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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 colorful reefs in Lanai!

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Protecting the Environment

We offset a portion of the emissions created by your travel. Learn more

Prefer to enroll or inquire by phone? 800-454-5768
Select your type of room
Price will update based on selection
Prices displayed below are based on per person,doubleoccupancy.

DATES & PRICES

Standard View Upgraded View
Feb 10 - Feb 18, 2024
Standard View 5,349
Upgraded View 5,749
Feb 24 - Mar 3, 2024
Standard View 5,349
Upgraded View 5,749
Mar 9 - Mar 17, 2024
Standard View 5,349
Upgraded View 5,749
Mar 23 - Mar 31, 2024
Standard View 5,349
Upgraded View 5,749
Apr 20 - Apr 28, 2024
Standard View 5,249
Upgraded View 5,649
Sep 7 - Sep 15, 2024
Standard View 5,249
Upgraded View 5,649
Oct 19 - Oct 27, 2024
Standard View 5,249
Upgraded View 5,649
Jan 11 - Jan 19, 2025
Standard View 5,749
Upgraded View 6,199
Feb 8 - Feb 16, 2025
Standard View 5,749
Upgraded View 6,199
Feb 22 - Mar 2, 2025
Standard View 5,749
Upgraded View 6,199
Mar 8 - Mar 16, 2025
Standard View 5,749
Upgraded View 6,199
Apr 19 - Apr 27, 2025
Standard View 5,699
Upgraded View 6,099
Sep 6 - Sep 14, 2025
Standard View 5,699
Upgraded View 6,099
Oct 18 - Oct 26, 2025
Standard View 5,699
Upgraded View 6,099
Nov 8 - Nov 16, 2025
Standard View 5,749
Upgraded View 6,199

DATES & PRICES

Standard View Upgraded View
Filling Fast!
Feb 10 - Feb 18, 2024
Standard View 6,569
Upgraded View 7,329
Feb 24 - Mar 3, 2024
Standard View 6,569
Upgraded View 7,329
Filling Fast!
Mar 9 - Mar 17, 2024
Standard View 6,569
Upgraded View 7,329
Mar 23 - Mar 31, 2024
Standard View 6,569
Upgraded View 7,329
Filling Fast!
Apr 20 - Apr 28, 2024
Standard View 6,399
Upgraded View 7,159
Filling Fast!
Sep 7 - Sep 15, 2024
Standard View 6,399
Upgraded View 7,159
Filling Fast!
Oct 19 - Oct 27, 2024
Standard View 6,399
Upgraded View 7,159
Jan 11 - Jan 19, 2025
Standard View 7,079
Upgraded View 7,889
Feb 8 - Feb 16, 2025
Standard View 7,079
Upgraded View 7,889
Feb 22 - Mar 2, 2025
Standard View 7,079
Upgraded View 7,889
Mar 8 - Mar 16, 2025
Standard View 7,079
Upgraded View 7,889
Apr 19 - Apr 27, 2025
Standard View 6,969
Upgraded View 7,729
Sep 6 - Sep 14, 2025
Standard View 6,969
Upgraded View 7,729
Oct 18 - Oct 26, 2025
Standard View 6,969
Upgraded View 7,729
Nov 8 - Nov 16, 2025
Standard View 7,079
Upgraded View 7,889

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. Program logistics and flow are subject to change at short notice due to current local conditions and Covid19 Safety protocols. Your Group Leader will inform you of any adjustments along the way.
Small Group
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 non-profit community organizations on the east coast of Oahu.
  • Visit the home of the active Kilauea volcano!
  • Snorkel along the dazzling coral reef in Lanai.
Featured Expert
All Experts
Profile Image
Andrew A Lockwood
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.

Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.

Profile Image of Andrew Lockwood
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.
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.
Lost Kingdom
by Julia Flynn Siler
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
by Rachel Laudan
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.
Travelers' Tales Hawai'i True Stories
by Rick Carroll (Editor)
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.
Plague And Fire, Battling Black Death And the 1900 Burning of Honolulu's Chinatown
by James C. Mohr
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.
The Island Edge of America, A Political History of Hawaii
by Tom Coffman
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
by James Michener
A romantic, fictional overview of the islands' history, people and culture from prehistoric times to statehood in 1959.
Hawaii, Travellers' Wildlife Guides
by Les Beletsky
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.
Unfamiliar Fishes
by Sarah Vowell
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).
Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands
by Gavan Daws
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.
Nation Within, The History of the American Occupation of Hawai'i
by Tom Coffman
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, Islands Under the Influence
by Noel J. Kent
A history of economic development in the islands from sandalwood and whaling to sugar, tourism and Japanese investment in the 1980s.
Hotel Honolulu
by Paul Theroux
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.
Paradise Remade, The Politics of Culture and History in Hawaii
by Elizabeth Bentzel Buck
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.
Eyewitness Guide Hawaii
by Eyewitness Guides
An on-the-ground guide to the Hawaiian Islands -- handsome, comprehensive and superb.
Captive Paradise, A History of Hawaii
by James L. Haley
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.
Born in Paradise
by Armine von Tempski
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.
Mark Twain's Letters from Hawaii
by Mark Twain
These observant and often wildly hilarious letters from an 1866 trip display Twain's famous wit.
Shore Fishes of Hawaii
by John Randall
A pocket field guide to all the reef fishes that a casual snorkeler or diver is likely to see.
Moloka'i
by Alan Brennert
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.
A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific
by H. Douglas Pratt
This landmark field guide with chapters on the islands and habitats features superb color plates by Pratt and a checklist of birds.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
by Trails Illustrated
This handy map, with trails and visitor information, includes the entire park area.
Aloha Betrayed
by Noenoe K. Silva
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 Wildlife
by James Kavanagh
A fold-up, laminated card featuring color drawings and short descriptions of commonly encountered birds, mammals and other critters of Hawaii.
Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen
by Liliuokalani
A poignant plea for sovereignty. Queen Liliuokalani, deposed by the United States in 1893, tells the story of her islands.
Oahu Revealed
by Andrew Doughty
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.
Pearl Harbor Ghosts, The Legacy of December 7, 1941
by Thurston Clarke
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.
Hawaiian Islands Map
by Nelles
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.
Dismembering Lahui, A History of the Hawaiian Nation to 1887
by Jon Kamakawiwoole Osorio
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.
From a Native Daughter, Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawaii
by Haunani-Kay Trask
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.





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