hey everyone!!!!

so my aunt's family and i are going to hawaii for a week in about 2weeks.
the first few days will be guided tours *yay me because it'll be in korean and i wouldn't understand a word* and the last 3 days will be up to us to explore. i expect to be doing some shopping, tanning and hopefully swimming with dolphins

so i was wondering if someone can help me answer some of the q's ive got
- any bars/clubs that's really hot near waikiki resort or honolulu (i think waikiki is in honolulu... please don't shoot me for my ignorance)
- where can i watch those hula dance and fire eating and etc. kind of shows i watched in lilo & stitch (once again, please don't shoot me!!! :S)
- best place to shop for souviners
- best place to shop in general
- anything else you think i NEED to do before leaving hawaii
- how strong is the sun in hawaii? i know in mexico you need to wear a high spf or else you'll burn. i'm from canada, i don't burn at all. even when i'm tanning on the docks up in the cottage country. do you normally wear high spf?? i normally don't (except on my face spf 20)
-luaus... where to go??? so far, i found one at the sea life park. i think it'll be fun! swimming with dolphins then a luau? but if theres a better one, please recommend

i think that's all
thanks in advance for all your input

Hi,

I grew up in Hawaii so I think I can help a bit.

I moved away before I was able to go out and drink legally but some of the places that my friends go to are the W, Dave and Busters, Oceans and I think one was called Mai Tai but I really don't remember. Sorry, not really any help on this one.

The best place to shop for souvenirs is Waikiki. You can buy some stuff at the ABC store (they have them on like every corner..haha) or International market place. There are some Korean vendors so if you speak Korean, they will probably give you a discount. Most people really like chocolate covered macadamia nuts and Kona coffee as gifts and sometimes ABC has them for decent prices. You can also try to check Long's Drugs if you get a chance, they have sales pretty often.

Best place to shop in general is Ala Moana Shopping Center. It's west of Waikiki and one of the best malls EVER. It has everything you will possibly need and then some more...a great mix of high end and average stores, a huge sephora, a MAC store, department stores like Macy's, Nordstrom (I think this has opened but i'm not 100% sure) and Neiman Marcus.

Food is way overpriced in Waikiki. Try to eat elsewhere in Honolulu if possible, like more near Ala Moana vs. staying in Waikiki.

The sun is STRONG in Hawaii. Wear extremely high SPF and re-apply frequently, esp if you're swimming and sweating. The country cottage sun and Hawaii sun are TOTALLY different. Trust me on this one. Do not think that you won't get a tan because you will most likely get burned, even with high SPF. The sun is freaking strong from around 12-3, especially at this time of year and if you get a bad sunburn, it will blister and ruin the rest of your trip. I cringe when I recall the masses of tourists who probably wanted to tan but didn't wear enough sunscreen and looked like raw tomatoes!!!! It's extremely painful and I cannot stress enough how much it will suck if you get a bad burn early on. A good tip is to maybe avoid the peak hours on your first day until you get some color, then gradually ease into full exposure if you're trying to tan. Don't forget to apply sunscreen when you're sight seeing. The sun in Hawaii is really no joke if you're not used to it.

The best place to see hula and fire stuff is the Polynesian Cultural Center. If you're with a tour group, it's fairly certain they will take you here. The night show has a lot of hula dancing and fire play so you should try to watch that if you get a chance. They have a luau option for food but from what I recall many years ago, the food was really terrible. =/

I don't remember Sea Life Park having a swimming with dolphin thing but maybe they do now..it's been a really long time since I've last been there. If you want to snorkel, there is a place called Hanauma Bay right near Sea Life Park and you can swim with tons of fish..if you get lucky, you might see a sea turtle!

Before you leave Hawaii, you must eat some good shave ice and watch at least one sunset. Those are two things I miss the most. Also hiking is awesome and underrated in Hawaii. Also, take a visit to Kailua Beach if your tour group doesn't go there. It's the best beach to relax and tan at in my opinion.

