Honolulu in May?

[simonome]

Hallo everybody,

business is tough....I've just been invited to a distributors' meeting in Honolulu, in may.

I may be travelling with my wife and our 3 years-old; the flight from Italy it is around 22 hours including connections, so I would like to make it as easy as possible.

So here I ask questions to you from US :-)

Which airport should I pick or connections? Most carriers fly through LAX. I've been in LAX last time a decade ago, and I can remember very little. Would you recommend that airport, or would you suggest to look for fllights connecting from other airports?
One option would be to stop 1 day at the connection city, in order to split the trip and make it easier on our child's nerves. From my last trip to LA, I remember that didn't seem the best option for a 1-day stop, so I would take this thing in account upon chosing my flight.

Then, once we finally reach Honolulu, do you have any suggestions? My knowledge about the place comes from:

so any suggestion would be appreciated

One suggestion would be where to rent a motorbike for a ride or two: I wouldn't despise a couple hours' ride on a H-D Sportster, which I pretty much like regardless my passion for guzzis :-)

[guzzisteve]

Go for a ride on your layover--
http://ridemalibu.com/?utm_source=guzzitech&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=headbanner

Then ride a H-D in HI.  Just a suggestion.

[toma nova]

Good idea about the layover - sleep in a real bed, shower, walk around etc.  We did the same in Doha on our way to Tanzania last summer.  LAX is one of my least favorite airports but it would let you spend a day in LA traffic.

Most any US airport will allow some reasonable layover, but my favorites are:  SFO, not too far from downtown sights for a layover and good connections to HI;  IAH has good flights on United, nothing right around the airport but I could point you to a reasonable layover area for a day.

For Honolulu, I'd suggest the Pearl Harbor memorial, hiking Diamond Head, surf lessons / body boarding on Waikiki.  Consider driving to the East or North Shore.  Japanese food is pretty good due to the number of tourists.

We love Hawaii, enjoy!

[simonome]

Thanks everybody for your suggestions.

I was considering to have a ride during the layover, but the fact is time would be extremely limited, even if we stay overnight, so everything would be made in a rush. It would be easier for me to sneak out of the hotel room and have a ride during the full week we are spending in Hawaii.

SFO: we've been to SFO already, so we would rather visit new places. We did like SFO anyway, so that could be a very good alternative to LAX.
We were thinking about Boston, but I'm not sure the airport has decent connections from Italy and on to Hawaii

[LowRyter]

Bev and I rented a Road King.  It was a maybe $125 for the day.  There is really no reason to keep it overnight.  You can ride around the entire island in an afternoon. 

I would check out a food truck on the N side where all the killer waves are.  Or any of the local places. 




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Probably the best deal is snorkeling at the the State Park.  But I would do that at another time.

[Sasquatch Jim]

 Ride to the top of punchbowl.

[pehayes]

SFO has nice hotels and a good aviation museum nearby.  Easy Metro (BART) into downtown city.  Eagle Rider is a six block walk from a BART station.  Lots of Italian history in the city.  Lots of tourism culture along the waterfront.

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

[ITSec]

If you stop over in LAX, pick a hotel near the coast, either just north or just south of the airport - the stretch to the south near Manhattan Beach, or to the north near Marina del Rey, both have some nice hotels, nice restaurants, and a bit of beach and such to relax if you have time. The places immediately near the airport are just rooms, and the food not so great, but the areas I mention still let you get back for your flight with few likely problems.

An alternative for some European connections is Las Vegas. Depending on your origin or European connection point, there are direct flights to Las Vegas (Gatwick, Frankfurt, others). From Las Vegas, Hawaiian Air (highly recommended) flies direct to Honolulu. Las Vegas isn't a kids' playground, but it has plenty of hotels at all price ranges, great restaurants, some family activities, and is often easier and cheaper as a stop-over than other western cities. Childcare or sitters are available if you and your wife want to see a show or something.

[simonome]

Thank you all.
Right now our best plan is to fly to LAX on the way to Hawaii. My daughter will be pleased by a day in Disneyland, and my wife will have fun with a day at universal studios & rodeo drive.
If time allows we will pay a visit to Queen Mary ship.

