Hawaii Trip Report August - September 2016 - 17 nights

Dave & I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary with a 17 day trip to Hawaii. It was a year of planning and yes a 19 page itinerary that included maps and tips.

We started our Hawaiian vacation with a night at the Greensboro Airport Marriott where we were upgraded to a superior room and then flew to Honolulu for a seven day Hawaiian cruise which sailed from Oahu to Maui for 2 nights, then to Kauai for two nights and the cruise was supposed to hit the Big Island for two nights, but because we had an unprecedented two Hurricane event in the Pacific (Madeline & Lester) we only had one day in Hilo and one day at sea.

We followed the Cruise with four nights in Oahu where we stayed in Waikiki Beach, rented a car and toured the Island. We then flew to the Big Island (BI) and stayed 3 nights in a condo on the Kohala Coast and then drove to the other side of the island for one night in a Bed & Breakfast in Volcano, where we were lucky enough to see the Halemaʻumaʻu Crater’s bubbling Lava at night.

The Big Island of Hawaii was our favorite Island, in places it is wide open and feels like Wyoming, but then you see lava fields and beautiful deep blue water. Our favorite day was on BI, when we snorkeled in Honaunnau Bay with dolphins in the morning and dove with manta rays that night. If we ever return to Hawaii, it would be for more time on the Big Island and more time in Kauai. Oahu was way too busy with too much traffic. We did however have wonderful time there. We both loved Maui’s laid back feel, but as Dave says Kauai is the most beautiful island he has ever seen. Standing at the Pu’u O Kila lookout in the Waimea Canyon is the closest he has ever been to realizing Gods amazing touch on this earth. We called it “the top of the world”.

On our 20th anniversary we went to the French Polynesian islands of Moorea, Bora Bora and Manihi and stayed in over water bungalows. For our 25th we went to 3 Virgin Islands and stayed in rental houses. Those were our number one and number two unsurpassed vacations. Hawaii was the third finest vacation we have ever taken. The diversity of the Islands and the unique things to do on each island made this an amazing trip.

If you want more details, read on:

I was worried that we had booked our air fare WAYYY too close. We were due to arrive at 1:20 and had to be boarded on the cruise ship by 5PM. I originally thought we had at least until 6:30PM, which allowed almost 5 hours for delays. When I learned we really only had until 5PM, I was worried, but plane tickets were already booked. We stayed overnight in a local Marriott airport hotel, which allowed us to leave the car for our 17 day trip much cheaper then airport parking.

We almost missed our connection in Chicago and had to ride a golf cart to make it to the terminal. The plane was already boarding when we arrived and we were one of the last to board the plane. We did indeed cut it close but all was well in the end.

The first stop on the Cruise was Maui. We rented a car and Snorkeled the West shore on the first day.

Spots: Kapalua Bay, this is a lovely beach. We saw our first turtle here. He swam right under us in very shallow water. We parked at the tennis courts which was an easy walk to the beach. We packed a lunch every day on the cruise ship, not just to save money but for convenience as we knew most days we would be wet and sandy and it would be hard to try to find a place to eat and be dry enough to go in. We ate in the car the first day as it had started to rain. Next stop was Kahekili (Airport Beach). This beach is in front of Westin Ka'anapali Resort. Very easy parking here right in front of the hotel, snorkeling was not a good as Kapalua, but we did see a very large turtle in 20 feet of water. Next stop Kaanapali Beach - Black Rock /Sheraton – This beach was very crowded and we had no real place to leave our stuff. The Rock divers were interesting to watch and we did see lots of fish and several turtles. Last stop for the day on the way back to the ship was Olowalu. This beach had lots of algae over the coral as the water temperature was warmer than other locations. It was recommended in the guide books I purchased but it was not very pretty and was not worth the stop.

We parked out car at the Airport and took the Thrifty shuttle back to the ship. Parking was $12.

Day two in Maui was snorkeling the South Shores.

Spots: We started at the Ahihi Kinau Natural Area/The Dumps/Ma'onakala “The Dumps. This location is not for beginners as there was a current and a very rocky entry. The beach was not as pretty as the West shore beaches, but the coral was healthy and I loved the isolated feeling to the location. Saw lots of fish and the water clarity was excellent. This location was one of our best snorkeling spots on the trip. We visited Turtle Town Maui & Maluaka Beach & Ulua Beach but the water was too rough. I heard from others on the ship that white rock was a great place to snorkel.

