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Back from two weeks in Hawaii - some reflections

optimist

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We spent two glorious weeks in Maui, the Big Island and Ohau. Came back last night to a sewer overflow in my studio:crash: . So as I wait for the Roto-Rooter man to arrive with all memories of palm trees and plumerias drifting away fast, I thought I would share some of our experiences...

We spent way too much time transferring from one Island to the next. Many posts are about "which island"? Honestly, I think it doesn't matter. They are all beautiful but it really takes away from the vacation to schlep between them. A full day is gone by the time you pack your bags, check out, make your way to the airport, return the car rental, check in an hour and half ahead for a 15 minute flight then do the same thing all over again at your destination. Next time, one island and stay put.

The trip to the Volcano National Park should NOT be done in one day if your base is Waicoloa Village. We spent four days on the BI and we were staying at the Bay Club. I should have rented accommodations near the volcano but I could not work it. As it turned out, visible lava had stopped flowing the week we got there so we were unable to see lava flow but we hung around till sunset to see the red glow from afar which can only be seen in the dark.
We made the mistake of returning using the Southern route based on the description in the BI Revealed book. We had a 4WD so we thought we would be OK. Not a good idea... A good twenty miles are completely unpaved and pitch black. It was a terrifying drive that took forever.

Accommodations - We stayed at the Marriott Ocean Club in Maui which was fabulous. We got an ocean view room and loved the resort.
In Oahu, we stayed at Ko Olina. Based on all the reviews, I expected to love it but ended up wishing we had stayed somewhere else. The location is very artificial, nothing there but other resorts and not close to anything. Also, the rooms (we had two studios) were railroad like and dark.
I chose the Bay Club for the Big Island because everyone said how large the units were. Very true, a huge apartment really and beautifully furnished. But it does not feel like Hawaii because the ocean is nowhere to be seen, more like Arizona. So next time, I would pick one of the other Hilton properties.

Though we generally like to go to new places on vacation, as we were heading home, all four of us were agreed to return to Hawaii. It is paradise!
 

DaveNV

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Welcome home! Sorry about the flood. That's a vacation-buzzkill, for sure.

Your point about sticking it out on one island is well taken. For the airfare cost and hassle involved, less than a week on one island isn't worth it to us. We own two Hawaii timeshares -- one on Oahu and one on Kauai. We do a three-point trip: Fly direct from Seattle to Honolulu, spend the week in our Oahu timeshare, then catch an early interisland hop to Lihue, and spend the second week in our Kauai timeshare. Then we fly home direct from Lihue to Seattle. It works out great.

One of these days we'll make it to the BI when the lava is doing something amazing. We saw what you did last time we were there. The red glow visible after dark is pretty great, but kind of a let down if you were expecting to see flowing lava.

Dave
 

MuranoJo

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We spent way too much time transferring from one Island to the next.

Although I've posted a similar recommendation here to avoid island hopping, we did it ourselves again this last Fall--and regretted it. (And that was *only* two islands in two weeks.) Absolutely next time, we'll plop on one island and stay there.

In Oahu, we stayed at Ko Olina. Based on all the reviews, I expected to love it but ended up wishing we had stayed somewhere else. The location is very artificial, nothing there but other resorts and not close to anything. I chose the Bay Club for the Big Island because everyone said how large the units were. Very true, a huge apartment really and beautifully furnished. But it does not feel like Hawaii because the ocean is nowhere to be seen, more like Arizona.

Same here regarding the general South Kohala area--ended up wishing we had stayed in the Kona area again. We were well aware we wouldn't have an ocean view, but I guess it just wasn't our cup of tea.
 

linsj

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We spent way too much time transferring from one Island to the next. Many posts are about "which island"? Honestly, I think it doesn't matter. They are all beautiful but it really takes away from the vacation to schlep between them. A full day is gone by the time you pack your bags, check out, make your way to the airport, return the car rental, check in an hour and half ahead for a 15 minute flight then do the same thing all over again at your destination. Next time, one island and stay put.

