Discount Car Rentals During APEC

Do you ever go on vacation, not planning ahead, only to land on a spot where something major is happening? Well if you're coming to Honolulu Hawaii, specifically Waikiki in the beginning of November, there will be 20,000+ extra people & 20 heads of state including President Obama for APEC- Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation.

If you want to rent a car check out our link because as you can see below in the screen shots, our discount car rentals are going to be way cheaper!
DISCOUNT CAR RENTAL

Daily Rate:
Regular: $54.98
Hostel Tours Hawaii Price: $38.23

You save: $16.75/ day or 30% off!

Weekly Rate:
Regular: $369.15
Hostel Tours Hawaii Price: $208.99

You save: $160.16 or 43% off!

(CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGES)

Book a Car with HTH & get up to 48% OFF!

It's peak season here in Hawaii, which means there are more people wanting to see our beautiful islands. What better way to check out places like the North Shore, Waimanalo, sunrise @ Haleakala, Road to Hana, Volcanoes National Park, & Waimea Canyon than with a car, especially since many of these beautiful places are only accessible by car or expensive tours.

Car rental companies know this & have raised their rates, especially for last minute bookings (which backpackers tend to do...hehehe).

Fortunately, HTH has secured a great contract with Enterprise, with fixed rates, which means the price stays the same no matter when you book! We made a comparison today, with and without the HTH link, and found amazing savings of 48%!! Best of all, the savings are available on EVERY ISLAND!

Check out the screen shots:

REGULAR LINK ONE DAY RENTAL $90.43
( Kind of blurry, click to enlarge)


HTH LINK ONE DAY RENTAL $43.57 (click to enlarge)


REGULAR ONE WEEK RENTAL $466.43
( Kind of blurry, click to enlarge)


HTH ONE WEEK RENTAL $223.88 ( click to enlarge)

Stand Up Paddle Adventures

I started noticing paddle boarding a couple of years ago at canoes surf break. Well, it has become so popular that I even saw people doing it in Austin, Texas. So it was just a matter of time before Hostel Tours Hawaii started offering stand-up paddle adventures. HTH found an awesome guide, Ryan, who has just started his own company focusing on calm, down wind water paddles in Kahana Bay, Haleiwa, Shark's Cove, & the Leeward Coast. He took us on a great scenic paddle that started in Ka'a'awa & ended up the Kahana River, which in one of O'ahu's last remaining publicly owned Ahupua'a . Ryan pointed out various markers, including the Crouching Lion, WWII bunkers, the Kualoa Valley, & indigenous/endemic plant species used by the Hawaiians.

31 Hawaiian families live in this Ahupua'a, and we got to see them bringing in some fish using traditional methods.


After a brief lesson showing us how to stand up, turn, & stop on the paddle board, we entered the beautiful blue calm waters of Kahana Bay & headed up the windward coast.






Can you spot the turtle?



This is the Huilia Fish Pond, which is a traditional Hawaiian fishing pond still in use in Kahana. In the background, the spectacular Ko'olau Mountains.

Ryan & Cody trying to figure out what part of the awesome scenery in the Windward side to focus on, while still making sure not to run into any coral with their paddle boards.




No doubt my favorite part of the Windward paddle tour; going upstream through overgrowth and the humbling view of the Ko'olau Mountains.






A treat at the end of an awesome trip & a great work out! Stand-up paddling was not as difficult as I thought it would be, & doing it with the Ko'olau mountains as a backdrop gave us a great point of view. Thanks Ryan!


The paddle boards we used: 11' NSP.



Check out our website for more info. on the different paddle tours we offer, including Kahana Bay, Shark's Cove, Haleiwa, Waimea Bay, Leeward Coast & custom paddle/camping adventures!
Hostel Tours Hawaii

Chum in a Cage

Summer is just around the corner, which means that the northshore swells will disipate. What a perfect time to take a 3-mile boat ride out to get into a cage & see some hungry sharks!



Perhaps one of the best things about submerging in water is the various sensations felt at once: weightlessness, the pressure on your ears, the sound of your breath going in and out of the snorkel & now, the site of sharks swimming around a cage pushed it to another limit.

One shark in particular had a couple of fish hooks attached to its mouth, surely pissing off many a fisherman. This shark should be in the cage, for thievery.


No fear felt until I stuck my head out of the water and saw their fins slicing through the water (insert Jaws music here for a Pavlovian response).
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Skydiving!

Skydiving was one of those things I said I would never do. But all it takes is some good friends who want to do it, and all of a sudden it sounds like a good idea. Plus we're in Hawaii where it's relatively cheap and the views are unparalleled. So we headed to the North Shore...

I felt a little nervous when I signed all my rights away in the legal consent forms, but when they showed a video of someone doing the jump it seemed so simple and safe that I felt good. My tandem master set me up in the gear, and before I knew it we were all in a small airplane heading 14000 ft above sea level. The views of the north shore were breathtaking as we ascended. When we reached the maximum altitude I felt pretty pretty good, and since my instructor was doing the physical act of jumping there was not much left for me to think about. We approached the exit and jumped! I experienced the instinctual fear of falling to the death for about 2 seconds before feeling the adrenaline take over. Then it was really like a dream. It was euphoric. I can't really describe the rest of the experience cause I'm not sure what happened. You have to do it. Don't tell my mom.

Kauai Redux

Went back to Kauai. Did the hike to Hanakepai beach the first day. Only guavas and avocados were in season. Remember that cave... it's changed... it's full of sand now. You have to crawl through the opening on the other side. Went hunting for opihi and crab in the rocky zone. There were lots of big pools. Saw an octopus and my friend went for it. When he stuck the knife into the beast, it shot its tentacles up to his arm, he flinched, and it got away. Would have been delicious. It was amazing to see it do a camo-shift when it spotted us. In one of the bigger pools there were lots of fish so we speared a few. We set up camp on the beach, between the rocks and the little stream and had a great meal. Eat local. The next day we checked out the water falls and hiked out. Drove to Waimea Canyon which was pretty amazing. Did a park and camp at a state park, and the next day we hiked for 7 hours on a trail that took us to the edge of a peak between two amazing valleys further south from Kalalau beach... really amazing place. Then we drove on an unpaved road for several miles to this huge beach where we spent our last night. It was cool having a car and seeing the whole island. Here's a few pics

Big Island!

Went to the Big Island for a week. The landscapes make it feel like you're visiting several different planets. You definitely have to get a car, this is the country. I wish I would've gotten a 4x4 cause there were some lava roads I couldn't access with my economy golf-cart. I spent 5 days there and drove 600 miles all around the island. Loved seeing the lava pouring into the ocean. You drive up to the end of a road and walk through some old lava. The access point "closes" at 10pm, but several locals say that after the guards leave you can walk really close to the flow. Next time. Definitely take a flashlight. Southpoint was cool too. Lot of huge cliffs with waves crashing into them. There's a spot where it's safe to cliff jump but I didn't have anybody who would do it with me, so that's my excuse. The beaches on the Kona side are really nice, I saw tons of turtles. Waipio valley reminds me of Kauai, it's really beautiful and well worth the hike. Can't wait to go back!