As we still had time we thought we would drive a little of the road to Hana. We wanted to see what our rental car shuttle driver called “Jaws”. I saw it on the map as Pilale Bay, but we ended up driving thru a sugar cane field, so we got nervous and turned around and then ended up on a dead end road which did lead to a nice view of the ocean, but we never found Jaws. We then headed back to the ship.

Tuesday was The Big Island and Hilo. Here we rented a car and drove to the Volcano National Park to tour on our own. It was an old day trip and I loved it more than I expected to. As the hurricane was coming, the park rangers said they may close Chain of Craters road. So we did that first. We started at the Kīlauea Visitor Center and we stopped at almost every look out on the way to Hōlei Sea Arch. The Sea arch was fascinating. I was awed by the drive down this road. The one side trip we took was the Hilina Pali Road. This took almost an hour and offered a very nice view of the ocean, but was not really worth the time to drive the road. We then drove the part of Crater Rim drive than was open and ended the park trip at the Thurston Lava Tubes. We loved them so much we did them again when we returned to the park the next week. .

Wednesday was supposed to be a stop on the Kona side of the Big Island, but the port was closed due to Madeline so the ship took a northern route around the island and we had a day at sea. We were lucky to sail past the Cliffs of Molokai on Wednesday morning and the Kauai Na Pali Coast on Wednesday evening. I found the Cliffs of Molokai more beautiful than the Kauai Na Pali Coast. We loved having a balcony on the ship for both of these sailings. Our balcony was port side, 9th floor at the very front of the ship, cabin 9502. We had purchased a 3L box of wine and packed in our suitcase and I was sooo glad that we had this for our evenings on the balcony before dinner. It was wonderful to turn to channel 23 and listen to the coast narration on our balcony with a glass of wine. We then went to our favorite spot one the ship to have dinner and watch the starboard side view of the coast. Our favorite spot was the Bar on the Aft of the ship. It was set up with tables and silver ware for dinning but very few folks actually dinned there. Other than the one night we tried the dining room and were not impressed, we ate outside on the Aft bar and enjoyed the views. Most nights they had a guitar player at the bar and one evening we were the only ones at the bar.

Thursday was Kauai. We drove to the North Shore. First Stop was Haena Beach Park (Tunnels Beach). It was too rough to snorkel but I have to say it is one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. Others to name a few are the Beach in St Lucia that was the Jalousie Plantation which is nestled between the two pitons, Cinnamon Bay at St John and The Baths in Virgin Gorda. So we drove to Kee Beach at the end of road. Snorkeling was good and the beach was lovely. We attempted to try Tunnels again, it was a long walk to find parking and with the water still rough we could not go out to the outer reefs, so the snorkeling was not very good. As the Eagles rock band says ‘it was a long road out of Eden” to leave the beach. We drove to Hanalei Bay Beach Park as I read it is the beach you envision in dreams of Hawaii. I did not see it. Perhaps because it was misty all day and cloudy. I know the mist and clouds took away from the beauty of Kauai.

Next stop was the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge. The centerpiece of the refuge is the historic Kilauea Lighthouse, built in 1913. The views are well worth the trip to this refuge. The refuge is open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily. $5 per adult. 1 hour visit time.

Next Stop, Opaekaa Falls – Plunges hundreds of feet- can be viewed from overlook. Last stop before returning to the ship was Wailua Falls which were featured in the opening scene of Fantasy Island.

We purchased a pass for $20 from the Anchor Cove Mall for overnight parking. There are shuttles that run to the ship and back. The car was safe and you do not need to make a purchase at the mall.

Friday we drove first to the Spouting Horn Blow hole. It was a lovely drive thru the trees and the blow hole was cool. We then headed to the Waimea Canyon State Park & Kokee State Park. The park is awe inspiring. As I said earlier Dave said “Standing at the Pu’u O Kila lookout in the Waimea Canyon is the closest he has ever been to realizing Gods amazing touch on this earth”. It is beyond breath taking. Because of the Hurricane our final day was extended in Kauai so after the touring the Canyon we stopped at Poipu Beach Park to do a little snorkeling. It was a lovely beach. Snorkeling is great for beginners. I actually saw a turtle in 2 feet of water in the cove.

The Cruise ended on Saturday and we planned to stay four nights in Honolulu at The Royal Hawaiian Resort in Waikiki.

