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Author	Message / Information
¡Ño! Wendylicious	Re: Re: Hawaii, anyone been recently? replied on: 1/24/2003 8:23:03 PM That guide book, dude. I don't think i've ever read such a fantastic book. i wish all books were written by that couple.
drewmeister_sd	Re: Hawaii, anyone been recently? replied on: 1/24/2003 3:42:05 PM I went to Kona in December and had an unbelievably awesome time. We stayed in an ocean front condo south of Keahou Bay and at the volcano village lodge (recommended in Wendy's book link). I drove all over thang dang island and had just a friggin blast. Hapuna Beach, the sea turtles, Cptn Cook's monument, etc. I probably had such a great time because my ladyfriend liked doing all the things I like to do (hike, snorkle, kayak, swim, etc.) and could do them well. Cost? First class companion flight $200 plus $150 for 1 night at the volcano lodge. The condo was free. Buy your booze at Costco and drink on the cheap. Buy your trinkets at the ABC stores. Have a microbrew at the Kona Brew Co- the food and beer are pretty good. We pretty much prepared our own food bought at Costo or a supermarket (KTA). The KTA had pretty good prepared Japanese food (sushi and marinated raw fish (can't think of the name)). Dinner at the volcano lodge was pretty damn expensive $25 each w/o drinks but I ate one of the best blackend tuna dinners I've ever had, plus the mango margarita was awesome. I'm very tempted to go back, but I'm working on a trip to Costa Rica or Belize or something like that....
el kabong	Hawaii, anyone been recently? replied on: 1/20/2003 12:54:34 PM Hawaii was the biggest surprise of our traveling life. We fucking loved it. Fist stay was in Honolulu and the Windjammer in Waikiki. Totally cheap ass hotel but cool because it's right on this cool little street with bars and restaurants open all night. 100 yards to the beach. Our balcony overlooked the street and it was fun to people watch after a night out. Take a drive to the north shore. Avoid the Polynesian Cultural Center. Hike up to that waterfall (can't remember the name). Buy cheesy island stuff. Second stay was at Maui at my parents' condo. (I know, we're lucky.) Maui is beautiful. Don't feel like writing any more!
Cil	Re: Hawaii replied on: 1/20/2003 7:44:57 AM I think I mentioned at the Other Place that our Hawaii trip was the first one we ever did which was, in part, a package. Price-wise, it just seemed the only way to go. I used a travel agent to book car rental,hotel in Kona, air to and from Hawaii as well as inter-island. I booked our own places to stay in Kauai and Volcanoes Nat'l Park. I think the whole trip (aside from meals) was about $2,000. We did get breakfast included in Kauai and Volcanoes. BTW, I liked Oahu much more than I thought I would. Honolulu is indeed a real city but is very mellow. You drive out just a ways and find yourself in the country. Pearl Harbor was well worth it.
Cil	Hawaii replied on: 1/20/2003 7:38:33 AM We were in Hawaii in August, too! We visited Oahu (stayed with aunt in Honolulu) Kauai and the Big Island. On the Big Island, began on the Hilo side, stayed in a wonderful b&b, after two days we drove to Kona, spent 5 days at the exact same hotel as WendyE. Tons of turtles, and I even saw an ono while snorkeling. I probably liked Kauai the best, because of the down-home atmosphere and the incredible lushness...plus we hit some great beaches. OTOH, the volcano side of the Big Island was indeed very cool. We hiked around the volcano, saw lava, etc. I remember that Sailor mentioned she disliked the rain on the Hilo side of the island, but coming from dry-as-a-bone Denver, I fell in love with the massive tree ferns, gingerflowers, and the mist. Man, if I lived in California I'd go to Hawaii every chance I got!
Pussy Galore	that other other white meat, I mean website replied on: 1/20/2003 1:16:45 AM yeah, but I did mention that it was Fodorites...
¡Ño! Wendylicious	food replied on: 1/20/2003 1:10:28 AM we did spend $30 for breakfast one day, because it was the first morning and we had the hotel buffet. but dammit if we didn't fill up to last until dinner. and pool - who swims at the pool when there are miles of white sandy beaches adjacent to clear warm calm water?
Pussy Galore	Re: Hawaii, anyone been recently? replied on: 1/20/2003 1:01:37 AM That sounds do-able. My sense of what people pay for food has been generally warped by lush bay area living, and for Hawaii, utterly blown out of the water by those pesky fodorites who spend $50 for breakfast for two, while bitching about interlopers at the pool... -mg
¡Ño! Wendylicious	Re: Re: Hawaii, anyone been recently? replied on: 1/20/2003 12:56:18 AM we bought most of our food at the grocery store near the hotel because we did a lot of long day trips, and the big island can get pretty isolated, so packing your own food is a must. so for about $20 we had breakfast and lunch for two each day. for dinner, you can spend another $20-30/day for two if you just go to a little restaurant, or go back to the grocery store for sammiches/fruit/taro chips and sushi. mmmmmm. also be aware that the island pretty much shuts down at 10pm, so eat before then. avoid the hotel restaurants and you should be okay for $$.
