Hawaii tour operators (independent from ship)

Hello all,

We will be sailing Hawaii in September. Since some of the ship tours can be
quite expensive, I would like to contact some of the independent tour operators
now, to see what they offer and compare ship tour prices.

1) Does anyone know of a tour company which handles this in Hawaii or any
independent people, with whom you've had some positive experiences, who will
taxi and tour us around?

2) Please let us know what sites we should not miss.

Our ports are:
Sun Vancouver, British Columbia 5 PM depart
Sat Kailua Kona, Hawaii 7:00 AM 6:00 PM
Sun nawiliwili (Kauai), Hawaii 7:00 AM 6:00 PM
Mon Hilo, Hawaii 8:30 AM 6:00 PM
Tue lahaina (Maui), Hawaii 7:00 AM --
Wed lahaina (Maui), Hawaii -- 6:00 PM
Thu Honolulu (Oahu), Hawaii 7:00 AM --

Any information, must do's or point to's would be appreciated. Thanks.
Happy Cruisin'
Mark
Home Port:
Monmouth County,NJ.

mjdeeg@ (MJDEEG) wrote in message news:<20040628084329.10744.00000471@mb-m25.>...
> Hello all,
>
> We will be sailing Hawaii in September. Since some of the ship tours can be
> quite expensive, I would like to contact some of the independent tour operators
> now, to see what they offer and compare ship tour prices.
>
> 1) Does anyone know of a tour company which handles this in Hawaii or any
> independent people, with whom you've had some positive experiences, who will
> taxi and tour us around?
>
> 2) Please let us know what sites we should not miss.
>
> Our ports are:
> Sun Vancouver, British Columbia 5 PM depart
> Sat Kailua Kona, Hawaii 7:00 AM 6:00 PM
> Sun nawiliwili (Kauai), Hawaii 7:00 AM 6:00 PM
> Mon Hilo, Hawaii 8:30 AM 6:00 PM
> Tue lahaina (Maui), Hawaii 7:00 AM --
> Wed lahaina (Maui), Hawaii -- 6:00 PM
> Thu Honolulu (Oahu), Hawaii 7:00 AM --
>
> Any information, must do's or point to's would be appreciated. Thanks.
> Happy Cruisin'
> Mark
> Home Port:
> Monmouth County,NJ.

I did a couple of tours when I did land based trips to Hawaii. I took
a day trip to Hana on Maui. I don't remember the name of the company.
There are lots of them. It's an all day trip, so I'm not sure of the
timing. If you would like more information, e-mail me and I'll try to
find out the name of the company I used.

Also, a helicopter tour of Kauai is not to be missed. It's a little
expensive, but well worth it. One of the waterfalls you see is the
one from the movie Jurassic Park. The only way to see it is from a
helicopter.

Leo

The Arizona Memorial is very impressive. If there is one thing that Hawaii
has, it is tour operators. Enjoy,
Don



"MJDEEG" <mjdeeg@> wrote in message
news:20040628084329.10744.00000471@mb-m25....
> Hello all,
>
> We will be sailing Hawaii in September. Since some of the ship tours can
be
> quite expensive, I would like to contact some of the independent tour
operators
> now, to see what they offer and compare ship tour prices.
>
> 1) Does anyone know of a tour company which handles this in Hawaii or any
> independent people, with whom you've had some positive experiences, who
will
> taxi and tour us around?
>
> 2) Please let us know what sites we should not miss.
>
> Our ports are:
> Sun Vancouver, British Columbia 5 PM depart
> Sat Kailua Kona, Hawaii 7:00 AM 6:00 PM
> Sun nawiliwili (Kauai), Hawaii 7:00 AM 6:00 PM
> Mon Hilo, Hawaii 8:30 AM 6:00 PM
> Tue lahaina (Maui), Hawaii 7:00 AM --
> Wed lahaina (Maui), Hawaii -- 6:00 PM
> Thu Honolulu (Oahu), Hawaii 7:00 AM --
>
> Any information, must do's or point to's would be appreciated. Thanks.
> Happy Cruisin'
> Mark
> Home Port:
> Monmouth County,NJ.

>The Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor
>on Oahu, and Volcanoes National Park on Hilo.
>
>Be prepared for an extensive waiting line at Pearl.

In the case of the Arizona, get into the parking lot by 7:30am, 7:45 at latest
- 7:15 even better. Some of the tour companies do offer very early departures
from Honolulu Hotels, etc, etc, so the wait is reasonable (as long as you are
among the first groups in line).

Regards, Keith

Do not miss the "ARIZONA MEMORIAL"a must see,it was very impressive,had
no exended wait ,but we were not pleased with some of the disrespect we
saw by the younger generation of asians

Thanks Keith,

The Memorial will be a return trip for us when we did HI by land only. We took
a very good tour which had us at the door by 7am. No like, No waiting. the tour
took us to the airbase and a few other military outposts.
Happy Cruisin'
Mark
Home Port:
Monmouth County,NJ.

Thanks Leo,

Trip to Hana.
Helecopter Kauai.

I am writing these down.
You really feel the $200/person on the helicopter is worth it?
Happy Cruisin'
Mark
Home Port:
Monmouth County,NJ.

Keith,

Yours is the best response yet. Thanks for all the info AND the tour
operators.

We are staying at Outrigger Reef thurs/fri and leaving sat so we'll miss the
movie. :(
Is the Outrigger Reef the same as the Outrigger Wakiki Beach that you
mentioned?

Does ANYONE ELSE have any must see excursions and tour operators out
there???
Happy Cruisin'
Mark
Home Port:
Monmouth County,NJ.

>Is the Outrigger Reef the same as the Outrigger Wakiki Beach that you
>mentione

No. Different but not too far from each other. The Outrigger Reef is on the
west side of Waikiki Beach, the Outrigger Waikiki Beach is in the middle. An
easy walk, perhaps 10-15 minutes.

Regards, Keith

MJDEEG wrote:
>
> Does ANYONE ELSE have any must see excursions and tour operators out
> there???

Mark, have you checked the Hawaii sub-forum on the Cruise Critic Ports of Call
Board? (boards.cruisecritic.com) I find a wealth of info and opinions on these
boards.

~ Peri