Coming back we are evaluating two options based on the minimum possible number of connections:
Seattle. Not so exciting though and we've been there in 2012 already
or we go all the way west and stop in Tokyo, where I could visit a company I'm doing business with and my wife can visit a new Country.

[toma nova]

or we go all the way west and stop in Tokyo, where I could visit a company I'm doing business with and my wife can visit a new Country.

You should absolutely plan a day of riding in Tokyo.  I lived / rode there for three years and there is a very strong group of foreign riders (gaijinriders.com).  You can rent a bike with GPS / pre-programmed routes and get down to Izu for an incredible day quite easily - views of Mt Fuji, mix of coastal and mountain roads, great local food, authentic hot springs.  Someone from gaijinriders would usually be eager to join a ride with a visitor.

Tom

[pehayes]

My daughter will be pleased by a day in Disneyland, and my wife will have fun with a day at universal studios & rodeo drive.

Ok, so we're adding Disneyland, Universal Studios, and Rodeo Drive.  Count all your time idling in freeway traffic and you'll need to schedule a full week.   

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

[ITSec]

Thank you all.
Right now our best plan is to fly to LAX on the way to Hawaii. My daughter will be pleased by a day in Disneyland, and my wife will have fun with a day at universal studios & rodeo drive.
If time allows we will pay a visit to Queen Mary ship.

This is important - Disneyland is 90-120 minutes south of the airport area (driving time; the distance isn't as far as all that). Rodeo Drive is on the northwest side of downtown, about 45-60 minutes from the airport area. Universal Studios is also to the northwest of downtown (northeast of the airport), about 60-90 minutes from the airport area. The Queen Mary site is in Long Beach, down near Disneyland. Any of these travel times can easily double depending on time of day, freeway construction, etc. For those with some familiarity with the Los Angeles area, there are some surface routes that can be used to bypass the congestion, but for those not used to the area such detours are risky.

What you're suggesting is better broken into two days, one to the south for Disney and the Long Beach stuff (though Disney is a day to itself for most), and a separate day to the north for the Hollywood area and Universal Studios.

[normzone]

That counsel falls somewhere between " trusty native guide"  and  " good intel ". Glad to see this, [ITSec]. Many a good plan has been defeated by local conditions.

[rboe]

http://www.polynesia.com/ On the "north" side of the island. See if you can't get a bus tour so you don't have to drive there. And back. This place packs a lot and we never tire of it.

I think Luau's are over rated. Like Tombstone. Maybe they are over rated if you have never been to one. :)

We took an all day bus tour of the island (very cool, but makes for a long day). Renting a car on the island is discouraged - too many tourists that do that which creates problems. Just walking around downtown Honolulu can be a hoot with lots of historical stuff to see. Generally it's too easy to try and see a LOT and you end up not relaxing.

We never did snorkel off of that island but did off of Kauai and The Big Island. Snorkel Bob's is the place to rent snorkel gear.

Always wanted to take a submarine trip off of Waikiki beach but never did.

Share your pictures!!

[ITSec]

Going on to the Honolulu stop...

Best things (especially for a family) on Oahu:

