Hawaii
Best of Hawaii: Oahu, Big Island and Maui
Program No. 21586RJ
Join locals to explore Hawaii with an insider’s perspective, learning about unique island ecosystems, exploring Volcanoes National Park and snorkeling along colorful reefs in Lanai!
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Protecting the Environment
We offset a portion of the emissions created by your travel. Learn more
9 days
8 nights
18 meals
8B 4L 6D
1
Check-in, Registration, Welcome Dinner, Introductions
Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii
2
Orientation, Pearl Harbor, Cultural Performance
Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii
3
Hawaiian Cultural Overview,Traditional Agriculture Practices
Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii
4
Fly to Hilo, Rainbow Falls, Geological Formation Lecture
Hilo, Big Island of Hawaii
5
Imiloa Astronomy Center, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Hilo, Big Island of Hawaii
6
Fly to Maui, Pineapple Farm, Iao Valley
Kaanapali, HI (Island of Maui)
7
Marine Life Lecture, Free Time, Luau Performance
Kaanapali, HI (Island of Maui)
8
Lanai Snorkel, Free Time, Farewell Dinner
Kaanapali, HI (Island of Maui)
9
Program Concludes
Kaanapali, HI (Island of Maui)
At a Glance
Be immersed in the natural wonders, culture and history of America’s paradise — Hawaii! On this three-island adventure that begins on Oahu, journey along the breathtaking East Coast to marvel in the iconic natural beauty of Diamond Head and Hanauma Bay. Experience Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii, and cap off your learning adventure on Maui exploring a working pineapple farm and snorkeling its pristine waters.
Activity Level
Keep the Pace
Walking 1-2 miles daily.
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.
Best of all, you’ll…
- Learn about environmental projects at a historic fish pond and nonprofit community organizations on the east coast of Oahu.
- Visit the home of the sporadically active Kilauea volcano!
- Snorkel along the dazzling coral reef in Lanai.
Featured Expert
All trip experts
Steve Kooiman
Steven served in the U.S. Navy for 24 years and has visited many World War II battle sites. He moved to Hawaii in 1983 and has called it home ever since. An avid WWII history buff, Steven served as an instructor on the battleship Missouri. He eventually became the education manager, and enjoys teaching new staff members and students of all ages. Steve has had the honor of working at the USS Arizona memorial and leading groups at Pearl Harbor.
Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Steve Kooiman
View biography
Steven served in the U.S. Navy for 24 years and has visited many World War II battle sites. He moved to Hawaii in 1983 and has called it home ever since. An avid WWII history buff, Steven served as an instructor on the battleship Missouri. He eventually became the education manager, and enjoys teaching new staff members and students of all ages. Steve has had the honor of working at the USS Arizona memorial and leading groups at Pearl Harbor.
Andrew A Lockwood
View biography
Andrew Lockwood is the President of Pacific Islands Institute, an educational travel company specializing in cultural and eco-experiences throughout Hawaii and the Pacific and has a great appreciation for the life-changing impact of global travel. He has been creating and coordinating Road Scholar programs since 1992 and carrying luggage for Elderhostel participants as a high school student in the early 1980s when his mother was the Hawaii Loa College Elderhostel Director. Andrew is an involved husband and parent of three children.
Suggested Reading List
(29 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Best of Hawaii: Oahu, Big Island and Maui
Program Number: 21586
Plague And Fire, Battling Black Death And the 1900 Burning of Honolulu's Chinatown
Mohr relates the gripping tale of the bubonic plague that reached Hawaii's shores just as the islands were about to become a U.S. territory through the eyes of the people caught up in the vast conflagration that engulfed Honolulu's Chinatown.
A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific
This landmark field guide with chapters on the islands and habitats features superb color plates by Pratt and a checklist of birds.
Born in Paradise
The autobiographical tale of childhood on a Maui ranch in the early part of this century. A classic account of old Hawaii, warm-spirited and evocative.
Pearl Harbor Ghosts, The Legacy of December 7, 1941
A well-researched and evocative look at the bombing of Pearl Harbor by a veteran travel writer. Clarke compares and contrasts the social life and culture of Hawaii on the day of the bombing and sixty years later, enumerating the changes wrought by WWII.
Oahu Revealed
Candid, comprehensive and well illustrated, this up-to-date local guide covers the nature and culture of the island as well as adventures and activities.
Hawaiian Islands Map
A map of all the individual Hawaiian Islands, including maps of O'ahu, Kaua'i, Maui, Moloka'i and Lana'i at 1:150,000 and of Hawai'i at 1:330,000. Includes an inset map of Waikiki.
