STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Hedvig · Coach

Another Hawaii vacationer here!

Irene · Dooney & Bourke

Hey, when exactly are you going? We will be there from April 28 to May 1.

Hedvig · Coach

quote:
Originally posted by: Irene
"Hey, when exactly are you going? We will be there from April 28 to May 1."

A bit earlier than you! Our trip will be Apr 20-29. It'll be 8 whole days, so we should have plenty of time to do everything we can think of!

-- Edited by Hedvig at 14:35, 2005-04-04

kealoha · Kate Spade

Hedvig, if you plan on hitting the volcano, it's on the big island. However, Maui has a dormant volcano named Haleakala. If you go there, you could either hike into the crater, but be prepared--good shoes (not street shoes like Converse, Keds, or Pumas), LOTS of water & warm clothing. The elevation's quite high & there are very gusty winds creating a "cold" effect. Many tourists don't anticipate it to be cold, & are in for an unfortunate surprise when they get up there.

If you intend on going there, you should DEFINITELY do the morning sunrise b/c it's a truly beautiful experience. Lots of tour groups, but be warned that they pick you up around 2 in the morning if you're staying in Ka'anapali (it's about a 2-2 1/2 hour drive from that end of the island to the summit). Bring a blanket & layer (I recommend wearing jeans) b/c its usually around 10-30 degrees depending on the winds & possible rain. If you bike down the mountain, the company will most likely provide you w/wind breakers & riding pants to help identify their passengers & to keep you warm.

However, if you go to Diamond Head crater here on Oahu, a good pair of walking/running shoes will suffice. Wear shorts & a t-shirt & don't forget to bring a bottle of water. Too many tourists don't consider that it's a hike (they think it's a simple walk) & complain that their feet are sore. The view is beautiful when you get to the top & you can see from end of the island to the other.

The Waikele Outlet is pretty good--I'm going there later today. It's nothing compared to some of the outlets on the mainland, but lots of stores to choose from--BR, MaxStudio, Max Mara, Off 5th, Kenneth Cole, BCBG, etc.

LMK where you're staying & I'll do my best to help you plan your trip a little more.

Hedvig · Coach

Kealoha, thank you so much! I really appreciate all your advice!

We're most certainly going to see Diamond Head - we are tourists, after all! I also know my BF wants to go snorkeling, and I hear Hanauma Bay on Oahu should be a good spot for that.

On Maui, we're staying in Lahaina (just booked our room yesterday). I think a whalewatch cruise might be interesting but I'm not sure if they're worth the money ($20-30).

I'm pretty sure we're going to drive to the Haleakala crater. It would be tempting to see actual molten lava on Big Island but we'll probably stick to our plans and stay on Oahu and Maui.

kealoha · Kate Spade

You'll have fun @ Diamond Head. I think there may a park entrance fee, but I'm not sure. Maybe $5? I'll see if I can find info on it. Hanauma Bay is nice, but CROWDED. Be prepared for lines to get into the park--it's a preserve & there's an entrance fee--but nice. I'm not sure what type of snorkeling you're looking for, but Hanauma Bay does a good job to satisfy your need to see fish. If you want something like coral & colorful fish, then you should do a scuba tour on the North Shore, or do a snorkeling tour while in Maui.

As for Lahaina, you'll have a ton of fun. Ka'anapali is a great resort area & about 5 minutes by car from Lahaina. Lots of shopping & activities so I'm sure you'll have fun. I'm not sure if you'll be able to do whale watch toward the end of the month b/c the whales tend to migrate back throughout April. If you go to a nice beach, you'll probably see them from the shore. While on Spring Break about 12 years ago, my friend & I saw about 6 whales from where we were sitting & they were REALLY close to us. Simply breathtaking.

As far as Haleakala, it's totally worth doing. If you're going to do it on your own, you'll have a lot of fun, but make sure you have coffee to help stay awake. Snorkeling is awesome over @ Molokini & much better than Hanauma Bay. On the way back (depending on the tour) you'll probably stop off @ one point & swim w/the turtles. I did it 2x & saw a variety of fish & encountered about 7-10 turtles each time. Plus, most tours offer a snack on the way back to the harbor.

While in Maui, you should check out Hana. One heck of a drive, but amazing b/c you're driving through a rainforest. There's a blacksand beach out there along w/the 7 sacred pools. It's about a 2 hour drive to Hana from Haleakala, so you might wanna kill 2 birds.... Also check out Tedeschi Winery--really cute place. http://www.mauiwine.com/

Have fun. If you ever decide to go to the big island, my brother's neighbor owns a B&B in Volcano.

exsupahero · Kate Spade

I don't check this forum too often so my bad for missing the thread...

