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 Advice Sought on travelling to O`ahu
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Eynowd
Lokahi

Australia
181 Posts

Posted - 01/18/2019 :  4:25:26 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
My family and I are booked to go to the Kahumoku workshop on Maui in June this year, and I'm in the process of booking flights from Australia to get us there and back.

I'd like to spend another week on O`ahu following the workshop, but don't have any idea about where to stay or what to do once we're there.

Ideally, we'd like to stay somewhere that won't cost us a fortune, and preferably away from the worst of the touristy trap areas. It doesn't have to be a glamourous hotel either, as long as it's clean and secure.

Is it worth staying in a quieter part of Honolulu (if such a place exists), or is it better to go stay on the North Shore at Kailua or somewhere else?

What is public transport like? Do we need to worry about hiring a car to get us around, or is that just overkill?

What sort of touristy stuff should we be considering? My wife does suffer from chronic pain issues, which we need to take into account, and we will have our nine year old daughter with us. So hours of hiking up steep hills or whatever will probably be out of the question. Again, we'd rather have an authentic experience, rather than a cheesy commercialised one.

I want to book the international flights in the next couple of weeks, if possible. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Geoff - g'day from Canberra, Australia.

sirduke58
`Olu`olu

USA
993 Posts

Posted - 01/19/2019 :  05:59:46 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Hey Geoff

Patch members slpry1 & thumbstruck used to stay in Kailua renting a studio-like cottage for a decent price. The place is right across the street from Doug Fitch, another 'Patcher and slack key player. Maybe they'll chime in & offer some details on the place.

The bus system is pretty good here & you can get to almost anywhere on the island. An all day pass costs only $5.50 for adults & $2.50 for children.

Just remember to save a Sunday for me so I can hustle up the local talent for a kanikapila potluck.

Aloha
Duke

PS: One of the "Must Do's" For an aspiring slack key guitarist visiting Honolulu like you is to schedule a one on one lesson with Ozzie. It's $60 for a one hour session but well worth it.

Hoof Hearted?...Was it you Stu Pedaso?
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slipry1
Ha`aha`a

USA
1511 Posts

Posted - 01/19/2019 :  10:46:40 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
The place is Kay's Ali'i Vacation Rentals on Awakea Street in Kailua. I loved to stay there because it is quiet there at night and is only 15 minutes from Kailua beach, which is great for walking and swimming. http://kaysaliivacationrental.com/index.html and a YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hwv43Wcc-5o. I love the place and Kay and her family are good friends. Say hello for me. I ran out of money last year, so it's hard for me to go back.

keaka
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Eynowd
Lokahi

Australia
181 Posts

Posted - 01/19/2019 :  1:12:05 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Mahalo for the info guys.

Kay's looks pretty good, and the sort of thing we were looking for.

The lesson with Ozzie sounds great, but I'll need to be careful about booking too much guitar stuff in, as the family will be with me on the trip, and they're going to get irritated if I keep running off to do music stuff. Especially after having just come from a week's music camp.


Geoff - g'day from Canberra, Australia.
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Earl
`Olu`olu

USA
502 Posts

Posted - 01/20/2019 :  05:35:33 AM  Show Profile  Visit Earl's Homepage  Reply with Quote
We stay at the Queen Kapiolani Hotel located right next to the zoo if in Waikiki. We would walk a block and snorkel inside the breakwater every morning before the beach got crowded. The aquarium is also a 10 minute walk from that hotel. A weekly pass on Da Bus is the way to go, and they have a smart phone app that shows you bus stops and schedules. No rental car, no parking hassles, and heavy traffic is the driver's problem.

We went to the Kanikapila Grille to hear live music and have dinner several times during our week, and heard lots of good music including the late, great Uncle Cyril Pahinui with Peter Moon Jr and other performers.

Many people like to have buffet dinner at the Oceanarium in the Marriott Hotel. The aquarium surrounds the dining room, and you can pay to have mermaids swim up to your table and hold up signs like "Happy Birthday" if you are so inclined.

