This is the time of year surfers and surfing followers wait for. The Vans Triple Crown of Surfing Series is under way, beginning on Oahu’s north shore.
The Billabong Pro Maui women’s surfing competition — the third and final event of the women’s crown — is the only outer-island event of the world-championship Series. It’s held at Honolua Bay on Maui’s rugged north shore and will crown the women’s world champion. Competition will be held on the two biggest and best days of surf within the designated holding period: December seventh through twentieth.
Honolua Bay Beach is a seldom-visited area of Maui, but it’s worth the trip if you enjoy snorkeling, scuba diving or surfing. The beach is located in a marine life preserve, so the fish are plentiful and the coral formations are spectacular. The right side of the bay has the best snorkeling and diving scenery. Remember that you can’t fish or spear fish here because of its protected designation. Water conditions can vary dramatically in this area depending on ocean currents and rainfall. If you’d like to watch the competition and you are not a local, find a hotel or condo in Maui near the event.
Published by Bruce Fisher
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
December 4th, 2008
Narrowing down your Hawaii vacation destination is even more difficult than it may seem to be at first. Most people try to decide which island – or islands – they think would appeal to them most.
The problem is that, except for little Molokai and Lanai, each of the islands actually has three or more distinctly different areas within their beaches.
On Oahu, Waikiki – on the south shore – is where the action is, and it’s close to most of the island’s other attractions. On the north shore, Turtle Bay is a full-blown resort near “Old Hawaii,” those humongous winter waves and the quaint little town of Haleiwa. Ko Olina is a newer, sprawling, self-contained resort area well west of Honolulu in leeward Oahu.
On the north shore of Kauai, the beautiful Hanalei and Princeville area is quiet and scenic with nice resorts. The south shore has Poipu and a whole bunch of ritzy resorts with all kinds of things to do. On the east shore, the town of Lihue is the island’s business and population center, with good accommodations that are convenient to most of Kauai’s spectacular attractions.
Maui is said to be two islands. West Maui has Lahaina, Kaanapali, Kapalua and those spectacular resorts. The island’s larger portion contains the rustic Upcountry, the mammoth Haleakala crater and the Waimea resort area. Way to the east, the fantastic Hana area is an isolated destination unto itself.
The Big Island is generally divided into the Hilo side – the east – and the Kona side – the west. But it’s far more than that. On the Kona side, the coast is lined with one spectacular resort after another, and farther inland is ranch country in the rural areas of Waimea and Kamuela, the majestic Mauna Kea and the world’s most powerful telescopes. The Hilo side is far less touristy, but that’s where you’ll find Volcanoes National Park and the amazing lava flows.
As you can see, there’s a lot to consider beyond a choice of islands. The best thing to do is pick an agent from our website and begin a relationship (No obligation, of course). Our agents all are experts in Hawaii – have lived here and can guide you with passion and professionalism. Or, if you prefer, call 1-800-843-8771.
Posted by Jim Winpenny
Published by Bruce Fisher
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
November 26th, 2008
Especially if you’re going to be on Maui during your Hawaii vacation, Haleakala will be among your plans. Please don’t consider this to be something you can just stop by and see, as you might Diamond Head on Oahu or Akaka Falls on the Big Island.
No place you have ever been will have prepared you for the experiences and feelings you will have on the summit of Haleakala. The landscape — sculpted, richly colored, and actually breathtaking — will be unlike any you have seen. There’s no way to anticipate its scale or dimensions ahead of time. (A popular comparison notes that the entire island of Manhattan could nestle within its confines.) The summit takes on another dimension at night, as the darkness reveals the brilliant night sky.
The Wilderness Area is 24,719 acres and the climate varies throughout. The elevation change from rim to the floor can be 3,000 feet. You can day hike, spend the night in a tent at one of the two wilderness campgrounds, or reserve one of the three historic cabins along the trail. As you walk, cycle or drive, you will encounter brown and red cinder cones that stretch hundreds of feet high in dry, cold desert air. You’ll experience cloud forests with red and green native ferns. Nene (Hawaiian geese) and endemic honeycreepers can be seen in the lower, wetter parts of the Wilderness area during the day. You’ll hear seabirds at night. Stars will fill the sky as you have never seen them before.
The Wilderness Area can be accessed by either of two mountaintop trailheads: Halemauu Trailhead at 8000 feet and Keoneheehee near the summit at 9740 feet. The two trails merge eventually and lead down the southeast side of the volcano to the relatively barren and unpopulated coast in the Kaupo district.
