Popular Sights

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Are booked on an NCL Hawaii Cruise?

These adventures are sure to make your NCL America cruise vacation even more incredible.  They are time to fit in perfectly with your hotel stay and ship schedule in Honolulu before or after your cruise.  When you book your tours through NCL America, we’ll pick you up, drop you off, arrange for your luggage to be there when you arrive and more.

We suggest booking prior to your cruise, as some shore excursions do sell out.

PEARL HARBOR & HONOLULU CITY TOUR

Learning can be fun and inspirational too.  Check out the history of Hawaii from it’s simple beginnings to its complex role during World War II.

GRAND CIRCLE ISLAND TOUR

120 miles of absolute grandness includes Diamond Head crater, the spouting Blow Hole, North Shore’s Waimea Bay, Sunset Beach, the Banzai Pipeline and more.

CIRQUE HAWAII

The aerial Acrobatics of the more than 30 performers from around the world are nothing short of jaw-dropping.  So go ahead – run off and join the Cirque.

OAHU GOLF

Brag about the views, if not your score.  Nestled at the foot of historic Pali Lookout, the Ko’olau Golf Club looks out over the Pacific and the 2000-foot cliffs of Ko’olau Range.

HAWAIIAN WATERFALL HIKING ADVENTURE

Go take a hike – way into the Ko’olau Mountains to an incredible rainforest world complete with magical waterfall.

O’AHU DELUXE HELICOPTER

See Hawaii’s awesome rainforests, beaches, Pearl Harbor, Battleship Row, Punchbowl National Memorial Cemetery, Diamond Head Crater and Sacred Falls from a different perspective.

POLYNESIAN CULTURAL CENTER

It’s a day-long reality adventure unlike any other.  Take a canoe ride past island villages.  Have dinner at the Ambassador Buffet.  Then enjoy a nighttime show that includes over 100 performers and a volcanic eruption.

USS MISSOURI, ARIZONA MEMORIAL & PEARL HARBOR

Pay your respects at Pearl Harbor’s Arizona Memorial and Visitor Center.  Tour the battleship USS Missouri.  Drive through historic downtown Honolulu and see the Punchbowl National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

The beaches of this magnificent island run the range from white to black – and are all bounded by beautiful emerald seas that offer a full variety of watersports.

Green Sand Beach – If you’re looking for something adventurous, try a 5-mile round-trip hike across various terrains to see this rare, green-sand beach. Because of its relatively remote location at the very southern tip of the island and the hike it takes to get there, this beach is usually less crowded than others.

Hapuna Beach – One of the best white-sand beaches on the island, Hunpa is great for snorkeling, swimming, surfing, and bodyboarding. It’s about 1 mile long, and it can get a bit crowded on weekends.

Punaluu Beach – If you want to see a black-sand beach, this is your spot. The rich, dark sand glistens in the sun, giving it an otherworldly feel. An if the black sand gets too hot, just scoop up the beach and sit underneath the many palm trees. Huge green sea turtles often lumber ashore to sun themselves there.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Maui is known for taking a trip up Haleakala, attending Luau's and enjoying the beaches, but here are some other island attractions you might not be aware of.

Bailey House Museum -This historical treasure is one of the earliest structures built by the missionaries. Once a women’s seminary, the building now contains furnishings from the mid- to late-1800s, ancient Hawaiian artifacts, an art gallery, a gift shop and a 100-year-old dugout canoe.

Waimoku Falls – Part of Haleakala National Park, this waterfall is Maui’s largest. The area includes the pools of Oheo Gulch.

Tedeschi Vineyards – The product line at this vineyard includes pineapple wine, as well as champagne and traditional reds and blushes made from grapes. Free samples are offered in the tasting room (valid ID required) – a structure that was built in the 1880s and served as a vacation home of the last male monarch of Hawaii, King Kekaulike. Free tours are offered daily.  
 
Maui Ocean Center – This aquarium was built to highlight the island’s unusual sea life. Indoor and outdoor exhibits include a walkthrough tunnel that allows you to get nose-to-nose with sharks and a coral reef display the re-creates the scenery beneath the ocean’s surface.

Pacific Whale Foundation – This company offers boat tours from both Lahaina and Maalaea harbors with more than a dozen outings per day during the whale season. The nonprofit organization uses the funds from the tours in its research efforts. The foundation also offers a wild dolphin excursion to Lanai, which operates year-round from Lahaina and it conducts snorkeling outings to Molokini.  

Thursday, August 06, 2009

Hawaiian Paradise 

The Islands of Aloha are a scenic paradise, and you will explore the rich cultural history of the Hawaiian people which makes your visit to the islands even richer.

