We’ve been to Honolulu several times over the years and have seen many of the popular attractions.

Pearl Harbor was a special highlight for us on our last visit in 2024 and we recommend it as must do for anyone visiting. Also, in that category is the Battleship Missouri, known as Mighty Mo. These are two remarkable pieces of our country’s history that are well worth the time.

Waikiki Beach

This visit, we opted for a more unstructured day.

We took an Uber several miles along the shoreline toward Diamond Head, getting out at Kapiolani Park.

Then we walked several hours back toward the port through Waikiki beaches, resorts, restaurants, and upscale shops.

It was a perfect beach day, and people were out in large numbers. We wandered into several of the resort hotels along the way, just to see what they looked like.

Although beautiful and offering a wide range of amenities, they are much too big and busy for our taste. A cozy cruise ship is much more our style.

Day 2 in Honolulu was a return visit to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. It’s a beautifully landscaped and well-maintained final resting place for service members from all branches and all wars. There are many Medal of Honor and Purple Heart recipients here, as well as some famous people like former US Senator Daniel Inouye; prize winning World War II correspondent Ernie Pyle; and Hawaii’s first astronaut, Ellison Onizuka, lost in the Challenger disaster.

National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific

The trees here are especially magnificent - Chinese banyans line the long plaza up to the main memorial. This cemetery is situated high up in a crater fondly referred to as the "Punchbowl", with spectacular views down over the city. From there we walked several miles down to some residential neighborhoods, before finding an Uber back to the ship.

Chinese Banyan Trees

Day 3 was on the big Island of Hawaii in the town of Kona. The downtown where the ship tenders bring us is lined with hotels, restaurants, and tourist-oriented shops. It’s a pleasant place to stroll and even has a small but appealing beach right downtown. On our last visit here, we ventured out to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in the center of the island for an interesting exploration of island geology.

Kona is perhaps best known for its coffee. The growing region is a belt only about 30 miles long and one mile wide along the volcanic western slopes of the island. The farms are small, but the weather, fertile soil, and elevation provide perfect conditions for growing coffee.

We took the opportunity to visit 2 of those small farms on a tour called the Senses of Kona. There were only 24 of us in a very comfortable touring van. Kona Joe Coffee was our first stop, where we got to sample the coffee and heard all about the growing, harvesting, and roasting processes.

Their growing process is unique in that they use trellises to ensure that the beans ripen evenly. Many of us purchased beans to take home, including their most expensive “Peabody” which sells for $110 a bag. We all received a souvenir ceramic mug!

Kona Coffee

Our second farm visit was to the Puna Chocolate Company, just down the road from Kona Joe. They grow cacao trees used to make their gourmet chocolate bars. We were treated to an extensive walk around the farm, viewing coffee plants, pineapples, sugar cane, as well as the cacao. Wild turkeys followed us around. We paused for a generous tasting of their chocolate bars before heading to the gift shop to buy our favorites. They quickly sold out of the 90% cacao bars which were so smooth and rich.

Puna Chocolate Company

It was still early when we returned to the port, so we took a walk down the coast to the site of the old airport which has been turned into a large park, with both paved and sandy trails. Officially named the Old Kona Airport State Recreation Site, there are beaches for surfing and spearfishing, a community aquatic center, playgrounds, ballfields, and a huge parking facility. Getting in the water can be challenging here, as the beaches are littered with lava rocks and coral. We enjoyed a walk along the paved trail before returning to the ship.

Our final destination in Hawaii was the island of Maui and the town of Kahului. The commercial port where we are docked is about 1.5 miles from the town, with no shuttle provided. Taxis were available outside, but if you wanted a less expensive Uber, you had to walk a half mile outside the port exit. Lots of tours from here: Haleakala Crater; the winding Road to Hana; whale watching; hikes through the rainforest to see and swim among the waterfalls; visits to the Maui Tropical Plantation, or the Maui Ocean Center aquarium.  

There was also an on your own transfer to Ka’anapali Beach near the town of Lahaina that was so badly damaged by fire in 2023. We heard that one of the tours that travelled to the other side of the island got to witness an eruption of the Kilauea volcano. How lucky for them!

After three very busy days with many miles of walking, we decided on a short exploration of the town of Pa’ia. About 7 miles from Kahului port, it was an easy taxi ride to this bustling town. We had read that the town had a bohemian flair and that was true. Lots of jewelry, crafts, clothing, and outdoor-oriented sporting goods stores lined up along the two main streets. You could buy everything from handmade bikinis to high end ukuleles. Our favorite scenic spot was the Mantokuji Mission, a Buddhist Temple on a gorgeous property overlooking the crashing waves below. It was a short but fun day.

Mantokuji Mission

Five days at sea will bring us to American Samoa. We’ll have time to catch you up on our group and some activities and events around the ship.

Aloha,

Wendy and Steve

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