It's trip review time!

General notes: It was a great trip! We were already trying to decide what to do on our next trip to Hawaii while we were still there. The weather was great, and I say that even though a huge storm rolled through the islands while we were there. Other than canceling one excursion (twice) it didn?t really affect us too much.

My fiance (I?ll call him D) and I are in our mid/upper 20?s and prefer active type of vacations (maybe because we both have desk jobs?) We?re both too pale to tan and don?t like laying around on beaches. Fortunately there was a TON of other things to do! We did a lot, but there is still plenty we didn?t get to do. But that?s what future trips are for!

I planned and booked the entire trip myself (D just likes to come along for the ride) and probably researched TOO much (if possible!) We had 5.5 days on the Big Island, 3 on Maui, 1.5 on Oahu (just saw Pearl Harbor and Waikiki)


Highlights:
--- Volcano National Park, especially the Kilauea Iki trail ? amazing contrasts of nature
--- Snorkeling off the Kona Coast (also our first time snorkeling)
--- The Puna District of the Big Island ? almost no tourists and some great natural attractions
--- Waikiki ? I loved the energy of this area after all the quiet nature we?d experienced.
--- Seeing stars like we had never seen before
--- Lazy breakfasts at our B&B
--- Seeing rainbows
--- Seeing turtles!


Day 1: Flew Philly --> San Fran --> Honolulu --> Hilo. LONG DAY. Our flight from San Fran was delayed quite a bit, we made it to our Hilo flight, but our luggage did not. No big deal, I had half expected it and made sure we packed all our toiletries on our carry-on. Picked up our Alero rental and took off into the darkest darkness I?ve ever seen. It was the first thing that hit me of how different a place we had just traveled to. Philly just does not get even close to this dark. It felt kinda crazy that we were expected to find our way and read street signs and all in it. Somehow we managed (OK, we passed the street at first, but that?s still pretty good) and arrived at Arnott?s.
This is a hostel/campground/lodge that has some private rooms, which is what we chose. They also give tours to Volcano and Mauna Kea which is how I found them and why I booked it. I was originally looking at one Mauna Kea tour from the Kona side which was $160 per person. Arnott?s tour is $75 a person or $50 a person if you stay there. The ?Deluxe? rooms are only $62 a night, so it?s like getting one night at only $12 if we were going to do their tour anyway.
So we checked into Arnott?s and then find out they were having a free pizza and beer party that night! Bonus! So yes, our first meal on the islands was Pizza Hut (which I normally avoid at all times) but it was so perfect right then. We weren?t ready to plunge back into the abyss to find a restaurant and after eating airline and airport food all day, how picky can you be?
Once we had some food in us we felt confident enough to venture out again to the airport to try for our luggage. We got there and it too is dark and completely deserted. At 8:09PM! Oh well, we?re in Hawaii.


