Hawaii getaway- first stop Oahu

There is one way to describe Waikiki in July:  Hordes of teaming masses.  Last year, in May 2012, I traveled to Oahu to see the sights and do some scuba diving.  Pearl Harbor is a must-see as is all the action on Waikiki beach.  It's a great place for a solo traveler because the action is non stop.  The hotels typically have entertainment, there is some kind of show on the beach, and the shopping is enough to keep you busy the entire time.

Waikiki May 2012

 I was kind of sort of planning my next vacation in October.  But for reasons to be explained maybe later, I found myself planning another Hawaiian vacation to include Oahu and Maui in July. 

Last year I stayed at the Hilton Hotel in Waikiki more toward Diamond Head.  This year I thought it would be fun to splurge on a resort, so I picked the biggest and highly rated-at least according to trip advisor-Hawaiian Village Resort.  Ughh.  Never again.

The place is enormous, with four hotel towers, a mall, pools, and a lagoon.   My room in the Rainbow tower was nice enough with views of Diamond Head and the Pacific Ocean

The pools are not that fancy, but fun anyway.  They have a funky little bar near the main pool where I met a few people on my first night. One guy gave me a suggestion for scuba diving in Maui, which I looked into and it turned out to be a great dive.  They also had a hula show you had to pay extra for and every Friday night there are fireworks over the beach.  That was the night the crowds were most intense.  I particularly liked the protected area right off the beach where I did some ocean open water swimming.  The hotel also offers dinner cruises and submarine cruises off their private pier. 

So, I suppose it could be fun if you like that sort of thing.  But it was crazy crowded.  Even getting to my room was a hassle because there was typically a crowd waiting for the elevator and that took 5 sometimes 10 minutes to get into the packed elevator. After a couple of nights I just wanted to go to some local place to chill and have a beer. The resort-goers tend to be honeymooners or on a family vacation.  And they hang out on the beach all night long partying.  Since the beaches are public, the resort can't do much about the crowds or noise out there.  They also were filming a movie right outside my room the first night with cranes 15 stories high shining lights in my room until early in the morning.  They also have a truck that grooms the sand starting at about 4 a.m.  So much for being lulled to sleep by gentle ocean waves!

I went to the Waikiki Aquarium to check out the extremely rare peppermint angel fish.  On the way back to the hotel I stopped at the Korean Festival happening that weekend and all the activities on the beach, inclcuding a beach volleyball tournament and a surfing competition. The beach was much more crowded than last May, and back then it was packed!  Also, it is much, much hotter in July, so there is the heat to cope with.

 I didn't rent a car this time as I only was planning on being there a few days.  There is a travel website that said that taxis charge a flat rate to the hotels, and it is cheaper than taking the Speedi Shuttle.  Wrong!!  That information is about 8 years old.  Cabs are metered and a ride to the hotel was running $45!!  The Speedi Shuttle is $15 each way, but if you buy a round trip ticket, you get a $2 or $3 discount.  You absolutely have to make a reservation on the Speedi Shuttle to get back to the airport. I was able to get around town on the public bus, which is much better than driving.

So, lessons learned: No more resorts unless I am traveling with someone.  Even then, meh.  No more going to Oahu in July.  It's just too hot and too many people to contend with. So, my stay in Oahu was not the best time I ever had on vacation.  However, things got better in Maui . . .