If you would like to camp overnight, you’ll need a permit. Cabins must be reserved, and it’s a good idea to stop by a Visitor Center before a day hike to discuss your plans. The unpredictable weather can be severe; water is scarce; altitude can be a major factor; and certain seasonal restrictions may apply.
The Kipahulu Area of Haleakala National Park can be accessed by driving ten miles past the remote town of Hana, on the famous Hana road that circumscribes the northeast coast of the island of Maui. The Kipahulu area encompasses both the accessible coastal section and the highly restricted, biologically precious upper slope reserve that is closed to all by limited research access.
Hiking is self-guided and rewarding. There are scheduled orientations and cultural demonstrations through the Visitor Center, and it’s a good idea to tune in.
Consider hiking the two-mile trail Pipiwai Trail, following the stream that runs through the Oheo Gulch. You can swim in the cool lower pools near the ocean, but the stream can be very unpredictable and flash floods are common. You’re responsible for your own safety and should not underestimate the risk. Obey all the caution signs and warnings from Rangers.
This area also offers a drive-up campground. Be advised that Kipahlu is wet and remote. If you’re going to camp, bring water. Shared grills, picnic tables and pit-toilets are available. You don’t need a permit here, but you’ll need to have paid the $10 park entry fee. (Camping is limited to 3 nights.)
Overall, the Haleakala climate is unpredictable. In any given day, the temperatures in the park can range from a high of 80° in Kipahulu to 30°.
As you can see, planning is essential if you are to appreciate even part of what Haleakala holds in store for you. Pick an agent from our Web site at (hawaii-aloha.com) or call 1-800-843-8771. We’ll help you work a fulfilling Haleakala adventure into your vacation plans.
Published by Bruce Fisher
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
November 20th, 2008
If you like to ride horseback and think you will have few, if any, opportunities to indulge while you’re in Hawaii on vacation, you are mistaken. Those of us who live in the islands like to ride, too. (In our vernacular, we like to “ride horse.”)
Our kids start riding early and take lessons from highly-qualified instructors. The Hawaii Horse Show Association offers hunter, jumper and western competitions throughout the year on Oahu, and other organizations stage events on the neighbor islands. In fact, each of the islands has its “horse country,” with ranches, farms and stables.
You may be here while a rodeo is being held on your island, and they’re great fun with all the events the major circuits feature. The largest rodeo of the year takes place on the 4th of July. With more than 350 cowboys from all over the world, the rodeo livens up Oskie Rice Rodeo Arena, at Kaanaolo Ranch near Makawao on Maui. This Hawaiian style rodeo, with rough stock and roping events, has everything down to the clowns. Before and after the rodeo, you can indulge in the live entertainment and country western dancing.
Wherever you’re staying, you’ll have a lot of choices if you’d like to spend some time on horseback — quick trail rides, rides on the beaches, romantic waterfall picnics, moonlight rides and even intensive cattle drives. Horseback riding in Hawaii offers a huge variety of experiences. Prices start at about $60 for an hour and a half per person, and there is a number of horseback adventures – such as a ride to the Haleakala crater on Maui – with prices that range between $120 and $200 per person. Several hotels and resorts offer horseback riding as a standard amenity like golf, tennis or a spa. Experienced professionals will make sure your venture into the world of Hawaiian equestrianism is an unforgettable one!
We can work horseback riding into your vacation plans for you. Just pick an agent from the Hawaii Aloha Web site home page (Hawaii-aloha.com), or call 1-800-843-8771.
Posted by Jim Winpenny
Your Blogger’s Side Bar
Shortly after I moved my family to Hawaii from the East Coast in the early 1970s, we were befriended by my lawyer and his wife, who had a family ranch in Waimanalo — “horse country” on Oahu. Beverly, the wife, insisted that she give horseback-riding lessons to our nine-year-old daughter Karen. Easy enough. The horses were on hand, lessons were free and Karen seemed to love both the ranch and riding. She conscientiously tended to her tack, cleaned stalls and groomed as many horses as she could, visiting the ranch virtually every day.
