Having never been to Hawaii before, my husband, daughter, and I decided to go a few days early to spend some time on Oahu, sightseeing on our own. If you are either active duty or retired military, the Hale Koa Hotel is the way to go. It is as elegant as any of the other hotels on Waikiki Beach. The rooms are spacious and immaculate, the service is excellent, and the hotel has many offerings such as a Magic show, a Comedy act, and a Luau with a wonderful Hawaiian show.The food in their restaurants is top notch and the hotel even has a PX.

We used robertshawaii (gorabbitgo.com)for our shuttle both to and from the airport and from the hotel to the ship. They were very reliable and pleasant and the right price.

On our first day, we toured with discoverhiddenhawaiitours.com. We did their Ultimate Circle Island Eco-Adventure tour. I highly recommend this tour for an overview of Oahu. Our guide, Collins was wonderful. We saw birds, flower, waterfalls, breathtaking coastlines, and with lunch on a beach and even stopped at a roadside stand for fried bananas along with the usual tourist sites of Oahu. Read more