Well, I enjoyed going to Honolulu. We didn't get to do alot of things like I would have hoped (flakey/broke friends... great, huh?) so I only did a couple of activities. Me and my bf stayed at the Hawaii Prince and although it isn't "romantic" I actually really liked the place. We stayed on the 29th floor in the Ala Moana tower which was really awesome. All rooms there face the marina and the Pacific Ocean.

Our view on a clear, sunny day. I actually pointed my camera to the left side but no matter where we looked, all we saw were boats and water. Really, really nice.

The view we get when we go down the elevator.

We went to Hanauma Bay which was really nice. There were alot of people there but it was totally manageable. I only got to see ONE convict fish because I was afraid of drowning but my bf and friends saw a whole bunch of other fishes. You have to watch a video first but it's only a couple of minutes. Rental is 6 bucks but there's a bunch of upgrades there like a new mouthpiece and stuff. Parking is like, a dollar and to get in, it's, like, 5 bucks. If you're in the military (but hafta be in Hawaii), you can get in for free.

We went to the beaches in Waikiki but we stayed near the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Their beaches are VERY rocky. My bf ended up with a gash on one of his feet so if you don't really care about looks, I'd suggest reef shoes or bare it out like I did.

We also went to the Sea Life Park and although it looks really cheap and tacky, I had fun there. We signed up for one of their programs where we learn to do tricks with the dolphin. We also bought their pictures even though it was really yellow-y. They had a bunch of neat shows and I enjoyed it alot. If you don't mind that sort of thing, you'll enjoy it. If you're in the military (I know, I keep bringing it up), you can get a FAT discount. We're not in the military but my friend's hubby is so we ended up paying $65 to do the Dolphin U. (normally $85) but if you just wanna buy the general admission tickets, it's $13 through the military or $26 normally. You get pretty up close with the sea animals.

If you're into those rainbow/animal name thingys, you can get each letter for a dollar (at least that's how much I paid). This guy also did Adam Sandler's name too which was neat.

Me feeding the sea lions. They'll bark really loudly when they know you're gonna feed them. It was 2 bucks for 2 fishes.

The dolphin kissing my cheek.

We went to Ala Moana Center which has a bunch of upscale stores and normal-priced stores but I didn't like it all that much. They have the same stuff you'd find in SF so I didn't do alot of shopping. It wasn't any different from anywhere else, ya know? I also went to the Ward but didn't find anything great either. I swear, there was like, a Chanel in every corner! haha I walked around the Royal Hawaiian but there are Japanese tourist everywhere and it has many of the same stores in the Ala Moana Center. Eh. I wish there wasn't so many generic stores. But, if you looove shopping and can find things to buy so easily, take advantage of it because the tax rate there is sooooo low! 4.166% low! In California, it's around 8% so my bf took advantage of buying expensive stuff there since tax is soo low.

We ate at a Japenese place called Kyoto-Ya (something along that line) and enjoyed their food alot! If you go there, I suggest you get the sashimi/butterfish/tempura dish. Their butterfish is awesome!! We also ate at Nick's Fishmarket which was nice, dark, private, upscale but not in a stuffy way. I enjoyed their food alot. Golden Dragon in the Hilton Hawaiian Village was really good too but it's pretty "expensive" for chinese food. The service at the Hula Grill *ahem* sucks ass so I wouldn't eat there again. I did stop by Duke's but it was way too rowdy for my liking (I'm not old, I swear! I'm only 20 years old) but it was just too much for me. Smokers everywhere, college fratboys... yeah. Most restaurants have an average price of $30-$40. I'm used to free refills from where I'm from but they charge for each drink. I normally get water on the side since I don't think I wanna pay $10 bucks for two cups of soda.

I hear alot of people who go to Hawaii get the Entertainment book which has alot of discounts that you can use at restaurants and stuff but I didn't buy it because it wasn't worth it but if you're on a budget and stuff, it would save you alot of money. It's especially great for Honolulu, I hear. A bunch of buy-one,get one free dinner kinda deals. I don't know what kinda restaurants are listed but I'm pretty sure they're good places. It doesn't just have restaurant coupons, btw. Also entertainment stuff like luaus and such.

There's an ABC store on every corner!!! It's a convenience store that sells everything.

Like I said, if you're in the military, there's a bunch of discounts for you.

We weren't on a budget like my friend was so if we went just the two of us, I'd have ALOT more fun and did more stuff. I think if I was gonna go to Hawaii again, I'd stay in Maui instead. I think it's much more quiet and stuff.

This is LONG! If I can think of anything else, I'll post it.

HTH!!

-- Edited by exsupahero at 06:50, 2005-04-08

Hedvig · Coach

Kealoha, thank you again! I'm not a great fan of tour groups, so I think we'll pretty much explore the sites on our own. But Molokini sounds wonderful so we just might have to take that tour. And driving to Hana sounds very much worth doing!

