Help! Short day in Oahu... is this doable?

Hi everyone - We%26#39;re hoping for some feedback on our itinerary for our short day in Oahu... we%26#39;re not sure it%26#39;s doable based on tour schedules / durations and traffic conditions so any thoughts and tips as to driving times, places to stop for plate lunches, etc. would be greatly appreciated!

6:59am - Arrive into HNL airport on Hawaiian Airlines flight from OGG, pick up rental car; drive to USS Arizona Memorial / Pearl Harbor

8am - Line up for tickets at and tour USS Arizona Memorial / Pearl Harbor; drive to Iolani Palace

11-11:30am - Tour Iolani Palace; drive to the Honolulu Academy of Arts / Shangri-La

1:30pm - Tour Shangri La; drive to HNL airport %26amp; return rental car

5:00pm - American Airlines flight back to mainland departs HNL

Thanks in advance for your assistance!

Regards,

Ronna

Help! Short day in Oahu... is this doable?

Whoops, forgot to add that we%26#39;ll be trying to do this on Wednesday, 5 December 2007, if that matters at all! Thanks again! -ronna

Help! Short day in Oahu... is this doable?

It may be possible, but not practical.

USS Arizona Memorial tour may take longer than you expect. And you may not make your time for Iolani Palace tour.

USS Arizona Memorial is about 2 1/2 hours including waiting in line for tickets. You might get lucky %26amp; only be there 2 hours. You may be unlucky %26amp; it may be 3 hours.

The Honolulu Marathon is Dec 9 so that will bring more tourists the week before.

Also there is a ceremony at USS Arizona Memorial Visitors Center on December 7, so many that are not planning to attend the ceremony would likely pick a different day to go to the memorial.

I would probably skip Iolani Palace tour if you want to go to Shangri La tour. Both require advanced reservations. Or you can take Iolani Palace tour, but a little later %26amp; skip Shangri La.

Also you need to get back to airport at least 1 1/2 hours before the flight. You need time to return the rental car.

You could opt for a driving tour of Honolulu after USS Arizona Memorial. You could include Punchbowl/Tantalus, Aloha Tower, drive through historic part of Honolulu including past Iolani Palace, Waikiki.

Thanks Dusty! I was hoping that you%26#39;d be in the forums yesterday. I think we%26#39;ll push back our return flight to 10pm so we can go to all three sights at a much more leisurely pace and maybe do the short driving tour you suggested or hit the swap meet. Can we get boxes of macadamia nuts and pineapples there to bring back home, in addition to the t-shirts and plastic leis and such?

The later departure will also give us a chance to have drinks and dinner at House Without a Key, and hopefully see that legendary woman who does the hula at sunset. Speaking of eats, can you (or anyone else) recommend any good brunch / lunch places in Chinatown or anywhere near the Iolani Palace that we can try? Unfortunately, a drive up north to the famous shrimp trucks is probably still out of the question, despite our later departure.

Thanks again for your help!!

-ronna

clown mask