Day 2: Woke up at some ridiculous hour and wished we had some new clothes to wear. I called the airport and it just rang and rang. Still too early. So we headed out for a nice big breakfast at Ken?s House of Pancakes (open 24 hours! It was still pitch-black when we started out). D had a ?SPAM Slam?. He didn?t believe me that Spam was so popular in Hawaii, but it was his mission to have some (he eats scrapple too, ew). I discovered that Spam is ham that melts in your mouth. I don?t think you have to chew it!
After breakfast we tried the airport again and this time returned with our luggage! We went back to Arnott?s (our first time seeing it in daylight), changed, picked up some water, snacks, and supplies from Walmart and headed out to Volcano National Park.
It was a gorgeous day, sunny, clear, just a few puffy clouds to give a break from the sun. I think we got there about 9AM and it was still very empty. We watched the short video and walked over to the Volcano House and through it out to the AMAZING view in back. Wow. Really breathtaking. We started from there on the earthquake path towards the Kilauea Iki trail. (We used the ?Big Island Revealed? book for this and everything else on this island.)
We did the whole Kilauea Iki trail which I highly recommend. It was our favorite part of the trip. Walking through the steaming crater was unforgettable and really fun! And the rainforests you walk through are just so gorgeous and lush. The paths that connect it to Volcano House were good too, but it made for a long loop (8 miles?). Particularly on the way back we were on the Byron Ledge trail and it dips down into the Caldera. It was good to see how this one differed from the K. Iki crater, but, well, then you have to make it back up. It wasn?t really too hard or steep, but we were just tired by then.
Got sandwiches ? correction, the WORST sandwiches EVER ? at the Volcano House. Ick. The bread was like an oversized hot dog bun that had gotten stale and then a bit soggy. But it was still food (I guess) and the views were still great.
Next up was the Crater Rim drive. We skipped the Sulfer banks, stopped at the Steam vents, then a few overlooks, including Halemaumau Crater (definitely worth a stop and we got our fill of sulfer stink there). Decided to skip the Devastation Trail (it was getting hot and walking on black lava feels that much hotter) and did the Thurston lava tube. The tube itself is short and boring, but the pathway there and back is through some VERY nice rainforest. We left the park for Volcano town, aiming to get some sandwiches to bring back so we have dinner down on the Chain of Craters road. Ended up at a tiny place called JP?s (?) Café and just ate there. D had a loco moco. Not bad!
We drove back to the park and started down the Chain of Craters road. We went down a side street to the Hilina Pali Overlook. It?s 8.5 miles to the end but took FORVER and wasn?t worth it. But we did see a wild pig and a Nene during the drive. The ?road? wasn?t even car width wide at some points, which made it interesting when we had to pass one of the few cars going the other way.
We continued on the Chain of Craters road to the end. There were lots of nice lookouts and sights along the way which we mostly skipped so that we could get to the end before sunset. We walked on some of the not-even-a-year-old lava past the visitor?s center but decided it?d be better to be back on the paved road once the sun set. Unfortunately for us, there wasn?t any visable lava we could get to (other than on overnight hikes) while we were there, but there was supposed to be a ?red glow?. We waited until it got dark and finally saw a reddish faint glow. Not super-exciting but we thought the drive to the end was still very worth it, more for the views and the signs buried in the lava. The drive home felt long in the dark, I was glad we weren?t trying to get all the way to the Kona side!


Day 3: We were exploring the Puna district this day so we drove to Pahoa and had breakfast at the Black Rock Café. Good food, friendly service, quiet and peaceful. Continued south, took a very pretty road which ended at Isaac Hale beach. We got out, walked around, and watched some surfers. If you walk a tiny bit into the woods you?ll come to a small, naturally heated pond. As we were leaving, a guy asked if we had seen the pond and then recommended the volcanically heated pool down the street. I was planning on stopping there (Ahalanui) but first we passed it and headed to the Kapoho Tide pools. The blue book (Big Island Revealed) said that residents were considering putting up a gate which would then require a walk, but there was no gate and there were even signs directing you where to park. There was only one other couple there and the area is large. We didn?t swim or snorkel, just waded and walked around many of the pools and looked at all the different types of fish. We even saw our first sea turtle there, though from a distance. I was excited anyway. We were here a while and enjoyed it quite a bit. Snorkeling there would have been great too I?m sure.
Next we went back up the road to Ahalanui. Aaaahhh. So nice. It?s a part man-made/part natural pool right next to the ocean. The water was 90-100 degrees and very relaxing. Someone was even snorkeling in there, and there were fish around. It?s a very nice memory floating around there and listening to the waves crash. Did I mention that we were on the rainy side of the island and it was our second perfect day? It was gorgeous!
We drove past the Kahena black sand beach to the end of the road and walked across a ton of lava (we were getting to be lava-walking pros) to the new black sand beach at Kaimu. We walked along land that was younger than us. Definitely no swimming here today, but it was a very peaceful and pretty beach. We even had it to ourselves for a while.
After that we drove back to Hilo and had lunch at Café 100. Had some more local food and both of our meals came with an egg on top. I figured that D had eaten about a dozen eggs in the past 2 days (omelettes at Ken?s are HUGE!), probably not a good trend. But it?s good, cheap and very filling. We headed back to Arnott?s to change and get ready for our Mauna Kea tour with them, starting at 2PM.
The tour started with a short tour of Hilo while we drove through parts of it. We went up to the visitor?s center for an hour to acclimate and then headed up to the summit. We stopped at all the observatories for commentary too. It was a while until sunset and some of us did the .5 mile trail to the true summit of Mauna Kea. Not the easiest trail and the elevation added a lot of strain but we did fine taking it very slow. We came back to the parking area and waited for sundown. Van after van of tours came up. I actually thought the Mauna Kea shadow was much better than the actual sunset, but that?s just me. Next we went back down near the visitor?s center and did some skygazing with binoculars. We could very clearly see the milky way and 4 planets. With the binoculars we could see which stars were actually nebulas or doubles. Very neat, but I was getting very cold by then. Long, sleepy ride home, listening to Hawaiian music.


