To those of you who have been to Hawaii, please help me plan my 30th wedding anniversary trip?

To those of you who have been to Hawaii, please help me plan my 30th wedding anniversary trip. We have booked a 12 day free style cruise in March. It leaves from Honolulu and visits each island, giving us a day or 2 at each one.

We will have plenty of time to explore and sightsee. If you have been to Hawaii, what are the 'must do's, excursions, sites, or places off the beaten path that we should do or see? I know many of the day trips that are offered on the ship are also offered on land and are usually less expensive.

What is your experience with this? Any tidbits of advice you can give me to make this trip unforgettable? This is likely our one and only trip to Hawaii, so we want to do and see it all.

Asked by Kyasi 49 months ago Similar questions: Hawaii help plan 30th wedding anniversary trip Games & Leisure > Travel.

Similar questions: Hawaii help plan 30th wedding anniversary trip.

I have been to Hawaii several times and was just there again last month. My favorite island is the Big Island. What you see depends on your interests as well as time and location.

If there is lava flowing you should try to get to Volcanoes National Park. It's faster to get to from Many people prefer to get there in the evening and watch the glow of the lava coming down the hill. If you can rent a car for the day you can control your itinerary.

If you don't want to rent a car you can try a bus trip from Arnott's Lodge. Arnott's is sort of like a hostel just outside downtown lo and looks a little sketchy at first but the tours they run are great. I took their van tour to the summitt of Mauna Kea.It leaves in time to reach the summit before sunset.

You have to stop to acclimate for a few minutes midmountain but you get plenty of time to walk around the telescopes and then watch the sunset. Afterward we stopped again midmountain for stargazing. If you want to drive yourself you really need a 4 wheel drive vehicle and if you want to stay past sunset you need to be comfortable driving down the mountain using only your parking lights since headlights are not allowed since they mess with the telecopes ability to view at night.

arnottslodge.com/HOME.HTML Check this site for how active the lava is while you are traveling. volcano.wr.usgs.gov/kilaueastatus.php Helicopter tours are popular.To see Volcanoes National Park it is best to leave from lo rather than Kona because lo is closer and you spend less time in transit. If you stop in Kona and like coffee try to get a little way down the coast to visit coffee farms.

The tours are interesting and the free samples are just a bonus. The two big sites on Kauai are Waimea Canyon and the Napali Coast. Both are best viewed from helicopter although you can drive up the canyon for great views.

If you go past the top of the Canyon you are atop the Napali Coast and can get some good views. There are some great hikes that start from here. Alternately you can see the coast from your cruise ship.

If you want to get closer you can take various sailing cruises that will get in closer. On Oahu the "must see" is Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona memorial. Otherwise, I didn't think much of Honolulu.

It's just a city and has some of the problems of any city - crowds and crime. I would be happy to give you more ideas for off the beaten path places if you detail what you are interested in. Simsandwich's Recommendations Maui Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook (Maui Revealed) Amazon List Price: $16.95 Used from: $10.55 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 288 reviews) The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook: Kauai Revealed (Ultimate Kauai Guidebook) Amazon List Price: $15.95 Used from: $9.99 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 382 reviews) Hawaii The Big Island Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook (Hawaii the Big Island Revealed) Amazon List Price: $15.95 Used from: $8.00 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 217 reviews) Oahu Revealed: The Ultimate Guide to Honolulu, Waikiki & Beyond (Oahu Revisited) Amazon List Price: $15.95 Used from: $8.75 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 88 reviews) These are far and away the best guide books for Hawaii.

Oahu & Maui When we went to Hawai'i, we were there for 2 weeks and split our time between Oahu & Maui. Here's my recommendations for those islands. I can't really speak to the others.

Maui The Old Lahaina Lu'au is a MUST! Seriously, if you only do one lu'au the whole time - THIS IS THE ONE IT SHOULD BE! The best thing about this lu'au is that they chose QUALITY over QUANTITY!

