Headin' to Oahu...any thoughts on cheap family stuff to do?

Yep, I'm heading to the island of Oahu--it's work-related for me, but the fam is coming along and we'll have about 3-4 days all to ourselves, not to mention the afternoons and evenings of most days (8 days in total).

We already are planning on hanging out at Turtle Beach and Turtle Bay, spending an afternoon on the North Shore, hiking to waterfalls, hiking Diamonhead, snorkeling in Hanauma Bay (and possibly taking a boat out to a secluded area as well), just relaxing, and hopefully doing some random exploring like at tidal pools.

My wife and I were both prior military, so we'd love to visit Pearl Harbor, but unsure if it will work out with a hyperactive 11-year-old and a 16-month-old in tow.

I've seen some things about tours of this and that, but we're not really the type of family that likes tours. We're considering the Polynesian Cultural Center, but don't know how much will fit into the trip, which is a week and a half away.

If any of you who have visited the island have and good suggestions of what to do (or not do, if it was a disappointment), we'd really appreciate your input. We're really looking forward to this trip, have never been, and don't know when we'll be able to return.

We're looking for cheap-to-free things--I know that's a subjective term, but any comments (and, preferably, links) will be appreciated.

Thanks so much!

SM

a reply to: SlapMonkey

I think, you are heading to the wrong place in looking for "cheap."

a reply to: Aliensun

Nope...plenty of free and cheap things to do if one is smart enough to avoid the expensive tourist traps.

But, I'm heading there out of necessity, and getting per diem, a free rental car, the condo paid for, and my plane ticket, so I'm lucky in that regard--still looking for cheap stuff, though, and everything I listed is relatively cheap. I don't understand why people say you can't find cheap things to do in Hawai'i...

I was there last year, I pray, I never have to go back.
It is like San Francisco.
The streets reek. extreme homeless, extreme expense. The only people who want to go to Oahu are the ones that have never been there, or love huge cities. I had a weirdo at the beach ask if he could rent my bathroom, adding that he would sleep in the tub. I stayed at Waikiki. Dont try to rent a car, the parking is as much as the car rental. $25 per night just to park it at your Motel. Not kidding. There is toooooooooooo much traffic to bother with a car.
It took us over 2 hours each way on the bus to get to Turtle Bay. The bus is extremely over crowded. And its like only 30 miles.
The snorkeling at Hanauma bay, was really cool, but again very crowded, go early to get a spot on the beach. There are wonderful exhibits at the Aquarium too. They were not expensive.
McDonalds is cheep food and the little corner stores have decent sandwiches. McDonalds actually sell little rice patties with a slab of spam on top. Not kidding. Im in California, the last thing I expected was spam.
I was in Kauai 2 years ago, its a much better Island. But, I still wouldnt go back unless it was for business.
I hope I didnt rain on your parade, but you should know in advance what your getting into.
Read the reviews about what there is to do, on the tourist sites before you go.

a reply to: SlapMonkey

Here is an article I found regarding Oahu... about 101 things to do that are either free or for $10.00. I hope you have a wonderful time there!

Link: gohawaii.about.com...

The ocean.

Kahuku Sugar Mill on the north side of the island.

Chinaman's Hat, which is on the way there.

Lualualei Railroad Museum, up the south shore.

The Polynesian Cultural Center, although it's really geared towards tourists. You can catch a luau here, although there are many other places to attend a luau.

Some of what I enjoyed on that island. You might Like different things.

Get your groceries in Pearl City. Also the best place to get authentic Hawaiian food.

originally posted by: Obsrvr
Lualualei Railroad Museum, up the south shore.

I was going to suggest that.

Does the Hawaii Railroad Society still do tourist trains to the plantations?

A vacation of a lifetime and you want to do it on the cheap? Ok I guess. The beach is free. Collecting shells. They have MacDonalds so breakfast lunch and dinner is covered. No souvenirs of course unless it's those free seashells. I was there. It's a beautiful place and very romantic. Sunsets are free too now that I think of it.
I understand the airfare is steep. I was very lucky growing up. My dad worked for an airline and we flew for free. Well we had to pay the tax but still we went to Hawaii first class for $50.00 each. Family of six. Out of JFK,airport NY. Our neighbors paid more camping in Wildwood NJ. The down side was we had to fly standby. The good news was first class was never full so we always got a seat. Once we had the whole first class section of a DC8 all to our selves and another time we were in the upstairs lounge of a 747 by ourselves. It was like having our own private jet.

