Hawaii 2 Island Study Tour
The Gathering Place and the Amazing Big Island
For groups of 25 or more persons

Day 1 Flight from your gateway to Honolulu Hawaii. Our motor coach transfers us to Waikiki.

Day 2 We spend the day in and around the city of Honolulu. Visit Fort Derussy Park, Honolulu zoo, International Marketplace with a walk on the famous Waikiki Beach.

Day 3 The adventure continues. We start by heading into the extinct crater that is the landmark of Waikiki Beach, Diamond Head. We will see a side of this volcano that few see, the INSIDE. We transfer across the interior of this long dormant volcano and then hike the many switchbacks that lead to the top. The views are breathtaking. The armed forces built bunkers for large gun emplacements when it was feared Hawaii would be invaded in the Second World War. Our motor coach touring delivers us to the Punch Bowl National Cemetery, and then Pearl Harbor. See the WWII submarine Bowfin, the might battleship Missouri where the Second World War ended and the USS Arizona Memorial.

Day 4 We meet our tour guide this morning as we board our deluxe A/C motor coach for a circle island tour. Visit the blow hole, Sea life Park, and continue up the windward side. See Chinaman’s Hat and then the North shore where the mammoth waves create a surfers dream. Stop at Paradise Park or Sacred Falls and hike to a waterfall for a refreshing swim. Pali lookout point is where hundreds of Hawaiian warriors jumped to their deaths rather than be captured. Visit the Honolulu business district, Chinatown, Iolani Palace and King Kamehameha’s Statue. It is an incredible day.

Day 5 A short flight finds us on the Island that is called the Big Island. Land in Kailua Kona. We travel south to Kealakekua Bay to see the Spinner Dolphins and the spot where Captain Cook was killed. Continue south to a coffee plantation for a tour and then see one of nature’s anomalies. We walk on both a black and a green sand beach. Wow. Return to our hotel, exhausted by a very busy day.

Day 6 Today we visit one of the molten wonders of the world. Kilauea has been entertaining humans for decades with its almost constant flow of lava. See the great rift that is being created by a huge shelf of new land being created daily. Walk Volcanoes National Park and see the devastation created by lava flows. We visit Volcano House and then begin the 11-mile loop around the Kilauea Caldera. It is fascinating. Continue to Hilo, famous for growing orchids that are sent around the world by air. Time permitting we visit the Lyma Memorial Museum to learn of Hawaiian heritage and history. See a full size grass house, many Stone-age implements, and a Taoist Shrine brought from China piece by piece in the luggage of immigrants.

Day 7 We travel across the North side of the island. We stop at Akaka Falls State Park to witness the 400-foot drop of water down a sheer cliff face. Stop at Laupahoehoe Point where 24 students and teachers were swept away by a tidal wave in 1946. Visit Waipio Valley and drink in the beautiful vistas of this valley abandoned by the Hawaiians long ago. A century ago three or four thousand Hawaiians lived here, now there are only a few. Learn why? We drive past sugar plantations, forests of Cedar and Eucalyptus, prairies and rangeland. Return to Hilo where we spend our last night in paradise. Step out for a walk on the beach this evening.

Day 8 Transfer to Hilo Airport for the short flight to Honolulu where we connect on our homeward flight.

Please call for a customized program and prices.