After about a year, Beverly told us that Karen’s riding skills were extraordinary, and that she should take private, professional lessons. Okay, we went along with that. With the lessons, Karen was becoming more and more proficient on horseback and we began to enter her in equestrian show events. Up until then she had been “share boarding” – paying part of the cost of boarding a ranch horse that was ridden by as many as three or four others. She started earning ribbons at shows, and before long most of the ribbons were blue. It was time to buy her a horse of her own. She and her beloved Renegade reached statewide championship status, now earning trophies and medals and plates regularly. Karen continued to ride competitively until boys became as interesting to her as riding horse, and that’s when Renegade was sold.
When it was time for her to leave for college, she had accumulated a lawn bag full of ribbons and shelves full of various kinds of trophies. A rough count came out at 300 or so. I started to do some retroactive arithmetic. Each ribbon represented at least a $15 entry fee in its class. Especially at the outset, she entered several classes in which she did not place. The trophies represented high-end shows and the entry fees were considerably higher. Then, of course, there were the costs relating to the share boarding and later her own stall, feed and tack, saddle, boots, riding livery, lessons, veterinarian services … and the champion Renegade’s purchase price.
Actually, I don’t like to think about it.
Jim Winpenny
Published by Bruce Fisher
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
November 5th, 2008
Especially if you’re going to be on Maui during your Hawaii vacation, Haleakala will be among your plans. Please don’t consider this to be something you can just stop by and see, as you might Diamond Head on Oahu or Akaka Falls on the Big Island.
No place you have ever been will have prepared you for the experiences and feelings you will have on the summit of Haleakala. The landscape — sculpted, richly colored, and actually breathtaking — will be unlike any you have seen. There’s no way to anticipate its scale or dimensions ahead of time. (A popular comparison notes that the entire island of Manhattan could nestle within its confines.) The summit takes on another dimension at night, as the darkness reveals the brilliant night sky.
The Wilderness Area is 24,719 acres and the climate varies throughout. The elevation change from rim to the floor can be 3,000 feet. You can day hike, spend the night in a tent at one of the two wilderness campgrounds, or reserve one of the three historic cabins along the trail. As you walk, cycle or drive, you will encounter brown and red cinder cones that stretch hundreds of feet high in dry, cold desert air. You’ll experience cloud forests with red and green native ferns. Nene (Hawaiian geese) and endemic honeycreepers can be seen in the lower, wetter parts of the Wilderness area during the day. You’ll hear seabirds at night. Stars will fill the sky as you have never seen them before.
The Wilderness Area can be accessed by either of two mountaintop trailheads: Halemauu Trailhead at 8,000 feet and Keoneheehee near the summit at 9,740 feet. The two trails merge eventually and lead down the southeast side of the volcano to the relatively barren and unpopulated coast in the Kaupo district.
If you would like to camp overnight, you’ll need a permit. Cabins must be reserved, and it’s a good idea to stop by a Visitor Center before a day hike to discuss your plans. The unpredictable weather can be severe; water is scarce; altitude can be a major factor; and certain seasonal restrictions may apply.
The Kipahulu Area of Haleakala National Park can be accessed by driving ten miles past the remote town of Hana, on the famous Hana road that circumscribes the northeast coast of the island of Maui. The Kipahulu area encompasses both the accessible coastal section and the highly restricted, biologically precious upper slope reserve that is closed to all by limited research access.
Hiking is self-guided and rewarding. There are scheduled orientations and cultural demonstrations through the Visitor Center, and it’s a good idea to tune in.
Consider hiking the two-mile trail Pipiwai Trail, following the stream that runs through the Oheo Gulch. You can swim in the cool lower pools near the ocean, but the stream can be very unpredictable and flash floods are common. You’re responsible for your own safety and should not underestimate the risk. Obey all the caution signs and warnings from Rangers.
This area also offers a drive-up campground. Be advised that Kipahlu is wet and remote. If you’re going to camp, bring water. Shared grills, picnic tables and pit-toilets are available. You don’t need a permit here, but you’ll need to have paid the $10 park entry fee. (Camping is limited to 3 nights.)
Overall, the Haleakala climate is unpredictable. In any given day, the temperatures in the park can range from a high of 80° in Kipahulu to 30° at the lower levels.
As you can see, planning is essential if you are to appreciate even part of what Haleakala holds in store for you. Pick an agent from our Web site home page (hawaii-aloha.com) or call 1-800-843-8771. We’ll help you work a fulfilling Haleakala adventure into your vacation plans.
Posted by Jim Winpenny
Published by Bruce Fisher
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
October 29th, 2008
You’re looking ahead, planning your next vacation (or is it your first?) You’re considering where to go: The U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Far East, South America, Africa, the South Pacific? Maybe you’re considering taking a cruise. You’re debating whether to take the whole family. You’re studying your finances.