Anyways, I hope some things I wrote will help you out and feel free to PM me if you have any other questions. Have a great time!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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thanks soooo much
every help is definately very helpful!!!
my cousin said she doesn't really want to go with the tourist group. she wants to do our own fun. though i do want to go see some of the historical sights and what not for the first two days. and it'll give us 3 days to explore the place and SHOP the tour trip is 3days and leaving on the 4th day at 11.40am.
but we extended so we're there for 7 days (we leave on the 7th day).

i'm a little worried about the tourist group because i'm currently spending my summer in korea, and we're going with a korean tour company meaning the tours will be in korean yuk! but beautiful scenary will be beautiful no matter what language you speak right???

i should definately buy some sunscreen. definately do not want to burn!!! i don't really care if i get a tan or not because when i get back to canada (august 14th) i'll be up in the cottage country for 2 weeks where my job will be to tan (its awesome to be a camp counsellor). hawaii reccomends using biodegradable (i don't remember if this was the correct term) sunscreen and bug repellent. i haven't seen them anywhere so i guess i can hit up ABC and find one since they're lcoated in every corner :P

how bad are the mosquitos? this one time at camp i got over 100 bites (i know they love me).

anyways thanks for all your tip and p.s where did u move? and do you miss hawaii?

my family and i went to maui and waikiki for christmas a year or two ago.
waikiki is extremely touristy and has alot of great shopping. there is one road that is just all designer stores like fendi, gucci, chanel, louis, ect ect.

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local girl here

some good bars in waikiki are kelly oneill & moose's (on lewers st), also senor frog's is pretty popular if you like that "spring break" party type of bar.

- you can go to a luau and they usually show fire dancing, hula, and some tahitian dancing too.. i've only ever been to one, it was at paradise cove. you can also check out the polynesian cultural center in Lai'e.. they have all kinds of native hawaiian activities and re-created houses, canoes, etc. they also have stuff from other polynesian cultures there. at night there's a luau there, too.

-best place to get souvenirs is at the swap meet! it's at the aloha stadium.

- the biggest mall on the island is Ala Moana shopping center in Honolulu. lots of people like shopping there because it's huge and you can find anything there.

-you will want to wear sun block on your face and shoulders.


i'm from the north shore soooo here are some ideas from this side of the island for you!
-check out the sea turtles at lani's
-jump off the rock at waimea
-check out the best surf spot in the world, pipeline & backdoor at Ehukai beach
-watch the sunset at Sunset beach (where i got married )
-escape the tourists at Mokulei'a.
-have margaritas at Cholo's in Hale'iwa
-eat some shave ice from Aoki's! don't get suckered into the long line at Matsumotos.. their shave ice isn't as good as next door at Aoki's

have fun!

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NC35 Hapa Brunettes do it better!

Hi again,

The mosquitoes aren't that bad in Waikiki. Have some repellent on hand though, incase the tour group takes you to a rainforest area.

I would try to buy sunscreen before you get to Waikiki. Everything there is really overpriced!

I totally forgot about the Swap Meet at Aloha Stadium! If you're looking for tourist trinkets, tshirts and stuff, that is def. the cheapest and best place to look.

I moved to California and I do miss Hawaii a lot...but I also love Cali too!

Anyways, hope you have a great time!

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Bars/clubs
- I had a good time at Ocean Club, but for some reason it was 23yrs+ and not 21yrs+ to get in. This was a few years ago, though, so this might have changed.
- If you're into pool/darts (darts seem to be big on Oahu compared to the mainland!), Hawaiian Brian's is pretty awesome.
- If I remember correctly, Ala Moana shopping center has some restaurants/bars on the top floor that gets pretty happening at night (don't remember which nights though).
- Happy hour at Sansei! Karaoke and half-price appetizers.

Must see/do
- Hanauma bay is great for snorkeling. So is Shark's Cove, but I think that's on the other side of the island.
- Waiola shave ice is the best hands down, don't bother with Matsumoto's (overrated and it's pretty far from the Waikiki area).
- Might also want to try Leonard's malasadas!
- Eat at Zippy's.

Luau
- I went to the luau at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental. It was nice and I had fun, but I don't know how it stacks up in comparison to others on the island since it's the only one I've been to :P

Hey, I hope you have a great time in hawaii. Oahu and the city of honolulu may not be what you expect of a quiet peacful vacation. I know a lot of people come to hawaii a little dissapointed to see the 1.2 million residents who live here and the hustle and bustle of city life and tons and tons of traffic. I was born and raised in honolulu i think i know every inch of this tiny island, by the way you can drive from the most eastern point to the most western point of the island in a little over an hour.