• The Waikiki Aquarium is not the biggest, but it's among the best in the world; managed by the university there, located at the east end of Waikiki towards Diamond Head.
• Back-street sushi restaurants a bit back from the main beach strip - they come and go, but are often much better than the more obvious ones. Ask locals which ones are currently where they would go, and don't be taken back by the small size and lunch-counter fittings. Other food styles are also good; I discovered a superb Moroccan restaurant back to the northwest part of the district some years ago, and I hope they stayed successful.
• Fort DeRussy Beach has always been among the better areas of the beach itself, and is easy to access. Other beach areas reached through the fancy hotels are no better and often not as good. Unfortunately, homeless people are a fact of life near most public beaches.
• Best snorkeling (and even just swimming/scenery with fish) is at Hanauma Bay; rental car or a bus ride required from Honolulu. It's at the southeast corner of Oahu.  A crescent shaped bay created by a small volcanic cone blowing itself out into the ocean, the resulting bay has a series of steps from wading depth to about 75-90 feet out near where the open ocean starts. It's protected from the currents and heavy wave action in almost all weather, and is a state park. Get good snorkel gear and spend some time.
• Second-best snorkeling location is Maunalua Bay, about halfway from Waikiki to Hanauma. More open and susceptible to weather and surf, but a haven for turtles and other sea life - you're almost guaranteed to see turtles somewhere in the bay any time it's calm enough to swim. Check at the Maunalua Bay state park and nearby Paiko reserve for some of the best easy wildlife viewing.
• Diamond Head is either a climb or a drive; the climb is a bit much for a younger child, a healthy teen can handle it. The drive can get you to the crater lip but a hike is still needed to see the rest. Not sure whether there's a bus or shuttle available here.
• I'm told Sea Life Park Hawai'i is still good but showing its age (and higher prices than may be justified) - inquire with locals if your family is interested in such things.
• As mentioned by others a drive or tour around the island is a good day - stop at a local beach on the north side (surfer country), have some lunch or a shave ice (a snow cone but much better), and see what sugar can fields look like.
• Scuba diving on Oahu is almost all boat diving, often wrecks, and usually best for experienced divers (depths are often 70-110 feet); the other islands, particularly Maui and the Kona shore of the Big Island, provide better diving, especially in terms of variety and skill range needed.

Other sights, such as Pearl Harbor, are also well worthwhile, but may be boring for a child. If you do go to Pearl, do NOT take a commercial tour - take a shuttle or bus and use the National Parks Service facility with access to the USS Arizona Memorial. The commercial tours cannot access the memorial, only the parks service own tour.

[LowRyter]

Hanauma bay state park is pretty cool.  They also have prescription swimming masks so you can actually see!  Most of the water is under 4 ft so you can spend a lot of time there without running out of energy trying to swim.  So 2 or 3 hours is about average time.  You can get in once you find a parking spot.

I took the Harley and rode around the blowhole and lots of cool stuff and food trucks on the north side. 

Go to the North Beach and you can see those huge waves.  The guy I rented the Harley from told me about those northern beaches are called "break your leg beach", "break your back beach", "drown and get swept to sea beach".  Yeah, the waves a freakin' huge up there.

Waikiki is totally cool (south side).   Just chill and go to the happy hours.  I really liked Duke's for dukes Burger, perhaps the best hamburger I ever had.  Food is great every where, except for poi.  Luaus are cool but once is enough.  Spam & eggs for breakfast. 

I had two weeks there on a business deal.  It just so happened that due to circumstances beyond my control that no work was done on the first week and I only had to show up for short days on the 2nd week.  Tough duty.  And it just happened to be during spring break when my wife was free from teaching.  Yeah, tough duty.

I felt a degree of psychological freedom there.  I mean 3000 miles from friends and family.  Really felt like I had no worries in the world. 

Distance does matter.  Especially in paradise. 

[LowRyter]

Mahalo.

[ITSec]

Mahalo.

I never lived there (my uncle did) but I visited often enough and long enough everyone thought I was kama'aina. Mostly that comes from just behaving the way the better-mannered locals did...

Of course, one of my top five South Park episodes was when Butters went to Hawaii to discover his origins, and had to help the 'locals' ("Hey, I've been here 7 months!") defend their discounts obtained with a 'Mahalo Card'!

[rboe]

Ya, the food is better off the tourist tracks.

[LowRyter]

Ya, the food is better off the tourist tracks.

I found it good everywhere.  Luaus were probably the least best. 

[simonome]

Thank you all.
So the way to Hawaii is more or less fixed. We will spend 2 full days in LAX, plus the evening of our arrival and the morning of our departure.

The hotel is quite in the middle between Disneyland and Hollywood. Long beach would be a plus, and we will visit it only if we have time, on the morning of departure.

As for the way back, Tokyo is not possible unlukilly. The Japan-Italy leg would last between 18 and 22 hours including a further connection. Something I wouldn't endure with a very active and temperamental 3 years old.

We are now considering Dallas or Seattle. As said before I've been to Seattle already and cannot thing of many thing in which my wife would be interested.

What about Dallas? I've no clue about the city. Is there anything worth visiting to kill a couple days there?