I've been preaching that for years. I generally go to Hawaii twice a year for 10-15 nights per trip--all on one island at a time. A big part of the reason to go there is to slow down and relax.
 

geoand

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The trip to the Volcano National Park should NOT be done in one day if your base is Waicoloa Village. We spent four days on the BI and we were staying at the Bay Club. I should have rented accommodations near the volcano but I could not work it. As it turned out, visible lava had stopped flowing the week we got there so we were unable to see lava flow but we hung around till sunset to see the red glow from afar which can only be seen in the dark.
We made the mistake of returning using the Southern route based on the description in the BI Revealed book. We had a 4WD so we thought we would be OK. Not a good idea... A good twenty miles are completely unpaved and pitch black.

It is paradise!
I don't know if you mean Saddle road or southern route. We are on the BI now and have driven Saddle rd in both directions. We drove to Hilo. Drove back at night. Road is completely paved. Had no problems.

We have driven to Punalu'u beach 3 times this past week to snorkel with the turtles. Drive was hour and half each way. Staying in Kailua.
 

vacationtime1

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We spent way too much time transferring from one Island to the next. Many posts are about "which island"? Honestly, I think it doesn't matter. They are all beautiful but it really takes away from the vacation to schlep between them. A full day is gone by the time you pack your bags, check out, make your way to the airport, return the car rental, check in an hour and half ahead for a 15 minute flight then do the same thing all over again at your destination. Next time, one island and stay put.

The trip to the Volcano National Park should NOT be done in one day if your base is Waicoloa Village . . . .

I agree completely. My purpose in visiting Hawaii is to relax. I want to fly non-stop to my island of choice. If I have only a week or ten days, I don't want to lose one of them on inter-island travel -- or to cram so much into a day trip that it become stressful. I say the same about Hana as you do about the volcano; stay overnight and relax.

I also have this belief that if I am going to Hawaii, I want to see the ocean from my room. The lava fields of Waikoloa are stark, lunar, and beautiful, but I came to see palm trees, sand, and ocean.
 

slip

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Man, I couldn't agree more. Hawaii is palm trees, the ocean and relaxing.:cool:
 

optimist

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I don't know if you mean Saddle road or southern route. We are on the BI now and have driven Saddle rd in both directions. We drove to Hilo. Drove back at night. Road is completely paved. Had no problems.

We have driven to Punalu'u beach 3 times this past week to snorkel with the turtles. Drive was hour and half each way. Staying in Kailua.

No, not the Saddle road, the Southern route. The one that is described in the Revealed book. I am still not clear what we did, but we ended up off the highway, on a road where it felt like if you miss a turn, you will end up falling off a cliff into the ocean. It took forever, it was pitch black, there was not a soul anywhere, no cars, nothing....At one point, there was a cow plopped in the middle of the road and if it wasn't for his eyes glowing with the headlights, we would have run him over.
 

heathpack

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No, not the Saddle road, the Southern route. The one that is described in the Revealed book. I am still not clear what we did, but we ended up off the highway, on a road where it felt like if you miss a turn, you will end up falling off a cliff into the ocean. It took forever, it was pitch black, there was not a soul anywhere, no cars, nothing....At one point, there was a cow plopped in the middle of the road and if it wasn't for his eyes glowing with the headlights, we would have run him over.

Ok, so just to be clear, as we are planning to drive the southern route from Kohala to Volcano on Wednesday. There is a normal road, right? You did something intentionally off the main road?

Not keen on driving an unpaved road for many miles.

BTW, we are 2 nights in Volcano Village.

H
 

optimist

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Ok, so just to be clear, as we are planning to drive the southern route from Kohala to Volcano on Wednesday. There is a normal road, right? You did something intentionally off the main road?

Not keen on driving an unpaved road for many miles.

BTW, we are 2 nights in Volcano Village.

H

You are right. My mistake! The road back from the volcano was paved. I was just reminded by my son that the road we took that was unpaved was the southern route back from HANA on MAUI.
So you are OK on the Big Island.

Everything is blending into one big island:eek:
 

scrapngen

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Ok, so just to be clear, as we are planning to drive the southern route from Kohala to Volcano on Wednesday. There is a normal road, right? You did something intentionally off the main road?

Not keen on driving an unpaved road for many miles.

BTW, we are 2 nights in Volcano Village.

