Must do's-sightseeing and tours

[ebenmax]

These are the things we all really enjoyed:

Dolphin excursion - early morning tour about 15 minute drive from Aulani. We got to snorkel and swim as hundreds of dolphins swam by.
Shark cage dive - my boys loved this.
Hikes/waterfalls
Diamond Head
Surf lesson- We stay in Waikiki our first night, so I scheduled an early morning surf lesson on Waikiki beach.
Hanauma Bay - get there before opening for low crowds and great snorkeling.
North shore - we drove to the North Shore twice. We found this amazing pizza cart on the side of the road.
Exploring all the great beaches
Polynesian Cultural Center- we did this, but no of us were overly thrilled with the experience. Don't know why, as others seem to love it.

Forgot to add that we toured Pearl Harbor too. A must do.

Who did your dolphin excursion? My 15 yr old really wants to swim with dolphins or turtles!
Did your boys like this?
My daughter is too scared to do the shark cages although her dad can’t wait!

 

[rlk]

This is the company we used - https://dolphinexcursions.com/

They are located in Waianae, not that far from Aulani. It includes breakfast too. My boys loved this experience as much as the cage dive. My husband and I loved it too. If you can, make reservations for the earliest boat. After we swam with the pods of dolphins (including babies), thay took us to another area for great snorkeling. A turtle swam right up to my husband and one son; they still talk about it to this day. We got to dive down near a turtle and the company photographer took pictures. Of course they sell a photo package, a bit expensive, but we bought it. I still use one of the pictures as my screen saver.

Before heading out, they take breakfast orders. After the excursion, you head inside where you pick up you breakfast order. My boys said the pancakes were delicious.

 

[ebenmax]

This is the company we used - https://dolphinexcursions.com/

They are located in Waianae, not that far from Aulani. It includes breakfast too. My boys loved this experience as much as the cage dive. My husband and I loved it too. If you can, make reservations for the earliest boat. After we swam with the pods of dolphins (including babies), thay took us to another area for great snorkeling. A turtle swam right up to my husband and one son; they still talk about it to this day. We got to dive down near a turtle and the company photographer took pictures. Of course they sell a photo package, a bit expensive, but we bought it. I still use one of the pictures as my screen saver.

Before heading out, they take breakfast orders. Afteer the excursion, you head inside where you pick up you breakfast order. My boys said the pancakes were delicious.

Thanks so much for this info!!! Sounds like tons of fun! I have to ask this question though because it affects 3 people in our party. Did anyone in your family or on the tour experience sea sickness? (2 of us can’t take meds for it.) I wasn’t sure how far out into the ocean you travel.

Thanks again!!

 

[rlk]

Thanks so much for this info!!! Sounds like tons of fun! I have to ask this question though because it affects 3 people in our party. Did anyone in your family or on the tour experience sea sickness? (2 of us can’t take meds for it.) I wasn’t sure how far out into the ocean you travel.

Thanks again!!

Nobody on our tour got sea sick. I think going as early as possible helps, as the water was very calm. On the other hand, several people, including me, got seasick on the shark excursion. It was from when the pulled the cage back to the boat. You get tossed around. The rest of my family didn't get sick. I think the trick is to hold tightly o the cage as the dtag it back.

 

[JM735]

We are booked with them for the North Shore hybrid (supposed to include cliff jumping). Did you cliff jump or just your guide? What were some of the highlights of your tour?

Nope, none of us jumped. We didn’t book the hybrid because we knew it wasn’t something our group would be interested in doing this trip. But it was fun watching our guide do it!

On our North Shore day we hit several beaches, including Papailoa, Waimea bay, Banzai Pipeline and La’ie Point. All of them were amazing to experience. Photos – both professional ones and any we took – don't capture the in-person experience.

One of the things we enjoyed most was the simplicity – we just had to show up and enjoy the day with a fun and knowledgeable guide. None of us had to deal with planning, driving, navigating, parking, etc. However, if there are specific things on your list they are more than willing to accommodate those requests.

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Who did your dolphin excursion? My 15 yr old really wants to swim with dolphins or turtles!
Did your boys like this?
My daughter is too scared to do the shark cages although her dad can’t wait!

If someone is interested in swimming with turtles, we did the Turtle Canyon Snorkel Sail through Makani Catamaran. You sail out of Honolulu to a spot not to far from Waikiki Beach. You get about an hour to snorkel and we were in the water with about a dozen sea turtles, many of which came into arms reach!

The sail includes a light lunch. We didn’t experience any sea sickness. It was pretty windy but you don’t go too far from shore so it wasn’t bad.

 

[Psychodisney]

This is the company we used - https://dolphinexcursions.com/

They are located in Waianae, not that far from Aulani. It includes breakfast too. My boys loved this experience as much as the cage dive. My husband and I loved it too. If you can, make reservations for the earliest boat. After we swam with the pods of dolphins (including babies), thay took us to another area for great snorkeling. A turtle swam right up to my husband and one son; they still talk about it to this day. We got to dive down near a turtle and the company photographer took pictures. Of course they sell a photo package, a bit expensive, but we bought it. I still use one of the pictures as my screen saver.

Before heading out, they take breakfast orders. After the excursion, you head inside where you pick up you breakfast order. My boys said the pancakes were delicious.

We did this too! Loved it. Ours included lunch instead of breakfast. I used a coupon form the Entertainment book. No one got seasick. Awesome experience swimming around the dolphins and turtles. We also bought the photo CD...too cool not to.
We also took a catamaran out of the KoOlina marina which was fun.
We bought a groupon for surfing and were able to enjoy shaved ice at Matsumoto.
The only thing we did not enjoy was the Paradise cove luau .

 

[snoodledoo]

We did this too! Loved it. Ours included lunch instead of breakfast. I used a coupon form the Entertainment book. No one got seasick. Awesome experience swimming around the dolphins and turtles. We also bought the photo CD...too cool not to.
We also took a catamaran out of the KoOlina marina which was fun.
We bought a groupon for surfing and were able to enjoy shaved ice at Matsumoto.
The only thing we did not enjoy was the Paradise cove luau .

What did you not like about it? Is there another you'd recommend?

 

[Psychodisney]

What did you not like about it? Is there another you'd recommend?

It was a few years ago, but I know none of us enjoyed the food. It was served buffet style and was not worth the money spent. Our seats were pretty far back from the performances. We also did it early in our vacation, I think I wans’t adjusted to the timing and had a hard time keeping my eyes open.