Time to escape Winter - First time trip to Hawaii
Dec 29, 2017, 12:51 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: AA Exp, One World Emerald
Posts: 108
Time to escape Winter - First time trip to Hawaii
As I am watching snow flurries out my window today, I am happy beyond belief I am heading to Hawaii tomorrow. A couple of months I decided to spend NYE in Honolulu and do some exploring of the islands. My itinerary is as follows:
Outbound 12/30:
AA 248 MCI to ORD @ 6:00AM
AA 1057 ORD to PHX @ 8:45AM
AA 692 PHX to HNL @ 12:05PM
Return 1/7:
AA 102 HNL to DFW @ 9:00PM
AA 2643 DFW to MCI @ 9:07AM (1/8)
I will be staying at the Hotel Renew in Waikiki for my entire stay but do have a couple of day trips scheduled to Maui and Kauai.
Will try and post during the trip.
Any suggestions for good food or sights are welcomed.
Outbound 12/30:
AA 248 MCI to ORD @ 6:00AM
AA 1057 ORD to PHX @ 8:45AM
AA 692 PHX to HNL @ 12:05PM
Return 1/7:
AA 102 HNL to DFW @ 9:00PM
AA 2643 DFW to MCI @ 9:07AM (1/8)
I will be staying at the Hotel Renew in Waikiki for my entire stay but do have a couple of day trips scheduled to Maui and Kauai.
Will try and post during the trip.
Any suggestions for good food or sights are welcomed.
Dec 30, 2017, 3:58 am
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,140
Have done HNL twice ... it's a long way from here, resulting in a 3-day outbound journey!
Pearl Harbour is, I suppose, a must-do, although some people find it disappointing.
Honolulu Zoo is nice, and there's a decent eat/drink option at that end of Waikiki (Lulu's).
One of my TRs is linked in my signature which may help. Sadly the previous TR suffered from Photobucket - I may get round to repairing that one day!
Pearl Harbour is, I suppose, a must-do, although some people find it disappointing.
Honolulu Zoo is nice, and there's a decent eat/drink option at that end of Waikiki (Lulu's).
One of my TRs is linked in my signature which may help. Sadly the previous TR suffered from Photobucket - I may get round to repairing that one day!
Dec 30, 2017, 5:36 am
#4
Join Date: Apr 2009
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Honors Diamond, Mucci de buveur de gin
Posts: 3,060
Have a great trip! I am currently finishing my HNL TR! Dukes is great in Waikiki - it's right by the beach front. The fish tacos are amazing! Hope the hangover isn't too bad for that early flight on the 1st 
Dec 30, 2017, 5:44 am
#5
Join Date: May 2017
Programs: aeroplan
Posts: 158
Have fun! I went to Hawaii last year for the first time and it was beautiful. The Mai Tai's at the military hotel Hale Koa (beside the Hilton Village) were fantastic, a good price and better (compared to the Hilton) and the sunset view spectacular (I did not stay there but non-military can have drinks/snacks at the beachside bar only if there is room).
Dec 31, 2017, 7:31 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: AA Exp, One World Emerald
Posts: 108
Day 1 - Travel day
The day started off not so good. The night before my flight(s), the water main outside my building burst due to the extreme cold temperatures. So no water and no shower when I got up to get ready for my flight. Pity the poor people that have to sit next to me along the way. I did clean up a bit utilizing a couple of bottles of water.Headed to the airport a bit early. There were weather delays in Chicago the night before so I wanted to tray and get on the direct flight from KC to Phoenix which left at 5:40am. My connection was only 25 minutes if i took the KC - Chicago - Phoenix flights. The ladies at the AA Priority check-in were very accommodating and got me on the direct flight. I also was able to upgrade to First on the last remaining seat. The flight to Phoenix was par for the course. They had a new egg sandwich for breakfast that the FA kept asking me if it was ok, was it over done, etc etc. It was not too bad. We got into Phoenix about ten mins early.
As we landed, I turned on my phone and got an AA alert informing me that my flight to HNL was to be delayed by 3 hours and 40 minutes which would have me sitting in Phoenix for 7+ hours. I saw that there was an earlier flight leaving at 8:35am (in about 40 mins). I headed to the Admirals Club to see if they could work some magic for me. They were able to get me on the flight but the only thing available was a center seat (37B). Well that was better than sitting in the airport for hours. I headed to the gate and made my way back to my seat. When I got to the back of the plane asked me if I was Mr. Carter....why yes.....he said that there may be up to 20 seats open due to misconnection and would try and get me an aisle or window seat.