Before I get into the rest of the land trip, I want to say that I very much enjoyed the cruise as the purpose of the cruise was to see 3 islands. I wish we had not missed our Kona day as we lost a Kohala coast day to make up that day. The cruise was more expensive than a hotel and meals and far more expensive than a condo and meals, but a great time saver. As we are east coast folks, we may never get to Hawaii again since we have the Caribbean so easily reachable. Travel between islands does take most of a day to pack, catch a plane, buy groceries, unpack and get settled. With that in mind, I think the cruise was worth it. We never felt that we were with 2000 people. I felt like we were with more people in Honolulu.

Tips:

Book a balcony room. The Port side is better for the Na Pali Coast and Hilo Port. Starboard is better for the possible Volcano night viewing, Maui port view & Kauai Port view. Either side is good in Honolulu. I felt the balcony was worth it. We spent at least two hours on our balcony each day. Almost an hour early mornings before breakfast and an hour before dinner each evening. Do not book an 10th floor aft balcony as the 11th floor bar overlooks the balconies and therefore there is no privacy.

Bring a 3L box of wine. The worst that can happen is they take it away. We packed in in our checked bag and then put it in the fridge. It was never questioned and a glass of wine is at least $10 on the ship. Our 3 Liter box of pinot grigio wine was only $12 from Total Wine.

Eat breakfast at the gold rush. Never crowed. Water views and quieter than the buffet area.

Eat dinner at the Aloha Lanai Aft Bar on 11th floor. Never crowed. Guitar music every night. We had the bar to ourselves one night that it rained. It is under a cover and the views were always outstanding. It was never too cold or windy even when the boat was sailing.

Attend the shows. Most shows were very entertaining.

When we started our land portion of the trip, I missed our balcony and the shows.

Don’t bother with trip insurance as a new flight and hotel are usually cheaper than the insurance if flight is missed.

Honolulu Day 1 Saturday. We disembarked the Cruise ship (easiest exit ever), got a Rental Car and had reservations with audio tour for Pearl Harbor (Arizona Memorial Visitors center in GPS). We arrived much earlier then our reservations, so they moved us up. Dave loved the audio tour, I felt it was not necessary. Pearl Harbor was impressive, but I really thought you would see more of the ship. After Pearl Harbor, we grabbed lunch and headed to the Hotel to Check-in.

We booked 4 nights at the Royal Hawaiian in the historical section. I loved the richness of the historic section. I loved the way the hotel felt nestled in the middle of high rises. I especially loved the carved wooden room doors. The hotel made me nostalgic and I wished I could have been at the hotel in Hawaii when the pink palace was first built in the 1920s (waaayyy before I was born but….).

It is in a perfect location on Waikiki beach. Beautiful, Beautiful well maintained beach with just a little wave action to make it fun in the summer months. Stunning views of Diamond Head. The bed was soooo very comfortable. The pillows were awesome. I loved the large shower.

Our package included breakfast, which was excellent every morning. The service was always impeccable. The buffet was very expensive, so if it had not been included in our room rate we would not have eaten there.

It was our 30th wedding anniversary trip, so the hotel gave us a bottle of champagne and banana bread to celebrate. That was a very nice touch. I made us feel special.

Loved all the little pink touches, pink pancakes, pink stripped pool towels etc..

The Hotel is located within an easy working distance of many restaurants and lots of shopping.

The pool area is small but you have access to the Sheraton next door which has a phenomenal pool area.

Down sides were the very expensive parking. I believe it was $25 per day. Busy beach some days and perhaps my biggest complaint was that the hotel charged $40 per day for 2 chairs and an umbrella on the beach. I felt this should be free to registered guests or at least a reasonable hourly or daily rate. We never spent a more than an hour or two on the beach and hated that we had to sit on towels while we were relaxing on the beach.

The positives far outweighed the negatives and I would stay there again if ever in Honolulu.

The first day, we just hung out at the beach in the afternoon and had dinner at Dukes that evening. The salad bar was the highlight of that dinner. Very fresh. The restaurant was very noisy and we did not have a great view of the water. I had Hawaiian Monk fish, it was tasty but dry. I prefer a wetter fish. Dave had the filet which was outstanding. Both meals came with sautéed green beans which were fantastic.

