Going on a family trip to Oahu in a few weeks and I'll be taking an 8'0 SUP. Any advice on the following:
-getting my SUP from airport to Waikiki. I arrive at 6am.will there be plenty of taxi's with roof racks? It's Hawaii so I'm assuming they're used to carting around big surf equipment
-I'll be staying at turtle bay for 1 week. As well as the RH point by the resort, any other waves nearby excluding pipe/waimea/sunset etc as I'm not Laird.
id be open to hiring a surf guide.
cheers
I see boards on the top of rental cars, but not on top of cabs. I would pack straps (not necessarily a soft rack) in case you cannot (1) find a van taxi large enough to accommodate your board on the inside; and/or (2) cannot convince the cabby that if he'd just fold down the seat(s) your board will fit inside.
Play it by ear and rent a car if the swell warrants exploring. You might have better luck SUPing between in the Chun's to Right Overs area. Puaena is a soft break with lots of parking frequented by LBs, foils, SUPs. You might also contact Blue Planet for recs/guiding. \III/
I agree that I never see any taxis with racks in Hawaii. In fact, most have a yellow "TAXI" light on top that I think would make it challenging to put a board on top. I have heard of people who have better luck using Uber and specifying the size of your SUP board so that the driver shows up either with racks or a vehicle large enough to put it inside.
One thing to consider is it might be flat that time of year. Turtle bay is often pretty choppy and the waves usually suck there anyway. If there is a hint of a wave running inside sunset and beach breaks by pipeline could be fun as long as it isn't good enough to attract crowds of short boarders, and that is much closer. If flat you could paddle pipeline for novelty but the reef will probably be covered in sand. If there are real waves consider previous advice, also south shore might be better that time of year depending on forecast. N. Shore Lifeguards are usually good for real time surf advice and they will probably be pretty bored then anyway and happy to talk with you.
Hi there, I pre book speedi shuttle for my airport pick up and departure. They have vans that accommodate a family of five with luggage and boards. We take 3 longboards 9.6 and 10 foot and easy fit us all in. Surf wise your not going to get much up north that time of the year the south shore is where it's at. Hope this helps and enjoy your trip.
Saya suka SUP,
I would not get too discouraged about getting a little North Shore action during your trip. After 40+ years of living in Hawaii during that time of year and surfing both the north and south shores of the Oahu, Maui, and Kauai, I have found that October is the transition month from South to North so you often get a mix of swells on both shores. I always predict that the first North swell of the season will be in mid-September and in fact we had our first decent (head-and-a-half+ high faces) North swell about a week ago. The Aloha Classic which is the premier wavesailing competition in the world is always scheduled on the North Shore of Maui during October with the expectation of getting reliable North swells for the competition. Since it is the transition month, you might also get some late season South swells to fill in your water time but I would not be too discouraged about getting some North swell action during your trip. Good luck!
Thanks for the advice.
I pre booked a speedi shuttle from the airport. I'll have access to a car once we get to north shore , so I should find some waves somewhere round the island.
And that's it, around the island. October is a top month for regular surfers and Oahu has four sides. Some beautiful surf beaches to visit on each side. Willing to move and you will surf every day.
