Trip Report: Maui/Big Island
 

Trip Report: Part 1

Wednesday, June 9: After 14 hours (2 layovers - I had to buy 4 tickets and could save $200 by going with the layovers ) in airports/airplanes we (Myself, my husband and our two sons who are 16 and 18) finally arrived in Maui at 5:30 pm - it was the first time I had ever been on an airplane where everyone was so happy to arrive at their destination that they applauded! By the time we got the rental car and our luggage and reached our condo in Kahana we were exhausted - it was only 7:30 local time, but 12:30 to us. We went straight to bed.

Thursday, June 10: We stayed in a Valley Isle Resort condo - it was small and could have used some updating, but it was clean, beach front and most important to us relatively inexpensive ($139/night including taxes). We had a great view of the ocean from both the bedroom and the living room. There was always a good breeze - didn?t need air conditioning at all. The beach in front of the condo was small, but was nice and never crowded. The pool was also small but very nice and never crowded - usually we had it to ourselves.

We were up at 5 am - walked the beach in front of the condo and then went next door to the Kahana Terrace for breakfast - open air dining - between us we had pineapple pancakes, macadamia nut pancakes (both with coconut syrup), an omelet and pork chops with fried eggs - everything was very good - a great first meal in Hawaii!

We decided to head north on Hwy 30 and drive around West Maui using Maui Revealed as our guide. Our first stop was at Napili Beach which was nice. Next we stopped at Makalua-puna Point to see the Dragon?s Teeth lava formation - MR said it was a 5 minute walk along the edge of the golf course- we evidently went down the wrong edge of the course - we made a very interesting and enjoyable 30+ minute hike past the golf course down to a beach, up and over a rocky shoreline and finally got to our destination. Next stop Nakalele Blowhole - a short, but steep hike down to this - it was blowing 20-30 feet - a really cool sight. Next stop: Olivine Pools - a long steep hike to see these; they were beautiful, but they were rather crowded so we opted not to swim in them. We stopped at the road stand that MR says has the best banana bread in the world - it was good, but I am not sure about best in the world. We then headed on into Kahului to buy the groceries we had been too tired to get the night before.
The road around West Maui was definitely hair-raising at times - a very narrow one lane, but it was certainly drive able, there wasn?t a lot of traffic and most of what was there was going in our direction. We thought it was well worth the drive - actually we all enjoyed this trip more than the Road to Hana.

Friday, June 11 Up at 4 am - not adjusted to Hawaii time yet! We were going snorkeling with Ann Fielding this morning. (A big Thank You to everyone here who encouraged me - a nonswimmer who is somewhat afraid of the water - to go ahead and try snorkeling - it was absolutely one of the highlights of the trip - I am so glad I did it!) Ann is a marine biologist - she is recommended by MR for those nervous about snorkeling- she takes small groups of 4-6. She provided all the equipment we needed (including wetsuits), a light lunch, and lots of information about the fish/corals/water currents/best snorkeling spots/etc. of Hawaii. We snorkeled at Honolua Bay - saw tons of different fish, corals, sea urchins, eels, turtles and even an octopus! We then had lunch with Ann at D.T. Fleming Beach Park and talked more about the sea life in Hawaii and how it developed. This was such a good experience!

We drove into Lahaina for supper at Cheeseburger in Paradise - we ate early (about 4:00 - still adjusting to the time change) so they weren?t crowded at all - we had an oceanfront table - burgers were okay- not great, oldest son had the shrimp fried in honey and coconut - he said it was the best fried shrimp he had ever had. The live music was so loud we couldn?t carry on much of a conversation. Walked to the Banyan Tree Park and did a little shopping.

Back to our condo to watch the sunset - there were a group of retirees who live in the condos and they go down to the beach nightly with their chairs and their drinks and watch the sunset - they blow conch shells when the sun goes down - This was a neat thing to see and hear.

