(upbeat jazzy music)
- Thank you for joining us for Legacy Travel's top five.
Before we get started, just as a warning, next door
they are doing construction to finish out on the space.
So, if you hear banging and clanging, it's gonna be
from our friends over there.
Today, we're talking about excursions to do in Oahu.
And I've got Hannah with me and Terrah.
We've done another Hawaii video before,
and just like that one, I'm a bit outdone here.
These two are two of the best in the business at Hawaii,
being specialists, and you know, I will try to hold my own.
Even before we get started, I bet we're gonna have
serious crossover, but we'll see.
- Yeah, probably.
- (giggling) Probably.
- I'm gonna start off, if you don't mind,
with my number five.
This one is borderline cliché or maybe entirely cliché,
but I'm gonna say if you're going to Hawaii,
you probably gotta do a luau.
(stuttering)
I have two of them on here.
One of them I have is Old Lahaina.
It's been a pretty good one I think and they do a good job.
So, I put that down and then later on I thought,
'cause something that was close to making my list
was the Cultural Center of Hawaii.
Didn't quite make it, but I thought,
wait, they've got a luau there to.
So, if you do the luau at the Cultural Center,
you're kinda knocking out two things at once.
So, luau and the Cultural-- - No, wait.
- Hold on, hold on, cut. - We probably need
to start over. - Cut, cut, cut.
- That's Maui. - That's on Maui.
- No! - Yeah.
- That's Maui. - That's Old Lahaina luau.
- And the topic is a water hoover.
- Alright, can we start over?
- It isn't Maui?
- (giggling) It's okay. (Philip mumbling)
- That's okay, at least it was number five
and not number one. - Yeah.
- Well, you need to do a luau somewhere.
(all laughing)
- Go on.
- Oh, is it live? - Yep.
No, (stuttering) recording.
Oh, are you gonna keep going? - Yeah.
- Alright, my bad.
Okay, okay.
So, my number five is going to be horseback riding
at Turtle Bay.
From previous videos, you guys know that North Shore
is my favorite part of Oahu.
So, one of my favorite resorts in all of Hawaii
is also up on the North Shore and it's called
the Turtle Bay Resort.
So, up on the North Shore, they're famous
for the surfing, they have the big championship
surf tournament there every year.
At Turtle Bay, they have one of the best horseback programs
in all of Hawaii, and it's fabulous for even beginners
or more advanced.
And, it's a fantastic way to kinda just go
along the beach side and the cliffs there
to experience Hawaii.
So, that would have to be my number five.
- Hannah, how about yours? - My number five is,
(giggling) my number five
is the Dole pineapple plantation on Oahu.
It is the only remaining pineapple plantation on Hawaii.
- That's so sad, but you're right.
- I know it is, but if you love pineapple,
biting into Hawaiian pineapple is like biting into paradise.
It's so yummy and better than any pineapple
you will ever buy in the store here.
So, if you go, you should definitely go so you can have
lots of things pineapple flavored.
They also have a really, really cool maze that your kids
can go through, they have a really cool train.
If you have little ones, I know my boys love trains.
So, that's a lot of fun.
They also have a really yummy grill on property.
So, this is gonna be on the northwest side of Oahu,
and if you're taking a day to drive around the island,
I would highly recommend putting that as a stop
on your list.
- Perfect.
And what about you for number four?
- Number four, oh, okay.
So, this is one of my must-sees on Oahu
and it's called Hanauma Bay beach.
- I don't know that one. It's just really fascinating
to see the underwater life there.
It's one of the best snorkeling spots,
not only I've ever experienced, but especially on Oahu.
So, yeah, it's only about 15 minutes from Waikiki
and it's just a really cool stop at Hanauma Bay beach.
- On the beach, okay, cool, what about you for number four?
- Yeah, and just a little, to tag along with Terrah,
they have snorkeling equipment that you can rent
right at the bay, so it's really neat, you don't have
to take anything or buy anything.
(giggling)
My number four is the Polynesian Cultural Center.
It's gonna be on the North Shore, just a little bit south
of Turtle Bay.
So, the really cool thing about this center is it's built
on teaching people about the culture of Hawaii.
It's called Polynesian Cultural Center because of all
of the different Polynesian cultures that start in Hawaii.
