Islands in Pacific Ocean

[kiamchai]

Anyone been to the various clusters of islands in the Pacific before? Specifically Guam, Samoa, Fiji, Tahiti etc. Can share more about your adventures? Thanks!

 

[Shiny Things]

Anyone been to the various clusters of islands in the Pacific before? Specifically Guam, Samoa, Fiji, Tahiti etc. Can share more about your adventures? Thanks!

Does Hawaii count? I've been there a bunch, and it's bloody fantastic.

 

[invisible999]

Does Hawaii count? I've been there a bunch, and it's bloody fantastic.

Affirmative. And I'd say that in terms of price/performance it is better than French Polynesia.

 

[kiamchai]

Feel free to share about Big Island and Maui. How did you guys get around? Did you rent a car? Visited any volcanoes?

 

[invisible999]

Feel free to share about Big Island and Maui. How did you guys get around? Did you rent a car? Visited any volcanoes?

You need a car anywhere in Hawaii. As far as what to do - sky is the limit. Literally - one has to go to Mauna Kea Observatories.

While I am not big fan of guidebooks, the Hawaii The Big Island Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook is must read if you are going to visit it.

 

[Shiny Things]

Feel free to share about Big Island and Maui. How did you guys get around? Did you rent a car? Visited any volcanoes?

Oh, man, here we go. Brace yourself, because I freaking LOVE Hawaii. It's magic.

Here's what you do.

You'll fly into Honolulu, which is on Oahu - not the biggest island, but the most densely populated. This is where Waikiki is, so you'll probably want to spend a couple of days there catching up on some shopping, but trust me - you don't want to spend too long here, because the other islands are so much better. You don't really need to rent a car on Oahu - just take a taxi or a hotel shuttle to Waikiki, and spend a couple of days walking around. If you want to hike up Diamond Head one morning (and you should!), you can just grab a taxi up to the crater entrance and go from there.

From Honolulu airport, it's a quick 40-minute flight to Kahului airport on Maui (the code is OGG, and Hawaiian Airlines runs inter-island flights pretty much every 40 minutes so you never need to worry about waiting too long).

You'll need to rent a car in Maui, because all of the places you'll want to go are a bit of a drive, but driving on the island is easy and there are SO MANY places you'll want to go - this right here is where Hawaii really starts to kick in. A quick hit-list:

• I like to stay at the hotels over on the west side of the island, on Kaanapali Beach - if you're at the Westin (either one) or the Sheraton, you can literally walk out of your front door into the water and go snorkeling around Black Rock. It's an easy snorkel, and the water around Black Rock is filled with fish and even the occasional turtle. Also, the Whalers' Village shopping centre near the Westin is a great place for a leisurely oceanside drinks-and-dinner session. Order a Lava Flow.
• About five minutes' drive down the road from the Kaanapali hotels is the old whaling town of Lahaina, which has turned into a very relaxed but very classy little resort town for the well-heeled visitors to Maui. Drop by the outlet mall on the north side of town to scratch your shopping itch if you have one (pro tip - the Hilo Hattie's store in the Lahaina Cannery outlet mall is a very good place to pick up non-tacky Hawaiiana), then wander along the beachfront road into town past the galleries and restaurants, until you reach the giant banyan tree and the Lahaina Heritage Museum. Spend at least half a day in Lahaina town, and if you find yourself in town for dinner, grab a burger on the upstairs deck of the Cool Cat Cafe, just across the street from the giant banyan.
• Whether you want a (reasonably authentic) taste of Native Hawaiian culture or you just like looking at hot Polynesian dudes with their shirts off, you'll want to get yourself to a luau. There are a couple of good luaus around Lahaina/Kaanapali; the Wailele Polynesian Luau at the Westin is very professional, and the Feast at Lele in Lahaina town is a nice, chilled-out beachfront dinner (with copious very good booze). Bring a camera with a flash.