Day 4: It was actually raining on the rainy side! We went to see Rainbow Falls, Pe?epe?e Falls, and Boiling Pots. Still cool even in the rain. We had another large breakfast at Ken?s and then checked out of Arnott?s. Drove north and made a few stops: Akaka Falls (huge falls and a great walk through rainforest also), the 4 mile scenic drive, Laupahoehoe park (very windy but a nice spot to watch the waves crash), and the Waipio valley overlook. We were considering walking into Waipio but decided to skip it since visability was only fair. Had lunch in Waimea at a deli (more local food) and then continued on to the Hilton Waikoloa Village.
I got this resort through Priceline (I was more hoping for the Hapuna Prince) and heard a lot of mixed reviews about it. But knowing about the complaints helped a ton. Spending time waiting for trams or boats in the morning sounded like a pain to me, so when we checked in I requested (and got) a room in the tower closest to the parking lot which worked out great. Otherwise, I thought it was a great place. The pools were large and varied, and we were also in the tower nearest the fun water slide. The grounds are pretty for strolling around and finding a hammock to laze in. I?d also heard that it?s overrun with kids. While I saw kids, they in no way interfered or interrupted me, and I think it?s nice to see others having fun. We didn?t do the Dolphin program there, but watched it for a bit.
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the grounds and swimming in the pools. I tried to get reservations at Roy?s that evening, but the offered 9:15PM was too late. I made reservations for another night and we drove north to Café Pesto for dinner. We both enjoyed our meals. I loved the beer sampler I ordered, and we brought back some leftover pizza.
Our drive there and back was in complete darkness. It?s like there was nothing around anywhere. That road was even spookier than near Hilo, since I knew that nearby was one fabulous resort after another, but all we saw was a small entrance sign and then more darkness.


Day 5: Got up early, we had to be down at Keahou for our 8AM snorkel tour with SeaQuest. We both enjoyed this, and it was our first time snorkeling. The first stop was at Honaunau. We saw several turtles swimming near us! I also saw eels, an octopus and tons of colorful fish that I?m used to seeing in pet stores. I was hooked! There are no meals with this tour, but the snacks are decent (juice, cut fruit, cookies, chips, and taro chips which we loved.) The next stop was Kealakakua bay. We saw lots of dolphins swimming around. The snorkeling here was great also and I was the last back in the boat. We stopped at some sea caves on the way back and that was pretty interesting also. Overall, good excursion. I liked that it was such a small group (only six of us plus a guide) so there?s time to talk to people and it?s never impersonal or crowded. Actually, our guide was from the same area in Wisconsin that the other 4 people on the tour live in.
For lunch we went to the Aloha Angel. We were sitting outdoors on the terrace and there were all these gekkos on the railing next to us. It was very good lunchtime entertainment! Oh and the food was great even though it was just sandwiches. I loved that they had these yummy roasted potatoes instead of fries or chips on the side.
Next we stopped at a coffee farm, Greenwell, to do a short tour, taste all their coffees and spend some money. Since I hadn?t tired D out yet, we headed a bit further south back to Honaunau, Place of Refuge, to walk around the grounds. Another peaceful stop and a nice area (and I saw more turtles).
Then we headed up to Kailua-Kona for some shopping/walking. D, unfortunately for me, collects Hard Rock pilsner glasses, so I get to be dragged around wonderful places to the mecca of all things touristy. Somehow, my trip included all 3 the HRC on Hawaii. Kailua-Kona was an OK town, not too exciting for me. We watched some of a hotel?s luau from a pier and then had dinner at Quinn?s. We both liked our dinner a lot. D got a grilled fish sandwich (this was our collective 3rd time ordering grilled fish but the first time it didn?t come out fried.) I got Ono fish & chips. YUM.