Exsupahero, it was great to hear about your trip (and see the pics, too)! Thank you so much for all the info!

Planning for the trip is fun but I just can't wait to actually be in Hawaii!

Maven · BCBG

We were in Hawaii (Big Island) last week of Feb. We went to see Kilauea, which is currently the active volcano site. The park rangers make you park a long way from the actual site, but you can see the steam rising for miles. We walked along the highway until the point where the lava flow crossed the road. I went a little ways farther, but DH went on for quite a ways, but never got to the actual flow. I think it is about six miles from the Ranger stop. You are walking on top of the lava flow, so it is rough and fairly strenuous. You need really solid shoes or sandals. Also, they advise carrying water and a flashlight. Once you leave the paved highway, you are on your own and it is rugged.

There are helicopter rides to the active flow, but we thought they were too expensive. (I don't remember how much per person, but it was several hundred dollars.) I wish I knew if it was worth it--maybe after dark.

If you ride around in Volcanoes Park, you can see quite a bit from the car, or with minimal walking.

crystal · Kate Spade

hey hed, i just got back from oahu monday! i had a blast, did sooooo much stuff!! i stayed w/ my coworker who is from there & he showed us every possible thing to do. i will post pics probably next week (we have over 400!!), but one tip i can say for hanauma bay is that unless u get there at the butt crack of dawn there is a super long line of cars just to park so we just parked in a close by neighborhood. it was a bit of a walk but we got to see kohe lipelipe (i'm SURE i spelled that wrong) & my friend told us it means "flying vagina" so that gave us a good laugh and made the time go faster. i brought my own snorkel gear which saved me $$ cuz it was my 3rd time to HI so i got good use out of it. we did lots of hikes too... we hiked manoa falls but be careful, it's SUPER muddy & on the way down i slipped & smacked my lower back on one of the makeshift stairs. also we made the mistake of parking in the first lot we saw & had to pay $5, but if we had gone a tad further there was free parking! oh, speaking of parking, if u go to pearl harbor, parking is free but get there EARLY (b4 10am) or LATE (after 2pm) cuz between those times the free lot is full & u gotta pay $5. i hate to sound cheap, but $5 here & there adds up!! oh & i totally recommend the north shore... it was my first time there & i loved it!! beware of bees too... u probably don't need this warning, but i'm deathly afraid of them so i just thought i'd mention that they are EVERYWHERE (especially near shave ice places)!! ok, i'm rambling, i'll post pics next week... have fun tho!!

Hedvig · Coach

Well, we just got back yesterday and I'm so happy we chose to go to Hawaii! It was so beautiful there and the weather was wonderful!

We actually did not rent a car on Oahu so we avoided all the problems with parking. We made good use of the public transportation in and around Honolulu; we just took a bus straight to Diamond Head and Hanauma Bay and even to Pearl Harbor. There was a bus stop right in front of our hotel.

I wish we'd had time (or energy) to drive to the north shore - maybe next time... But we did spend four days on Maui and I loved it! We stayed in a cutest little inn in Lahaina and had our own lanai where we whiled away sipping wine at night!

Oh and funnily enough, I don't think I spotted a single bee anywhere...

crystal · Kate Spade

quote:
Originally posted by: Hedvig
"Oh and funnily enough, I don't think I spotted a single bee anywhere... "

haha, girl ur lucky! actually it's probably just me... most people probably don't notice them like i do. in fact, most people i see just brush them away like flies... not me, even slow flying flies (u know the fat ones that kinda resemble bees) freak me out!!

kealoha · Kate Spade

Hedvig, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. What did you think of the Diamond Head hike & view? And did you get to Duke's in Waikiki?

Hedvig · Coach

It really was a great trip! The hike to the top of Diamond Head wasn't too bad since we had good shoes and brought water with us - it was most definitely worth the view!

Actually, we never got to Duke's but we did find a great Japanese restaurant in Waikiki where we had to grill the food ourselves. That was fun! The place was called Gyu-Kaku.

Btw, I really loved taking the tour inside the Iolani Palace in Honolulu. The building itself is beautiful and the tour was a great way to learn about the history of Hawaii.

Thanks again for all the advice you gave me before the trip!

crystal · Kate Spade

quote:
Originally posted by: Hedvig
"we did find a great Japanese restaurant in Waikiki where we had to grill the food ourselves. That was fun! The place was called Gyu-Kaku. "

haha, i love that place too... we have 2 of them in LA! i was surprised to see it made it to HI considering they just barely opened the 2nd one here like a year ago or less. seems like the hawaiians i know always say they are the last to get everything (i.e. krispy kreme, wal mart, etc.).