A Unique way to tour the island with a Veteran tour guide

You learn a lot more history and it's significance about a site with a tour guide than you do on your own. 

A veteran owned and operated personal tour guide, Laura Fink, wife of a retired Army officer, took us on a great 3 hour tour around Honolulu. Her tour company, Tour Religions in Paradise (TRIP), offered us a custom tour with several different sites to choose from.

Since we lived on the island we had seen a lot of the major sites, so we were able to tailor our tour to what we had interest in and wanted to learn more of the history of. The sites we chose were Kawaiaha’o church, Pohukaina ancient royal mausoleum, and the Manoa Chinese Cemetery.

We started our 3 hour journey with the tour guide picking us up and taking us to the first site in town. The ride was in a comfortable van and she brought complimentary water and snacks for our journey. It was a hot day so the water and snacks was a great refresher.

We arrived at the Kawaiaha’o church on Punchbowl and King street. Kawaiaha’o church, "The great stone church" was actually built of coral in 1842. This church is also known as “The church of Ali’i” (royalty) and is and is the place of many significant government ceremonies. The tour guide took us inside and explained the history and architecture. It’s a peaceful and beautiful place where one can worship and reflect on the Hawaiian history. There is a clock tower commemorated to King Kamehameha III and the Lunalilo Masoleum dedicated to Williams Charles Lunalilo the 6thmonarch to the throne. 

We continued our journey past the Aliʻiōlani Hale which houses the Hawai’i state supreme court. The tour guide captured some photos of us and then we moved onto the next site. 

The Pohukaina was across the street on the grounds of the Royal 'Iolani Palace. I never actually knew this site existed, so this was a first for me. The guide explained to us that this is the resting spot of former Hawaiian kings and chiefs and some of their treasured possessions. This is a sacred burial ground that is surrounded by a fence so no entry is allowed. The history behind is fascinating to listen to.

Our final stop was the Lin Yee Chung, Manoa Chinese Cemetery. On the way there we drove by the Royal Mausoleum in Nu’uanu which is the resting place of the Kamehameha and Kalakaua families. When we reached Manoa, the cemetery is located in the back not far from Manoa falls. Founded in 1852, it sits on a 10,000+ acre lot and is the oldest and largest Chinese cemetery on the islands. There are a lot of famous Chinese buried there, including the founders of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, The United Chinese Society and friends of Sun Yat Sen. 

I highly recommend this tour company, it was very interesting and customized to our needs. It was just long enough to learn the history of places I always wondered about. You can schedule your tour with LauraFink@Hawaii.rr.com or call (808)-282-2895. She is licensed, registered and an insured tour guide with the State of Hawaii. Mahalo for reading!