Once you've ticked off Lahaina and Kaanapali, it's time to go out and explore the rest of the island. Top of my head, a few things you'll want to do:

• Drive up Haleakala, the ten-thousand-foot-high mountain that dominates the eastern half of Maui. A lot of people like to do sunrise on Haleakala because "ooh ahh so pretty", but the problem is that you have to get up at like 3am to do that, and I'd rather sleep in. If you do go up there, dress up warm - it can be mid-20s celsius down on the coast and near-freezing up the top of Haleakala.
• Drive the Road to Hana. This is an all-day trip that takes you around the winding, narrow, and slow coast road to the sleepy little town of Hana, which has a gorgeous black-sand beach and is the sort of place where you might just decide to stay there forever. On the way - I think about 10-15 miles before you reach Hana - there's a great little roadside shack that serves coconut icecream. Don't miss it.
• If you go a little further past Hana, there's the back side of Haleakala National Park, where you can hike uphill through a lush bamboo grove to the spectacular Waimoku Falls. You won't want to do this if you have kids, because it'll turn your Hana trip into a very long day (if you leave at 7am you might, might be back by 8pm), but if you're travelling with grownups it's so worth it.
• Pa'ia! This little town on the north shore is one of the lesser-known gems of Maui - it has a white-sand beach that's a favorite of local body-boarders, a few charming little shops, and a clutch of tremendous restaurants that seems weirdly out-of-place for a little town of two thousand people. Try the pizzas at Flatbread Company.
• Go hiking in Iao Valley State Park, in the lush jungle around the Iao Needle.
• And whatever you do, don't miss the chance to go open-water snorkeling. I'm going to stick a plug in here for Trilogy Cruises, who run very good fully-catered snorkel/scuba trips; I've been out with them twice and always had a good time. If you've got a choice, you probably want to go to Molokini Crater, a sunken island that's absolutely covered in coral and fish and will give you a stunning, safe snorkeling experience. If you go there between December and May, you might even see some whales breaching in the shallow water between Maui and Lanai islands.

So that's Maui, but there's still plenty more to Hawaii. If you want to see an Actual Volcano (and trust me, you do!), you'll need to hop over to the Big Island. Again, it's a 40-minute flight, and you can either land in Hilo (on the east side) or Kona (on the west side). You probably want to go to Hilo, because Kona's a bit drab - there's not much there except big gaudy resorts.

Hilo is a very cute, very quiet little town, stuck in the middle of the lush rainforest. It's about an hour's drive from the Kilauea volcano, which is just stunning - you can drive up through green forests and then burst out into fields and channels of hot black lava rock. Go up there, check out everything you can, and make sure you drive down Chain of Craters Road to the lava cliffs.

North of Hilo, it's worth taking a side trip to the Waipio Valley - don't try to drive in, you can take a 4WD shuttle if you want, or just admire it from the overlook.

And we haven't even talked about the other islands - Kauai, Lanai, Molokai, or even the bits of Oahu outside Waikiki.

The only problem with going to Hawaii is that you might decide you want to stay there forever.

 

[asiafrenz]

Does Hawaii count? I've been there a bunch, and it's bloody fantastic.

are you an angmoh or local sinkie? cos angmoh and local sinkie may not have the same perception of what is fantastic when it comes to travel just want to have the right context

 

[Shiny Things]

are you an angmoh or local sinkie? cos angmoh and local sinkie may not have the same perception of what is fantastic when it comes to travel just want to have the right context

I'm an ang moh, but if you don't enjoy Hawaii then you have no soul

 

[asiafrenz]

I'm an ang moh, but if you don't enjoy Hawaii then you have no soul

I would love to visit hawaii sometime

 

[kiamchai]

Thanks for the info! That's alot to digest!

I've only been to Honolulu and if I'm going back I wanna do watersports!

Don't quite like the US tipping culture though, furthermore with our low exchange rate it's making travel more expensive.

 

[invisible999]

Don't quite like the US tipping culture though, furthermore with our low exchange rate it's making travel more expensive.

Nobody forces you to eat out at restaurants daily. Shrimp sandwich stands/food trucks are quite a good alternative. And if you really want to save money on food, go to the grocery store and get whole roasted chicken for $5 - you will be eating that for several days.

