Everything We Did On A 7-Day Hawaii Cruise

Day 1 – Board Norwegian Pride of America

We arrived in Honolulu with a few hours to spare, so we decided to take advantage of every hour we had in Hawaii. Luggage was dropped off at the cruise port– checked in bags are delivered to your stateroom by the end of the day. Hands now free, we decided to walk around town for a bit. We visited the Kamehameha statue and gardens and stopped at Noi for ube shaved ice. First shaved ice in Hawaii, check!

After boarding the ship, we ate dinner and then attended what we thought was the first show of the cruise. I’m a sucker for the dancing and musical theater that characterizes cruise ship shows, but this production turned out to be a straight up lecture about Hawaiian history. Normally we would have enjoyed this, but we were so tired given the day of travel and time difference that all three of us ended up falling asleep (in the front of the auditorium) and snoozing through the whole event.

Day 2 – Maui

Today was meant to be a long but wonderful day in Maui. We set our alarms early, enjoyed breakfast amidst sunrise views, then disembarked the ship as soon as it docked at 8am. The Road to Hana was on the itinerary! This escapade would ideally be allocated two days to soak in all the sights, but the nature of visiting Hawaii via cruise meant we had limited time in each port. This didn’t stop us from planning a day exploring the can’t-miss Road to Hana, but it did mean we had to make time.

Rental Car Maui

The port of Kahului is annoying in that passengers are forced to walk a long meandering path through an industrial area to get anywhere after disembarking the ship, and this added an unexpected 15-20 minutes to our walk to pick up the rental car. Many people rent cars in Maui to drive the Road to Hana. During our trip research, the easiest options to find were large, well-known rental car companies but these proved to be quite pricey. Pro tip- use a local company to rent your car for the day! In Maui we used Maui Eco Rental Cars and they were awesome! They were responsive, affordable, and even allowed us to park our rental car overnight at their lot since we stayed in port overnight that evening.

Road to Hana Food Stands

We stopped at a road side fruit stand and bought a $15 Maui Gold pineapple. The vendor assured us it was worth it. I’m glad we trusted him. This Maui Gold was indeed much more flavorful and savory than the ones we’re used to in the continental US.

Keanae Arboretum

This arboretum is worth at least a quick pit stop to see some rainbow eucalyptus trees. Like many places in Hawaii, it’s beautiful enough to justify hours, if not more, of your time. We were on a tight schedule but I’m glad we saw these beautiful trees!

Waianapanapa Black Sand Beach

Oh my goodness, Waianapanapa is a wonderful state park! Everyone goes straight to the black sand beach first, and I see why. It is super black with volcanic pebble sand that is more pebbly on the left side and super fine soft black sand on the right side of the beach. If it’s crowded, just wait a 10 minutes. Visitors tend to arrive in waves, and groups like our own know that they don’t have too much time to dawdle before moving on to the next stop. I’ll take this opportunity to stress that again, if you have more time to devote to the Road to Hana, spend more than just one day on the drive so you’re not rushed. But if you’re visiting in the span of one day like us, don’t miss out on this journey!

Back to the Black Sand Beach- don’t miss the small cave in the lava rock to the right of the beach, as well as a shore-hugging short trail on the left of the beach that leads uphill to panoramic ocean views, a small blowhole, and a sea arch! We spent about 90 minutes there exploring the area.

Koki Red Sand Beach

Our next stops were Koki Beach and Hamoa Beach. Koki beach is a Red Sand Beach and is also known for their restaurant shack that serves up Hawaiian favorites like huli huli chicken and kalua pork. Don’t miss it! The chicken was out of this world tender and flavorful! Hamoa Beach is more of a salt and pepper beach and is known for its more gentle waves and soft stretches of sand that make it more family friendly.

Wailua Falls

Wailua Falls is one of the most popular waterfalls on the road to Hana, and you barely have to get out of your car to see it! It’s spectacular and towering, and I recommend making the short hike downhill (2 minutes) to get to the base of the falls where you can swim in the pool if you’d like to.

End Of The Drive

We turned back after Wailua Falls to head back toward Paia. Many guides recommend continuing to the Seven Sacred Pools but we were running out of time and didn’t want to be stuck navigating the winding curved roads of the Road to Hana after nightfall. Stay safe on your drive! Don’t go too fast and let the speedsters pass you if they want to. Many of the twists and turns on the Road to Hana are completely blind and people honk their horns as they approach tight corners to avoid collisions. That said, this journey is completely manageable even for non-local drivers, as long as you drive reasonably.

