickets in advance. For all other Pearl Harbor exhibits you can just turn up.

For the rental car, I was thinking of going with RelayRides. I have used them before and didn't have a problem. I'm not sure though whats the earliest I can book with them. My trip is not for another 11 months!

OP: In order to help you, it would be great to have more information: What is your budget, what do you like to do?

If you want to stay on the South Shore (like Waikiki), but don't want to deal with crowds, check out The Kahala Hotel, which is a short cab ride to Waikiki.

Car rental? You might be better off not renting at the airport. Get a cab to your hotel, chill for a day or so, and then rent wherever you are for your daily ride. You will save hotel parking rates, which can easily be $25 per day.

If you do rent a car at the airport, be advised that there is now construction ongoing for a new car rental facility, and some of the previous locations have been removed. Check with your rental car agency.

Realize parking is very expensive in Waikiki, so I would recommend you figure out how many days you actually plan to be driving to other parts of the island, and see whether it would be cheaper to rent a car by the day from your resort to avoid the parking charges. The bus system is very good and very cheap, and easier to use to get from one end of Waikiki to the other and to the Ala Moana mall area than dealing with a car.

Thanks for the reply.

My budget - Well, the rental car and hotel will be separate from the pocket money I bring. I'll use my pocket money for food, souvenirs and fees for activities. I'm not sure how much pocket money I should bring!

Car rental - Like I've said above, looks like I'll be going with RelayRides.

For the hotel - Are there any hotels with some form of valet or free parking or all of them I have to pay for it? I heard The Modern is nice but I still have to take a good look at it. What would be a nice mid-range hotel to stay by the beach with a nice pool? Would staying in a resort be ok or it might be too much?

For things to do - I am looking to go to the Pearl Harbor Memorial, Snorkeling, ATV's, etc. Looks like I'll be snorkeling at the Hanauma Bay.

Waikiki area hotel/resorts with best pools, are imho:

Hilton Hawaiian Village (as mentioned above) (5 different pools on property)
Sheraton Waikiki (Infinity adult pool and larger pool with water slide)
Waikiki Beach Marriott (two pools on their deck area)

HHV and Sheraton Waikiki are beach front. Marriott is across the street from beach.

The Modern does not have a beach.

So what would you recommend? I would like the hotel to have good food and has fast free reliable Wi-Fi. As far as the pool goes, probably the nicest pool I guess!

I guess The Modern is out then. I'm sure its pricey as well for a solo traveler.

A nice beach view would probably be best as I don't have plans to go to the beach. I'll most likely do that with Snorkeling.

My friend recommended Ko Olina. I'm not sure if I should consider that as they went as a family of 4 whereas, I'm going solo.

Would a staying in a resort be too much or I should be fine?

.

My friend recommended Ko Olina. I'm not sure if I should consider that as they went as a family of 4 whereas, I'm going solo.

Would a staying in a resort be too much or I should be fine?[/QUOTE]

KoOlina has beautiful grounds with many native plants, nice walkway around lagoons. But, hotel will be closed for renovation although timeshare is open. Very nice rooms, either efficiency 1 or 2 bedroom units with full kitchens, washer dryer. You would need to rent a car there. Mostly families stay there and I think a solo tourist might want to stay in Honolulu instead.
Agree, take cab from airport to hotel and only rent for days you want to tour island. We have stayed at both historical hotels, Moana Surf and the pink palace the Royal Hawaiaan. Both right on beach , Waikiki, lovely but with small pools. One day trip we love is to just travel around the island from Honolulu out to north Shore, stop at sightseeing turn offs, go to little town of Hawai for lunch and stroll, the n back passing by pineapple fields. Just relax in Hawaii, don't worry too much about arrangements and enjoy the beauty. Also the Hawaiian people are just absolutely lovely!

I have no idea what you are trying to discern :confused:

Never mind then. A resort would be fine!! I just wish I had a girl to go along with! :p

Here's my perceptions on what I read from your inquries:

* First time visit and "single/solo" - stay in Waikiki.

* Pools - go online and look at pictures, videos and reviews of properties suggested that have larger pools and check them out.

* December is the most expensive month to visit Hawaii. If you're on a budget some of the properties mentioned might be a concern.

* If budget is an issue, there are nice hotels a 3-4-5 block walk from the beach that might have less expensive rates. But, you would scarfice larger pools. And beach/ocean views.

* Food. Finding something you want to eat in all price ranges, within walking distance of Waikiki area shouldn't be a problem.

* Free Wifi? Check out the hotel websites. We have stayed at the Royal Hawaiian our last 3 visits and guests have free Wifi. (btw, since pools seem to be a priority for you -- if you look at the RH, its pool is very small, but RH guests can use the two larger pools next door at the sister Starwood property the Sheraton Waikiki)

Good luck!

Thanks for all the replies on where to stay.

I'm leaning towards the Hilton Hawaiian Village as the price seems to be the best out of the bunch. I would like to get first hand reviews first. Hows the food on property, the rooms, pool, Wi-Fi speed, etc.?

You may wish to visit the Hilton forum. Very detailed threads on all the Hawaiian properties.

What would you recommend?

Thanks but I'm still debating where to stay. I'll give it a look though.

Moving on, can anyone recommend any good places for eats? I'm interested in the local sutff like BBQ's, Hawaiian pancakes, saimin noodles, seafood, loco mocos, plate lunches, Hawaiian desserts and stuff like that.

Also, is it worth trying Sam Choy?

Looks like Sam Choy is closed and the only remaining branch is on a military base. Oh well.

