Compare Best of Hawaii Four Island Tour by YMT Vacations vs Hawaii: Ocean and Islands Adventure by Discover Corps

Day 1

Fly to Hawaii

Guests arriving in Honolulu who have made their flight arrangements with YMT Vacations will meet a YMT representative in the baggage claim area for a warm aloha welcome with a beautiful flower lei, and transfer to the hotel.

✦ Ohana Waikiki East, Waikiki

Day 2

Oahu

This morning meet your fellow travelers at the Guest Welcome meeting in the hotel. After the Guest Welcome, we take the included Pearl Harbor and Honolulu city tour. We head first to Pearl Harbor where we take a Navy launch out to the USS Arizona Memorial. You’ll have time to explore the visitor center, view the 23 minute film and view the exhibits in museums before we head off to see the sights of Honolulu. Set in a dormant volcano, we also visit Punchbowl Crater where we take a slow drive through the National Cemetery of the Pacific before continuing onto downtown Honolulu. Here you’ll see the State Capitol and Iolani Palace, which you may recognize as the Police HQ in the new Hawaii Five-0 TV show.

✦ Ohana Waikiki East, Waikiki

Day 3

Oahu

Leisure day – Enjoy another day in paradise from your centrally located Waikiki hotel, where you are perfectly positioned just a few minutes’ walk from famous Waikiki Beach and the shopping on Kalakaua Avenue. Over the next couple of days your Tour Director will be organizing a variety of optional tours throughout your stay and here on Oahu.

✦ Ohana Waikiki East, Waikiki

Day 4

Oahu

Leisure day – during your stay in Waikiki, why not visit the Hawaii Army Museum, a museum that tells the military story of Hawaii, from ancient times to the Gulf War and the War in Iraq? Admission is free.

✦ Ohana Waikiki East, Waikiki

Day 5

Kauai

This morning we fly to Kauai. This tropical island paradise is known as the “Garden Isle” because of its daily rainbows, lush forests, majestic mountains and emerald valleys. Upon arrival we visit the magnificent Opaekaa Falls before heading to the Wailua River Marina, from where we will take a leisurely boat cruise along the beautiful Wailua River to the amazingly tropical and romantic Fern Grotto.

✦ Hotel Aqua Kauai Shores

Day 6

Kauai

Leisure day – It’s no wonder that an impressive list of Hollywood productions have used this emerald island as a setting, including Jurassic Park, South Pacific, and Fantasy Island. Kauai is the oldest of the Hawaiian Islands and it is here that you will find tropical rain forests, forking rivers and cascading waterfalls.

✦ Hotel Aqua Kauai Shores

Day 7

Kauai

Leisure day – If ever there is a place to have an experience of a lifetime it’s here on Kauai! Take a spectacular optional helicopter sightseeing flight, where you’ll circle the entire island and see spectacular scenery, waterfalls and the stunning Napali coastline.

✦ Hotel Aqua Kauai Shores

Day 8

Maui

This morning we fly to the island of Maui where your sightseeing tour includes a visit to the stunning Iao Valley. We stop at the Iao Needle Lookout Trail, a paved loop trail through an ethnobotanical garden. You’ll also get the opportunity to explore the small town of Lahaina, the picturesque old whaling capital of the Pacific, which looks much today as it did at the turn of the century.

✦ Kaanapali Beach Hotel

Day 9

Maui

Leisure day - Kaanapali is one of the best beaches in Hawaii and between the months of December and April you’ll see whales swimming just offshore – an amazing sight.

✦ Kaanapali Beach Hotel

Day 10

Hawaii (Big Island)

This morning we fly to Hilo on the Island of Hawaii (the Big Island). Today we travel across the island on a full day tour from Hilo en route to Kona. First, we make two short stops at a Macadamia nut factory and an orchid nursery, both important exports from Hawaii, then we head off for one of the main highlights of the whole tour. Ascend the rugged countryside to Volcanoes National Park to see a real, smoking and steaming volcano as you look across the Kilauea Caldera. We also visit the Jaggar Museum and visitor center to learn all about the geology and history of the volcano. Next,  you’ll visit and walk through Thurston’s Lava Tube (involves steps and uneven ground). We then depart to Punaluu Black Sand Volcanic Beach and on to Kona.

✦ Courtyard by Marriott King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel

Day 11

Hawaii (Big Island)

Leisure day – nearing the end of your stay in Hawaii today, you can relax by the beach or stroll along the bay to explore the quaint waterfront old town of Kona.

✦ Courtyard by Marriott King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel

Day 12

Hawaii (Big Island)

Leisure day – enjoy the hotel amenities and relaxed pace of this town on your last full day.

✦ Courtyard by Marriott King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel

Day 13

Depart for Home

Transfer to Kona airport for your journey home. Please note: Due to the available flight times for the Mainland, and the time zone changes, guests should expect to arrive to their final destination the next day.

Note: If you are arranging your own flights to Hawaii, you must arrange your arrival flight to Honolulu airport and your departure flight from Kona airport on the island of Hawaii.

