Just ran the 2012 Xterra Trail World Championship on Sunday, 12/2/2012. Had I known that this trail…read morerace was as amazing and scenic, as well as hardcore, I would have probably said no. Then again, with my extensive marathon resume and my curiosity for adventure and just for something to do on a Sunday, I signed up for this race in mid October not knowing what to really expect. At least it was a half marathon I told myself. 13.1 miles of rugged terrain in the lush valleys of Kualoa Ranch on the island of Oahu, a place where I haven't ever been, except passing by on Kamehameha Hwy on the way north to Laie and Polynesian Cultural Center. It was the first time running this race and my first trail experience in Hawaii. After tackling a 50K trail in Colorado in September (Bear Chase 50K in Lakewood, CO), I kind of knew what I was getting into. Well, not so much after all, it seemed. Maybe I probably should have known better, but surprises were out there for us all on the course. I didn't want to pay $25 for the private shuttle that the race provided, which was basically a rented yellow school bus. They shuttled runners from Waikiki to the race start at the backside of Kualoa Ranch. I got here by city bus, which is really affordable if you just plan ahead. The Xterra World Championship boasts the 21K / Half Marathon as its marquee event, attracting some of the most finest trail runner elites from all parts of the country. They also have a 10K, 5K, and an adventure walk that attracts anyone and everyone to Kualoa Ranch for an epic Sunday. Race registration hovers from $40-$55, so if you want the challenge, might as well register early. I held out and had to pony up for the later fee. It's bittersweet that I have signed up for this race, since the course was just as brutal as the majestic scenery that was the Koolau Mountains that surrounded Kualoa Ranch. It was great that I can notch another half marathon to my list of races, but at the cost of having virtually no trail experience whatsoever and my body and legs are telling me so. The course was basically mostly uphill and the first mile ascended like a bat out of hell and it didn't really flatten out till those grassy downhills at mile 2. There were some reprieve in the course where it kinda did flatten to moderate downhill, which was miles 5-7, but that was it. We climbed back up at mile 8 and snaked through the back of Kualoa Ranch. The biggest surprise was the massive hill at mile 10 and the rugged tippy toe über crazy down hill that you could not even really run, due to it being so crazy you may fall and roll off into the ravine. This part scared me, but I managed to get down one way or another and those ropes helped a lot! It helps also that Xterra allows everyone in, not just elites, so I could have help on the course, if I needed it. The last. 2.5 miles snaked around miles 3-5 of the course and it was a soft downhill to the finish line. Never in my life that I experienced something so powerful and epic that I would consider something like that next year. Maybe maybe not. Thanks to Xterra for keeping the finish line open for the last finisher. Met new friends and 2 yelpers that morning too. It was awesome to see Yelper Zar N. running the 10K and meeting Yelper Chris P. from Kapolei. Big thanks to Chris P. and her husband whom gave me a ride back to UH from Kualoa Ranch that afternoon. I thought of DNF when I came across that tiptoe section of mile 10-ish and I just wanted to cry. Knowing that I paid money for this made me realize that I can do this if I just break it all down and take each step one step at a time. The finish time didn't matter that day. What mattered was that I completed the course and survived. Run more! B+

Not a runner at all, but saw that they offered the option to walk the 5k or even just take an…read moreadventure tour, I signed up the hubs and daughter just so we could check out the trails that aren't open to the public. Big props to the race organizers for making everything so easy, from picking up the packet in Waikiki to finding parking on the day of the race! My daughter wasn't happy about waking up so early to get to Kualoa Ranch, but once we got on the trail with the magnificent landscape and cool movie set locations, she was smiling from ear to ear. The Boneyard, with huge skeletons of a triceratops and ape skull, will definitely cut into your race times because you'll want to stop to take pictures! The 5k trail can be a little demanding on the uphill sections but those are few and far between - you'll have enough time to catch your breath and enjoy the scenery. I saw several racers with babies on their backs and little ones in tow, so you can definitely do this with kids. Highly recommend this race - great activity if you've got guests on island at the time!