- any bars/clubs that's really hot near waikiki resort or honolulu (i think waikiki is in honolulu... please don't shoot me for my ignorance)
Every where any anywhere, there are tons of bars and clubs in waikiki. You may hear about the great oceans club in restaurant row, but sorry to say they shut down a few years ago. So you may like dave and busters in victoria ward center, every tuesday night is club night there. The club scene here has declined over the years... Now filled with 16 year old kids trying to rub there pubies on each other.

- where can i watch those hula dance and fire eating and etc. kind of shows i watched in lilo & stitch (once again, please don't shoot me!!! :S)
4 words, search on google HAWAIIAN POLYNESEIAN CULTURAL CENTER, you will have the traditonal hawaiian lu'au, hula dancers, hawaiian games, flame and fire people. Its an all day event so be prepared spend the day there. You wont regret it!!

- best place to shop for souviners
Well just walk around the waikiki international trade center you'll find all the asian carts and the little asian women trying to rip you off lol. So you can bargin with them for a good deal.

- best place to shop in general
I suggest you google everything i tell you before you leave so you are familiar with the area. Ala moana shopping center is maybe 10 minutes drive from waikiki beach, its the largest out door mall in america filled with everything from high end stores like prada, to MAC and cheap boutiques where you can find a cute top for $12 !! and one of americas best food courts for diversity. It's a HUGE mall about 5 floors all out doors. also VICTORIA WARD CENTER in Ward, you can vist there, dave and busters, plus a huge theater are located there and tons of food places.. Ward center is about a 2 minute drive from ala moana shopping center.

You can go to PEARLRIDGE SHOPPING CENTER center in PEARL CITY. Or WAIKELE PREMIUM OUTLETS in waikele. But those places aren't necessary to visit, its about a 20-30 minute drive from waikiki, but i think ala moana shopping center and victoria ward center will fullfill your shopping needs.


- anything else you think i NEED to do before leaving hawaii
BEACHES BEACHES BEACHES!!! look them up on google and see which one you would like to visit, they are all great beaches
LANIKAI BEACH
KAILUA BEACH PARK
BELLOWS BEACH
HAUNAMA BAY (for snorkling) and seeing all the tropical hawaiian fishes
PARADISE COVE
and the must see beach of all time before you leavge
WAIMEA BEACH!!!! the water is crystal CLEAR and G-O-R-G-O-U-S
waimea beach is located in a town called north shore, its about a 1 hour 20 minute drive from waikiki, please do not get lost!!! google map it, while in north shore visit a town called HALEIWA (remember in hawaii W's are prounced with V SOUNDS like HA-LE-I-VA the i is pronounced like E) while in haleiwa go to the shaved ice store called matsumotos, you wont regret it. Also in north shore is something called KAHUKU SHRIMP, visit genovanis butter garlic shrimp van. If you want you can go to a town called KAPOLEI and visit the water park called HAWAIIAN ADVENTURES WATER PARK.
Oh in waikiki be sure to eat at teddy's burgers, and another shaved ice shop called Waiolas (prounounced Vaiolas) all located in waikiki.
You have sooooo much to do if i cant even explain how much fun your going to have >.< so i know i missed out on a lot of activies so PM me if you want.

- how strong is the sun in hawaii? i know in mexico you need to wear a high spf or else you'll burn. i'm from canada, i don't burn at all. even when i'm tanning on the docks up in the cottage country. do you normally wear high spf?? i normally don't (except on my face spf 20)
I'm a local and i was born with NC40 skin I hardly burn. But i've seen many tourtits here RED AS A LOBSTER and its painful. I wear neutrogena SPF 70, im pretty dark right now maybe NC43 because of my sick tan, and SPF70 still burns me very little, if your fair skinned, god bless you. Remember Hawaii is very very close to the earths equator if thats not an indication on how blazing the sun is.... then i dont know what is lol


-luaus... where to go??? so far, i found one at the sea life park. i think it'll be fun! swimming with dolphins then a luau? but if theres a better one, please recommend
Dont go to sea life park lu'au like i said before HAWAIIAN POLYNEASIAN CULTURAL CENTER, most funnest and authentic lu'au around.


i think that's all
thanks in advance for all your input

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NC40-42