Trip Report: Part 2

Saturday, June 12 Up at 2 am to see the sunrise at Haleakala. Arrived at Haleakala about 4:30 - no one was there to take our entrance fee, so we got in free. Got a place in the summit parking lot - it filled up well before sunrise. We stayed in the car until about 5:15 then my oldest son and I went out to the lookout (Couldn?t get my 16 year old or my husband to get out yet). As all the guide books say it was COLD, there was a tremendous wind chill. We wore jeans/sweatshirts and brought blankets from the condo, but we were absolutely frozen by sunrise. The sunrise was a disappointment - it was too foggy/cloudy to see much of any sunrise. We drove down to the Visitor Center and looked over the exhibits - great inside(warm) view of the crater from here. We had packed a lunch and planned to hike part of the Sliding Crater Trail, but it was simply too cold/wet for us. We drove back down and stopped at the side of the road when we got low enough that the weather had cleared up and had our picnic. We saw a bad bicycle accident on the way down - the cyclist (who was with one of the cycle down the mountain tours) had somehow run off the road - we saw an ambulance heading up later. Our brakes got hot on the way down - we should have downshifted more/braked less. Back to our Kahana beach/condo pool to rest, relax and watch the sunset.

Sunday, June 13. Road to Hana - we started at 7 am and really didn?t hit much traffic. We enjoyed the drive ( it wasn?t nearly as difficult to drive as the road around West Maui) and stopped at many of the sights recommended by MR. Our favorite was Nahiku Road - just beautiful! We also went to the red sand beach - again we started out walking the wrong direction and had to backtrack, but we did make it. We were all tired and made the decision to change our plans and head back to Kahana the way we had come instead of going on around south Maui. We did stop at Olowalu on the way back to see the Petroglyphs - they had been pretty thoroughly vandalized - words/pictures had been scratched around and right over many of the petroglyphs - it is very sad that they couldn?t have been protected in some way. Dinner at the Aloha Mixed Plate - watch out for the birds - hubby got pooped on so we moved to a table with an umbrella. I had the Hawaiian Plate - way too much starch for me, hubby had loco moco for the first time - he loved it.

Monday, June 14 Spent the day at our condo, relaxing on the beach and at the pool, then headed back to Lahaina for the Old Lahaina Luau. Another great experience, I made the reservations in March and we had front row traditional seating. We enjoyed the show, the meal and the lava flows.

Tuesday, June 15 Went snorkeling again at Honolua Bay. Again saw lots of fish - no turtles this time. We had lunch at Fish and Game in Kahana - food was okay, nothing great and probably not worth the price. Rested, relaxed and did the laundry/packed in the afternoon. Sunset on the beach.

Wednesday, June 16 Got to the airport at 5 am to catch our 6:30 flight to the Big Island - we shouldn?t have bothered getting there so early. The ticket counter didn?t open until 5:45. Arrived in Kona, picked up our rental car, went to Wal-Mart for non-perishable groceries, rented snorkel equipment and then headed to our rental house in Kapaho, stopping in at Volcanoes National Park for info. We drove down highway 132 and the Pahoa-Pohoiki Road - some of the prettiest scenery we saw on either island. Our rental was a very nice, large 2 bedroom, 2 bath in a gated community - $141 a night including tax and cleaning fee. There was a tide pool in the back yard. The house did have somewhat of a bug problem - both roaches and ants - we kept our food in the fridge and it didn?t bother anyone but me. Drove into Pahoa for perishables and ate dinner at the Black Rock Café- food was good, not great, inexpensive.

Thursday, June 17. Up early, walked around the neighborhood, checked out the beach access and tide pools. Left about noon for Volcanoes National Park. Drove the Crater Rim Drive, stopping for many pictures. Made several short hikes including Devastation Trail and Thurston Lava Tube. About 4:30 we headed down the Chain of Crater Road. We had to park quite a distance up the road, but by the time we left, cars were parking much further away than we had to. The trail to see the lava flow was long - about ? mile on a paved road, 1 and 1/4 mile of marked trail over the lava and another mile or so of unmarked trail over lava. It was a fairly easy hike and at this time of day it wasn?t hot. We finally got to a good viewing area and the sight of the lava flowing into the ocean was absolutely awesome. We stayed and watched it until just a little after dark - my sons both said this was the best thing they did or saw on either island. I had been worried about finding our way back over the unmarked lava, but there were so many people coming and going that they made a human trail.

