Hawaii: A Grand Tour

• Itinerary
• Prices & Information

February 16 – 28, 2009 • 13 Days

Day 1 – Home to Honolulu
Fly to Honolulu today.  Sit back, relax, and enjoy your hassle free flight.  Check into the beautiful Sheraton Princess Kaiulani Hotel, across from Waikiki Beach and adjacent to International Marketplace.  Enjoy your own private lanai. Tonight relax and get settled in for a three night stay here in Waikiki.  Choose from the many restaurants surrounding your hotel for dinner on your own this evening.              
Hotel: Sheraton Princess Kaiulani Hotel  (Private Lania)

Day 2 – Honolulu
Tour Pearl Harbor National Memorial Park.  Cruise by Navy Launch to the sunken USS Arizona.  This is a moment you won’t forget as your thoughts turn to Dec. 7, 1941 and the beginning of World War II.  This impressive Memorial to the 1,102 men still entombed will be a special moment of the trip.  Sightseeing includes Hawaii’s State Capitol, Iolani Palace, Punchbowl, and Honolulu lookout.  Motor through lush rain forest to the Nuuanu Pali Lookout for a scenic view of Honolulu and the valley below.  Enjoy an included dinner this evening at the poolside Pikake Terrace.
Included Meals:  Dinner

Day 3 – Honolulu
Take advantage of the wonderful location of your hotel within walking distance to International Market Place and the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center.  Some may want to visit the USS Missouri stationed here in Honolulu. Tonight maybe walk down the beach and enjoy dinner on your own at one of the many waterfront restaurants.
Included Meals:  Breakfast

Day 4 – Honolulu to Kona
Enjoy breakfast at your leisure this morning before we take a short flight to The Big Island of Hawaii featuring everything from volcanos to lush valleys and expansive pasture lands.  Hawaii has more variety than any other island its size. Stop in the seaside village of Kona before we continue to the lovely Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa, an outstanding resort set on the sun drenched shores of Kohala Coast in the Kailua-Kona area.  The Sheraton Keauhou offers views of the ocean and Keauhou Bay.
Hotel: Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa
Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 5 – Kona
After breakfast we explore Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. See Mauna Loa, the most massive mountain on earth, and Kilauea Crater, which rises over 4,090 ft. above a volcanic wonderland of steaming fire pits and fern forests. Lunch today is in the old sugar town of Pahala at the historic Pahala Plantation House, featuring a performance by local singers. Walk the black sand beach at Punalu’u Beach Park.  See waterfalls, high cliffs that drop into the ocean, and beautiful Rainbow Falls.  We’ll also enjoy a brief stop at a local Orchid Nursery.  Return to your lovely resort overlooking black rocks and ocean blue. 
Included Meals: Lunch

Day 6 – Kona
Awake and enjoy breakfast with the rest of the day at leisure.  R&J Tours has arranged for our guests to enjoy complimentary free shuttle service into nearby Kona Village, a charming old seaside town. There is much to do on the Big Island, including great shopping at your fingertips.   Options include a submarine ride, a glass bottom boat ride, golfing, catamaran, or deep sea fishing excursions.   
Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 7 – Kona to Kauai
Enjoy breakfast at your leisure before we board an inter-island jet to Kauai, the oldest island in the chain.  One look at the lush, green vegetation that covers most of Kauai tells you why it is called the “Garden Isle.”  Lunch today is served at the Kauai Lagoon’s Terrace Restaurant before we cruise up the scenic Wailua River to the famous tropical Fern Grotto for the singing of the Hawaiian Wedding Song.  Arrive at the Sheraton Kauai Resort, the perfect “Garden Isle” hotel.Ideally located on Kauai’s famous Poipu Beach, you can enjoy a host of activities from ocean sports to nearby championship golf, shopping and more.  Surrounded by exotic lagoons, cascading waterfalls and lush tropical setting;, and all of Kauai’s great activities and adventures including an optional helicopter ride.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch    
Hotel: Sheraton Kauai Beach Hotel

Day 8 – Kauai
Breakfast is served at your leisure.  Today we explore breathtaking Waimea Canyon, nicknamed the  “Grand Canyon of the Pacific”  by author Mark Twain. Waimea Canyon is one of Kauai’s natural wonders with canyons eroded by water, wind and rain. Waimea Canyon is the largest canyon in the Pacific measuring 10 miles long, 2 mile wide and over 3,500 feet deep. Like the Grand Canyon, the lines along the canyon’s walls indicate the different volcanic eruptions and lava flows that have occurred over the centuries. Return to the resort for the remainder of the day.  This evening you are guests at a delightful luau.  Experience traditional food, music, hula dance, tiki torches, swaying palm trees, and the ocean blue.  As the sun sets over this spectacular setting it will be an evening you will long remember.
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 9 – Kauai to Maui
Enjoy breakfast before we fly to the “Valley Isle,” and experience the island’s lush jungle valleys, ribbons of sand, cool uplands, vast crater, and historic treasures.  Visit peaceful Iao Valley hidden among the beautiful towering peaks and Iao Needle.  Take a tram tour with lunch at the Maui Tropical Plantation, with living exhibits of Hawaii’s agriculture.  See Lahaina, the famous little whaling village enroute to your hotel located on Kaanapali Beach.  We’ve chosen one of the Maui’s most luxurious oceanfront hotel, the Sheraton Maui featuring oceanview rooms for your pleasure!  Maui is said to be the favored island and it is with that in mind we have given you three relaxing nights in this tropical paradise with some of the finest beaches in the world!  All you have to do is walk out on the courtyard and see whales spouting in the distant waters. 
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch   
Hotel: Sheraton Maui (Oceanview Rooms)

Day 10 – Maui
A full breakfast is served at your leisure.  Shuttle service is available for those who would like go into Lahaina, a small old whaling port.  Browse the quaint little streets featuring art studios, museums, cafes, and more.  See the world’s largest banyan tree, planted in 1873! 
Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 11 – Maui
After a full breakfast, we take an included whale watching cruise off the sunny shores of Maui.  You’ll learn why they call this season the “Running of the Whales”.  The waters are full of humpback whales calving their young in the warm waters between Lanai and Maui.  It’s sure to be a highlight of your trip!  Later, stroll along the beach front which takes you to all of the hotels, many that have been on “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”.  Stroll to Whalers Village with a variety of shopping and many restaurants.  This evening don’t miss the sunset over the black rocks and the famous sunset divers just outside your hotel on the beach! This evening enjoy a wonderful Aloha dinner overlooking the crashing waves on the most beautiful of all the islands!    
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 12 – Maui
Enjoy a relaxing morning and early afternoon before we board our late afternoon flight.  You will be flying home through the night.
Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 13 – Maui to Home
Arrive early this morning at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport today with memories of a Grand Hawaiian Vacation.