Tiki tips for Hawai'i?

My wife and I are taking a Hawai'ian cruise next week. Ports of call will be Hilo, Kailua Kona, Lahaina, Nawiliwili and Honolulu. Any "must see" or recommended Tiki locations?

Hope you have a lovely cruise. For real Tiki as in Hawaiian Heiau Images Kailua Kona is a great place. Ahu'ena Heiau (King Kamehameha's main temple) complete with recreated Tiki's is in front of the King Kamehameha Hotel right beside the pier. A little further along Ali'i Drive you run into the Place of Refuge where there are restored Tiki's in the heiau there as well as a wealth of Hawaiian culture. Well worth the visit. Up from Kona towards Waimea on the Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway theres a large heiau still standing. Look for the Highway signs. In Honolulu you have to travel out to Waianae for a Hawaiian Burial ground or up to the Aiea State Park for a heiau and a 4 mile loop trail through the Koolau mountains. Very nice hike.

Hope this helps,

Aloha Tulsatv,

I live on Oahu. When you visit Honolulu, don't miss LaMariana!!!! This is a tiki restaurant/bar. It has plenny artifacts from Don the beachcomber, Trader Vics, Tahitian Lanai and KonTiki. Give me an email and I can meet with u if u likes.

Also the Aloha stadium swapmeet in the 2nd hand section is a good place for tiki hunting. the main row which is up front has a lot of tourist stuff. The row behind it has good bargains. There's a guy name Mike back there with some old Trader vic plates/mugs and all kinds of goodeeez!

try the antique(sp?) stores around da island!! Last week I picked up a name plate which is on the back of peoples boat usually saying the owners name and the name of the boat. It was from Don the Beachcombers boat called "the Beachcomber" owned by Don Beach. If I knew how to post pictures I would show everyone.

Aloha
Gecko-

Besides the places already mentioned, in Hilo there is Uncle Billy's for tropical drinks in a Polynesian atmosphere. Take a stroll through the gardens in the hotel - there are a few somewhat rotting tikis. Not a must see, but a fun older place.

Old Hilo is a nice historic town relatively untouched by tourism. The neaby waterfalls and gardens are a highlight.

As stated before, the Place of Refuge south of Kailua Kona is well worth the drive and the snorkeling in the area is excellent. It's fascinating to see how tikis were used in the past (and still are) in a heiau (temple).

In Waikiki there is also Buzz's Steakhouse with its original polynesian decor. But it's not a must see like La Mariana. There are still some tikis on the grounds of the Hilton Hawaiian Village but the historic shell bar is a disappointment now. The small Hawaiiana Hotel in Waikiki has several tikis on the grounds. Then there is the Bishop Museum for the real thing.

I'm not familiar with Lahaina or Nawiliwili.

Bon Voyage!

Tulsa,
Here's a link to a thread about this very topic. Lots of cool info from other TC'ers trips to Hawaii:

https://tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=216&forum=1

Thanks for the tips, everyone...we'll use them! We plan to meet Gecko in Honolulu.

[ Edited by: tulsatv on 2002-11-14 17:52 ]