Apart from side quest hikes and beaches, the Road to Hana journey itself is spectacular. We passed countless little waterfalls along the way, basically at every bridge. And there are many, many bridges on the Road to Hana.

I highly recommend the GyPSy app (now known as GuideAlong) for a GPS-linked audio tour of your journey along the Road to Hana! The app tracks your location on the road and along the way presents historical tidbits, stories, and pro tips including parking spots, which waterfalls to stop at, and hidden gems.

Ke’Anae

Ke‘Anae is a farming peninsula, a major taro farm growing region for Hawaii. The serene farm landscapes of still watery taro farms were a striking juxtaposition from the rough waters of the sea – I loved the spectacular sights of gigantic waves hurling themselves at sharp teeth of black lava rock jutting up out of the ocean water.

Ho’okipa Beach For Sunset Turtles

Ho’okipa Beach at sunset is the way to go! There were still lots of surfers in the water catching waves, but not as many as in midday. Ho’okipa Beach is one of the best beaches on Maui for turtle spotting. The highlight of this beach, particularly around sunset, is the multitude of turtles that pull themselves out of the water and up onto the sand for the night! There is a protected little part of the beach where >80 turtles congregate. Turtles, sunset dipping below the water, and surfers bobbing on the horizon made for a quintessential Maui evening. 

Day 3 – Maui

Our second day in port on Maui was a short one, so we planned another early morning to make the most of it. We awoke early again, speed-walked to our rental car, and drove out to to Waihee Ridge Trail. The trailhead, conveniently complete with a parking lot, is just 20 minutes by car away from the Kahului cruise port our ship was docked at.

Waihee Ridge Trail

We arrived on a Monday morning around 7:40am, and the main parking lot was about half full. There is an overflow parking lot but this is over a mile walk (uphill with no shade) just to get the start of the trail. The trail itself is an absolute uphill slog, 90% of which is exposed and sunny. At the same time, the footing is a red dusty covering of soil overlying bare rock that I imagine would get extremely slick when wet. I saw footprints in the dried mud of people skidding around in previously wet conditions. I definitely would not do this trek on a day forcast to rain.

I read the trail takes about 90min to reach the summit, but we went at a steady pace and made it to the top (very sweatily) in a little less than an hour. The summit provides sweeping panoramic views of the greenery-covered mountains textured with huge vertical gashes, and a view of the far away sparkling ocean.

I recommend starting the Waihee Ridge Trail early, both to avoid parking snaggles and to beat the clouds. Around late morning to early afternoon, the clouds roll in and can opacify your view from the summit.

Paia Fish Market

After we finished the hike, we drove back over to the town of Paia, home to the Paia Fish Market. While the prices have increased recently (as has everywhere), it’s still a good place to try local super fresh fish at affordable prices. We tried the mahi mahi fish and chips, a fish taco, and a fish quesadilla (blend of mahi mahi and ono fish).

Ululani Shave Ice

After walking around Paia, our next stop was the famous Ululani Shave Ice! These shave ice tasted so good and I loved the flavor options! They are flavored with real sugarcane sugar, fresh fruit purees and tasty syrups. We tried the guava, kalamansi, and li hing mui flavors. Reminder to self for future Hawaii trips: li hing mui is amazing and take advantage of li hing mui everything while in Hawaii!

We spent the remainder of our time on Maui leisurely puttering around Kaulahao Beach, which is also known for turtles who like to chill on the sand at the edges of the beach.

Day 4 – Hilo

Volcanoes National Park

New day, time for a new Hawaiian island! we arrived in Hilo today. Our self-guided itinerary required another rental car, which we picked up from Hilo Auto Sales and Rentals. This rental company is reachable by walking from the ship pier. We drove abut 45 minutes straight to our first adventure of the day: Volcanoes National Park. I was so excited to see this beautiful area unique to the area.