PS. Do have a wonderful trip. It's an experience that will stay with you all your life. Aloha!

PPS. The memorial at the Arizona in Pearl Harbor made me cry. Just seeing that list of men killed on the wall. Same thing happened in DC when I visited the Vietnam memorial wall.

I think it would be neat to go work in a small sugar cane field for a day. Anything out amongst the regular people and away from all the tourist crap would be fun. Maybe finding a local potluck local festival would be fun, but you might have to go to a remote part of the islands.

I wouldn't want to be hanging around the crowded tourist areas myself. But then again I am not normal. I spent my trip in Vegas talking to locals, workers, and even some street people. I had more fun doing that than looking at all the fancy stuff there.

a reply to: rickymouse

I hope you got to visit red rock canyon while you were there. Totally unvegas totally awesome.

originally posted by: AutumnWitch657
a reply to: rickymouse

I hope you got to visit red rock canyon while you were there. Totally unvegas totally awesome.

I only stopped there for about forty hours while flying down to Tucson Arizona to drive my uncle back to this area. I round tripped through Vegas, cut the cost in half. I only slept for about an hour, I stayed at Circus Circus and walked through all the places on the strip. I walked downtown, took a bus downtown the next night, went to a local tavern and met some Michiganders there who had moved to Vegas. Strange how I walked off the strip right to a bar where there were three Yoopers drinking there with no prior knowledge. I was drawn there I think.

Must be one of those birds of a feather moments.

originally posted by: AutumnWitch657
A vacation of a lifetime and you want to do it on the cheap?

Yeah, we're in the midst of getting out of debt, not going back into it for a trip. I didn't find out about this until about 5 weeks before I was supposed to go, so not a lot of time to save up travel funds. We have cash, but we don't want to blow it on just a few things if we can get a lot of experiences instead.

As for the Arizona memorial, I'm sure it'd hit me, too. Most war memorials do.

a reply to: rickymouse

Agreed...we're not into walking around shoulder-to-shoulder with other tourists. Plus, we're more into seeing what the actual island (read: nature) has to offer us. We won't be hanging out in the city too much.

a reply to: Obsrvr

Thanks for the heads up on the groceries--we are renting a condo, so we'll have a kitchen and stuff, to help keep costs down (at least for breakfast). It looks a bit far to drive for groceries, though (we're going to be down on Waikiki).

At least we're not at the height of tourist season (but at the very end of it) and hopefully there won't be as many tourists.

a reply to: misskat1

Yeah, we're not big fans of large cities, which is why we'll be trying to get away from Honolulu/Waikiki as often as possible.

As with any warm-climated beach area, I expect the homeless and "weirdos"--I'm from California and frequented the SoCal beaches relatively often.

We won't be eating at McDonald's...we don't here on the mainland, we won't there. We'll have a kitchen in the condo, so we're going to try to eat out as little as possible, but when we do, it certainly (well, hopefully) won't be chain restaurants. My company will pay for the parking, but a spot does come with the condo

Don't worry, you're not raining on my parade--I prefer to have realistic expectations before arrival. Assuming I'm heading to paradise and then getting there and it being less-than is what would rain on my parade.

a reply to: SlapMonkey

You've gone that far, might as well go to the Big Island and check out the volcano and lava fields. You can rent a car and there are nice scenic drives; just don't drive to the top of the volcano unless you have a 4x4..

a reply to: SlapMonkey

Aw honey that was supposed to be a joke. Hey you're going to Hawaii man. I'm just jealous don't pay any attention to my bitter posts.

originally posted by: SlapMonkey
a reply to: Obsrvr

Thanks for the heads up on the groceries--we are renting a condo, so we'll have a kitchen and stuff, to help keep costs down (at least for breakfast). It looks a bit far to drive for groceries, though (we're going to be down on Waikiki).

At least we're not at the height of tourist season (but at the very end of it) and hopefully there won't be as many tourists.

Enjoy the tourists...You'll be one of them...Go with the flow...

I didn't make it but they say a (cheap) bus ride into Chinatown in Honolulu is worth the trip...

The Cultural Center (on the North Side?) is pretty nice...I didn't care for the Luau (food) there so much...The experience was good tho...However the show that is put on at just about dark is beyond awesome...Worth the trip...

Just before dark in Waikiki the street performers come out...great talent and a lot of fun to watch...

I'd go back to Hawaii in a heartbeat...