Decisions, decisions, decisions. Okay, you finally decide on Hawaii. But where? Oahu and Waikiki, the Big Island and the volcanoes, Kauai and its splendor, Maui and Haeakala and the super resorts, or one of the smaller islands with their isolation? You should even consider visiting more than one island.
Once you’ve decided on Hawaii, what kind of accommodations are best for you? Imagine, to begin with, traveling by yourself. Do you simply determine where you’re going to be and book a hotel room? The decision — especially if there will be more than one of you — takes more thought than that.
Do you want and appreciate the creature comforts of a nice hotel where the staff become familiar with you and anticipate your needs and all you have to do is pick up the phone and they “bring it”? Do you like being surrounded by an array of activities and attractions and upscale restaurants with imaginative menus? In Hawaii we have grand resorts and fine hotels at all prices ranges in great locations on all the islands with eager, professional staffs.
Or do you anticipate a laid-back, quiet, away-from-it-all vacation? You can keep to yourself, do what you want when you want, do most of your own cooking, have space among several rooms, bask in the ideal weather and recharge? There now is a huge inventory of condominium apartment vacation rentals where the accommodations are lovely, the included rooms are furnished according to the taste of the owners, the conveniences are at hand, but you pretty-much fend for yourself.
And there are compromises between those extremes. If you like the idea of sharing your vacation with some hospitable local people who gladly will offer advice and friendship as they put you up, consider a bed and breakfast. If you want to combine luxury hotel service with upscale apartment living, we have condo-hotel properties that offer both … at a price, of course.
That’s what we do at Hawaii Aloha. We help you with those decisions. We make suggestions, track rates and facilities for you, determine what you would enjoy seeing and doing, and put together a package for you that exploits all the deals, special offers, discounts and hidden bargains available. Then we book everything for you, keep in touch with you, and solve any problems you might encounter on your trip and while you’re in our islands. (Be sure there will be problems wherever you go in the world. Trying to get satisfaction yourself directly from an airline, hotel or car-rental company can be a time-consuming, frustrating adventure.)
So as you’re doing your vacation planning, pick an agent from our Web site home page (hawaii-aloha.com), or call 1-800-843-8771. You’ll have found a loyal friend with clout to be there for you every step of the way.
Published by Bruce Fisher
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
October 21st, 2008
You see the phrase in most of the “visit Hawaii” brochures, ads and on-line postings: “Whale watching in the winter months.” It’s a fairly innocuous phrase, along with “lush tropical gardens” and “white sand beaches.”
But anyone who has witnessed these fascinating monsters arch their backs and raise their tail flukes above water in preparation for dives, and has heard them emit their stored air through their blowholes (which can be heard from 800 feet away) will tell you the experience is thrilling and unforgettable. (It’s the arching of their backs maneuver that has earned them the “humpback” nickname.) Even more spectacular is the breach, a powerful acrobatic display where the humpback uses its tail to launch itself out of the water, landing back onto the surface with a resounding splash.
Every year, humpback whales of the North Pacific migrate to the main Hawaiian islands during the winter months. (The early ones have arrived already this year.) The round-trip distance they travel during this annual migration is approximately 4,000 miles, one of the longest migration distances of any animal species. During their stay in Hawaii, they do not feed, but rely upon stored energy. Near the islands, the whales devote most of their time to mating and giving birth to their calves.
While they’re here, they’re renowned for their many and various acrobatic displays: the aforementioned head lunge and blow, the pec slap (in which humpbacks roll onto their sides or backs and slowly slap the water’s surface with one fin or both fins simultaneously), the tail slap (which can be heard for miles), the lobtail slap (where the whale will thrash the surface of the water by whipping its upraised flukes from side to side), and the head lunge (not unlike a dog baring its teeth at a perceived opponent).
While whale watching in Hawaii is touted by all the islands, the protected Auau Channel and shallow warm waters off the west coast of Maui (Lahaina, Kaanapali) are definitely the best places to watch. You can get a good view from the shoreline as the whales are left undisturbed and pollution from boats is avoided.
Don’t take the hype for whale-watching lightly as you plan your Hawaii vacation. It’s a spectacle that will stay with you forever.
Posted by Jim Winpenny
Published by Bruce Fisher
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
October 13th, 2008
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