*or similar accommodations.

Please note that this is a proposed itinerary; the actual itinerary may vary due to season, special events, or weather. Because our tour arrangements are often made a year or more in advance, YMT Vacations reserves the right to alter the itinerary. Itinerary changes are made to improve your vacation experience, as well as respond to any unforeseen circumstances that mandate alterations. By their nature, all tour vacations involve a certain level of physical activity. While YMT tours have been designed with our guests in mind and are not physically demanding, this tour does include walking and periods of standing during the sightseeing visits. You will also encounter steps and some uneven ground along the way, particularly at older, historical sights.

Day 1: Arrive in Honolulu and Meet the Group

Meals: Dinner

Upon arrival in Hawaii’s capital, Honolulu, you’ll be be met at the airport and taken to your hotel just steps from the world famous Waikiki beaches. After a relaxing welcome dinner together, we’ll get to know one another and discuss the schedule for the week ahead.

Day 2: Journey to Oahu’s North Shore & Experience the Aloha Spirit

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

After breakfast, we’ll set out for Hawaii’s iconic North Shore, famous for its big waves and stunning landscapes. Spend the morning in the historic Waimea Valley with a local organization helping to preserve the valley’s cultural heritage and rainforests. Assist with a reforestation initiative, swim in waterfalls, and see why the ancient Hawaiians deemed the valley sacred centuries ago. In the afternoon, we’ll continue to Na Mea Kupono, an eco-farm that is home to Hawaii’s staple crop, taro. We’ll be hosted by this local family for a Hawaiin-style paina, or gathering, for our dinner as we learn more about their role in farming on the island.

Day 3: Climb Diamond Head & Sail out to Sea on a Catamaran

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Hawaii’s South Shore is crowned by the now extinct Diamond Head volcano. We’ll take a hike this morning to the top of the rim to get a panoramic view of Waikiki from above. For those who opt not to hike, we’ll have the option to visit the Bishop Museum, home of the royal Kamehameha family and now housing an array of artifacts covering Hawaii’s vast Polynesian heritage. After lunch in Waikiki, we’ll hit the sea on a catamaran ride over the turquoise Pacific waters.

Day 4: Fly to Maui & Explore the Tropical‘Iao Valley State Park

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

Enjoy a free morning to explore Waikiki. Head to the beach for a surf lesson with the Waikiki beach boys, check out the area’s cafes and shops or simply relax on white sand beaches only steps from your hotel. We’ll take a short mid-day flight across the Hawaiian archipelago to the Valley Isle of Maui. After landing, we’ll head over to the towering emerald peaks of the ‘Iao Valley on Central Maui for a guided hike of the state park. A location revered by the ancient Hawaiians, the valley also served as the site of one of Hawaii’s most important battles as King Kamehameha I tried to unite the islands in the 1700’s. Later in the evening, unwind at our Kaanapali beachfront hotel.

Day 5: Snorkel off Lana’i & Lend a Hand Protecting Sea Turtles

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

We’ll have an early breakfast before cruising to the scenic coastline of Lana'i island with the Pacific Whale Foundation. Spend the morning with breakfast on the boat (expect large boat with other travelers) and then 1.5 hours of snorkeling. Scout for wild dolphins, including acrobatic spinner dolphins, friendly bottlenose dolphins, and curious spotted dolphins. Conservationists from the Foundation will narrate your journey and take about everything from whale migration to plastics in the ocean to reef health.

We’ll return to Maui and, after lunch, spend our first afternoon volunteering alongside the Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute. Home to one of Hawaii’s largest sea turtle rescues and land based coral nurseries, we’ll join their staff on beach and marine debris cleanu , specifically collecting coral fragments. Take these pieces of coral back to the research center and aid in cutting them into smaller pieces to be grown at the center for a period of 8 months - something that would take the reef 20 years to regenerate! This coral is eventually placed back into the reef to bring back areas that are dead or dying.

Day 6: Maui Ocean Center Volunteering & Farewell Luau

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

After breakfast, we’ll spend another morning helping the conservation team at the Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute. On Maui and other Hawaiian islands, sea turtles are being threatened as their habitat is increasingly depleted. Green turtle populations are being impacted by events such as the 2018 hurricane that washed out the most important nesting beach for this species in the entire archipelago. We’ll continue to lend a hand on our projects while learning about some of the initiatives in place to preserve the fragile ecosystem both on land and underwater, including going out with the team to find turtles and tag them for research purposes.

Later in the afternoon, we’ll head back to the hotel where you’ll have some free time to enjoy the beach, swim in the ocean or venture into the coastal town of Lahaina. Tonight, we’ll enjoy a special farewell dinner together along with a traditional island luau.

Day 7: Depart Maui or Continue on for the Post-Trip Extension

Meals: Breakfast

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel and check-out of your rooms. The rest of the day is free to relax at the beach or explore nearby Lahaina until your flight home, or continue on to our optional post-trip extension along the gorgeous road to Hana.