H

I don't know what the OP did, but when we were there 2 years ago, we drove the Southern route and it was paved and quite nice. :shrug: We drove in the dark late at night back from the volcano and had no problem. You just stay on Hwy 11 all the way... 2 lane hwy - newly paved from the volcano to Na'alehu, and still fine the rest of the way..We were staying in Kona.

The only time we drove unpaved roads was going off the main hwy on the South Point Road 8 miles to the very southern tip of the island and over to the green sand beach.

Was there some kind of construction or repaving project???
 

T_R_Oglodyte

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You are right. My mistake! The road back from the volcano was paved. I was just reminded by my son that the road we took that was unpaved was the southern route back from HANA on MAUI.
So you are OK on the Big Island.

Everything is blending into one big island:eek:

Now that makes sense. I had the same questions as others, because I knew that all of the roads you could have taken back on the Big Island are paved.

On Maui I luvvvv that stretch of road you are talking about - I often hear it described as the road "beyond" Hana to distinguish if from the road to Hana (though it's actually the road beyond the seven pools).

But that's during the daytime. I certainly would avoid driving it at night.
 

heathpack

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You are right. My mistake! The road back from the volcano was paved. I was just reminded by my son that the road we took that was unpaved was the southern route back from HANA on MAUI.
So you are OK on the Big Island.

Everything is blending into one big island:eek:

Whew! Undoing then redoing this trip just now would've been a wicked hassle!

H
 

daventrina

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...
We made the mistake of returning using the Southern route based on the description in the BI Revealed book. We had a 4WD so we thought we would be OK. Not a good idea... A good twenty miles are completely unpaved and pitch black. It was a terrifying drive that took forever.

Missed that one. Sounds like it would have been a nice side trip for us (during the day). We'll have to look for it next time. Is in inside the park?
 

T_R_Oglodyte

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Missed that one. Sounds like it would have been a nice side trip for us (during the day). We'll have to look for it next time. Is in inside the park?
When most people take the road to Hana the furthest they go is to the seven pools, where they turn around and retrace their path back through Hana and along the north shore of south Maui. But the road does continue all the way along the south shore, connecting to upcountry on the west flank of Haleakala, very close to the Tedeschi winery.

Most people stay off that stretch of road because a stretch of it is unpaved and road conditions can vary with weather conditions and maintenance. For a stretch it hugs a cliff that is close to the ocean and limited guard rails.

The scenery is wonderful and it's very quiet and peaceful because there is so little traffic - with the caveat that you can't be a person who is freaked by that kind of driving. We did it with another couple about six years in a two-wheel drive compact size rental car without any difficulty whatsoever, finishing up at Tedeschi in the late afternoon and having a dinner together upcountry before returning to Lahaina.

******

Side note regarding the seven pools. When we were at the seven pools our friends, who were living on Maui at the time, advised us to be alert for "bongo drums" coming from the side of the mountain. That is the sound of a flash flood as it's coming down the mountain.

An hour after we left the seven pools, a flash flood came through the seven pools and swept a young boy out to sea. The father jumped in to try to save the boy; Dad was killed but the boy was rescued by some bystanders who were firefighters on vacation.
 

optimist

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Missed that one. Sounds like it would have been a nice side trip for us (during the day). We'll have to look for it next time. Is in inside the park?

No, as I mentioned above, I made a mistake thinking that was at the end of our Volcano National Park day. It wasn't... It was at the end of the road to Hana day on Maui.
We had just zigzagged all the way to Hana, it was getting dark and we didn't want to go through those winding roads again...

As I look at it on the map, it's the stretch between kaupo and the beginning of the Pi'ilani Highway.

Here is a picture of that cow that we almost ran over. I didn't touch up the picture, it really was this dark!

(my first picture post so hope it works)

photostream


can't make the picture appear:shrug: anyway... it was a black cow...
 
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Kauai Kid

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We were coming back from Hilo about 11 pm to Kona and I pulled over to the side of the road, shut off the engine and all lights, and my wife started screaming. What is the matter with you? She'd seen some horror movie and thought it was the end.

I said, just wait till your eyes adjust so you can see the stars. There is an observatory on top of the mountain for a reason.