We were looking for something fun to do with our daughter on the long Labor Day weekend especially…read morebecause we rarely get weekends off together, so we wanted to make it as special as possible. She loves the idea of escape rooms, but panics when we're in them LOL! I scoured the internet for something we haven't done before and all the escape rooms were either too pricey, wouldn't explain how to escape when we inevitably didn't breakout, or didn't have private escape rooms. Then Google suggested Scaventours which in all my days of searching never appeared! Scaventours is on the ground floor of Marriot Waikiki. Opposite side of the hotel from the Valet. The side with the tour bus pickup. The sign says they're open daily from 9-7 I believe, but you can look up the games and book online. We booked our game morning of and all went well. There's no parking, so we parked at the Zoo like they suggested. We parked at the back half of the zoo (Mauka side) and just followed that road straight pass Denny's. That path lead us straight to the correct hotel entrance to find Scaventours easily. ALSO, the Zoo Parking wasn't taking debit cards and my husband only had a $10. He paid for 2 hours but the machine didn't give change so we got ripped. Be aware of that when parking there. After reading up on the games, I decided we would do Kanaloa's Curse. A scavenger hunt that stayed INSIDE the hotel with various puzzles fit for ages 6-11 even though some of them had me stumped. I appreciate that the game isn't timed and that there was an option to stay inside the hotel because I'm not trying to take my 7yo scavenger hunting on the streets of Waiks. It was super reasonably priced at $23 for my husband and I and $14 for my daughter. We were given the map and a clipboard of puzzles, complimentary pens and candy and we were off. The hunt took us through the ground floor of the hotel finding different things and solving puzzles. It took us just about an hour with my 7yo finding everything and doing every puzzle, so it was PERFECT for her!! At the end, we returned to the store, unlocked the treasure, she got some prizes, and we took photos with the mascot raccoon statue. She was immediately begging to do the rest of the hunts. Successful find both Scaventours and the actual scaventour!!!!

This was so fun!! A nice way to experience Waikīkī and play a game at the same time. The owner was…read moreso nice and helpful as well. Would do it again!

Loved the SUNSET horseback ride! The horses are friendly and easy to ride. The trainers teach you…read morehow to ride them too. The VIEWS are EXTRAORDINARY! Lots of amazing pictures you can take. Hold your phone as tight as possible lol. In the middle of our ride, our guide took a moment to stop and use our phone to take pictures of us!

Did a stable visit and ride and had a great time. The staff here are great, they clearly love what…read morethey do and it shows. They made sure to keep everyone engaged, comfortable, and in good spirits. Plus you can't beat the location and scenery! Check it out.

Indoor rock climbing for youngins and adults…read more Complete and sign an online waiver form per person in advance. Dress comfortable, wear socks, and bring hydration flask. Street parking only on Uke'e St or surrounding area in Waipio Gentry. Rental shoes and chalk are available. Visit their website for deets. Staff will provide verbal and safety instructions, guidance, and tips. There's a yoga room, restroom, and mezzanine upstairs with posted rules. There's a refillable hydration station, cubbies to place your belongings and footwear downstairs. There are ceiling fans running to stay cool. My son definitely enjoyed rock climbing, explored various levels, and had fun with his friends! If there's a will, there's a way. Huge gratitude to the staff and everyone who made it a memorable experience!

I came here as a visitor. So this review may not be a fair one. This gym maybe a good option to…read morestay active and get some exercise. They offer discounted membership just like any other gym. I just sat here to watch my daughter climb. You will get some chalk dust fly to your clothes and will smell some sweat of hard, working, climbers. Rock climbing seems to be pretty popular among Gen Z.

There was one lady there that seemed like she didn't care about the horses and was super rude to…read moreme. I was asking for advice to not hurt the horse while mounting. She then raised her voice at me and told me if I feel bad for the horse, she is going to "put" me on a different horse if I keep saying things like that. Below is a video attached of this incident. She knew I connected with the horse earlier and that I genuinely wanted to ride him. I felt threatened when I expressed my concern about hurting him.. I live on the island and I would never recommend this place to any of my friends or family based on how she made us feel. Everyone else at the stables was very nice. I honestly feel bad because my friend also heard her barking orders at her co workers in a very rude manner. She also felt uncomfortable.

This is a highly recommended activity if you are staying at Turtle Bay. They go out of their way to…read moremake sure that you have a great experience. Great location of course and we had an awesome visit and ride and will do it again the next time we are here.

