TheBoat

The Boat - Everybody's talking about ways to have fun on very little or no money these days. (I can start ranting but I won't even go there so I can stay on the subject!) I recently had a lovely ride on The Boat from Aloha Tower's pier 9 in downtown over to Barber's Point. I was able to use my bus pass to go on because The Boat is run by the clever people from The Bus.
The whole idea behind this new boat/ferry system is to have an alternative way for people from the west side (like Kapolei and Waianae for example) to have a way to get into downtown Honolulu to work in a reasonable amount of time without having to fight horrible traffic on a daily basis. Judging from the long line at the pier I could tell there was a big demand for this service!
The Boat takes one hour total each way and the ride is incredible. As we left Aloha Tower and went out into the clear blue ocean I felt like I was going away on a vacation! The tall buildings of downtown grew smaller but Waikiki and Diamond Head came into view with the backdrop of gorgeous green mountains. As we motored west we passed the airport where we could see planes taking off and landing. We also passed the mouth of Pearl Harbor and an enormous mountain that was most likely the remains of a volcano. Everything looked so new and different from this point of view.
The outside deck upstairs is the best place to enjoy the ocean and scenery. If you're looking for comfort there is the main cabin and upstairs cabin where there is roomy seating, AC, and free wi-fi.

I think one of the highlights was a fun demonstration by a cute crew member on how to use a life vest, safety rules, floatie rings for people who go overboard, and how they have "aloha" bags available if anyone is feeling sick. He was like "Please don't be embarassed if you start feeling sick. If you let a crew member know we'll take good care of you." Now, you won't hear bus drivers talking like that! This was like a cruise ship!

Adult fare is $2, student fare is $1, schedule, route, and other fare info at the website trytheboat.com.