Moving back on places to stay (please forgive me if this is brought up again), but since someone mentioned that the HHV is pretty far from the strip and its more of a family/honeymoon hotel rather than a hotel for a 20's something person, can anyone recommend a hotel where its near everything like bars, etc. and its good for single folks?

I did some searching but I am not familiar with the area so please forgive me.

Thanks.

I like this map that shows where individual hotels are in relation to the Waikiki area. There are others available if you do a search for "waikiki map with hotel locations".

http://www.discounthotelshawaii.com/waikikimap.html#

So I narrowed down my hotel choices:

-The Modern Honolulu
-Marriott Waikiki Beach Resort And Spa
-Outrigger Reef On The Beach Rating
-Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel Rating
-Outrigger Waikiki On The Beach

So now, what would be the best option for a mid 20's and single guy like me? From what I was told, the hotel should be in the heart of the strip and where everything is especially the nightlife.

Thanks again.

Outrigger Waikiki would be ground zero for you I think. Bonus is Duke's on site.

What does that mean? And what's Duke's?

Have you stayed to this property before? If so, how was it?

I have now narrowed it down to to hotels after doing some research:

The Outrigger Reef and Outrigger Waikiki.

I still cant figure out the difference between the two and what would be best. I did some research, but still clueless.

Once again, thanks to the FT community for helping me out.

Duke's Barefoot Bar (I think that's the name). You can look it up. Great bar right on the beach. I think that I stayed here several years ago, but frankly don't remember the room. Have been to Duke's and the restaurants above Dukes many times. It's in the very center of the tourist action in Waikiki. The Outrigger Reef doesn't feel as "happening" as much. Never stayed there, but my sense is that the rooms are more condo like, thus maybe more family oriented.

We stayed at Outrigger Waikiki Beach one time 3 years ago. We were lured by a great web rate promotion at the time. Fantastic, prime Waikiki beach front location. It's in between the Royal Hawaiian and Moana Surfrider. All rooms were refurbished 3 years ago. Very nice. Dukes and Hula Grill on site, both popular Waikiki restaurants. It's a popular hotel. Now, it was a one time visit for us -- here's why. . .

Pool and pool deck very small and no way to reserve loungers in advance, so guests get up at crack of dawn to grab a spot. Guests had to sign in and sign out for towels at pool stand. Billed a $$$ fine to your room if you didn't turn them back in. Subsequently we never used the pool. It was always noisy and crowded. Beach front umbrellas and loungers available for rent from an onsite vendor. Again you could not reserve in advance so there was the obligatory line up every morning to reserve just for the day. :(. Now maybe some of these policies have changed. But they were a deal breaker for us. As pool and beach services are a priority for us.

Outrigger Reef is further down next to the Halekulani. Never stayed but is a popular resort and seems to always have competitive rates.

Thanks again for the reply. How was the parking at the Outrigger Waikiki?

And since you mention a pool and beach is a priority for you, what would you recommend?

Many Waikiki hotel reviews here.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g6...ii-Hotels.html

You should pick up a copy of Oahu Revealed. www.wizardpub.com they also offer an i phone app. As they say it is the Ultimate guide book for Waikiki and beyond.

You should browse the hotels website for each property, if you're interested in the two Outrigger properties. On the right hand side of each of their respective overview pages you'll see a layout of the room categories. Very helpful if you want a specific view. The Reef and Waikiki properties are about 2-3 minute walk from each other, with the Reef being a little further "off center". The beaches in Hawaii are all public, so you can go to any one you like, not just in front of the hotel.

Outrigger Reef Overview
Waikiki on the Beach Overview

You also really need to pick up a guidebook or do some online research. Figure out what you'll be doing while there based on things YOU like, not what others tell you.

Gave my opinions to you of best pools in previous post, when you said pools were a priority for you. We liked all of them equally.

"You also really need to pick up a guidebook or do some online research. Figure out what you'll be doing while there based on things YOU like, not what others tell you"

Great advice from "Sam" too. ^

Thanks for all the suggestions!!

I have already booked my hotel at the Outrigger Waikiki after doing some research and that seems to be the choice for singles.

It's about US$279 a night and there is no resort free and free WiFi in the room which is great. I'm not sure I would care about the pool anyways.

Now that's out of the way, I like Drinking, meeting girls, Snorkeling, ATV's, Luaus, etc. :p :D

Did you sign up for the Outrugger email alerts, and use the "Earlybird" promo code when you made your reservation?

For drinking, the aforementioned Dukes will be a great start for you. There's several hotels with beachfront bars (note drinking ON the beach is illegal), and other bars and lounges right off the beach. For an ATV adventure look into Kualoa ranch. I'd suggest the luau and show at Polynesia cultural center, but it's alcohol free. You might look into Chiefs Luau or Paradise Cove, both get recommended a lot over on TA, are out of the city and offer shuttle transportation. Look into the Mai'Tai catamaran sail for a nice sunset cruise with drinks included, very single friendly from all accounts.

Unfortunately, no. I didn't use the EarlyBird promo since when I booked, it wasn't available yet I think. What benefit would I get with that?

As for my plans, I have the Kualoa ranch already part of my itinerary. Other activities on my itinerary include snorkeling at Haunuma Bay, and the Pearl Harbor memorial.

SamRothstein: I just finished chatting with a representative and I got a good deal. About USD$1276 a night compared to the previous rate of $1589.

Great deal! :D ^

The Earlybird promo is % off, can't remember if it's 30% or what. The representative probably plugged it in for you. Now sign up for the email alerts so you can get an even better deal if it pops up.