Holly and I leave on June 19th for a two week hunting adventure in New Zealand.

Since neither of us have ever visited Hawaii, we planned a 2 day layover in Honolulu to do a little sightseeing.

We would appreciate any suggestions you may have about where to stay and what to do while we are there.

Thanks!

Mark & Holly Peterson

Mark,

I travel to HI a couple of times a year on business.

1. Staying on the beach is expensive, but probably worth it if you are there with your wife. Staying off the beach is much cheaper, but doesn't have ocean views.

2. If you are there on a Wednesday or Saturday, don't buy any tourist crap downtown, go to the stadium and buy them at the fleamarket. It is the same stuff for sale down by Waikiki and about 1/3 of the price.

3. The walk up Diamond Head provides awesome views, but will take about 1/2 day all told.

4. The Arizona Memorial is well worth it, but show up early. They start giving tickets out when they open and if you show up late, you may have to wait several hours for your seat on the launch.

5. The Missouri would be a good thing to go see, if you were a Navy Man. For me (an Army guy) it was a cool old boat, but not that great.

6. The Punch Bowl (Military Cememtary) provides some very nice views and is a good visit if you have a Military Background.

7. Keep your wife away from Ala Moana Mall, and Kalakaua Street. There are lots of designer stores there and she'll spend next years Hunting Budget on clothes and jewelry!

Have fun while there.

Colin

I was there last August for a week. Get out of Honolulu as soon as possible. I really enjoyed just driving up to the North Shore and taking hikes. You can do it on your own or go with a guide. I also did some diving and fishing. Diving was better than I expected. Fishing was fair.

Not sure if this has anything to do with Asian hunting, and I still can't see how it would.

As a Navy man, I still think the top attraction on Oahu is Pearl Harbor, with the USS Arizona and USS Missouri. The war cemetary on the mountain is worth a look, Waikiki is ok for a big city, lots of good eats especially if you like Japanese food. If you don't I recomend the Argentine grill.

The north shore is excellent like Carolina Counsel said (welcome aboard Carolina Counsel).

Fishing is available for 650 per boat for up to 5 (I think it was 5) for deep sea fishing. Most boats had marlin flags and tails flying. It's a lot for a day, but if you have a good time it's worth it.

Hunting on Oahu is really sucky and mostly for locals. The Parker Ranch on the big island is the answer if your into paying for it.

The Hilton has a submarine tour that I recommend. I got to see quite a bit of sea life I had not ever seen before. I think we were down for about an hour.

There is also a real Navy WW2 sub in Pearl Harbor.

Oh, and there are about 20 strip clubs in downtown Waikiki. Some wives are more accepting of this than others.

The funniest thing I have ever seen was 20 very fancy looking hookers standing within 100 yards of 5 cops taking a break on the beach. Earning wages within 100 yards of the enemy.