Pussy Galore	Re: Hawaii, anyone been recently? replied on: 1/20/2003 12:50:59 AM That sounds amazingly cool (or hot, depending on perspective) I will definitely look into that. Any ideas on what one who was NOT planning on being a drunkard every day (maybe every other day) might expect to pay breakfast/lunch/dinner wise? -mg
¡Ño! Wendylicious	Re: Re: Hawaii, anyone been recently? replied on: 1/20/2003 12:40:39 AM it's all about the lava, mg. it was really an amazing unbelieveable experience.
Pussy Galore	Re: Hawaii, anyone been recently? replied on: 1/20/2003 12:32:30 AM Thanks for the heads up. I'd never thought about the big island, I'd mostly set my sights on Kauai, now I'm going to have to reconsider. -mg
¡Ño! Wendylicious This message was updated on 1/20/2003 12:30:27 AM by ¡Ño!	Re: Forum packages replied on: 1/20/2003 12:10:23 AM i went in August and stayed in Kona on the Big Island for a week. we had giant turtles underneath our balcony at the Ohana Keauhou Beach Resort. besides counting the turtles every morning, we went hiking in Volcanoes National Park and got within 5 feet of flowing lava, toured Travel and Leisures World's Most Beautiful Beaches, drove around the entire island which included a stop at Waimea Valley, a gorgeous canyon, went to the rainforest in Hilo, kayaked across the bay where dolphins swam, snorkeled, and went to The Place of Refuge where there is a model royal village. Waterfalls abound on the Hilo side of the Big Island, while beaches on the Kona side are fantastic. seeing lava flow was the most amazing experience of my life, i have to say. watching the earth being born is unbelievable. Food - Hawaiian food is not so great other than the fruit you can buy at farmer's markets. Hawaiian food is really salty. you can get some really tasty fruit smoothies at coffee shops. ooh, and coffee, mmmm. don't miss trying pure kona coffee (although it's about $25/lb.) There's lots of great little cafes where you can get really great breakfast and snacks though. I didn't expect that I would have enjoyed Hawaii so much, but i really loved it. Use this guide book if you decide to go.
methos_6 This message was updated on 1/19/2003 11:24:19 PM by methos_6	Re: Hawaii, anyone been recently? replied on: 1/19/2003 11:22:12 PM I went in August. I was in Honolulu for 4 1/2 days, Maui for 2, and Hilo for 1 day and 1 night. Where I stayed: In Honolulu it was the New Otani at the far end of Waikiki Beach, right under Diamondhead. It was a pretty nice hotel and I swam with a sea turtle right there at the beach. The hotel is the last one and is seperated from the rest of Waikiki Beach by a big park (and there's a huge park on the other side as well - so its not at all developed like the rest of the beach). Which makes it nice, b/c all the other hotels are just right in the middle of the main tourist area and aren't really that relaxed. They also did an amazing Sunday morning breakfast right on the beach. A bit pricey, but seeing the sun come up and eating all the fresh fruit was well worth it. I went to Pearl Harbor (not to the Arizona memorial - to see one of our ships that is based there), to the Hawaii Fish Market (open to the public) which was very interesting. Only problem is that the auction is over by 9:00 so you have to get there early. It's interesting to see all the different types of fish and how the bidders check for the best fish. I hiked Diamondhead. You can go by car into the park, but I walked from the hotel. It took me about 45 minutes to get inside the crater from the hotel and from there it was about 30 minutes to the top (would've been less but for all the tourists). It's worth it just for the amazing view you get from the top. We also toured our facilites on the island which included ones at the University and on the far side of the island. There are a lot of great restaurants and the beach is pretty amazing. The only drawback was the traffic. One place I would definitely not recommend was Hanama Bay. Way too many people, and the coral there is crap compared to other areas off the island. On Maui I stayed at the Maui Prince. It was an amazing hotel (nicest one I've ever been in). 2 balconies, one overlooking the ocean, another looking back into the hills. We spent the majority of our time (read, the morning) at the Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary on Maui. It's a very nice place and during whale watching season is the bay is the best place to see the whales, since they come amazingly close to shore. At the visitor's center there is also an acient "fish farm" that the locals are slowly rebuilding. It's interesting to look at b/c that was one of the ways the islanders caught their fish for hundreds of years. B/C we were only on Maui for 2 days, I didn't have time to see the back areas which I would have loved. The snorkeling was amazing just from our beach. 