In about 5 minutes the eyes adjusted and we saw more stars that we ever imagined were in the Heavens. Incredible. :cheer: Try it sometime where you can do it safely.

She doesn't watch horror movies any more. :hysterical:


Sterling
 

T_R_Oglodyte

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No, as I mentioned above, I made a mistake thinking that was at the end of our Volcano National Park day. It wasn't... It was at the end of the road to Hana day on Maui.
We had just zigzagged all the way to Hana, it was getting dark and we didn't want to go through those winding roads again...

As I look at it on the map, it's the stretch between kaupo and the beginning of the Pi'ilani Highway.

Here is a picture of that cow that we almost ran over. I didn't touch up the picture, it really was this dark!

(my first picture post so hope it works)

photostream


can't make the picture appear:shrug: anyway... it was a black cow...
From the BBS help:

How can I include a picture with my post?
 

optimist

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I tried all these instructions. Obviously I am doing something wrong. I even set up a Flickr account which I didn't have before and it is sitting there with just one picture in it! I clicked on the insert picture icon, put in the url which is this
http://www.flickr.com/photos/74645350@N08/6716611203/

then I manually typed in the IMGL stuff (until I figured out that there is an icon for that too) but it would not translate to a picture in the text:shrug:

So if you can figure out what I am doing wrong, I would appreciate it!
 

artringwald

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I tried all these instructions. Obviously I am doing something wrong. I even set up a Flickr account which I didn't have before and it is sitting there with just one picture in it! I clicked on the insert picture icon, put in the url which is this
http://www.flickr.com/photos/74645350@N08/6716611203/

then I manually typed in the IMGL stuff (until I figured out that there is an icon for that too) but it would not translate to a picture in the text:shrug:

So if you can figure out what I am doing wrong, I would appreciate it!

The URL you entered is the link to the web site containing the picture, but not the picture by itself. If you right click on the picture, and choose "copy image location, the link will be something like this:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7026/6716611203_e1e4c822c1_z.jpg

It should end with the extension for a picture like .jpg or .gif.

If you use the picture icon and paste the link, you will get:
6716611203_e1e4c822c1_z.jpg


You can use preview to make sure you got it right.
 

optimist

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We were coming back from Hilo about 11 pm to Kona and I pulled over to the side of the road, shut off the engine and all lights, and my wife started screaming. What is the matter with you? She'd seen some horror movie and thought it was the end.

I said, just wait till your eyes adjust so you can see the stars. There is an observatory on top of the mountain for a reason.

In about 5 minutes the eyes adjusted and we saw more stars that we ever imagined were in the Heavens. Incredible. :cheer: Try it sometime where you can do it safely.

She doesn't watch horror movies any more. :hysterical:


Sterling

I really wanted to get to the observatory to see the stars from up there, I had read so much about them, but I was just not up to any more night time driving long distances back to the hotel.

Next time, we will split our time on the island and not stay the whole time on one side. From here, you look at the map and see that it's only 30 miles and you think, no problem. Then you get there and see that 30 miles on windy one lane country road is very different kind of driving.
 

geoand

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I really wanted to get to the observatory to see the stars from up there, I had read so much about them, but I was just not up to any more night time driving long distances back to the hotel.

Next time, we will split our time on the island and not stay the whole time on one side. From here, you look at the map and see that it's only 30 miles and you think, no problem. Then you get there and see that 30 miles on windy one lane country road is very different kind of driving.

This is saddle road on kona and it is not a one lane country road. If you consider going to the observatories (there are many on this mountain), you would probably want a 4 wheel drive.
 

optimist

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Thank you Artringwald!

I don't have "right click" on my Mac but I can figure it out now that I know what the problem was.
 

daventrina

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I really wanted to get to the observatory to see the stars from up there, I had read so much about them, but I was just not up to any more night time driving long distances back to the hotel.
They have a tour for that... I think that they pick up and drop off...
 

sailingman22

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We have timeshares on both Maui and Kauai so usually spend 1 week on Maui and 1 or 2 weeks on Kauai. Traveling between the two islands takes the amount of time as going to Cosco or shopping downtown. Its just a new adventure built into our vacation and we enjoy the difference each island presents.
 
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