Paradise Remade, The Politics of Culture and History in Hawaii
By focusing on the experience of the indigenous people of Hawaii rather than on that of their colonizers, Buck considers the transformation of Hawaiian culture over the past 200 years.
Aloha Betrayed
Silva draws on newspapers, books, letters and contemporary accounts in Hawaiian for this eye-opening account of popular resistance to the annexation of Hawaii by the United States.
Hawaii, Islands Under the Influence
A history of economic development in the islands from sandalwood and whaling to sugar, tourism and Japanese investment in the 1980s.
Unfamiliar Fishes
Tracking the Americanization of Hawaii from the arrival of the first missionaries in 1820 to the annexation in 1898 (Queen Liliuokalani was in Washington lobbying to save her nation during the McKinley inauguration), Vowell shows the complex interplay of god, business and tradition with her usual acerbic wit (and research).
Moloka'i
Set in Hawaii more than a century ago, Brennert's richly imagined novel of seven-year-old Rachel Kalama -- full of tales of stories of old Hawaii -- draws on historical accounts of Kalaupapa, the isolated leper colony on the island of Moloka'I.
Lost Kingdom
Royalty and rogues, sugar barons, politicians and missionaries all figure in Siler's riveting tale of Liliuokalani, the last queen of Hawaii.
The Food of Paradise, Exploring Hawaii's Culinary Heritage
Laudan takes readers on a thoughtful, wide-ranging tour of Hawaii's farms and gardens, fish auctions and vegetable markets, fairs and carnivals, mom-and-pop stores and lunch wagons to uncover the delightful complexities and incongruities in Hawaii's culinary history. With 150 recipes.
From a Native Daughter, Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawaii
Trask, a descendant of the Pi'ilani line of Maui and the Kahakumakaliua line of Kauai, explores issues of racism and imperialism in Hawaii, documenting the work of native Hawaiian student organizations and the native Hawaiian self-governing organization Ka Lahuni Hawaii.
Travelers' Tales Hawai'i True Stories
This terrific anthology includes contributions on the history, culture and nature of Hawaii by an impressive group of writers, including Paul Theroux, John McPhee and Maxine Hong Kingston.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
This handy map, with trails and visitor information, includes the entire park area.
Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands
A vivid, scholarly history of Hawaii, from Cook's first visit to the islands in 1778 through statehood. A classic, well-told history, first published in 1968.
Hotel Honolulu
This hilarious sendup of ex-pats and their ilk, drawing on Theroux's time in the islands, where he has a home, features a full cast of eccentrics who reside in and visit a fleabag hotel on the coast of Oahu.
The Island Edge of America, A Political History of Hawaii
Journalist Tom Coffman brings Hawaii's story into the twentieth century through this reinterpretation of major events leading up to and following statehood in 1959.
Hawaii Wildlife
A fold-up, laminated card featuring color drawings and short descriptions of commonly encountered birds, mammals and other critters of Hawaii.
Hawaii
A romantic, fictional overview of the islands' history, people and culture from prehistoric times to statehood in 1959.
Shore Fishes of Hawaii
A pocket field guide to all the reef fishes that a casual snorkeler or diver is likely to see.
Mark Twain's Letters from Hawaii
These observant and often wildly hilarious letters from an 1866 trip display Twain's famous wit.
Hawaii, Travellers' Wildlife Guides
This all-around field guide features color illustrations of commonly encountered birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish with notes on Hawaii's geology and popular parks and reserves.
Captive Paradise, A History of Hawaii
A fascinating history of America’s youngest (and, arguably, most unique) state. Historian and biographer James Haley charts Hawaii’s epic journey from kingdom to statehood with authority.
Dismembering Lahui, A History of the Hawaiian Nation to 1887
Osorio charts the effects of Western law on the national identity of Native Hawaiians in this political history of the Kingdom of Hawaii from the onset of constitutional government in 1840 to the Bayonet Constitution of 1887.
Eyewitness Guide Hawaii
An on-the-ground guide to the Hawaiian Islands -- handsome, comprehensive and superb.
Nation Within, The History of the American Occupation of Hawai'i
Coffman follows the rising tensions between the U.S. and the once-independent Hawaii through the late 19th century, documenting how the native population resisted annexation.
Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen
A poignant plea for sovereignty. Queen Liliuokalani, deposed by the United States in 1893, tells the story of her islands.