Since the weather in Hawaii is very consistent, Hawaii is the perfect destination to visit anytime of the year. You can discover the beautiful beaches, tropical waters and the very unique cultures. Hawaii offers an ideal experience for couples, families, golfers and honeymooners. Here are some highlights of what you can see and do on the most popular islands:

Oahu – "The Gathering Place"

The city of Honolulu recently expanded its beachfront where you can attend weekend concerts, sunset torch-lighting ceremonies and free hula performances.

Waikiki makes Oahu the most-visited island. It has more restaurants, shops, and nightlife than all the other Hawaiian Islands combined.

Close to Waikiki is the USS Arizona Memorial which commemorates the women and men that died on December 7, 1941, during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Along the North Shore of the island, you can drive to the 42-acre lagoon park, The Polynesian Cultural Center. Enjoy the authentic Hawaiian luau experience at the award-winning Ali’i Lu’au dinner and show. The Polynesian Cultural Center is the number-one paid attraction in Hawaii.

Maui – "The Valley Isle"

Maui is second most visited island. The most popular area is along Kaanapali, which is on the western shore of the island. Kaanapali is considered to have one of Maui’s best beaches. 

Home to 36 holes of championship golf, Ka'anapali offers golfers both spectacular views and a   challenge. So if golf is your passion, then you're in one of the best spots on Maui.

In Lahaina, on a specially built, open-air luau grounds next to the ocean, the Old Lahaina Luau is one of the finest luaus in the world, offering excellent Hawaiian food and entertainment.

Hana is Hawaii’s very own Garden of Eden with its unspoiled tropics with shimmering waterfalls, beautiful flowers and breathtaking cliffs.

Kauai - "The Garden Isle"

You could say Kauai is on any list of the world's most beautiful and spectacular islands as it is made up of lush tropical greenery and sparkling beaches. Formed some six million years ago, Kauai is the oldest island in Hawaii.

South of the island is Poipu which is the perfect resort area. The accommodations range from ultra-luxury hotels to cozy bed-and-breakfasts. Here you will find gourmet restaurants and specialty shopping.

Wailua Falls is the must-see waterfall to visit on the garden island of Kauai, mainly, because it is the most easily accessible waterfall. The falls was made famous when it was the opening scene of the popular show, Fantasy Island. 

Hawaii – "The Big Island"

The island of Hawai‘i is the youngest of the Hawaiian isles, but by far the largest island. The Big Island offers so much diversity. You can go from fiery volcanoes to fascinating waterfalls or from a snowy winter to sultry summer all within a 50 mile drive, passing through spring and fall along the way.  

You can head to Hawaii’s Volcanoes National Park. The park highlights two of the world’s most active volcanoes. It includes Mauna Loa, world’s largest volcano, and Kilauea, which has been continuously erupting since January 1983. The park displays the results of 70 million years of volcanism, migration and evolution.

Kona offers calm and clear waters which are perfect for snorkeling, diving or even spotting dolphins and green sea turtles. Kona is the home of hundreds of coffee plantations and many offer tours to the public. The high elevation and rich volcanic soil creates the ideal environment for harvesting this unique Hawaiian coffee bean. Be sure to sample Kona’s unique Hawaiian coffee and experience the rich flavorful taste that makes Kona coffee so highly valued.

Whether this is your first time visit or returning, the islands offer distinct experiences that will entice any traveler. For every visitor, Hawaii is a fantasy realized!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

From the northern natural scenic areas to the skyscrapers towering over the white sands of Waikiki, Oahu is the most visited island in the state of Hawaii. It’s also one of the most interesting; novelist Mark Twain once commented that every step in the city of Honolulu revealed a new contrast. Today the streets of Honolulu are still flocked with businessmen in suits, schoolchildren in uniform and Samoans in bright sarongs.

Elsewhere in the United States, Honolulu is probably best known for Pearl Harbor. Today on that site stands the Arizona Memorial, the most visited attraction in Hawaii. Just outside of town is the Punchbowl Cemetery. The Polynesian Cultural Center is the second most visited attraction in Hawai’i and offers traditional Hawaiian entertainment as well as insight into Hawai’ian culture. The Japanese-style Buddhist Byodo-In Temple welcomes people of all faiths to visit and participate in its traditions.

Sightseeing highlights: Arizona Memorial, Bvodo in Temple, Pearl Harbor, Polynesian Cultural Center, Punchbowl National Cemetery of the Pacific, Society of Seven Show & Waikiki Beach

Informtion provided by Perillo tours. For more Perillo Hawaii tours, visit the deluxe section on this site.