I got a lot of advice when planning our last trip to Oahu in April 2015. This a thread is where you can find lots of good information: http://www.taropatch.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11253
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Eynowd
Lokahi

Australia
181 Posts

Posted - 02/08/2019 :  9:44:05 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Our trip became a lot more real today: I visited the travel agent to book and pay for the airline tickets, the accommodation in Honolulu for the week after the Maui camp, and all the other little bits and pieces like insurance and transfers from the airport.

Thankfully, there's not a whole lot more to organise now. Which means I can start relaxing about it.

We're booked to stay at the Aston Waikiki Beack hotel. It ended up being about $300 cheaper than the Queen Kapiolani hotel, but in the same general area. I thought seriously about the Kailua cottage option, but ended up opting for the Waikiki hotel because we want to do the touristy thing, and it made sense to be closer to it. We may still do a day trip up to Kailua one day for look though.

quote:
Originally posted by sirduke58
Just remember to save a Sunday for me so I can hustle up the local talent for a kanikapila potluck.



Duke, we're going to be in Honolulu on Sunday June 23 and would love to take you up on your offer. I mentioned your offer to my wife and she's keen as well. Hopefully four months is enough notice for you

quote:
Originally posted by sirduke58
PS: One of the "Must Do's" For an aspiring slack key guitarist visiting Honolulu like you is to schedule a one on one lesson with Ozzie. It's $60 for a one hour session but well worth it.



This sounds like a plan. What's the best way to contact Ozzie to start arranging something? (The earlier I book it in the better, as we're only on O`ahu for six nights).

Geoff - g'day from Canberra, Australia.
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a

USA
1573 Posts

Posted - 02/09/2019 :  06:33:28 AM  Show Profile  Visit Fran Guidry's Homepage  Reply with Quote
The trip to Kailua is definitely worth making. Going over the Pali takes you to the Pali Lookout and the site of Kamehameha's victory over the O`ahu defenders. The view from the lookout and then the road down is spectacular. Kailua Beach is regularly named as the world's best, then the trip back on the Kalaniana`ole Highway takes you through Waimanalo, around Makapu`u and along the water past Sandy Beach for another spectacular bit of sight seeing.

Also check the calendar at Honey's http://www.honeysrestauranthawaii.com/entertainment/ to see if Led is in town and/or Mike Kaawa is playing.

Fran

E ho`okani pila kakou ma Kaleponi
Slack Key Guitar in California - www.kaleponi.com
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Eynowd
Lokahi

Australia
181 Posts

Posted - 02/09/2019 :  12:09:34 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Fran Guidry

The trip to Kailua is definitely worth making. Going over the Pali takes you to the Pali Lookout and the site of Kamehameha's victory over the O`ahu defenders. The view from the lookout and then the road down is spectacular. Kailua Beach is regularly named as the world's best, then the trip back on the Kalaniana`ole Highway takes you through Waimanalo, around Makapu`u and along the water past Sandy Beach for another spectacular bit of sight seeing.



Thanks for the tip, Fran! We might have to think about renting a car for the day if we want to stop along the way and do sightseeing.

It'll be interesting to see if the Kailua Beach thing stacks up, given that I'm Australian, and we have some pretty spectacular beaches here

quote:
Originally posted by Fran Guidry
Also check the calendar at Honey's http://www.honeysrestauranthawaii.com/entertainment/ to see if Led is in town and/or Mike Kaawa is playing.



Could be a plan. Thankfully, Led's apparently booked as one of the instructors for the Maui workshop the week before, so we'll see him then (and hopefully get a chance for a lesson or two with him!)

Geoff - g'day from Canberra, Australia.
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Maliko
Lokahi

USA
138 Posts

Posted - 02/13/2019 :  05:56:22 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
We (Claire and I) might be staying a few days on O'ahu prior to going to Georgeʻs camp on Maui. Have not yet made plans, but we will stay in touch.

Put da "pila" back in "Kanikapila"
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