So, the center is actually made up
of six different villages, I'm not gonna try
to pronounce them all, so you can Google it.
- (laughing) Oh, come on-- - But, I'll tell you that,
three, three of them are based on Fiji, Tahiti, and Tonga.
So, basically when you go to each of these little villages,
they'll teach you different things about their culture.
One might teach you how to milk a coconut.
One might teach you how to make a lei.
One might show you how to hula.
They have all kinds of different activities there.
They will teach you how to do Hawaiian music,
or to ride in an outrigger.
So, it's an all day activity, they open at noon.
And then, I do recommend that you book a luau
with your package.
There's different levels and the different levels
will determine where you sit in the luau.
You'll be able to have a traditional Hawaiian feast,
with kulo pork and lots of yummy goodies.
And, then you'll see the hula shows.
And, then after that, you can also purchase their add-on,
which is called the Hā-Breath of Life show.
It's gonna be a dance show along with fire dancing.
So, it's a lot of fun.
I highly recommend it.
- So, let's hold up real quick.
Sometimes, with a cruise, sometimes when you're paying more,
you're getting higher up in the ship
and that may or may not matter.
How important do you think it is,
as far as paying more to be closer
to the event. - To the luau.
- I think it's pretty important.
You at least wanna try to book
like the middle package or higher.
The higher package is gonna include more things.
One thing about the Polynesian Cultural Center luaus
is they don't serve alcohol on property there.
- (imitating horn) Wah, wah. - So, just something
to consider-- (laughing)
There are a couple luaus that are south that do have that,
so if you want to get your traditional Mai Tai,
something to think about.
But, the Center itself is why people go.
So, I do think it's important, you don't wanna be
in the way back where you're kind of looking
over people's heads, and the closer you are to the front,
the sooner you get your food too.
(giggling) So. - Okay.
- And then you've got your luau.
- Yeah, 'cause you know - Yes.
- When I said the first thing, I thought you all meant
that the Cultural Center wasn't on Oahu.
- Oh, no, it was just the Old Lahaina Luau.
- I just wanna, okay, 'cause I'm like, holy crap,
I've got that entirely wrong - But, that is the best
one on Maui. - Okay, okay, okay, okay.
So, anyway, so the Cultural Center is on Oahu.
- Yes. - Okay, so my number four
is gonna be Pearl Harbor.
I mean, you really gotta, gotta go and see it.
It's very, very fascinating.
The reason it's not higher on my list
is that when I went there, I had a great time,
but I also had a ticket to go see the Missouri
and the memorial and I couldn't go,
'cause they had a light breeze.
If there's any kind of a breeze or anything going on at all,
they, they cancel that.
Just be aware, if you're, don't be shocked if you get there
and can't go see the USS Missouri, because any kind of a,
any kind of waves at all, any kind of rocking at all,
they cancel it.
But, Pearl Harbor itself is fascinating.
Absolutely fascinating.
Okay, number three?
- Three? - Yep.
- So, my number three is swimming with the dolphins
in the wild, on Oahu.
This activity is done on the west coast,
so it's gonna be further west of Pearl Harbor.
There's actually a tour that you can book where the people
that own the company and own the catamaran,
they're trained on how to swim
around the wild spinner dolphins.
On Oahu, dolphins actually sleep during the day.
So, they're very playful because one side of their brain
is shut off while the other one is working,
and then they kind of flip-flip.
It's very interesting.
But, they swim in these giant pods of 20 to 40
to 50 dolphins, like baby dolphins, everyone.
So, it's really cool, they'll take you out on a catamaran.
They'll kind of spot the dolphins and when they see a pod,
they'll park near it and then let everyone get in the water.
You will swim around them and it's just
such a cool experience to be that close
to a wild dolphin and a wild animal.
You can't get close enough to touch them,
but so amazing.
Once you've had your dolphin encounter,
they'll take you up closer to shore where you have
the lava fingers from the island,
and that's where the green sea turtles like to live.
And so, you can swim with the green sea turtles,
but you cannot touch them.
It is illegal, so do not touch them.
Do not try to ride them.
But, it's just really, really neat and you might even see
one of the national fish of Hawaii.
- Nice. - You learn to pronounce that?