Friday, June 18. Back to Volcanoes National Park to hike the Kilauea Iki trail - it goes through rain forest and across a crater - a fun 4 mile hike. Drove into Hilo for lunch at the Café 100 - more loco moco. Spent the afternoon swimming in the tide pools and the naturally heated Champagne Pond. We drove over a 4wd lava road to the easternmost part of the island - saw a double rainbow.

Trip Report: Part 3

Saturday, June 19. Spent the morning snorkeling in the Kapaho Tide pools - lots of fish, but in places the temperature difference between the top layer and the bottom layer of water made the viewing not quite clear. Lunch at Luquins Mexican Restaurant in Pahoa - pretty good Mexican food, excellent salsa. On the way back to our rental, we stopped at Lava Tree State Park - a cool place that we had all to ourselves - we took some pictures, but they just didn?t capture the size of the monkey pod trees. Went swimming in the Tidal Pools again in the evening.

Sunday, June 20. Packed up and headed to Kona, stopping at the Black Sand Beach - saw several turtles, both in the water and out. It rained fairly heavily all day so we unpacked at our condo at the Royal Seacliff Resort ($157/night for a distant ocean view), then did some shopping.

Monday, June 21. Drove to the Place of Refuge - interesting, but I wished we had stopped there the day before when we were driving by it instead of making the drive there again - not a scenic drive. Snorkeled at Kahalu?u Park - lots of fish, but also lots of snorkelers - we didn?t enjoy it as much as Honolua bay in Maui. Spent the afternoon at the pool - there was both a saltwater and a freshwater pool at the condo. Had dinner at Ocean Seafood - MR gave it an ONO, but I was not impressed, the food on the buffet tasted just like the Chinese buffet I can get in small town Missouri (except the buffet here has twice as many choices and is half the price).

Tuesday June 22. Relaxed at the condo til checkout time, then had lunch at Wendy?s (the one with the million dollar view - the view was great, but the food was awful and I usually like Wendy?s) and did some last minute souvenir shopping. Flew Kona to Maui and then back home.

Again a big thank you to everyone who answered the many questions I had while planning this trip!

Kcinmo, thanks for a very detailed and interesting report. What did you think of your condo in Kona? Also, you snorkeled without being a swimmer......... I'm assuming you used some sort of flotation device??? I am not a very good swimmer but I would still like to snorkel so I'd love to hear more about that. Thanks for sharing............:-)

Kcinmo, I went back into your old posts and found the long one with all the replies regarding snorkeling. I'm printing it out for myself! Did you wear the vest? Thanks ........

I did wear the snorkel vest most of the time - it probably wasn't necessary, but it made me feel better.
What really helped me feel more comfortable was having a boogie board. I didn't lay on it - just held on with one hand - it was kind of like a security blanket.

The condo at Royal Seacliff was very nice, clean, well stocked with dishes,etc, and the grounds and the pools were nice. I did miss having a beach - it sits on a rocky shoreline.

Kcinmo, thank you for the info. That's what I'll do.......... with a vest and a boogie board, I should certainly feel comfortable!:-)

I have toyed with the idea of renting one of those Kapoho houses. Other than the bugs, did you find this to be a positive experience? Would you stay there again? Would you stay in the same house or did you see others you would opt for next time?

crazy4hawaii: Yes I would rent in Kapaho again - we enjoyed spending time where there weren't a lot of tourists and it was a good spot for exploring the east side of the island. We met a couple of people who lived in the community and enjoyed talking to them. We had great weather while we were there - it rained at night, but never during the day. There were certainly nicer houses in the community than the one we rented, but I don't know if they were rentals - a lot of the houses had full time residents.
I would have no problem staying in the same house again - for the price it was great (except for the bugs). But, I would probably check out some of the other rentals in the area and see how they compared.
We rented the "Rabbit and Dragon" from hpvacationrentals.com if you want to check it out.