Day 6: Walked over to A-bay beach from the Hilton (0.5 mile, but over rocks and coral the whole way). Very picturesque. The water was pretty calm and I saw many fish just while swimming around (and I wear contacts so I can?t even open my eyes underwater.) The walk around the fishponds used up a bunch of film. We walked back and ate our leftover pizza by the pools at the Hilton.
Next we headed north in the car. I was aiming for the Pololu lookout & hike but decided I didn?t want to be in the car for that long on such a nice day, so we went back to Waimea and did the hike from White Road to the back of Waipio Valley, described in the blue book. I never would have guessed this was such a popular hike but there were about a dozen other cars parked at the end of the road. It was a nice hike and the views were great. It?s 2 miles to the valley rim and a possible inconvenient 2,000 ft. fall down once you?re there. We only walked a little ways around the rim before heading back, 4 or 5 miles was plenty of hiking for us that day.
Again, we went back to the Hilton?s pools to cool off. I had my first Lava Flow drink! Mmmm?
Dinner was at Roy?s so we first cleaned up and watched the sunset from the Hilton and then drove the 2 minutes to the King?s Shops. We had some time so we looked at a few shows and watched a cute hula/singing show in the middle of the shops. We have a Roy?s in Philly that we LOVE, so we knew what to expect and it didn?t disappoint. Very interesting flavors and all very good.


Day 7: Our last day on the Big Island. We checked out of the Hilton early and drove down to Kahuluu. I snorkeled for about an hour and half and D went up to Kailua-Kona for breakfast and to walk around. I LOVED the snorkeling here too. It was very shallow and full of fish and turtles. It was almost empty when I arrived but by the time I left (10AM) it was PACKED. At one point some guy was feeding fish and I ended up in the middle of a fish cloud!
Next we headed to the Kona airport to drop off the rental and take our flight to Maui. It was a direct 12:17 flight. Unfortunately, storms had rolled in and were hitting Honolulu hard. Our flight didn?t have to go through there, but we still had to wait for our plane to come in from there first. Delays to 1PM, 2PM, 3PM? Sometime around 3PM or so they ?pre-board? us, so we?re all in this area in a line waiting for a plane to show up. About an hour later it did. So we were in the airport over 5 hours. It had also been getting extremely windy the whole time (we had black lava dust all stuck to us) but it was sunny and still somewhat pleasant to just be sitting outside and reading. I definitely preferred to keep doing that rather than the pre-boarding nonsense.
After the short flight we get into the Maui airport which just felt like total chaos. Crowded, noisy, ugly. The baggage claim area wasn?t displaying the flight info above the baggage turnstiles (just an insincere ?Welcome to Maui?) and the arrivals screens were only showing baggage claim numbers for flights starting an hour from then. Very helpful. We couldn?t find any airline personnel and after a while I found some people I recognized from the flight and they said that they just heard from someone else where to go. Ugh. It was a horrible into to the island.
We picked up our second white rental car, our luggage and got away from there, heading to our B&B in South Kihei. Along the way it just starts POURING. Sometimes it slowed down to just raining, but it never stopped completely. All night!
After we checked in, I just had to get dinner. I hadn?t had breakfast and the café in the Kona airport wasn?t making any food (power snafu or something) so all I had to eat was chocolate-covered macadamia nuts and some ice cream the shop had (actually that was Tropical Dreams and very good, but still). So we went out to Maui Taco which was nearby. I really just wanted something quick and filling and it definitely fit the bill. It might have also been tasty, but I scarfed it down too fast to tell. We got SOAKED each time we left or ran to our car. It was kinda ridiculous how much rain there was. I couldn?t believe it didn?t stop! Oh well, we watched a movie at the B&B for the evening. We actually had reservations at Sorrento?s that night at 6PM but I think we just got to our B&B at 6 and though it was maybe even closer than Maui Taco, we just weren?t in the mood.