Day 2 Sunday: we drove to Hanauma Bay to Snorkel. We arrived after 10AM and had no trouble finding a parking spot. Hanauma Bay was a beautiful beach with an easy pleasant snorkel. It was not over crowed, perhaps due to the storms in the area. It was not recommended by the rangers to go out to the outer reefs, so we stayed in the shallow areas. As long as we did not try to snorkel dead center, the bay was uncrowded and enjoyable. There were lots of fish and the biggest parrot fish I have ever seen. Lots of big butterfly fish and lots of Moorish idols which are my Pacific favorites. I do recommend the $1.25 tram up the long hill. We stayed four hours and then continued our driving tour of the east side of Oahu.

Next stop was the scenic lookout just past Hanauma Bay - This is Lanai Lookout. Then we went to Halona Blow Hole lookout. Halona Blowhole lookout also overlooks Sandy Beach, which we went to next. Sandy beach is the “From here to Eternity Beach”. I wanted to lay on the beach and kiss like in they did in the movie, but the surf was rough, so I settled for a long kiss amongst the rocks.

We dined that evening at Giovannis Pastrami, which is within walking distance of the Royal Hawaiian. They have build your own pizza and it was excellent. We ordered enough to have leftovers for another night’s dinner. We shopped and walked around the area after dinner. Went to the Hard Rock to look at the guitars on the ceiling.

Day 3 Monday: was a driving tour of downtown Honolulu, china town and Round trop drive. We started with a drive to Nu’uanu Pali Look out followed by the Roundtop Drive/Tantalus Drive. We missed the Puu Ualakaa State Wayside look out (I forgot to plug it in to my google maps app) but saw great views of Honolulu along the road. We stopped at the National Cemetery of the Pacific, which reminded me of Arlington cemetery without the white crosses. We then went to see the Ali’iolani Hale – statue of King Kamehameha to take pictures as we are Hawaii 5O fans. Next stop was the viewing deck of Aloha Tower (free) followed by China Town for lunch. I was not real impressed with China Town. I had envisioned it more like china town in New York in the 60s. We had lunch at the Good Fortune Restaurant. Service was spotty at best and I really had no idea what to order. We ended up with a lot of food for only $35. We had tea with real tea leaves, shrimp balls, sticky rice, spring rolls, fried beef rice, chicken kung pao that was way spicy. It was a fun experience, but I was really wanting a nice sit down environment and the Good Fortune was more like a diner.

Day 4: Tuesday: North Shore Diving. We first stopped at Laniakea Beach to see the turtles. We had planned to Rent Gear from Hawaiiecodivers and shore Dive Sharks Cove & 3 tables, but the dive shop had moved so they met us there. That was OK, except it took them over an hour and ½ to arrive. We dove with a dive master and I was glad as the water was a little murky and even the dive master had to surface to see where we were. The drawn back to having the dive master was we did not get to dive three tables also. We did see a really cool eel out in the open water, a turtle and a white tipped reef shark, that swam right by us. I loved the caverns, but hated the walk down to the cove all geared up. As it is a shallow dive, both dives were over an hour.

After diving we drove to Banzai pipeline & Waimea Bay Beach Park just for photos. We had dinner at the food trucks next to Foodland. This was actually one of my favorite meal on our whole trip. I had sesame encrusted ahi tuna over a bead of rice with a fresh local salad from Aij Limo’s and Dave has a Crispy chicken sandwich.

The next day we flew to the Big Island. The flight, grocery shopping and getting settled took most of the day. We stayed three nights at the Mauna Lani Terrance Condo unit E102, which we rented from VRBO. Loved the condo best of all our locations. The condo exceeded our expectations. Loved the Internet. Loved having two bathrooms. Loved the balcony. Loved the easy access to the beach and the chairs actually on the beach. Loved the ability to take a bath. We had been away from home for 12 nights when we hit the condo and it is so sweet to feel like home and to take a bath and do some laundry. It was my favorite island.

The Condo complex was really quiet. We really had the beach to ourselves and there was only one other family in the pool the times we went to the pool. The condo was first floor overlooking the fish pond. Not a great view of the ocean, but I really enjoyed being on the first floor and seeing the fish in the fish pond. E102 is centrally located, so there are condos that are closer to the beach but the walk was easy and enjoyable and having the beach to ourselves with an awesome snorkeling location was magnificent. Our last afternoon, which was our actual anniversary, we went snorkeling and were just relaxing on the beach and two turtles just swam up and on to the beach to sun themselves 3 feet from our beach chairs.

