NCL Itinerary Help...

Have booked a cruise in November on Pride of Hawaii...

We definately want to do some snorkeling during our visit...

On Tuesday we will have the day in Hilo and plan to take tour of VNP.

On Wednesday and Thrusday we will be in Maui and plan to rent a car but unsure what to do but would like to snorkel one day, any suggestions?

On Friday we will have the day in Kona and would like to snorkel we think, any suggestions as to where?

On Saturday and part of Sunday we will be on Kauai but have no idea what to do. We figure maybe renting a car would be way to go. Would you suggest seeing the Grand Canyon of Pacific or go up to beaches and fern grotto area or is it possible to do both in one day?

Thanks for any suggestions...

NCL Itinerary Help...

Ok you are taking an excellent trip.....the cruise is a very good economy cruise if you expect a holiday inn fine; if you expect the Ritz you will be dissapointed..... It is an outstanding way to see the best Hawaii has to offer for way less than you could on your own.

In Hilo I would skip the ship tour and drive to the park and do it on your own.... with the money you saved take a Helo over the flowing lava which you wont see anyother way......... figure $ 180 pp.

fly first and drive second

Now on Maui the snorkeling is so-so compared to Kona, so from where the ship docks its a nice drive out the Hana Road and back

or to the top of Haleakela. you could do them both do the MT first.

A drive over to Wailea or Lahina the other day to see the resorts.

Where the ship docks is not the garden of eden

In kona the ship has a snorkel tour that you will enjoy.... you have no other options really as all the other snorkel boats have left before you can get ashore ot to them...........bite the bullet you will be at Anchor here

in Kauai rent a car and drive to the north end and then to the Waimea canyon overlook. then the next morning book a helo flight over the island about $230 pp.. very worth it

have fun

NCL Itinerary Help...

In regards to Kauai... November is the wrong time of year to snorkel the amazing Ke%26#39;e Beach on the north shore. If you want a beach day there, rent a card and spend a few hours at Poipu Beach Park. You should be able to catch decent and safe shore snorkeling there.

Perhaps the best place to snorkel near Kona is in Kealakekua Bay near Captain Cook. I find the most enjoyable way to snorkel there is to kayak out to the Captain Cook monument. You can literally walk out into a coral reef and see dozens of examples of sea life. Along the way you may see dolphins. The best time to get there is earlier in the morning before too many people have reached the monument.

I%26#39;m sure HiloTom did not mean for people to REALLY walk out onto the reef at Kealakekua, just to say how accessible the snorkeling is.

Unfortunately, there has been an explosion of visitation near the Capt. Cook monument and snorkelers and kayalers HAVE been walking on the rocls and coral there--as a result there is almost totally dead coral at the %26#39;easy access spot%26#39; and it is covered with green slime. For more info on this and other spots, please seehttp://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g29217-c7522/Island-Of-Hawaii:Hawaii:Snorkeling.html

tripadvisor.com/鈥?430999

Please NEVER step on coral or what appears to be ';just rocks'; at snorkel areas. Only step on sand. If you are unsure of yourself in the water, use a noodle or flotation device and go with an organized boat tour. They cater to novices and will make you feel secure as you have a great time.

Kahaluu Beach Park has amost all dead coral anywhere it could be stood on...the only decent stuff is in the deep water. Because it%26#39;s too deep to stand on. Anything that someone could stand on, someone has (thousands of them) and it is ALL DEAD. I was first there in 1990 and even then there was damage; now it is a disaster zone. But there are still fish, so people come and think it%26#39;s great, unaware of what has been ruined---and therefore, not aware of how they may be unwittingly causing more damage.

As a result of unintentionally damaging or ';not thinking about it'; behavior, Kahaluu and now Kealakekua are being ruined for all and for the future. Coral takes decades to grow; it does not regenerate the way vegetation does on land.

and

Please do not take hilo toms advice......it is what has and is destroying this once beautiful place.Walking on the reef.....as Tom suggests kills the coral ...... and thousands upon thousands of Kayakers have done just that to the point that there is not much left.

Capt cook bay is a sad vestige of what it was because of all the well meaning novice kayakers who did not realize the harm they were doing

The unrestricted kayak use in this bay has had a very harmfull effect on not only the reef but the dolphins and fish that are in ever declining numbers here. .