Day 8: We were supposed to start the day with a kayak tour with South Pacific kayak but of course that was cancelled. Instead we had a lazy morning and enjoyed a huge breakfast at the B&B. There was cereal, fruit, yogurt, coffee out so I figured that was breakfast and ate. Nope, then we got served these amazing fruit-stuffed French toast rolled in macadamia nuts. I don?t really know how to describe them properly, but they were GOOD. We had to keep eating!
So then we feel full and happy, though guilty for not going out to burn off calories, so after a bit we head out to Wailea. We got to a public parking area near the Renaissance and went out to the beach to start the walk along the resort row. Almost immediately it starts raining on us and fearing another tropical monsoon, we went back to the car. We headed a bit further south and it cleared up so we found another public parking area. This time we made it much further away from the car before it rains on us. We decided to duck into the Kea Lani for coffee but on the way indoors we got distracted by a Koi pond and then it stopped again. Anyway, none of this was the insane flash-flooding that occurred the day before so it wasn?t really bothering us too much anymore. It?s a nice beachfront walk, even on a drizzly day.
We did some laundry at the B&B and then drove to Lahaina, stopping at a viewpoint or two along the way. It was sunny now, but still occasionally raining. As in, you still need your sunglasses but could also use an umbrella. We saw that there was a LOT of runoff from the previous day and the water at the coast was chocolate brown up here. Then further out there?s a line in the water where it goes back to blue. Very interesting looking. No snorkeling around here today! We stopped in Lahaina to pick up another Hard Rock glass and then we walked around and stopped at a few shops.
Next it was time to head to the Old Lahaina Luau. The day continued its rainy/sunny mix and I ended up drinking a ton of drinks early in case it got cancelled. But no cancellation. It was basically as I had heard: OK food, good show. Our seats were surprisingly good considering how early I?d heard some people booked for this and I only booked 4 weeks out. We were in the first row of tables and in the first seats at the table. It was a nice evening and nice to meet some more fellow travelers. And I just loved wearing flesh flowers.


Day 9: Another delightful breakfast (hearty waffles with fruit and fresh whipped cream) and lazy morning. This day was our West Maui drive day which I thought would be better for us than the whole drive to Hana. After the Big Island I figured we?d want to avoid too much more driving. So we again headed out towards Lahaina, again stopping at some other viewpoints along the way. There was an Art Fair under/in the Banyan tree that was nice to walk around.
Next we went up to Kaanapali. We couldn?t find any open public parking spaces so we parked in Whalers Village (free with $10 purchase (not difficult at all considering the macadamia nut addiction we?d both gotten)). We walked along the beaches there, watched some kite-surfers and just enjoyed the sun. Continued north, ate lunch at a place called The Gazebo which was pretty good and had a nice view. Continuing north we made several stops to do the short walk to the ?dragons? teeth?, look at the scenery, or watch surfers. We went to the blowhole which was amazing. We walked down near it which was well worth it because as neat as it looks from the top of the hill it?s MUCH better to see it spouting way above your head. Also pretty interesting landscape down there. We also went to the Olivine pools. I just waded around in some of the pools. I don?t know if other areas were deep enough for swimming that day but when I would step into some areas my foot would sink and the water would turn murky. It was just too gross to continue so I stuck with the shallower rocky pools. Maybe the storms the other day messed the pools up. Still, when waves would crash onto the black rocks it would trickle down and made mini-waterfalls. Very pretty. However, it was a tricky hike down there. Certain spots were easier to do backwards as if they were ladders.
We continued on, the narrow spots weren?t THAT bad (and they were nothing compared to what we encountered on that one road in VNP.) It was getting kinda late, so no banana bread (in the small town near the end) for us. Tons of great views on that road. Some VERY blind turns.
I had forgotten to make any reservations earlier that day so we just went for more casual dining. D voted for Italian, so we went to Bada Bings (also very close to our B&B). As further proof of the small world, our waiter was from about 15 minutes from where D is from! We got a $10 bottle of red wine, partly just to say that we did. It was even drinkable! Fun place, tasty simple food. We ate outside until it started raining again. Everyone just laughed and picked up their plates and sat down at a table inside. No fuss, no panic, just a little rain in paradise. Our waiter went by with food for another outdoor table and completely missed that everyone had moved until he saw the empty patio.