We took time at the big island to relax, so we really only snorkeled at Beach Club/Makaiwa Bay, which is right by the condo with the exception of our second day there when we drove down to Honaunau Bay a/k/a "Two Step" as due to the unprecedented 2 hurricanes on the Hawaiian islands we missed our Kona day stop on the cruise ship our first week. We snorkeled in the bay with 30-40 dolphins (did not disturb) just watched. Awesome!!!. After lunch we toured the place of refuge. As we had purchased a park pass the week before, we could park there for free.

The dolphins were gone after lunch, but we went back in the water. It was an excellent place for snorkeling.

That evening we had reservations with Jacks dive locker to do the Manta Ray dive, but thier website reported no shows and the site up North with Blue wilderness was at least having one or two mantas show. So we canceled Jacks and drove the 10 minutes to Puako boat ramp. We were very lucky that day, we saw 3 mantas. Most of the evening we only had two and actually that was better. With only the two mantas, they come really really close to your light. The 7 of us all got in a circle around a big light in the middle. We all had flash lights, so the mantas came so close they actually bumped you unless you backed up when they came for the plankton at your light. Also, the northern site is in 15 feet of water versus 30 feet at the southern site, so with 6 snorkelers above us and only 15 feet of water, we had a true Manta experience. When we had 3 mantas, they did not come as close. It was by far the best day of our vacation. Dolphins in the morning and mantas at night. WOW!!

Ulu Ocean Grill at four seasons on recommendation of TA destination experts. Wow, what a phenomenal view we had, right on the water and right at sunset. It was breath taking. The food was exceptional. I had snapper and Dave had a steak. We had a wild boar appetizer. The service was excellent. Loved the experience. It made for the best pictures of our vacation and what a great anniversary meal.

On our last full day on the Big Island we left the condo early and drove to Volcano. Stops: Waipio Valley Lookout. Laupahoehoe beach where we had our packed lunch. This is a must stop, the water is so blue and the waves crash against the pier and rocks. I could have stayed all day and watched the water. Akaka Falls – lovely falls and a lovely walk to get to them; plan an hour. Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens; plan 1.5 Hrs. I loved these more than I expected, gorgeous orchids and other flowers. Stunning views of the ocean. Easy walk with the exception of the walk back up the hill to exit the gardens. Rainbow Falls, very nice, but the trip up the steps to the top of the falls is not really worth the effort. Last stop was the Boiling Pots. Before heading to the Kilauea Lodge Bed and Breakfast for the evening.

We chose this Bed and Breakfast on the advice of TA destination experts and we were not disappointed. We booked the Hokulani (Honeymoon) Room because it had a balcony with French Doors. The lodge was very cozy and I loved the rural feel that it had nestled in the gardens. The proximity to the Volcano National park was excellent and we arrived just days after there was a lava lake in the crater.

The room was large. The bathroom was a nice size. Loved the towel warmer. The lodge has no air conditioning, however opening the balcony doors cooled the room. But, as there was no screen door we could not leave the doors open after dusk. The balcony was smaller than I had hoped for. There was a small table and two chairs on the balcony, it did not feel very private as all the rooms had their windows open.

We dined that evening in the Lodge restaurant and had an excellent meal. I had lamb and Dave had Steak. We both enjoyed the meal. After dinner we drove a short drive to the Volcano National Park to see the Volcano Lava at night and to walk the Lava tubes again. These were fun at night as we had to use our cell phones to see the path to get to the tubes. It was kinda eerie which made it extra fun.

In the morning we had a very nice breakfast that was included in the price of the room.

I highly recommend this Lodge for its location to the park and for its quiet, warm cozy feeling.

Time to head home after 16 nights. The flight was long and I could not sleep, but the trip was fantastic.

Pros for Hawaii:

Stunning scenery

Beautiful beaches

Much Much less Poverty compared to the Caribbean

Lots to do and see on each island.

I always felt safe compared to some Caribbean Islands.

Hawaii is in the US, so not customs to go thru.

The diversity of the Islands and the unique things to do on each island made this an amazing trip.

Cons for Hawaii from East Coast:

Costly flights

Costly restaurants

14 hour travel time versus 4-6 for the Caribbean.

Water temperatures 5 degrees cooler.

Thank you so much for recording all the details of your wonderful trip to Hawaii. It must have taken a long time to collate all of that information! It makes planning for my February 2017 cruise so much easier.

I love Hawaii, and I loved every word of your detailed review. Thank you for including us, and happy anniversary!