As luck would have it (and the poor people that misconnected) i was moved to a window seat (34F) with the center seat empty.
The flight wasn't too bad and arrived in HNL a bit early.
The view was pretty stunning while dying over the islands.
I took an uber from the airport to my hotel (Hotel Renew) which is at the far end of Waikiki not too far from the Zoo. The hotel is nice and clean but pretty basic. Plus is its only a block to the beach.
After settling in to the hotel, I wondered down to the beach and got some sun.
That night I had a hankering for seafood. I found a Korean seafood restaurant on King Street through eater.com. I ordered the sashimi platter which was pretty damn good and washed down with a couple of Asahi beers.
Day 2
Got up fairly early the next day and after breakfast at the hotel, headed to Diamond Head Monument. It was about a 45 minute walk to the entrance from my hotel. The walk up to the top of Diamond head was a good workout. One to the top, there was really amazing views.
Heading back from Diamond Head, some local chickens patrolling the neighborhood.
On my way up I had passed Pioneer Saloon Plate Lunch. I looked it up and the reviews were pretty good. Its serves Asian/Hawaiian comfort food.
I ordered the Japanese fried chicken with garlic sauce. It was really good.
Spent the afternoon at the beach and rested up ahead of NYE festivities. More on that later.
Jan 4, 2018, 12:55 am
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: AA Exp, One World Emerald
Posts: 108
Day 2 cont'd
Day one coincided with ew Years eve. A friend had mentioned that Bill Maher performs on NYE in Honolulu for the last several years. Im a fan and bought a ticket. Bill Maher was funny as always and accompanying him was Bob Saget and Reggie Brown (Obama impersonator).
The show finished up at 10pm and the plan was to grab something to eat and watch the fireworks then maybe grab a few drinks. I walked back to Waikiki and most of the restaurants were closing up. By the time i made it to view the fireworks my phone had died.
I watched fireworks and then went out drinking. Had a few drinks on a empty stomach and eventually crashed around 2am.
The show finished up at 10pm and the plan was to grab something to eat and watch the fireworks then maybe grab a few drinks. I walked back to Waikiki and most of the restaurants were closing up. By the time i made it to view the fireworks my phone had died.
I watched fireworks and then went out drinking. Had a few drinks on a empty stomach and eventually crashed around 2am.
Day 3
After a not too late NYE night, I grabbed breakfast at the hotel. I searched for things to do on New Years which was a challenge finding things open. The Bishop Museum was opened and sounded like a good place to visit. The museum has a significant amount items on the history of Hawaii as well as Polynesian immigration to the islands. They also have a science museum and planetarium.
After the museum I decided on walking as far as I could back to Waikiki and see what sights I could.
AlwaysI like local murals
Chinatown
Aloha Tower
Found a place to eat that was open in a newish center on Ala Moana that was mostly local restaurants.
Hipster Mai Tai
Mani Fish Tacos
Continued my walk and passed by a big marina
Finally made it back to my hotel and relaxed for a bit.
Grabbed dinner later at a Japanese restaurant near my hotel.
Day 4 - Trip to Maui
I probably could have planned my full trip better. After booking my unrefundable hotel, i decided i wanted to see a couple of the islands. So I decided to do a day trip to Maui and Kauai (later in the trip). The airfares to the islands is reasonable, $130 - 150 roundtrip plus fairly quick. So I booked a day trip to Maui about two weeks in advance and reserved a car.
Outbound HA 256 HNL to OGG @ 8:22AM and return HA 555 @ 9:57PM
Getting to HN was fairly painless and there was a long line at TSA precheck once i got to the airport but it moved quickly.
Outbound HA 256 HNL to OGG @ 8:22AM and return HA 555 @ 9:57PM
Getting to HN was fairly painless and there was a long line at TSA precheck once i got to the airport but it moved quickly.
The flight was quick and I grabbed my rental car. My first part fo the trip was to explore some of the Road to Hana. The full drive is about a 10 - 11 hour round trip and didn't have the time to do the full thing to decided to head to Keanae which is about 1.5 hours drive from the airport. The drive is beautiful but slow going. The roads are extremely twisty and you have lots of stops due to one lane bridges.
Keanae
Found a roadside BBQ that was pretty amazing. Both pork and chicken.
Twin Falls
Beautiful Beaches
After the short drive to Keanae, I headed south to Makena State Park which has one of the most beautiful beaches in Hawaii.
