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Hawaiian vacation help
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My hubby and I are heading to Hawaii in October for a 2 week vacation. We are flying into Honolulu and will be there for 2-3 days before we move on to Maui to meet up with my family who are all meeting in Kihei for a week, then we fly out of Kona 3-4 days later. We want to rent bikes on either Oahu or Kona or both and bike as our major mode of transport. Maui is family time, and I'm not too worried about that week (there will be about 15 of us meeting there). How is the biking on Oahu? Besides the Queen K in Kona, any great 2-3 day road tours to take (either on Oahu or Kona)? We would rather not book a bike tour on either island, would like to go anywhere from 30-70 miles a day - beach and bar stops mandatory. We just want a fun way to see the islands since we've never been there and who knows when we'll get back. (The airlines sort of picked our route for us, as we are using frequent flyer miles and we could get into and off the islands on specific days, we just want to make the best of our 3 island stops!) Any great bike shops to contact in Kona or Honolulu? Thanks for any ideas!

Edit: So we got home last night and found out that the flight from Kona has been canceled by United, so we aren't heading there - we'll be staying in Maui for 10-11 days now. So, scratch Kona, and if you know of any good rides on Maui (we don't know if we'll stay in Kihei or not those last 3-4 days yet), but we'll want to do some riding on Maui now. Any suggestions?

Thanks a bunch!!

**********************
Harry: "I expected the Rocky Mountains to be a little rockier than this."
Loyd: "I was thinking the same thing. That John Denver's full of shit, man."
Last edited by: RockyMtnChic: Jun 10, 08 7:57
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Re: Hawaiian vacation help [RockyMtnChic] [ In reply to ]
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For renting bikes on Oahu check with Boca Hawaii, they rent bikes, if they don't have anything for you then check with the Bike Shop Hawaii.

Not sure where you'll be staying, but assuming Waikiki, you can head east and then around the east end of the island up to the north shore. Stay on the coastal road and you'll pass a lot of beaches and a few bars. On Oahu you can put your bike on the bus and then get off and ride very easily.

If I were visiting, I'd head from Waikiki East to Kailua, stop at Kailua/Lanikai Beach and then ride back. THat's about 60 miles. Kailua is a nice town with some good eats/drinks.

The next day, I'd ride over Pali to the Kam Highway then head up towards the North Shore and hit some of the beaches up there, keep going all the way to the North Shore do a lap of Pineapple hill (great views from up there) then head back into Hawliewa and stop at Cholo's. Catch the bus back to where you started after a few too many margaritas.

On the big island I haven't ridden much besides the Queen K and up to Hawi, but a month ago we road the Queen K up to where you turn left to head to Hawi and we turned right. Followed the climbing road up to the town of Waikaloa and then back down, a bit more climbing, but a lot of fun too. Also, if you ride up to Hawi, keep going, go all the way to the end (gets a bit steeper at times), but there's a great view from out there. Stop in Hawi on the way up and then Kawaiiahe on the way back.

If you decide to do any riding on Maui, ride the West Maui Loop. It's a 55-60 mile loop around the west side of the island. Great views all the way (pretty darn hilly too).
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Re: Hawaiian vacation help [RockyMtnChic] [ In reply to ]
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HP Bikeworks for renting in Kona.

(808)326-2453

You don't really want to ride on the South end of the Big Island, it's very dangerous.

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Awww, Katy's not all THAT evil. Only slightly evil. In a good way. - JasoninHalifax

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Re: Hawaiian vacation help [GhiaGirl] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks Maggs and Katy - any ideas for Maui? The Kona leg of the trip is off, and we'll be staying in Maui longer (so we'll have time to ride there for sure). Is there a good bike shop in Kihei?

**********************
Harry: "I expected the Rocky Mountains to be a little rockier than this."
Loyd: "I was thinking the same thing. That John Denver's full of shit, man."
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Re: Hawaiian vacation help [RockyMtnChic] [ In reply to ]
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There is a bike shop in Kihei, I can't think of the name of it though. There's also a shop in Kahului-Island Biker Maui (where the airport is) and Lahaina-West Maui Cycles. All of them rent bikes.

Definitely do the West Maui Loop. 55 miles or so, but it seems a lot longer because of the hills (some pretty steep). Very little traffic and the best banana bread in the world (at least that's what the signs says). Great views.

I've considered riding the Hana highway sometime. Have a few friends who have done it and they said it was a nice ride. You can't ride all the way around because the road is out at some point (I guess you could, but it's not a paved road).

You can also tackle Haleakala. 36 miles from 100 ft up to 11000 ft. Then 36 miles back down. If the weather is nice (and October is still the nice part of the year) it's a great ride. Not really that steep, a lot of switchbacks, but the lack of oxygen gets to you once you enter the National Park. There is a store to stop at every 11-12 miles for refreshments.
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