Booking visits to Kamaka and Ko'aloha

fretie · Jun 23, 2015

I'm getting pretty excited about my upcoming uke building trip to Oahu. I purposely booked a couple extra days at the beginning of my stay in Honolulu in order to have time to visit the Kamaka and Ko'aloha factories.

I arrive late, very late, Wednesday July 8th and then hoped to make it to the two K factories on the Thursday and Friday.

Do you know if I should book ahead to be sure to get a spot in the Kamaka factory tour? And do you know if Ko'aloha, now that they are in their new location, is even giving tours and, if so, do they need to be booked in advance as well?

I want to be totally organized and not miss my precious opportunity to visit these two magic K locations at the same time I won't want to bug them with emails needlessly.

Looking forward to any advice you can offer me.

Jimdrum · Jun 23, 2015

Here are the Kamaka factory tour details, taken directly from their website:

Factory Tours:
A free guided tour of the Kamaka factory is given every Tuesday - Friday at 10:30 am for family-sized groups. Large groups (more than 10) and school-supervised groups must schedule special tours in advance by calling (808) 531-3165. The tour usually lasts about 45-60 minutes.

hawaii 50 · Jun 23, 2015

KoAloha not in their new factory yet.....if you can get to Kaneohe...Kanile'a has a nice tour also...around 1030 in the morning....
call them on the phone....they answer most of the times.....

PeteyHoudini · Jun 24, 2015

I've been to both the Kamaka and Ko'aloha tours.

We sanded and glued together a mini ukulele wood keychain at Ko'aloha. That was a nice touch. They also gave a concert to our group. I guess they haven't moved into the new premises yet on Kona street.

I also visited Kamaka in a very small group and we got to meet "Sam." That was truly an honor. I'm dressed in black and I eventually bought a pineapple uke at the Ukulele Site (HMS).

They gave us a wooden Kamaka anniversary fridge magnet.

Have a blast on your trip! I did!

cheers,

Petey

fretie · Jun 24, 2015

PeteyHoudini said:
I've been to both the Kamaka and Ko'aloha tours.

We sanded and glued together a mini ukulele wood keychain at Ko'aloha. That was a nice touch. They also gave a concert to our group. I guess they haven't moved into the new premises yet on Kona street.

I also visited Kamaka in a very small group and we got to meet "Sam." That was truly an honor. I'm dressed in black and I eventually bought a pineapple uke at the Ukulele Site (HMS).

View attachment 80895

They gave us a wooden Kamaka anniversary fridge magnet.

Have a blast on your trip! I did!

cheers,

Petey

Very cool, Petey, thanks.

Did your group book a time to visit Koaloha or did you just drop in there?

PeteyHoudini · Jun 24, 2015

fretie said:
Very cool, Petey, thanks.

Did your group book a time to visit Koaloha or did you just drop in there?

The Ko'aloha uke factory visit was part of our ukulele tour (29 people!). It was pre-arranged with the travel company's Ukulele Adventure package. That's maybe why they did something special with us as that key chain. That was really sweet.

Kamaka was a tour but for a few people. One woman from our group had pre-ordered a uke and was picking it up. I happened to be walking across the hotel lobby after breakfast on my first day in Waikiki and someone asked me if I'd like to come along. Pure serendipity. I was totally game. Lucky timing for me. Just had to contribute to cab fare for an unexpected tour. So, that small group in the photo went to Kamaka and Sam gave us the entire tour. Wonderful.

I never realized how ukuleles are made with such little wood (except for the neck).

Petey

fretie · Jun 24, 2015

PeteyHoudini said:
The Ko'aloha uke factory visit was part of our ukulele tour (29 people!). It was pre-arranged with the travel company's Ukulele Adventure package. That's maybe why they did something special with us as that key chain. That was really sweet.

Kamaka was a tour but for a few people. One woman from our group had pre-ordered a uke and was picking it up. I happened to be walking across the hotel lobby after breakfast on my first day in Waikiki and someone asked me if I'd like to come along. Pure serendipity. I was totally game. Lucky timing for me. Just had to contribute to cab fare for an unexpected tour. So, that small group in the photo went to Kamaka and Sam gave us the entire tour. Wonderful.

I never realized how ukuleles are made with such little wood (except for the neck).

Petey

Thanks Petey.

I'll take my chances that I can get in on a sweet little Kamaka tour like yours.

With Ko'aloha it sounds like I had better contact them; maybe I'll be lucky to slide in on a larger group tour like yours. There are some advantages to not being a solo uke'er, eh?!

Booking visits to Kamaka and Ko'aloha

fretie

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Jimdrum

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hawaii 50

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PeteyHoudini

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fretie

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PeteyHoudini

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fretie

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