(giggling) - I'm so glad that you,
you mentioned that one 'cause I love that tour too.
It's kinda gotten a lot more popular.
It used to be kind of a hidden gem
and there's only one company that did it.
But, there's several, several boats out there now
and it's a very, very cool experience.
- Yes.
- My number three, and this may not be for everyone,
like I'm not sure this would be something great for me to do
especially right now, nursing a bum knee, but you've got
several companies that do a really great job of,
that will teach you to surf.
Take you out, do surfing.
If you do it, you may want to pay a little bit more money
and do the private lesson.
And, you know, we have companies that'll do that.
But, you know, it's a Hawaii thing.
Get out there and learning how to surf is a lot of fun.
You know, don't feel bad if you can't get all the way up.
(giggling) Just, just realize
you'll be falling a lot.
But, it is a lot of fun.
Have you all done that?
Have you all-- - I, I surfed in California.
- Okay. - I can attest
to the falling a lot.
(all laughing) - Have you tried it?
- I haven't tried it. - It's very hard, it's a lot
harder than it looks. - I've done hover boarding,
but I haven't done the full surfing.
I really want to though.
- Okay. - Yeah.
- I wanna try it. - What's your number three?
- Especially now that I'm getting more upper body strength.
I used to, I still think I would be able to do it.
Okay, so, my number three is gonna be Kuhui,
okay, I have to stop and think about it.
K-, Ku-hio, Kuhio Beach.
It's gonna be on the tale end of Waikiki,
but every single night, they'll have
a torch lighting ceremony and a free hula show.
And, then on Friday nights, they'll have musicians
strolling all along the street and it's just a really cool,
magical thing and it's free.
So, it's hard to, hard to beat free.
- Is that, is that a tourist thing, or is it a local thing,
or a combination? - It's a little bit
of a combination of both.
- Okay. - A lot of the locals
will go there.
So, you'll see a combination of tourists and locals there.
- Nice, very nice.
Okay, my number two, again, getting close to cliché
type thing, but I think you really need to do it
is the helicopter tour.
In the helicopter tour, they'll show you the island,
show you the different places and just give you
a whole new perspective on Hawaii, on the island.
It's beautiful, a lot of fun, cost has come down here.
You know, back in the day, it was really, really expensive,
but it's not as bad now.
So, I think it's something you really, really should do.
Get in there and do the helicopter tour.
- Yeah, so you can see so much of the island,
you can go see where Jurassic Park was filmed,
and, yeah, I'm glad you said that.
A helicopter tour is definitely worth it.
- Again, getting close to cliché, but I really think
you gotta do it.
- You do, you do.
They also have like helicopter doors
where the doors are closed and then they have
an open door helicopter tour as well.
So, if you like to live a little more on the edge (giggles).
- And, the Egan, the things that goes,
those air glider things too. - Yep.
- Other sea planes-- - You know, and the,
what's that thing that Ignacio rode over in Costa Rica,
it's like a lawnmower engine almost.
- Oh, yeah. - with that light thing
is crazy, but they got all kinds of options
like that for you.
- That's crazy. - Well, you know.
What's number two?
- Uh, let's see, number two.
Mine is gonna be the USS Memorial at--
- Oh, like mine, okay. - And Pearl Harbor.
So, it is the resting place of over 1100 sailors
that lost their lives in the Japanese surprise attack,
and it's just a really cool experience
to just to stop by there and pay your respects.
It is something I do suggest doing as a tour,
'cause if you just walk up, there's usually a long line,
and you're kinda just trying your best to keep up
with other tour guides and things like that.
So, I do suggest booking it as a tour, maybe a small group
or private group, that way you can really
get a more in-depth experience with the whole thing.
But, it's just a really cool experience.
I think everybody should do it at least once (giggling).
- I agree. - I agree.
My number two is also Pearl Harbor.
- (laughing) Okay.
- I mean, if you're gonna go to Oahu
and you haven't been before,
you kinda have to do Pearl Harbor.
If you book a trip with me and you don't book Pearl Harbor,
I'm gonna, I'm gonna hound you until you do.
(all giggling) It is an experience
that is worth doing.
I would equate it with like going and seeing
one of the concentration camps in Germany.
Like, it's such a moving experience to be able to stand
on a place where so many of our own men fought and died
for our freedom is, it takes your breath away.
