Bellingham to Honolulu

Im thinking about doing a ~10 day trip as Ive never been to Hawaii before. $300 round trip(taxes in) with allegiant out of Bellingham. I plan to stay in a hostel(s) to meet other people my age. What are some must do's while I'm there? Im a PADI certified diver and love hiking. Seriously any tips would be great. Id like to stay away from the fat american tourists but if its something that must be seen regardless of tourism traffic, I'm down.

Rent a bike and bomb down the volcano!

Go see teh toilet bowl, its very dangerous but I think you can still go in. Hanauma Bay is close by which is a cool thing to see.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Swj9sXCQuk
The TOILET BOWL is one of the most dangerous places on the island….The water is forced through a hole in the rocks by the waves into a pool…..then sucked back out through the same hole.
http://www.hanaumabaysnorkel.com/
You can snorkel with all sorts of tropical fish, just be careful because they bite.

Rent a bike and bomb down the volcano!

or ride up it, the canadian road team holds camps there

north shore is way cooler than Waikiki. head there if your staying on Oahu

I'd suggest getting off Oahu. Honolulu is just another city, it feels like Vancouver. My suggestion would be to get over to the Big Island, it's mo betta.

I'd suggest getting off Oahu. Honolulu is just another city, it feels like Vancouver. My suggestion would be to get over to the Big Island, it's mo betta.

This.

Maui and the Big Island are better than Oahu.

Rent a bike and bomb down the volcano!

Someone who knew I was into biking gave me a brochure for a company that runs rides down the volcano. The first paragraph went something like … "first, we'll adjust your rental bike for your size, then we'll give everyone instructions on how to shift and brake …"

I stopped reading after that. Round file.

Kn.

I spent six weeks in Honolulu/Waikiki a little over a year ago, and it is just another city, but with extra gridlock (although I suppose comparable to Vancouver). Lots of hot stuff wandering around Waikiki all hours of the day, and it's worth cruising the main strip to check out some of the musical acts, but otherwise there isn't much draw unless you want to play tourist. If you insist on going to Oahu, North Shore and East Shore are where it's at. I particularly liked the 40k mtb ride around the NW point of the island, there are some cool radar stations up there too (don't get too close though or you'll get shot), and you could hike most of the trails if you didn't want to bike. Surfing is fun but unless you're good and you play by the locals' rules you'll probably get your ass kicked on the North Shore (waves are also very seasonal), or you'll be swamped by beginners off of Waikiki after about 10am. East Shore north of the Marine Corps Station is little known, kinda slummy area but very beautiful once you're into the woods. Jurassic Park was filmed in that area so that should tell you a little. Hawaii is a neat spot but I wouldn't pay to go there myself.

Theres Bham to Maui too for slightly more money. I don't have to stay in Honolulu, Im down to travel to the other islands. Also looking at sky diving while I'm there.

Sky diving is an Oahu activity. If you are heading over before the end of the year the Triple Crown of Surfing is a spectacle but impacts low end accommodations. Hiking on Oahu is very, maybe too popular. Oahu is the best island for learning to surf.

Kauai is more unique than the other main islands and has the best vibe. Can be rainier there though. Incredible hiking that you can combine with camping. Best "Hawaiian" experience.

Big Island is big, best diving, active volcanoe is really cool.

Maui is popular (again maybe too popular) with tourists, fairly easy to get around. Some hiking but not convenient. Good diving, shore or boat. Definitely over commercialized, which apparently the majority of tourists favor. Big budgets are the norm.

I can't comment on low budget accommodations, hostels homestays etc do exist but I have no personal experience. Maui and Kauai have some public cabins in the parks and forests that are pretty cool.

Lots of Canadaian tourists, there's a couple who do a great job of documenting their adventures over on Kauai now…http://www.leelau.net/sharonandlee/kauai-hiking-sup-ing-and-surfing/

Hope that helps.

Drop the extra coin for the flight to Maui. It's frikkin awesome. Rent a snorkel and fins for the week and snorkel every day, the absolute best spot is down south in La Perouse Bay, the water is crystal clear and there's not many people. Drive to the very north end and see the blowhole if the surf is high.

Local food at Ozukawa deli also rocks.

I did Bellingham to Maui this past March……..worst thing I ever did.

Now I want to go back there and never come back :S

If you go in March you will be sick of seeing hump back whales within 2 or 3 days. Just tonnes of them there at that time. Water is 71F or room temperature, probably due to all the whale piss. Surfing is the bomb. Beaches fantastic. 28c all year around everyday.

Getting depressed……go to Maui, not Honolulu unless you like traffic.

Hanauma Bay is closed all day every Tuesday. We were there in August [HTML_REMOVED] the Toilet Bowl was closed. Oahu has 70% of the total population of all the islands put together, so don't plan on getting anywhere in a hurry, especially on weekends when all the locals are at the beaches. Traffic is so slow. While it's good to see the popular tacky tourist sights on Oahu (Pearl Harbor, Hanauma Bay, Waikiki Beach) it's also good to get away from the masses [HTML_REMOVED] see things on Hawaii (Mauna Kea Observatory, Mt. Kilauea) [HTML_REMOVED] Maui where the pace is much slower.