Everguide book for the past decade said to come here... well everone did and when you see over 100 kayaks piled on the shore and reef you can see the problem.........and it is that way today, every day.....

If you want to Kayak, go somewhere else... please but in truth you wont have enough time to....

Go with the ships trip it will take you to much better places... and teach you how not to harm it

Perhaps I was misunderstood. I would never advocate walking on the coral. The video the park rangers have you watch before you kayak out there makes this quite clear.

What I meant was that you can ground your kayak on a lava flow at the shore and walk on the lava flow into the snorkeling area where you%26#39;ll see very healthy coral and sea life. Watch out for sea urchins who nest in the lava flow formations as you do.

If you get there early enough, you may beat all of the other tourists that have gone out there to snorkel. I recently went out as late as 9:30 a.m. and found that I was the only one there. On the way back I was fortunate enough to paddle through a school of dolphin, which is something you are not likely to see if you take one of the tourist boats in.

There is a problem Tom.... when you ground you Kayak you are standing on coral Then as you shove it over the lava and coral it shredds off poly shards.... that the fish see and eat... then die from. the effects Then once out of the water you have to pull it back out again making more shards and standing on coral...... and since there are no trash facilities or rest rooms on the shore.... most visitors leave your mark...... if you get my drift

Bottom line... you can avoid walking on and damaging the reef if you land at all !!!

I am in agast of your suggestion of paddeling through a pod of resting dolphins( thats what they do there ...rest) which besides being against the law s here ....( state and federal about harassing whales and Dolphins.).. is the height of destructive behaviour.

There is a darn good reason you wont see tour boats going into dolphin pods....... they obey the laws and have respect of the dolphins... something I think rather important. You might find it interesting to note that research by the state and Univ of Hawaii has shown this is a very very destructive thing.... and is reducing the dolphin population.

They are not happy to see you.... what many thing of as them playing is in reality PANIC trying to escape.

Finaly there is no ranger at the bay when last I checked... just a volunteer to try to educate the hundreds who paddle out and forget everything along the way....

I and other involved residents urge you our visitor to understand the impact and potential damage you can do..... the only responsibel way to visit Capt Cook bay is with a eco-friendly tour

which does not land or allow you to.... Fairwinds, Seaquest Sea Paradise are all responsible choices

Please we need our visitors and residents to help ....... Kayaking in this bay and chasing dolphins is some thing wou need to avoid al all cost...... we need your help....

Thanks to all for your comments, suggestions and advise. I definately will not be taking a Kayak. I%26#39;m very sad to here of the damage being done to the reefs on all the islands of hawaii.

Just as an observation, I was at Hanauma Bay in Oahu November of 2006 and it was the first time I had been there since April of 1993. I was just amazed at how many less fish were in the bay and at how much damage had been done there since my last visit. When I was there in 93 there were no rules to speak of and no films to watch and they even sold food to feed the fish right on the beach. You could look down into the reef from the hill above and see large schools of the fish in the bay, now you have to actually go snorkel and search out the fish in the bay. People were climbing all over the reef back then thinking nothing about it. 13 years later they have you watch a movie, they no longer sell fish food or allow you to feed the fish but I get the impression that it%26#39;s TO LITTLE TO LATE. With all the visitor%26#39;s to Hawaii I%26#39;m sure it%26#39;s almost impossible to keep people from destroying the reefs which is a very sad thing. I hope that a few of the reefs can still be saved in Hawaii for future generations to enjoy, maybe even protected as no swim areas. Hopefully showing movies and trying to educate people on the damage they are causing will be enough. However I still saw a few people climbing on the now dead coral in Hanauma Bay and even one person feeding the fish bread underwater while I was snorkeling. Unbelieveable...

Thankyou for your understanding........Capt Cook bay is in need of serious help and it needs serious enforcment and control... locals as well as visitors are equaly the problem... There needs drastic acton and fast.

Locals have been doing it all their lives and feel its there right, Visitors read the hundreds of guides that ALL say you gotta come here.........With both these factor there needs to be restrictions and by and large neither group will do so on their own..........sad

we are a self indulgent society more and more.

Please pass the word..... dont Kayak at Capt cook...... there are plenty of other places that wont cause any harm..........

Thanks for the input all: we%26#39;ll be on POH in November also.

M