Day 10: Last day in Maui. I had rescheduled the S.P. kayak trip for this morning but when we got down there (all the way at the end of the road south of Makena at 6:30AM) it was cancelled again due to rough water (it was also raining on and off again). So we ended up doing no snorkeling in Maui. But as soon as I heard it was cancelled I thought, at least we?ll have another good breakfast.
This day?s was an enormous whole wheat pancake topped with yogurt and fruit. I only made it through half. From the breakfast area there was a good view of the West Maui mountains and this day also had a really strong rainbow (actually a double). So another pleasant morning.
Our flight wasn?t until 4:45PM so we had a good chunk of time left. Unfortunately the day was looking overcast and rainy. We went to Paia and poked around all the funky stores and then to Hookipa to watch the surfers (too early for windsurfers). I was considering going to the Iao valley, but I wasn?t in the mood for hiking around with rain and mist blocking the views anyway. So we were lame and watched a movie near Kahului. And we were more lame by eating some mall food court food. But it was pretty decent actually (tepanyaki).
Back to the Maui airport, which I now loathe and despise. The day before they had the incident with the guy who ran his truck into the airport, set it on fire, and then tried to get back into because he was upset with his friend. So yeah, the airport was a mess, but they just seemed to be making it worse. We got the Hawaiian terminal and they had two signs up outside for lines, one for interisland flights, one for specific flights to the mainland. There was no one on the interisland line so we went inside. Adding to the confusion was the agriculture line right there and some large group of guys with these 12 foot long bags which were laying on the floor EVERYWHERE. When you dodged those you had to also dodge the people wheeling mountains of luggage around on carts.
We headed towards the check-in terminals and are trying to figure out if there are separate lines for e-tickets or what. It just looks like a total mess with people everywhere. I ask an airline employee at one line about where I should go and she tells me that I need to stand on the line outside. So I go out there and read the signs again and am confused. Stand at the sign with no one else by the interisland flight sign or on the long line that says it?s for mainland flights?
So I go back and ask the rep again and she says the long line. The one that says it?s for the specific mainland flights? Yes. Did you know there?s another sign that says it?s for interisland flights and it?s a bit confusing? And she just starts yelling at me that there was a situation yesterday and I need to realize that things are backed up. OK, but couldn?t you move the sign over, it?s very confusing? More lecturing. Geez, wouldn?t it be better if she didn?t have to spell out for every passenger where to go? I just meant to be helpful to her and other passengers coming in because there was no way anyone could assess all the lines and just know what to do.
So in the long line we go. That line gives us the privilege of standing on the long inside line. Next is a really long security line. We start to wonder if we?ll even make it. Next we get to stand in the long line for the plane. Even our 3 or 4 hour delay in Kona didn?t bother me like the Maui airport did within 5 minutes both of my times arriving there. But we arrived safely in Honolulu and our luggage even made it! (I was giving it a 75% chance) We took an expensive taxi to our hotel near Waikiki and checked in.
D went up to our room to clean up and I rushed outside to catch the sunset. I walked a little around Waikiki and soaked up the atmosphere. It was so surprising, but I found myself loving it! I had heard so many negative comments about it I didn?t even know if we?d be able to handle a day there, and there I was really loving it! I think because I?d already had quite a fill of natural wonders I was fine with a more urban environment. I live in a city and I always love places where there?s other people strolling around. Waikiki definitely has that. And I loved that there was music coming from almost every corner, there was just so much activity and a great liveliness in the air. I went back to the hotel, got ready for dinner and we headed out to walk around together. D liked Waikiki a lot too. We walked a while and then I picked out Duke?s for our dinner spot. Almost an hour wait, but we weren?t in any hurry and there were plenty of bars inside. We got some tasty drinks (my second one came with a backscratcher IN IT) found some chairs outside near the beach and were quite content. Dinner was pretty good, though for some reason we ordered about twice the amount of food we needed. Oh well, at least the tropical drinks weren?t too expensive, $6, which is less than the Hilton and less what it would cost most places in Philly (do I need to mention the $14 cosmo I had at one restaurant back here?)


