Nothing But Blue Skies! :)
Written: Mar 06 '03 (Updated Jan 15 '05)
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Pros: Welcome Breakfast in Waikiki, Seemed to have the best prices
Cons: None that we found
The Bottom Line: I would highly recommend Blue Sky Tours to anyone planning a trip to Hawaii. I have nothing but positive things to say about them.
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| CntryShots's Full Review: Blue Sky Tours |
This was a family vacation for 4 adults from Kansas City to Honolulu, Hawaii and Kona, Hawaii.
I think my sister and I looked at nearly every tour company available when planning a trip to Hawaii. We had more brochures than we knew what to do with. The problem was that they all priced things different to keep you from directly comparing things. It’s enough to drive you insane!! We kept coming back to Blue Sky Tours and their prices. They seemed to be the best price-wise, and they also offered a “Welcome Breakfast” for the morning after you arrive in Waikiki. I didn’t see this with any other company. (More on this later) .
We were greeted at our gate, along with a few others on our flight, by Cousin Alex and Cousin Jesus. (Cousin is a term used to describe anyone over there. Because we both have the same Uncle Sam so we are all Cousins.) They guided us thru the Waikiki Airport, which was a VERY good thing!! Helped us get our bags, and took us out to a tour bus, loaded our bags, and we were off to our hotels. While waiting on the bus to arrive, Cousin Alex took a picture with our camera, sitting on a bench with tropical plants behind us and our lei's around our neck. Our first picture of paradise!
Each group was dropped off at their various hotels and Cousin Alex pointed out highlights of Honolulu along the way. When we got to our hotel, we presented our voucher from Blue Sky Tours to the Front Desk and we were given our room keys. That is the easiest Check-In I have ever had!! It was the same way at the hotel on The Big Island. (See my reviews of both The Waikiki Beachcomber and The Outrigger Waikaloa). The bellman brought our bags up, I was told that a tip of $1.00/bag was suggested. We changed from our icky airplane clothes, and headed off to find a beachfront restaurant for dinner and sunset on the beach in paradise. This made the 12 hour plane ride worth it and we saw the best sunset of the whole 10 days that nite.
Welcome Breakfast
This breakfast is to give you some tips about Hawaii, and also to sell you some tour packages. Now, don’t turn up your nose just yet. You ARE NOT required to buy anything. They serve you a light breakfast, and at ours, a dancer came out to do some dances that are performed at a Luau. The woman serving as the MC kept things moving and entertained us. Some of the things that have stuck in my head: “In Hawaii, we don’t eat till we’re full, we eat till we’re tired!” She also advised us “Don’t go to the pool where you swim around, and around, and around. You can do that anywhere! You are in Hawaii, go to the beach, swim in the OCEAN that you see from the hotel!”
We got a sheet with a choice of 12 activities from luaus or snorkeling to 1 day tours of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, or Kauai. They rundown the prices and help you plan your schedule out. This sounds like a timeshare, but it is a HUGE timesaver. You aren’t required to buy anything, but this is how the MC put it. “You go out and get all the brochures you can find, take them back to the room and spread them out on the bed. Then someone asks, ‘What do you wanna do?’ ‘I dunno, what do you wanna do?’ ‘I dunno. Let’s go eat.’ That gets you no where people!” You can plan your whole stay that morning, pay for it, get vouchers for everything, and write down you schedule. We even purchased tickets for a helicopter tour on the Big Island later in our trip.
After seeing all the streetside vendors selling the same stuff, I was relieved to buy it somewhere that I knew was a real thing, not a scam. Every single event we purchased included transportation To/From the event. The Denny’s next to the Miramar hotel is where everyone meets to catch the tour bus from Roberts Hawaii. (Review in the works once Epinions gets them as an option) This was about a block and a half from our hotel. You get very used to walking everywhere in Waikiki. Distances you wouldn’t walk at home are, strangely, no big deal here. You really DON'T need a rental car on Oahu. Between the bus system, taxis and included transportation, you are more than covered. Then you can enjoy looking around, and not worry about how to get there!
After this is finished you can take a tour of the Maui Divers Design Center if you like.(Also waiting on Epinons to have a spot for this review) They bus you over there, you will appreciate this after a couple of trips thru the streets, I thought the lanes were really narrow and I would have been nervous driving here. The Maui Divers Design Center is interesting, but takes a couple of hours, so plan accordingly. The tour ends in the showroom and they want you to buy there, but Maui Divers has booths/stores everywhere, and you can always come back to the Design Center.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Tour type: Individual
Tour format: Various
Tour length: Over a Week
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Epinions.com ID:
CntryShots
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Reviews written: 28
Trusted by: 9 members
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