 

[kiamchai]

Nobody forces you to eat out at restaurants daily. Shrimp sandwich stands/food trucks are quite a good alternative. And if you really want to save money on food, go to the grocery store and get whole roasted chicken for $5 - you will be eating that for several days.

Haha. I'm not big on food. Just that the last time round tipping went mostly to the various guides who showed us around as we didn't rent a car.

How safe is it to travel in Hawaii alone?

 

[Shiny Things]

Haha. I'm not big on food. Just that the last time round tipping went mostly to the various guides who showed us around as we didn't rent a car.

Yeah, I don't like the tipping culture either - it's one of the dislikable things about the USA, but you get used to it. Basically just whack 20% on top of everything (I know it's supposed to be 15-18%, but 20% is easier), and leave a fiver each day for housekeeping at your hotel, and you'll be fine.

How safe is it to travel in Hawaii alone?

Totally safe. I've done Hawaii solo, and with family, and it's great either way.

 

[invisible999]

How safe is it to travel in Hawaii alone?

Safer than on Marina District in San Francisco, just saying.

As long as you are exercising common sense and do not attract attention (leave your fake Hirmis handbag at home) - you are fine.

 

[kiamchai]

no worries on that either, not into designer stuff.

Just curious, did you guys make a stopover in Japan before heading to Hawaii? Any idea what is the maximum duration one is allowed to stay in Japan (if purchasing the cheapest economy tix).

I guess I would weigh my options first as the alternative trip to South Pacific meant there would be a stopover in Australia and a visit to Tasmania is really tempting.

 

[kiamchai]

Affirmative. And I'd say that in terms of price/performance it is better than French Polynesia.

Able to share your views on French Polynesia? Thank you.

 

[CmDrRaBb]

Any of these pacific ocean nations / islands have house reefs like Maldives?

 

[Shiny Things]

Any of these pacific ocean nations / islands have house reefs like Maldives?

Check out Bora Bora, in Tahiti - not been there myself but that might be along the lines of what you're after. (It's not cheap, though.)

 

[rrr2015]

hawaii definitely one in my bucket list. maybe influenced by haruki murakami (Hanalei Bay)

basically i enjoy trying local food, trekking, driving, riding motorbike, swim (but still afraid of open waters for now), some photography ...

- may know what the minimum no of days for hawaii, and how much i should budget for?
- is it good idea to fly from japan? (i read that many japanese choose to go hawaii because it's cheaper to get there than say hokkaido)

thanks!

 

[a1v1n_]

Oh, man, here we go. Brace yourself, because I freaking LOVE Hawaii. It's magic.

Here's what you do.

You'll fly into Honolulu, which is on Oahu - not the biggest island, but the most densely populated. This is where Waikiki is, so you'll probably want to spend a couple of days there catching up on some shopping, but trust me - you don't want to spend too long here, because the other islands are so much better. You don't really need to rent a car on Oahu - just take a taxi or a hotel shuttle to Waikiki, and spend a couple of days walking around. If you want to hike up Diamond Head one morning (and you should!), you can just grab a taxi up to the crater entrance and go from there.

From Honolulu airport, it's a quick 40-minute flight to Kahului airport on Maui (the code is OGG, and Hawaiian Airlines runs inter-island flights pretty much every 40 minutes so you never need to worry about waiting too long).

You'll need to rent a car in Maui, because all of the places you'll want to go are a bit of a drive, but driving on the island is easy and there are SO MANY places you'll want to go - this right here is where Hawaii really starts to kick in. A quick hit-list:

• I like to stay at the hotels over on the west side of the island, on Kaanapali Beach - if you're at the Westin (either one) or the Sheraton, you can literally walk out of your front door into the water and go snorkeling around Black Rock. It's an easy snorkel, and the water around Black Rock is filled with fish and even the occasional turtle. Also, the Whalers' Village shopping centre near the Westin is a great place for a leisurely oceanside drinks-and-dinner session. Order a Lava Flow.
• About five minutes' drive down the road from the Kaanapali hotels is the old whaling town of Lahaina, which has turned into a very relaxed but very classy little resort town for the well-heeled visitors to Maui. Drop by the outlet mall on the north side of town to scratch your shopping itch if you have one (pro tip - the Hilo Hattie's store in the Lahaina Cannery outlet mall is a very good place to pick up non-tacky Hawaiiana), then wander along the beachfront road into town past the galleries and restaurants, until you reach the giant banyan tree and the Lahaina Heritage Museum. Spend at least half a day in Lahaina town, and if you find yourself in town for dinner, grab a burger on the upstairs deck of the Cool Cat Cafe, just across the street from the giant banyan.
• Whether you want a (reasonably authentic) taste of Native Hawaiian culture or you just like looking at hot Polynesian dudes with their shirts off, you'll want to get yourself to a luau. There are a couple of good luaus around Lahaina/Kaanapali; the Wailele Polynesian Luau at the Westin is very professional, and the Feast at Lele in Lahaina town is a nice, chilled-out beachfront dinner (with copious very good booze). Bring a camera with a flash.

Once you've ticked off Lahaina and Kaanapali, it's time to go out and explore the rest of the island. Top of my head, a few things you'll want to do:

• Drive up Haleakala, the ten-thousand-foot-high mountain that dominates the eastern half of Maui. A lot of people like to do sunrise on Haleakala because "ooh ahh so pretty", but the problem is that you have to get up at like 3am to do that, and I'd rather sleep in. If you do go up there, dress up warm - it can be mid-20s celsius down on the coast and near-freezing up the top of Haleakala.
• Drive the Road to Hana. This is an all-day trip that takes you around the winding, narrow, and slow coast road to the sleepy little town of Hana, which has a gorgeous black-sand beach and is the sort of place where you might just decide to stay there forever. On the way - I think about 10-15 miles before you reach Hana - there's a great little roadside shack that serves coconut icecream. Don't miss it.
• If you go a little further past Hana, there's the back side of Haleakala National Park, where you can hike uphill through a lush bamboo grove to the spectacular Waimoku Falls. You won't want to do this if you have kids, because it'll turn your Hana trip into a very long day (if you leave at 7am you might, might be back by 8pm), but if you're travelling with grownups it's so worth it.
• Pa'ia! This little town on the north shore is one of the lesser-known gems of Maui - it has a white-sand beach that's a favorite of local body-boarders, a few charming little shops, and a clutch of tremendous restaurants that seems weirdly out-of-place for a little town of two thousand people. Try the pizzas at Flatbread Company.
• Go hiking in Iao Valley State Park, in the lush jungle around the Iao Needle.
• And whatever you do, don't miss the chance to go open-water snorkeling. I'm going to stick a plug in here for Trilogy Cruises, who run very good fully-catered snorkel/scuba trips; I've been out with them twice and always had a good time. If you've got a choice, you probably want to go to Molokini Crater, a sunken island that's absolutely covered in coral and fish and will give you a stunning, safe snorkeling experience. If you go there between December and May, you might even see some whales breaching in the shallow water between Maui and Lanai islands.

So that's Maui, but there's still plenty more to Hawaii. If you want to see an Actual Volcano (and trust me, you do!), you'll need to hop over to the Big Island. Again, it's a 40-minute flight, and you can either land in Hilo (on the east side) or Kona (on the west side). You probably want to go to Hilo, because Kona's a bit drab - there's not much there except big gaudy resorts.

Hilo is a very cute, very quiet little town, stuck in the middle of the lush rainforest. It's about an hour's drive from the Kilauea volcano, which is just stunning - you can drive up through green forests and then burst out into fields and channels of hot black lava rock. Go up there, check out everything you can, and make sure you drive down Chain of Craters Road to the lava cliffs.

North of Hilo, it's worth taking a side trip to the Waipio Valley - don't try to drive in, you can take a 4WD shuttle if you want, or just admire it from the overlook.

And we haven't even talked about the other islands - Kauai, Lanai, Molokai, or even the bits of Oahu outside Waikiki.

The only problem with going to Hawaii is that you might decide you want to stay there forever.

This is so detailed! Thumbs up bro!

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