Oahu, Hawaii. North Shore by public bus to see a more natural Hawaii

The North Shore is totally different, less developed, more original, more character and far more laid back. It looks and feels more Polynesian and is full of trendy coffee shops full of surfers waiting for the right conditions, or it has big waves and they are out surfing. The area was a retreat for Hawaiian royalty in the 1800s who enjoyed surfing there on early forms of longboards. You can also canoe the inlets. This is a totally different view of the island. It is easy to get to the North Shore by public bus. The 52 goes straight there, the 55 goes round the coast to it; go one way come back the other. The bus stop is outside the cruise terminal and the drivers will help you but the bus you might want to take could be a couple of blocks away. Use google transit to plan your route. The public buses cost just a couple of dollars and you can get on and off once within a few hours, so you could go round the whole island for $2!

CRUISE INSURANCE – CAR PARK DEALS – ENTERTAINMENT – SHIP TOURS

There is nothing much to see on the 52 bus up the middle of the island other than a banana plantation, but you have time to stop there. Most cruisers will have seen a banana plantation, we show one on our film of St Lucia Volcano.  You could take the 52 up the middle of the island straight to North Shore, then get the 55 back round the west coast. That would be our tip. The 55 will roll you round the North shore and various surf beaches, the Turtle Bay Golf and Action Centre, then markets and food stalls as it turns back down the coast an hour from ship. It then passes the Polynesian Cultural Centre and then passes Kualoa Ranch; you could spend a day at either. Then back to, the 55 stops at the cruise terminal before going into Honolulu. Check the routes incase they change, but for a few dollars you can do the whole island.

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See our other films on Pearl Harbour, Kualoa Ranch, the Polynesian Centre, the North Shore, Honolulu, Tahiti, Bora Bora and Fiji. Or check out some of the great Cruise Routes, our concise films of what a ship offers when it takes a specific route. These are typical routes. We also have films to help cruisers on almost every popular cruise destination in the world.

You may have seen the author on a ship giving an after-dinner speech or a lecture, his page is here. Stuart St Paul – click here  

Essentials – cruise travel labels and our cruise crime novels – oh, and the seasickness bands.

The Port guides here on Doris Visits are a great way to remember your cruise and share with your friends. The mystery thrillers are a whole new way to experience cruising. You may not have been to the ports in the novels, you certainly won’t have been to the parts of the ship they use. All the cruise crime novels will make you feel like you are in the adventure and on the ship – dodge the bullets and stay out of the romance. Ship and cruise accurate, the novels are a great way for new cruisers to discover a ship too. Please share

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