First on the list was the Kilauea Iki Crater and the Thurston Lava Tube. You can hike to both of these in a loop containing the Iki Crater Trail, Crater Rim Trail, and a Connector Trail. Most people hike this loop counter clockwise, but we chose to do it clockwise for a few reasons. Parking at the Iki Overlook and hiking clockwise takes you to the Thurston Lava Tube after less than a mile, which means you can see this landmark a bit earlier in the day to avoid crowds. Less tourists means less photobombing! Also, hiking along the Crater floor requires an initial descent and subsequent uphill climb. The clockwise direction causes you to hike downhill on a series of gentle gradual switchbacks, and the uphill portion after crossing the Crater itself consists of steeper steps. I’d rather take stairs upward rather than downward (a better workout for the heart, and less strain on the knees).

Thurston Lava Tube

The Thurston Lava Tube was super quick and easy, and very cool to experience! It was more spacious than expected. It’s hard to imagine a tube of molten lava moving through that huge space in the past.

Kilauea Iki Crater Trail

The Iki Crater Trail was awesome and felt like a scene from a movie. I kept stopping and just gazing in awe at the 360 degree views surrounding us as we traversed the crater floor. The volcanic floor was all cracked and crumbled up on itself like a huge thick layer of dried mud. Amazingly, small flowering plants and even trees were defying the odds and sprouting up, choosing to grow and even thrive in these harsh conditions.

Did we see any eruption? No– we could see smoke and steam from the still active Kilauea Volcano, but no glowing red lava. It is possible to see some reddish glow at nighttime.

Chain of Craters Road

Exiting our hike loop, we then drove the Chain of Craters Road which is a 20-30 minute drive toward the coastline, cutting through solidified lava fields and giving towering views of the shoreline where lava flow met the ocean. The texture of the cooled lava was so unique, looking like braided strands of rope in some places and undulating viscous smudgy piles in others.

Pu’uloa Petroglyphs

One stop along the chain of Craters Road is the Pu’uloa Petroglyphs, where native Hawaiians carved images into the lava rock. This archaeological site is protected by an elevated boardwalk allowing the petroglyphs to be viewed from a safer distance. The lava bedrock in Pu’uloa has been dated to AD 1200-1450.

The hike to the boardwalk protecting the majority of the petroglyphs is advertised to be only 0.7 miles one way, but it honestly felt much much longer. It is a completely exposed and unshaded hike, so be sure to bring water!

Richardson Ocean Beach Park Snorkeling

Our final stop of the day was to Richardson Ocean Beach Park for shore snorkeling. Marine life viewed while shore snorkeling (compared to snorkeling from a boat at sea) has become less and less abundant over the past decades, and this was unfortunately also the case for Richardson Ocean Beach Park. We saw a good number of fish but were saddened to see the bleached coral. This beach park is pretty family friendly given the relatively gentle waters in this protected cove, and there’s a life guard.

Day 5 – Kona

Today we docked in Kona! Well, we didn’t actually dock, I suppose. Kona’s port can’t accommodate large cruise ships so we were brought to land via tender boats.

Greenwell Coffee Farms

Our day in Kona would involve yet another — you guessed it! — rental car. If you couldn’t tell so far, I highly recommend arranging a rental car so you can drive yourself around wherever you’d like. We decided to chauffer ourselves instead of relying on tour buses and I’m very glad we chose this option as it gave us so much more flexibility and opportunities to stop at little local establishments. After picking up rental car from Enterprise, we drove south along the Kona coffee coast to Greenwell Coffee Farms. Greenwell Farms offers a free tour which was surprisingly detailed and very informative in teaching us the life cycle of their coffee from plant to cup. We learned particularly about what Greenwell Farms does to avoid the devastating effects of the coffee berry borer, a beetle pest, without resorting to the use of pesticides. The coffee farm grafts different varieties of coffee trees to root stocks designed to be resistant to the coffee berry borer, and their coffee fields are only grown to harvest every other year to naturally minimize the spread of these pests. Greenwell does not use any pesticides other than a natural fungal spray that targets the beetle. The tour then showed us the coffee trees bearing red ripe coffee fruits which are picked completely by hand. Each coffee berry bears a pair of large, sticky, slimy, pale tan coffee beans. The beans shrink dramatically after drying, which is done traditionally via sun drying on textured roofs. However, our guide explained to us that a combination of initial sun drying followed by  a more controlled drying process in a heated slowly rotating drum allows for more uniform drying and a more perfect finished coffee product.