What a great Sunday morning run! I wasn't excited about waking up at 4:30 in the morning to make…read moresure we could get parking and jump on the bus, but everything went very smoothly when we arrived. Parking was full in the Park 'N Ride by the time we got there at 5:20, but there was still plenty of parking at Costco. The bus line in the Park 'N Ride was very organized. There were plenty of buses and we only had to wait a couple minutes before boarding. After a short ride to the start line, we met up with our friendly Yelp group members. It was great for us to meet some new Yelp folks and snap a few photos as the sun started to rise. (We missed you, Victoria and Mel!) The sound system was pretty good considering how strong the wind was in the early morning. The race organizers gave some announcements, welcomed us with an oli, and made sure everyone was arranged prior to the start of the race. They reminded everyone that walkers should be in the back, which made for a pretty smooth start once they blew the starting shell. The route was clearly marked and coned off. I loved that they had nice mile markers every half mile for the race, as well as informational signs about important landmarks along the way. The water and juice station was organized, although it would have been helpful to have another rubbish bin if possible. The end of the race was very organized. They called out the names of runners as we crossed and had alsoplenty of hydration and fruits. (The cane water was so good!) The military and service flags at the finish line were a lovely touch, too. They also recycled our timing chips for us. The view was beautiful along the way and I really enjoyed the race, even if that heartbreak hill gave me quite a challenge.

Today's walk turned out to be better than expected with the threat of rain and dark clouds on the…read morehorizon. It turned out to be a cool and breezy walk the whole way. This year they were a little more organized than last year by letting the runners in the road first and then the walkers. Last year, a lot of pissed off runners because everyone was let on the road at the same time thus leaving the runners to zigzag between walkers. This is a fairly easy walk with the exception of the leans in the road is what really gets to me. That would be my only complaint. I did notice they opened up the walkway a bit wider at the bottom of the hill. I would assume they knew they were expecting a bigger crowd and needed to accommodate as much as possible and it was a bigger crowd. I did manage to worst my best time walking by nine minutes. I don't know how that happened because I didn't take pictures along the way. Might have been from Sophie stopping to tie her shoe laces or the Island Princess caramel popcorn the night before. Regardless of the outcome, it was still fun as hell. Lots of water, apple juice, watermelon, bananas tangerines and vanilla wafers to refresh and bring your sugar back up near the Halau. We parked at the bay nearest the bathroom so it wasn't that much if a walk back to the truck after the finish line. Definitely looking forwards to doing this again next year.

Tiare is an A+ horseback riding instructor with tons of experience in many riding disciplines and…read moreespecially polo. They also have great horse trainers! The facility is ocean front and also offers a few coveted spaces for horse boarding which is great because you can go on a stroll afterwards and get gorgeous ocean views and sunsets after your riding lessons. They take students of all ages and experience but want you to be serious about riding. Total plus is that it's in Waialua so you get to avoid traffic any day of the week and you get that horsey community country feel. It's like taking a vacation to the Big Island for the day. Only thing is they have limited space.

yasssss delicious. had the acai bowl and the side salad. bowl was incredible, I'll dream of that…read moremac nut graham crumble. also will be ordering their caramel and skincare online!!!

For years, I have told my friends and coworkers about how amazing the Hapalua is, so when one of my…read morecolleagues asked if I wanted to participate with her, I knew I would regret it if I didn't go! Since we were just planning to walk, I set up an 8-week training regiment to prepare for the day and jumped on a plane with her a couple days before the race! Packet pickup was pretty easy, although it was moved from the Convention Center to the Blaisdell, which meant paid parking was needed. Some of the vendors were incredibly pushy this year, but everything else went smoothly. The Hapalua's partnership with the Outrigger Hotels made it easy to be close to the starting line. The morning of the race, we walked to our section in the back and waited with anticipation for the signal to begin. Although intense storms were expected, we lucked out and barely even faced a drizzle during mile 9. There were plenty of hydration and medical stops along the way, and many people came out to cheer on the racers from Waikiki to Kaka'ako. Everyone was so kind, supportive, and joyful--just like I remembered from my previous Hapalua races. Of course, everyone looks forward to the snacks at the end, especially those fresh malasadas. (It's amazing how motivating those beautiful sugar crystals are when your legs are screaming at you!) We happily enjoyed our treats as we walked back to the hotel with our medals. I don't know the next time I'll be able to participate in the Hapalua, but I'll gladly give up my precious vacation days the next time I'm invited to go!

Race organizers do not communicate well and do not respond or call back to your inquiries. This…read morecomment is not on the race itself or the experience. The course has always been fun.