It's very powerful.
It's not a super great activity for toddlers.
- Nuh-uh. - If you do take toddlers,
I would recommend to have a stroller, and just make sure
that they're able to stay quieter, which I know,
I have two little ones, it's very hard.
But, it is a sombering experience and it is something
where you definitely want to be respectful
of the ground that you're walking on.
Definitely, that, Pearl Harbor is one of those things too,
where you want to book the better tour experience,
because you want to book the experience
that's gonna include the ticket to Arizona memorial,
the ticket to Missouri.
And I would strongly recommend, if you have time,
to book it where they will take you over to Fort Island,
so that you can see where all the aircrafts were kept.
And, that's actually, if you've seen the Pearl Harbor movie,
that's the island where they start attacking
and shooting the planes.
So, strongly, strongly recommend it.
A lot of the Pearl Harbor tours also include a city tour.
So, they'll drive you from Pearl Harbor
through downtown Honolulu, so that you can see
Iolani Palace and the statue of King Kamehameha.
So, it's really cool to learn more about Hawaii history.
So, I would strongly recommend adding that onto your tour.
- Absolutely.
Number one.
- Number one, okay.
So, my number one is to hire a private guide.
(giggling)
So, there's so many hidden gems on Oahu
that you can't really see if you're staying at your hotel
or doing a tour, this and that.
If you hire a private guide, you're gonna be able
to go see some of these waterfalls.
You're gonna be able to see some ancient sites,
some authentic ancient Hawaiian sites,
and you'll be able to go to foodie haven,
if you're wanting to see where the locals eat.
It's just an overall much more in-depth experience.
So, I suggest hiring a private guide.
- So, to do that, do you all have the hook up for that
or do they do it through-- - Yes.
- The hotel or-- - Yeah, just ask
your travel agent who they would suggest
and they'll hook you up with the right guide
for your island and to what your wants and needs are.
- What's your number one?
- My number one is Kualoa Ranch.
It's my favorite thing on Oahu bar none.
It's this really cool, humongous ranch.
It's still a working cattle ranch,
which I think is really, really awesome.
They have a ton of stuff to do there.
You could spend all day there.
So, if you're a family that's very active,
or if you're on your honeymoon and you don't want
to lay on the beach all day, I would strongly recommend
booking a day trip up there.
They have ATVs, they have zip lines,
they have movie set tours where they will take you
and show you where Jurassic Park was filmed,
50 First Dates, the new King Kong movie,
the new Jumanji movie.
They'll take you and show you where,
and they just finished Jurassic World there a couple
of years ago.
So, they actually still have some of the props
from all of those movies.
It's really, really neat.
They have this really cool bunker that they used
during World War II and you can see where some of the sets
from Hawaii Five-0 were filmed.
They also have the ancient fish pond up there
that you can go to, they have the horseback riding
similar to like at Turtle Bay.
They have a little secret beach that they'll take you to
via catamaran and you can also use the catamaran up there.
And, they have food tours that they do where they're now
teaching people how they plant their Hawaiian food
and how they make poi, and it's really, really cool.
So, I mean, you could not get bored there for a whole day.
So, I-- - Very cool
- Strongly recommend it.
- Good, good, good.
So, for mine, and I'm kind of on a little bit of a kick
about this right now, Hawaii's fun, you know,
a lot of cool things to see.
But, now they've got Segway tours of the thing.
(all laughing) And that is a blast.
You know, so you-- - I can just picture you,
(laughing) right now,
going through downtown Waikiki on a Segway.
- You gotta, well, I don't know if they,
well, they did have them on Waikiki actually.
They got 'em on Waikiki, you know, they've got one
that does like Waikiki and Diamond Head.
I mean, you're on it for a couple of hours.
- That's cool. - You're on it
for a couple of hours.
But, a lot of fun.
Again, you've got great scenery, but doing the Segway
is really, really fun.
It's a lot of, lot of fun.
So, anyway, I think you should check that out.
So, thank you all very much.
- Oh, thank you. - Old Laihana, sorry I got you
on the wrong island, my bad.
Thank you all for catching me on that.
Anyway, thank you all for tuning in
and we'll see you all next time.
- Aloha! - Thank you.
- Mahalo!