I maybe taking a trip down to hawaii sometime in the future and would like some guidance.. I know nothing of hawaii.
fine dining, best beach front hotel, a must see place etc...

 

restaurants:
alan wong's
sarento's
du vin(downtown)
cuba de soul(downtown)
nobu(be prepared to spend $500+)
la mer(most romantic)

hotel:
waikiki parc hotel (get the lotus experience package. they give you a lotus to drive around while on your stay)

night clubs:
w
level 4
senor frogs
chai's
blackjack(after 2am spot)

must see:
blow hole(near sandy beach)
diamond head
jet ski and parasail (kewalo basin)

 

^ right on! it seems like they have lot of the restaurants as we do here.. I've been to nobu here and I agree.. some serious $$$

the lotus package sounds interesting..

 

Hit up the north shore and get some Motsimoto's Shave Ice. Good stuff!!!

Also, if you want some more down to earth places let let us know whats interests you. We can drum up some italian, Thai, ect.

 

hell yea man. matsumoto shave ice is the best in all the islands!

 

Phuket Thai in Millilani

Um the shrimp truck on the north shore

Maybe cholo's in Haliewa its hit or miss

 

Gotta be the Giovanni's truck. All others suck.

 

That was the me I was looking for!!! Yes.... THEY ROCK THE SOCKS OFF A FAT CHICK!!!!

 

yeah nobu in hawaii is the exact same as nobu in socal so i'd skip it. the best fine dining spots here are alan wongs, chef mavro and michele's. in order from best to least best imo, and interestingly enough in order from cheapest to most expensive.

 

lanikai juice - acai bowls are really good.
I was a big fan of champa thai in kailu- Food was really good, not expensive and byob. Probably a good place to get blitzed for lunch and then go to the beach.
Good snorkeling at hanauma bay, but it is a huge torist trap.
We at at the restaurant under outrigger, there are two, shorebird and another one. We do not like shorebird but the other one is good.
Pearl harbor is good to do to.

 

Pearl Harbor is also FREE. Just go early they only have 40 groups at 15 minute intervals. Fist come first serve.

Do the Dole Pinappel Plantation, its fairly easy to get to and a traditionaly touristy thing to do. You can stop by on your way to the North Shore Geovani's and on the way back get a shave ice in Haliewa town. See three birds one stone.

Also the Polynesian Cultural Center has a decent guided tour and an Luao at night. There is even a show included.

Man it looks like we can plan out your whole trip...

 

Highly recommend renting a car and just driving around the island. Jump on Kamehameha Hwy and just go... You'll see quite a bit, and the views will be awesome (for the picture taking). It’s really nice to see the island change from metropolitan to country, from rain forest to desert. Plus you can scope out places you'd like to go back and visit. Will take maybe 4-6 hours depending how often you stop, and how fast you're driving, traffic, etc. Super easy to do, and relatively cheap as you'll pretty much only be paying for gas and food. Heck I still do this and I've lived here all my life... Just my recommendation.

 

depends where but trraffic is bad between 7am-9am and 3:30pm-6pm. hy's steakhouse is good. got a really good garlic food place on waialae ave. cant remeber the name. nini kuya i think?

 

wow. everyone is coming out of the wood work on this thread. ive never seen your guys sn on the regional thread.

 

true that. where you guys been?

 

Lol I just read whats posted up, normally I don't have anything contructive to add... But its interesting to read the post ups from guys in HI.

 

Food:

1. Local Hawaiian: People's Cafe on Pali Hwy-best laulau, poi, and chicken longrice
2. Steak: Ruth's Chris in Restaurant Row on Ala Moana-$$$$ but soooo worth it
3. Hale'iwa HuliHuli chicken next to the church on the main drag right next to Aoki's Shave Ice...half-plate is half a bbq'd chicken with two scoop rice...the chicken is smack dab in the middle of Aoki's and Matsumoto's...Matsumoto's is by far THE best, but if the lines are nuts Aoki's is comparable
4. PF Chang's at Ward or at the Royal Hayn Shopping Center-for their chicken wraps...but it's pretty commercial
5. Phuket Thai in Mililani Town Center-only get the curry if your stomach is a steel trap though! ;-) the food is great there
6. Cholo's in Hale'iwa-pretty cool Mexican food, fresh not reheated, and amazing Li Hing Mui Margaritas
7. Angel's Ice Cream in La'ie-they have the best pineapple smoothies...don't go for ice cream though...it's just ice cream!
8. Ted's Bakery near Sunset Beach on North Shore-the best haupia pie ever
9. Duke's on Kalakaua in town-has an awesome breakfast bar...make reservations...Duke's is really amazing for all meals though and it's right on the beach and you can sit in the open air and watch the boats and surfers
10. Todai on Ala Moana-if you're into sushi and seafood and don't mind the chaos of a buffet, go here for lunch...it's half the cost...the amount of sushi is amazing
11. Gordon Biersch at Aloha Tower Marketplace-great pupus and awesome drinks and great great food with a view of the water
12. Buca di Beppo at Ward-great Italian food with great ambiance, place is huge and so are the portions

Sightseeing:

I definitely recommend renting a car...The Bus (yes, that's it's name...it's a simple life here!) runs all the time to every point on the island, but you're bound to get a better experience running on your own...

Pearl Harbor...of course...and yup, it's free...get there at 0600 and you'll be done by around 1100 if all goes well...and it's right by Aloha Stadium, so if you go on a Wednesday you can shoot right over there and go to the swap meet...lots of local vendors...tshirts, souveniers, etc on the cheap.

Hanauma is great snorkeling, but it is very over populated by 0800...if you rent a car, find your way to Shark's Cove on the North Shore...if you get up there you'll find an unbelievable amount of fish on the reef and in the tide pools and you'll be swimming with at least a dozen sea turtles...incredible...

Dole Pineapple Plantation just North of Wahiawa-I have one thing to say...Dole Whip...doesn't matter what you get it in or what you put on it as long as you have the Dole Whip...and catch a pineapple cutting on the half hour and try pineapple with Li Hing on it...and taste the guy's roasted nuts Unless you have a wish for boredome and kids, don't do the train, but if you like the flora of the island spring for the walk through the garden

Nu'uanu Pali Lookout up the Pali Hwy-amazing view of Kane'ohe and Kailua on the Windward Side...also where the bloodiest battle was waged on the island...

Chinaman's Hat north of Kane'ohe-hat shaped island that sits just off shore...legend says that there's a Chinese man that sits in K-Bay under the hat watching over the bay

Skydiving at Dillingham Airfield, Ka'ena Point-daring? we just went two weeks ago with Skydive Hawai'i...absolutely incredible

Punchbowl Memorial Cemetary-beautiful military cemetary built inside Punchbowl Crater with a platform at the top which overlooks Honolulu and Waikiki

Byodo In at Valley of the Temples between Kane'ohe and Chinaman's Hat-a Buddhist Temple Replica which sits at the foot of the Ko'olau Mountains in the far back of a multi-background cemetary...

Hahaha...sadly, I could go on...I've only lived here about a year and a half, but I kinda' love this place...if you have any questions, let me know!