This free tour was very thorough and lasted over one hour!

After we left Greenwell Coffee Farms, we drove along the Kona coffee coast, aiming for Da Poke Shack but were disappointed to find their posted sign saying they had run out of fish… No worries, there was more poke to be found!

Pa’akai Poke

After driving back to Kailua-Kona, it was finally time for poke. I was so excited parking the car outside Pa’akai Poke. This poke deli boasted rave reviews online and I was ready to taste it for myself.

The poke did not disappoint. Oh my goodness, poke made with fresh fish is so so so good! we tried four kinds of poke and they were seriously all addictingly delicious.

Kona Brewing Co.

Tummies satisfied, our last stop of the day was at the nearby real deal Kona Brewing Company. We had fun trying various brews that could only be sampled at the namesake Kona brewery location.

Day 6 – Kauai

Island Cars Rental Cars

Our cruise ship docked in Kauai today! Our first order of business was … you guessed it … picking up our rental car. I was happy to find another local car rental company on this island: Island Cars. This rental company is definitely one of the smaller companies but has good service and super affordable prices compared to other companies. Also, not having to stand in long lines at airport car rental agencies is a huge plus. Island Cars is located at (XJ8V+68 Lihue, Hawaii) and offers customer pickup, or you can do what we did and walk northward up Rice Street from the Kauai Cruise Ship Terminal. This is a bit of a dangerous walk as Rice Street is a winding fast-paced road without a sidewalk, but we made it.

Pono Marketplace

Armed with wheels, we started the day driving to the north coast of the island. At the town of Kapa’a, we stopped at Pono Marketplace for authentic, no-frills Hawaiian food. We tried pork lau lau, spam musubi, scallop poke, and poi (a traditional Polynesian dish of mashed cooked taro) and enjoyed a quick picnic under the sun.

Hee Fat General Store Shave Ice

It was time for dessert and another shave ice was on our minds. Many places very nearby Pono Marketplace were recommended online including Hono Shave Ice and Wailua Shave Ice, but our GuideAlong guide recommended a different shop: Hee Fat General Store. We found that Hee Fat offered a huge portion for much cheaper than Ululani, However, Ululani had much finer, fluffier ice and the flavors were more authentic.

Food Land Poke

Heading back south en route to our next destination, we stopped by Food Land grocery store for more poke. Food Land offered lots of varieties of poke which were much cheaper ($12.95 per lb), but the cut quality of the fish and the seasoning of the sauce weren’t as good as the poke restaurant from the day before at Pa’akai Poke.

Kauai Coffee Company

Kauai Coffee Company is the largest coffee grower in the country, with over 4 million coffee trees grown on over 3,000 acres. They have a free self-guided walking tour which we explored leisurely before enjoying samples of brewed coffee.

Poipu

Our last stop of the day was Poipu and its neighboring beaches. We relaxed, watched surfers enjoying waves, witnessed two endangered Hawaiian monk seals, and enjoyed the company of a few turtles at sunset! The scene was beyond idyllic, with tall palm trees swaying gently in the 76F degree breeze against a backdrop of golden hour sunset with surfers in the background. Too perfect.

Day 7 – Kauai

Secret Falls

We woke up early again (can you see a trend?) to get a head start on the adventure of the day- a kayak and hiking journey to Secret Falls! These falls are *not so secret* and are visited by lots of tourists. You can choose to visit either by guided tour or self paddle, and many resources are available with either choice. The full journey involves a 2-mile paddle up the Wailua River, followed by a 1-mile hike through muddy forest and shallow river crossings to reach the spectacular waterfall, before turning around to come back out the same way you came in. I recommend going on your own (the self-guided option) to avoid the tour groups which by definition cause crowding and can slow you down dramatically. You want to be one of the first to reach the falls for the best views!

We completed this trek in hiking sandals (Chacos) and were perfectly fine, although the hiking can get muddy and very slippery in some parts. Whether going by yourself or with a guided tour, there are several kayak companies you can rent a boat from. Especially if you’re going the self guided route, I highly recommend Wailua Kayak & Canoe (also called Wailua River Kayak on some sources), located at 162 Wailua Rd, Kapaa, HI 96746. This is the only company I found that does not require you to strap your rental kayak to your rental car to drive it down to the river bank to the starting location. We didn’t know what kind of rental car we’d end up with and didn’t want to deal with that variable snagging our plans. Wailua Kayak & Canoe offers both rentals for self exploration as well as guided tours!