3 of us snorkeled for about 3 hours in the afternoon. We swam under a coral arch, saw coral caves, sea turtles, giant manta rays, and all types of assorted fish. There were 2 restaurants we tried, one was right outside the airport and was Italian. Very good, and not that expensive. The other was the hotel's best restaurant which was very good and extremely expensive. Can't remember the names of either. On Hilo, we basically had a very tight schedule. Landed and about an hour later we were headed up to the top of Mauna Loa to see our atmospheric lab. The drive up was pretty interesting, in so much that the road is very windy, bumpy, and hilly, and it is carved out of the lava flows. (last one on the mountain was in the '40s) The views were pretty amazing, but at 11,000 feet I got a little bit lightheaded. The ride back was definitely spent sleeping as to avoid the effects of the drive. That night we went to Volcanoes National Park. No dinner to speak of, just grabbed some to-go food right outside the park. This was definitely the highlight of the trip. Our group had 3 people that lived in Hawaii and 2 of them were locals so they clued us in on a lot of the local customs, why the volcanoes are unique, etc, etc. The drive down (about 40 minutes from the park entrance) was amazing b/c other than car headlights it was pitch black. Then when you get to a certain point, you start seeing this red glow atop a large hill. It takes you a while but then you realize that the glow is from the lava. We got to the bottom and parked and they had arranged a private tour by one of the park rangers. You have to hike about 30 minutes to get to the lava, following these little yellow markers. The trail is walked 2x a day by the Rangers since the lava can break out at different places and force them to move the trail markers. (if you go at night, bring a flashlight, you'll need it and they don't provide it) It was amazing though. You start getting a bit warmer, but you'll crest a hill, and bam, the temp. will go up 15-20 degrees and you can literally feel the heat. As you get nearer, you can look at cracks in the rocks and you see a faint glow and you realize that it's lava maybe 3-6 feet underneath you, flowing or creeping along in tubes. You can get as close as you want to the lava. I, being quite stupid, got about 2 feet from the lava and got a picture (which turned out horribly). It was truly amazing. We stayed there for about 2 hours. When we got back to the parking lot we were amazed at the clarity of the sky. Since you're right at the edge of the ocean and there is no light pollution the stars are amazing. We saw about 4 shooting stars in 30 minutes. Like I said, it was the highlight of my trip. Cost: No bloody idea. Work paid for it, so I really didn't care what the cost was. I think the room in Honolulu was around $140 (gov't rate), the room in Maui was $200 (should've been $150 but they were out and I had to pay for the next higher grade up. Which I didn't mind since I got 2 bathrooms, 2 balconies, a living room, sitting room, kitchen/mini-bar, and some free snacks and bottled water). The hotel in Hilo was crap. We only got it b/c we had an early flight out in the morning. You can spend as much or as little on food as you like. We ate breakfast at one place in Hilo that I paid $10 for an amazing meal which consisted of fried rice in a bowl, with a hamburger patty on top of the rice, 2 eggs sunny side up on the hamburger, topped off with brown gravy (there are thousands of different ways to get it made since you can get spam, white rice, eggs cooked any way, etc). However, I think my bill in Maui at the hotel restaurant came out to be around $90. Which was the per-diem per day for me for the whole trip. (I made some money on that!) I bought the usual souvenirs but those cost about as much as any place. Tours are pretty expensive but there's plenty of stuff to do. I'll post a link to one of my professor's webpage. He's a serious day hiker (walks like 15-20 miles a day) and has been going to Hawaii for 2-4 weeks a year since the dawn of time. And all he does is hike. He's got a great webpage with hikes of varying difficulty with great directions, locations, etc. (no maps though, but everything can be located on a map). I've got my pics on my trip on the web. Hawaii Pictures (On the Honolulu page, there's a pic called "Very end of Waikiki Beach". The hotel I stayed at is the last bldg on the right. The other bldgs are townhouses. You can see the park, and it goes on for about another 1/4 to 1/2 mile before you leave the park and get into the "touristy" part of the beach. I was there for 4 days and I didn't see many people down there at that end of the beach except for locals and guests of the hotel.) I plan on going back. Not really sure about going back to Oahu, but definitely want to check out Molokai and Kauai.
Pussy Galore	Hawaii, anyone been recently? replied on: 1/19/2003 9:39:05 PM Tempt me, make me want to go. Tell me where you went, where you stayed, what you ate, how much it cost... Help! wanderlohaust, -mg

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