They have many demonstrations and lessons about Hawai'ian life. The food was amazing - very authentic, fresh, and delicious. The show itself was phenomenal.

There wasn't a bad seat in the house. Also, the quality of the show felt like we were at a theatre in broadway. It just happened to be outside in the beauty of Maui.

Everyone who works at the Old Lahaina Lu'au is very willing to share their culture and educate the public about it. And it is done in a very non-commercial way. It was worth every cent!

http://www.oldlahainaluau.com/index_main.html Road to Hana - If you want to really see what living on this island must be like, try taking a tour of the Road to Hana (also known as the Hana Road or the Hana " Certainly not a ghway as we on the mainland know them! You will be amazed at the twists and turns on this road and the beautiful scenery around every corner! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_to_Hana Tedeschi Vineyards - If you are even a bit interested in wine, this is really a great place to visit!

You can get a tour of the grounds and taste the wines as well. OH, and you can buy them and they will pack them nicely to take with you (we brought ours home on the plane! No problems!) or they will ship home for you (depending on liquor laws in your state).

Their Hula O Maui Sparkling Wine is to die for. http://www.mauiwine.com/ Haleakala National Park - We got up at 2am to drive up to the top of the extinct volcano and watch the sun rise.It was really beautiful, but it was over in about 5 minutes. I can not recommend doing that.

However, do make sure you get to the top at some point.It is truly beautiful. Just about as close to heaven as you are going to get here on Earth. I would recommend going up to watch the sunset instead of the sunrise.

You'll save your sanity and a sunset is long enough for it to be worth it. Also, there are tons of those bike trips that take you down the crater after sunrise - don't do those! Might sound adventurous, but when you see the way that people are herded, it is more like a tourist trap thing and a bit dangerous the way they keep everyone in a pack.

http://www.nps.gov/hale/ Oahu Pearl Harbor - Admission is FREE, but you will have to get tickets if you would like to view the program and take the ferry to the memorial. Quoted from the site: Tickets are issued on a first come, first served basis. Visitors should expect crowds.

Daily visitation to the park is about 4,500 people. Admission is free. I think we got there at around 6:30am.

I'm not exactly a morning person, but it was TOTALLY WORTH IT. The museum is amazing (award winning audio tour) as is the emotional impact. You might want to make sure to pack some tissues!

We took a taxi to get there, but there are also bus trips and shuttles (you might want to plan this one through the cruise). http://www.nps.gov/usar/planyourvisit/hours.htm Free Hula Show on Waikiki beach - If it is the same as when we were there, it is at 6pm on weekday nights. I would recommend asking about it, though.It is done by a local community center with people from ages of 5 to 60!

It was really amazing - and you could really tell that they enjoy sharing this part of their culture with the tourists. Lo Hatties - This store is FULL TO THE BRIM with all the items you could possibly want to bring back from Hawai'i. This will be the place you want to go to get all those souvenirs your promised!

Amazing selection and very good prices (keep an eye out for coupons and offers in the local free papers that you see outside of shops). http://www.hilohattie.com/ Hanauma Bay - This is some of the best snorkeling on the south side of Oahu. However, it is very well known, so be prepared for crowds.

There are a few small snorkle-rental companies that will provide you with equipment and with a ride to and from Waikiki to the bay. Just make sure you get your own mouth piece for your snorkel! If you don't rent equipment, you can just get into the Bay for $5.

The fee is to cover maintenance. You also get to watch a video about the bay and about safety in the bay. http://www.oldlahainaluau.com/index_main.html0 I hope those help you to plan your trip!

It seems there are quite a few people on askville planning trips to Hawai'i - maybe you will run into some of them! Sources: personal experience, links in answer .

Some thoughts I've been to Oahu and Maui, so I will keep my suggestions to those two. On Oahu: I would strongly recommend going to Pearl Harbor. I know, everyone goes there.

But standing on the Arizona memorial, seeing the entire ship under water and watching the oil bubble up, after 60 years is just powerful. The swap meet at Aloha stadium. It's a buck to get in and you'll save 100s on all your souvenirs.

