Hawaii Travel Tips (Oahu and Maui) – Part 1

Very excited to finally be sharing this post on some Hawaii travel tips. It has been a long time coming, and it has turned out to be such a long post thought better to do it in two parts.  This being Part 1.

We went to Hawaii back in August to celebrate. It was Jeremy & my 6 year wedding anniversary, my parents 35th wedding anniversary, and my Mom’s birthday. What better place to celebrate than Hawaii. This was my first time to go to Hawaii, so wanted to share some of the takeaways I learned from my first trip.    These tips are focused on Oahu and Maui since those were the two islands we stayed on.

Do’s

• Use a travel agent – Usually we book our own travel, and do a ton of research to find the best deal.  We had decided we were doing this trip to Hawaii about a year ago, and had been researching it for a while.  This time we did something different, and went through a travel agent to book.  The main reason we went though the travel agent was because the trip had a ton of moving parts.  We had decided to island hop (which I will explain more later), and that made it a little more complicated to book online on our own.  Island hoping meant another flight, another hotel, rental car, and airport transportation.  When we researched it was hard finding good way to book the island to island flight.  The travel agent ended up being able to bundle everything together, and get a better rate than what we were able to find online.  She had access to flights we were not able to find online, and gave us valuable information on what to do in Hawaii.  Travel agents are the ones that can also setup to have a greeter meet you when you land, and give you a leis. Really cool after a 8 hour flight to get off the plane and have someone holding a sign with your name to greet you & they give you a leis.  Had a friend tell me this is not customary is has to be setup, and it is travel agents that do that.
• Hula Pie – Before we went I had several people tell me I had to try Hula Pie while I was in Hawaii.  Mom and I were out doing some shopping when we ran across Kimo’s that had Hula Pie, and we gave it a try.  It is seriously life changing it is so good.  Ended up going back with Jeremy and my dad later so they could try it.  It is a must to try!
  
• Pearl Harbor – This was the whole reason we decided on going to Oahu.  If you can’t tell from my previous travel post we love going to historical places.  That is why no way were we going to Hawaii, and not going to Pearl Harbor.  We learned a lot, and found it very interesting. You will want to book your spot ahead of time to make sure you get in when you want.  They offer a ton of different packages for tours.  You can go to individual sites, or do a pass book to go to all sites.  The reservations are open 30 days out.  We booked the narrated tour of the USS Arizona through the government website, and it was only $7.50. Doing the narrated tour gave you a lot of good information, and was very interesting. Would recommend purchasing the narrated tour, so you really get a good feel for what happened.
• Gazebo Resturant –  We had breakfast at Gazebo the day we left cause a friend told us to try while we were in Maui, and really enjoyed it.  Have to watch the birds cause they will try to eat your food.  It is a little hard to find so make sure to map before you leave.
  
• Sheraton Maui – We stayed at both the Sheraton Waikiki, and Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa during our trip.  Would highly recommend the Sheraton Maui.  The Sheraton Maui had a more all inclusive tropical feel, and the rooms were nice.  You even had a nightly cliff dive at the Sheraton Maui you could see.   The Sheraton Waikiki was more commercialized, and the rooms were on the small side.
  
• Luau – Of course if you are going to go to Hawaii you have to experience a luau.  You have a lot you can choose from.  We decided to do the one at the Sheraton, so we wouldn’t have to drive.  It was interesting, and you learned about the culture.  It was a little on the pricey side, and don’t know I would do it again if I went back.  However, it is just something you should experience at least once. 

Hopefully these are some useful tips.  Monday I will have Part 2 continuing with some of the things you might not want to waste your time on when you go to Hawaii, so hope you come back to check those out. If you have been to Hawaii would love to hear what you think of my tips or what tips you would give someone going to Hawaii.  Please leave a comment below.

What has been your favorite place to travel to?

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