After the beach I headed to the West to catch the sunset at Kapulau
Then headed back towards Kahului to grab dinner at the Mill restaurant.
Planters Punch
Kalbi Beef
Braised Taro w/ Bone marrow
Coconut cake and sherbet
Once dinner was though, it was time to drop off the car and head to my flight.
Kahului airport
Flight was uneventful and had a great night sleep after a long day.
Day 5 - Exploring Oahu
Rented a car to explore Oahu. First stop north east of Waikiki was Makapu'u lighthouse trail. Nice serious workout to get to the top.
Then I headed North checking out some of the beaches.
While in the North shore, i had lunch at Romy's which is famous for their shrimp.
Then grabbed a Hawaiian shaved Ice.
Then I headed west to checkout the paragliders/parasailing
Drove back to Honolulu, before returning the car i went up to Round Top which has great views of the city.
After dropping off the car, stopped by the Royal Hawaiian to check out he sunset.
That evening, went o the Rainbow drive In which is a Honolulu institution.
The mixed plate (pork, beef, fish, rice and macaroni and cheese)
Last edited by tjcnkc; Jan 4, 2018 at 8:43 am
Jan 4, 2018, 8:47 am
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: AA Exp, One World Emerald
Posts: 108
It is on Kanaina Ave, about half a mile north of the end of Waikiki. Its been there for about 50 years. It's a lot of locals but did notice a few tourists there as well.
Jan 4, 2018, 7:43 pm
#14
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Programs: AY Platinum, UA Premier Platinum, OneWorld Emerald, VA Platinum
Posts: 558
Slightly off topic but that "Line starts here" sign reminded me of a bloke at Brisbane Airport many years ago who had that written on the back of his Tshirt. You'd be surprised how many people lined up behind him when boarding was announced.
Jan 5, 2018, 3:34 am
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: AA Exp, One World Emerald
Posts: 108
Day 6 - Day trip to Kauai
I had booked another flight to Kauai for a day trip as well as a rental car to get around.
Outbound flight: HA 303 HNL to LIH @ 8:19AM
Return flight: HA 224 LIH to HNL @ 8:48PM
Honolulu airport wasn't as busy as it was on the 2nd when i did a similar trip to Maui. There were only a handful of people in the TSA precheck line.
Gate in Honolulu
Crowded Flight
After arriving in Kauai at the Lihue airport, I picked up the rental car. My first stop was Waimea Canyon. Its about 1 hour drive from the Lihue airport.
After Waimea, headed to Polihale state part which is an amazingly beautiful beach.
After turning off the main road, there is about a five mile drive on a very rough dirt road to reach the beach. Luckily the rental car (Hyundai) survived.
Spent an hour at the beach, was pretty deserted except for a few campers. Made my way to the town of Waimea where they had some food trucks set up.
A pineapple pork sausage with pulled pork on top......with a sweet and spicy sauce. Was really good.
After lunch, headed east to Donkey Beach.
Nice view off the road near Donkey Beach
Then to check out the falls: Opaekaa Falls
River View
Wailua Falls
Then Dukes for dinner with a nice view of the setting sun
Soon back to the Lihue airport for my return trip to Honolulu. The airport was really cute. The security entry was outside at the front entrance of the airport.
Outbound flight: HA 303 HNL to LIH @ 8:19AM
Return flight: HA 224 LIH to HNL @ 8:48PM
Honolulu airport wasn't as busy as it was on the 2nd when i did a similar trip to Maui. There were only a handful of people in the TSA precheck line.
Gate in Honolulu
Crowded Flight
After arriving in Kauai at the Lihue airport, I picked up the rental car. My first stop was Waimea Canyon. Its about 1 hour drive from the Lihue airport.
After Waimea, headed to Polihale state part which is an amazingly beautiful beach.
After turning off the main road, there is about a five mile drive on a very rough dirt road to reach the beach. Luckily the rental car (Hyundai) survived.
Spent an hour at the beach, was pretty deserted except for a few campers. Made my way to the town of Waimea where they had some food trucks set up.
A pineapple pork sausage with pulled pork on top......with a sweet and spicy sauce. Was really good.
After lunch, headed east to Donkey Beach.
Nice view off the road near Donkey Beach
Then to check out the falls: Opaekaa Falls
River View
Wailua Falls
Then Dukes for dinner with a nice view of the setting sun
Soon back to the Lihue airport for my return trip to Honolulu. The airport was really cute. The security entry was outside at the front entrance of the airport.