Here's the link: alohastadiumswapmeet.net/ Check the schedule, as it is not open every day. If you're going to eat dinner on shore, I strongly recommend Alan Wong's Pineapple Room at the Ala Moana Center. http://www.alanwongs.com/pineroom/pine_room.html Try the tasting menu.It's the best (and most expensive) dinner I've ever had!

If you're going to be there during the winter, drive around to the North Shore and see the surfers at Sunset Beach and Pipeline. If you go, stop off in Haliewa and get a shave ice at Matsumoto's. http://www.matsumotoshaveice.com/ Also, stop for lunch at one of the shrimp trucks on the north shore.

There are several, but the original and best (in my opinion) is Giovanni's. http://www.portaloha.com/SecretsOfHawaii/Giovannis.htm On Maui: Visit the Tedeschi Vineyard in "up country" and try their pineapple wines and and sparkling wines. http://www.mauiwine.com/ If you're into active activities, do a kayak and snorkle with the giant green sea turtles.

http://www.mauiecotours.com/ If you're looking for a beach, I'd recommend Kapalua Bay. It has bueatiful coral, lots of fish, gentle waves, warm sand, and some shade, if you're like me and burn to a crisp. http://www.vacationidea.com/maui/kapaluabeach.html For the brave driver, drive around the north part of the island.

Everyone does the "Road to Hana" and it is great. But very few drive around the north of Maui. I recommend going clockwise, so you are on the inside (blind corners in the outside lane can be a little white knuckle.

There are places that are single lane, so be careful, but you will be rewarded with STUNNING views and you may even see native animals in the wild. There's a cute gift shop that is half way.It's worth a stop. Though touristy, drive up to the top of Haleakala for an other worldly view of a volcano, plus wild nenes and the rare silver sword plants.

alohastadiumswapmeet.net/0 can even do a tour that is a sunrise breakfast and bike down the volcano (it's all downhill). alohastadiumswapmeet.net/1 I'd also recommend a snorkle trip to Lanai or Molokini. Tom Barefoot offers good prices and has lots of information on trips.

alohastadiumswapmeet.net/0 On the big island, I've been told that you should take a tour of the volcano and see the lava flows. I have not done this, myself, but it looks spectacular. And, bring lots of memory cards for your camera!

Google Map View Larger Map .

Here's a great article that tells you what to do, where to stay and what to eat on the Big Island: brittanytodd.hubpages.com/hub/Planning-Y... this helps! Com/hub/Planning-Your-Trip-to-the-Big-Island-of-Hawaii.

1 tenthz, regarding your answer "Oahu & MauiOops! I forgot about Diamond Head! If you are interested in hiking, you should check this out.

I consider myself "out of shape" and I made it to the top - I had lots of cheering on from my family, though! It was fully worth it and a beautiful view:hawaiiweb.com/html/diamond_head.html .

Tenthz, regarding your answer "Oahu & MauiOops! I forgot about Diamond Head! If you are interested in hiking, you should check this out.

I consider myself "out of shape" and I made it to the top - I had lots of cheering on from my family, though! It was fully worth it and a beautiful view:hawaiiweb.com/html/diamond_head.html.

50th wedding anniversary ideas" "Our great-grandparents are celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. We are getting them matching............!" "HELP! My husband and I will be celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary in a few days." "What anniversaries do you celebrate besides wedding anniversary?

" "Do you know where I can buy an Elvis 30th anniversary Duvet set apart from Ebay? " "Does anyone have any suggestions for a trip to Hawaii? Like where to go and what to see?

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" "Is this a good idea for a wedding anniversary gift? " "WHAT TO BUY FOR MY HUSBAND ON OUR 30TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY.

Our great-grandparents are celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. We are getting them matching............!

HELP! My husband and I will be celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary in a few days.

WHAT TO BUY FOR MY HUSBAND ON OUR 30TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.

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