Day 11: Last day in Hawaii. We were planning on going to Pearl Harbor, but I just didn?t feel like navigating the Bus system, so we decided that morning to do a tour to get us there and back. We looked at a schedule on a brochure we had picked up and that meant that we had just one hour to get ready, pack up and check out, or else we had to wait and take an afternoon tour. So we rushed around, got it all done, and even had time for coffee, but then of course the tour bus was late!
We got to the memorial and had about an hour to go through the museum, shop, and outdoors which was more than enough. I thought the memorial was very tastefully done and also very informative.
We got dropped off back on Waikiki and made arrangements for an airport shuttle later that night. They tried to get me to book it for 3 hours before our flight, but I though 2.5 was excessive enough (and it was) so that?s as early as I would book it. So we had until 9PM to enjoy our last day.
First, we had to go to the Hard Rock, which is surprisingly not very convenient to central Waikiki. But we walked there, and then walked along Waikiki all the way back. We had lunch on the beach and sat and relaxed when we wanted. We found a nice grassy area to snooze away some of the afternoon.
For dinner, I picked Cheeseburgers in Paradise which turned out to be, well, my magic moment of the trip. We were eating, we were right by the big windows in front where you can watch the beach and the sun setting, the band was playing fun songs behind me, I had a frosty drink in my hand, I was with my fiancé, and I was so perfectly content. I knew I was leaving, but we?d had a great vacation together. Flying back the next day and then at work the day after, I kept getting that image back in my head. I would have never guessed THAT would be the place that stuck with me the most, but after all the research and planning, the best part of traveling is the surprises!

I?ll end on that high note, but feel free to ask any questions!!

Thanks for the wonderful trip report! My fiance and I are headed to the same 3 islands for our 2 week honeymoon in August (2 nights Waikiki, 4 nights BI, and 7 nights Maui.) Your trip report got me even more excited -- if possible!

Aloha pb&j!

Great report... good to hear your spirited insight, good weather or not.
Any day in paradise is a wonderful day!
Also, enjoyed your comments about Waikiki... I enjoy the city as well... where else on earth will you find so many contrasts

Thanks again, great report!
O'ahu bound in 16 days!!!
Alooooohhhaaaaa...

Aloha!
Have a great time on your upcoming trips! I definitely need to figure out when we can get back there!

Sorry about the ??? all over the place I hope that didn't make it too difficult to read.

Awesome thorough trip report!!!

Would you be so kind as to provide some more details about the SeaQuest excursion? Was the ride on the boat rough? How were the ocean/weather conditions? Do you think one could operate a small camcorder on board? Is there a ladder making it easy to get on/off the boat with fins?

Is it easy to get in/out of the water at Ahalanui, or do you have to navigate over rough lava or slippery rocks?

Mahalo in advance for your replies!

Congratulations on a great trip and the detailed report. How difficult was the drive from Waikoloa to Cafe Pesto in Kawaihae at night? Am planning dinner there one night and read your comment about the pitch black road. Thanks for your help.

I can answer that one.. It's a short drive between Waikoloa and Kawaihae, and yes, roads on the Big Island are generally very dark (they have strict lighting restrictions on the island because of Keck and the other observatories).

