I found Overman Hawaii International on the internet when I googles in "all inclusive hawaiian vacations" We wanted to go on a trip with less hassle and so we thought that an all inclusive should be the thing to do. I spoke with Wayne, the owner of Overman Hawaii International on several occasions. We went ahead and booked with putting a down payment of a couple thousand dollars. We would then be making payments every month of $500.00. We had until February to pay it off. Which I did.
Our set time of vacation was set for May 15th, 2010. However, come the end of February, my husbands R&R got pushed ahead by a week. So we had to rearrange our trip to go May 9th, 2010. I called Delta airlines to see if they can help me out and they were so kind as to waive ALL the fees that would occur under normal circumstances. BUT, when I call the travel agency, they wanted to charge me $150.00 per person. I got really upset and told him, it was not my fault, it was the Military's fault. Well, he finally brought the charges down to $50.00/per person. Which I thought was ridiculous as well. But we paid it.
I arrived in Hawaii the night of May 9th. I had a lot of luggage and was very tired. Was suppose to have a greater. No greater. I had to keep calling them. Then, he was unable to help me to the shuttle because he had bad knees. So, here I am trying to get to the shuttle. THEN, I find out that the shuttle tip was NOT included.
Our adventures started the 3rd day after we arrived. We had a really great time.
Visit to Kauai - Our visit to Kauai was awesome. We were picked up down the street from our hotel, where others were also picked up. We were escorted to the Airport and transported by airplane to the island of Kauai. We then got on a tour bus and we were off for our adventure for the day. We were on this adventure all day. We got to see the ocean, beautiful rainforest with trees that seemed to be higher than the eye could see. Water falls that brought fresh water with a sound so peaceful. The sites we seen were unbelieveble. It was like paradise. We also did some shopping as well during our stops.
Visit to Maui - We went on the Road to Hana Nature Safari package. We were picked up by the shuttle and escorted to the airport. Flown to Maui where we then got a tour guide from hell. Not that she was mean, but by the time we were done with our tour, which was a full day, we knew everything about her life. She did not do much of telling about the island. So, my friends, If you go to Maui and take a tour with Robert Hawaii, make sure you don't get Peggy Sue as your driver. There was a lady on our tour that wanted to relocate to Hawaii and the tour guide put her down and told her, she would never make it as a massage therapist in Hawaii, that there was too much competition for her. We did manage to get through the day with see some really great sites. Among the many sites that we visited was Wai Kani Falls, Wailua Falls, got to adventure into trees that had roots that seemed to intwine together to make a bridge over you. We got to see black sand beaches and many other beautiful wonders of Hawaii. We got to do a little shopping and even got a coconut from a tree for myself still in it's husk.
Visit to the Big Island - Again, we were picked up by the shuttle,escorted to the airport and flown to the Big Island. We did some shopping as well there. Got to visit a nice coffee plantation. They let us pick some coffee beans from the bushes and taste test coffee. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable. I never knew before, but Hawaii doesn't have any preditors. They have no wolves, no snakes, no lions, tigers or bears...oh my! They do have wild cow, wild hogs and mongoose. Which was initially brought over to kill the rats, but they found out quickly that the rat sleeps in the day the mongoose sleeps in the night. So that left them with the over population of rats and mongoose.
We stayed on Ohau in Ohana West Hotel. Since my husband was a deployed soldier, they upgraded our standard room to the next level up and put us on the 14th floor with an ocean view. It was nice, but loud at night. I did however bring my ear plugs and that helped.
We ate at Dukes Canoe Club Restaurant several times. Located right on the beach. We had breakfast, lunch and dinner there. Breakfast and lunch we ate the buffet. Dukes has really good food. When in Ohau, you must visit Dukes. If you want a table up close to the front, ask them for a table with a view.
A couple things we got to do that we liked the most are:
Scuba Diving which we went with Aaron's Dive Shop. The staff there were great. Very professional and organized. We dove down to 40feet. The water was so clear. We seen so many different kind of fish and a hugh turtle. Thank goodness no sharks.
We had a full day at Kualoa Ranch, which included horse back riding, Movie Site and Ranch Tour, Movie Site and Ranch Tour & Ranch Tour by All Terrain Vehicle (ATV). The best of the 4 was the ATV riding.
We got to go snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. It's definitely a tropical paradise. We swam with the most beautiful and colorful fish. We were told we had to bring $7.50 for admission, which was a little upsetting, considering that it's suppose to be an all inclusive vacation. But, since we are military, we got in free, so that put me at ease.
Another restuarant we ate at was, Cheese Burger Paradise. Now, if you love Cheese Burgers, french fries and onion rings, then this is the place to go. I don't eat any of that food. I did get to order a Garden Burger and had a salad.
I did have to call on most of the excursions for time and location of pick up. The locations that Overmen put were mostly wrong. I was also told first that the tour guides tip was NOT included, then I was told they were. I feel that the travel agent should ask the client what kind of food they eat before picking restaurants and if we did not have the extra days that we did not include in the price/package, we would have had about 5 Restaurant Vouchers that we would not have been able to use. And that my friends are expensive. Just for the Cheese Burger Paradise, the bill came to $49.00 and some change. So, the agent lost points for that as well. I feel that better comunication should be exercised and it would have been nice if they would have waived the fees for us, knowing it was not our fault but the Militaries. I mean, if Delta Airlines could waive them, why couldn't they. He just said, "sorry, but it's in the contract"
Over all, our vacation which lasted 2weeks and 4days, was a fantastic vaction. If you want to schedule your next vacation package, go to Robert's Hawaii or to Hawaiian ActivitiesThere you will find all your activities to schedule yourself and save a bundle. I know I will next time for sure. It's all about "Communication and Customer Service"
Aloha my friends!