Our party of 3 used one single person kayak and second tandem kayak. Upon picking up our kayaks, we set off on our initial paddle in the Wailua River. One thing to take note of is that timing does matter when planning your trip! Mornings are preferable as the waterfall will be significantly less crowded (less people in your photos) and, importantly, you might be spared the heaviest of the the trade winds to be battled on your paddle back downriver when returning from the falls. These winds pick up in the afternoon and blow against you, significantly increasing the effort needed to complete the return kayak paddle trip. Wailua River Kayak only offered two time slots for kayak rentals- 7:15am and 12:15pm so we opted to wake up early and went for the 7:15am rental start time.

The initial paddle is upriver, but the current is mild. You’ll park your kayak on the bank to the right, and take a picture of the kayak number so you remember which is yours when you return to it. Now begins the hike! I recommend hiking sandals over hiking shoes since you’ll be crossing through up thigh-deep water and wet socks aren’t very much fun. On the other hand, I wouldn’t do this in flip flops due to the slippery mud, and people have actually recommended going barefoot instead of in flip flops if those are your only footwear option. The hike is variably muddy depending on the recent rain conditions but it can definitely be that deep, squelching, foot-swallowing kind of mud. Some parts of the hike cross sturdy boardwalks installed to keep you out of the worst of the mud.

You’ll cross a handful of ponds and rivers, the deepest of which was about mid-thigh high during our journey. Its recommended not to cross the river if the water level is at hip height or higher, since the current is swift and can sweep people away.

Before long you’ll hear, and then see, the majestic Secret Falls! They are everything a Hawaiian waterfall should be- tall and towering, with a raging blowing mist, surrounded by lush rainforest and of course the ever present Kauai roosters and chickens. You can take a swim in the pool beneath the falls but I don’t recommend swimming directly beneath the pounding falls!

Hamura Saimen

After the paddle back, we visited Hamura Saimen, a Hawaiian-Japanese eatery specializing in saimen. Saimen is a local variation of ramen made with fish cakes and roast pork. In addition to saimen, we also enjoyed the BBQ chicken and beef skewers and their famous lilikoi chiffon pie.

Napali Coast

The “All Aboard” time for our cruise ship was an early 1:30pm, with the plan to circle the island Kauai and sail along the Napali Coast. It was drizzling all morning, causing a thick cloud of fog to blanket everything. We could only see a wall of whiteness where the beautiful mountains were supposed to be. We were all ready to be disappointed when finally the clouds began to lift, a double rainbow appeared, and the green craggy mountains made their appearance!

Day 8 – Oahu

Oahu Chinatown

Sadly, the day had come. We had to disembark our cruise ship today. Back on land, our first stop in Oahu was Chinatown for a food crawl! It felt like we were back in Manhattan Chinatown all over again, wandering the busy side streets, popping into bakeries and restaurant cafes, eating on the way to the next stop. We ate manapua (which were essentially Chinese roast pork buns), butter mochi, and guava mochi. We also sampled a hot Hong Kong style milk tea and iced lemon black tea.

Pearl Harbor and USS Arizona

Our next stop was the Pearl Harbor Monument and USS Arizona Memorial. Make sure you book your boat tickets for the USS Arizona tour in advance! You can purchase and pick up the necessary timed boat tickets upon arrival on the day of, but generally tickets sell out quickly and you might have to wait a few hours before your assigned time slot if you don’t book in advance. The boat tour and memorial visit was a sobering and heavy moment, and was presented very well.

Yummy Huli Huli Chicken

We couldn’t finish our time in Hawaii without another taste of huli huli chicken! A quick drive northward brought us to Yummy Huli Huli Chicken, which delivered good taste with a fun local roadside eatery atmosphere. The chicken is roasted over wood fires outside. Yummy Huli Huli’s chicken was indeed yummy, but not as good as the chicken at the Koki Red Sand Beach on Maui.

Local Hawaiian Farm

Our final hours in Hawaii were spent with my mom’s friend who operates a small fruit and veggies farm in Waimanalo! We loved exploring her farm and sampled lots of fruits, local freshly caught tuna, and hand-picked a few fresh coconuts.