The upside is that the west side of the island is flat, and there's really nothing to run into. I don't find driving there "spooky" at all, in fact, put on a CD of some Gregorian chant, open up the top of your convertible and look at the stars, it's a very, very spiritual experience.

To add on to fdecarlo's reply,
The drive to Cafe Pesto isn't hard, just very dark. When you drive north and into the "town" it's not the first building, but slow down or you'll pass it as the signs aren't big. It's in a small shopping strip on your right.
I think it was a bit spooky because we were driving through the resort area, but could see nothing around. The resorts are all a ways off the highway and we couldn't even see the lights from them. But then again, I almost never am even on roads without streetlights.

JohnD - Sea Quest ...
camcorder - we didn't take ours, you probably could, but I'd be a bit worried about all the sea spray during the ride. When we went near the sea caves, our guide took us to a sideways blowhole that sprayed everyone, but he warned a woman with a camera out first.
ladder - there was a ladder to get in/out of the raft. I didn't use it to get in the water ever though. To get back into the boat I took off my fins while still in the water, tossed them in the raft, then used the ladder. Seemed to work fine.
Water conditions were calm. No whales Plenty of dolphins in Kealakakua while we rode in and out of the bay. The ride wasn't too rough, but it's bouncy. You might feel like you sat too long on a hard chair later that day.
Ahalanui - part man-made = concrete steps and a level ledge around the pool. There's even a lifeguard!

Thanks again pb and j for the seaquest info., I checked their website and they even have a video, looks like we'll have to give it a go! Do you recall how long it took by boat from Keahou to the snorkel sites?

pb and i, did you write your trip report in another program and then copy and paste it into Fodors? I have noticed that copying/cutting and pasting inserts questions marks into Fodors posts. Does anyone know why this is and how to avoid it ?

I asked this question in another thread, and the answer seems to be to turn off "smart quotes" in Word, or whichever word processor one is copying/pasting from.

Also be sure to Preview your posts on Fodor's site, before actually posting.

JohnD, few more Sea Quest points:
It definitely was the longest part of the trip the first ride out. We went from Keahou down to Honaunau first. Our guide slowed the boat down 2 or more times along the way to point out things on the coast, but it felt long since I just wanted to start to snorkel! I couldn't tell you how many minutes since I wasn't wearing a watch and I've got a truly horrible sense of time.
Totally random, but I brought the internet coupon with me which says cash only or cash or check only but they took credit cards.

Rusty, I copied out of Word, and fdecarlo, thanks for the tip!

Thanks again pb and j!!!,

My wife and I were wondering about bringing the cash$) for the SeaQuest coupon, and it seems you were able to use the credit card and still get the discount, correct? Also correct me if I am wrong but I would expect the front of the boat to have the least potential overspray/camera problems?
Mahalo nui loa for all your help!

The seats on Sea Quest are the side of the raft. The difference in sitting in the front vs back is maybe 4ft. on a 15 ft raft. So I don't think there's too much difference there. BUt go ahead and bring it, talk to them, and if you decide that you don't want to risk damaging it, you can stow it with your things in the front section of the raft which is covered and dry.
Yes I was able to get the discount and use a CC.

Great report!

Can you give me the name of the B&B that you stayed at in Maui? It sounds heavenly, especially the breakfasts! Would appreciate it if you had the website, and could describe it a bit.

Thanks!

The name of the B&B is What a Wonderful World B&B and I found it on frommers.com. I have a reservation about recommending it though. True, the breakfasts were memorable, very relaxing, and delicious. The owner, Eva, couldn't be more friendly or helpful, and there are a lot of small touches that are nice (beach toys to borrow, books and movies to borrow, BBQ, you're free to wander around the house, etc.) so that was all great. A very relaxed atmosphere.
However, the walls are paper thin. We were in the patio suite which is below the living room so we could hear things from there, especially Eva's dogs walking on the wood floors. Or if people were outside, you can hear entire conversations.
I don't know, I might stay there again, but I wanted to let you know what to expect.

Thanks so much for your detailed trip report!

I was just wondering - was it much of a hike to get to the blowhole and the olivine pools or was it quick and easy to do?