Hawaii Trip Report
Kay's 50th birthday
Hawaii trip report
Sept. 25- Oct. 8 2004
Maui Sept. 25-Oct. 1 for 6 nights
The day you fly to Hawaii is a very long day of travel. Once you add in the time difference you are really tired and go to bed early the first night. We left Dallas on a non-stop flight around 11 am local time and arrived in Maui at 3:20 that afternoon their local time. The long flight did not bother me as I read and watched movies but it was long and very cramped for my husband Mark. The next time we go to Hawaii (yes, already planning a return trip to paradise) we will pay the extra to fly first class and get a meal as there are now no meals in coach to Hawaii on AA. Or, we will get a connecting flight out of LA so we can have a layover to stretch our legs and get a meal. There is the risk of lost luggage and missed connection. You just have to weigh the odds if you are flying coach to determine if it is important enough to get off the plane for a while or stay on for 8 hours.
Once we landed in Maui, while waiting for our ton of luggage -- two bags for me, two bags for Mark, both our carry-on bags, and the laptop -- I picked up free tourist brochures. I never stop doing research for my clients so I picked up every brochure I could find. We boarded the bus to the rental car agency with our luggage. We had so much luggage you would have thought we were going to be there for a month, not two weeks. Never again will I carry that much luggage! I'll just wash things out by hand if there are no laundry facilities where I am staying. I will also advise clients about too much luggage because you have to lug it around everywhere. Poor Mark felt like a pack mule L
We had arranged to rent a convertible from Hertz. They only carry mustangs, which we found out, have tiny luggage compartments. We had the trunk and back seat full of luggage and I also had to carry a piece on my lap at the same time, as my seat was pushed as far forward as possible. Then we made the mistake of keeping the top down as we headed up to our hotel, Napili Kai Beach Resort. It is difficult to read a road map while it's flapping in the wind. It was a long drive from the airport to Napili Kai in rush hour traffic. We had 5:30 dinner reservations at the Seahorse restaurant at Napili, which we missed, of course. Never make definite dinner reservations your first night.
Napili Kai is a nice, moderate condominium resort on quiet Napili Bay in the far north part of Maui. It is on what I call the "forehead", as Maui is shaped like a head and shoulders. We had reserved a 1-bedroom ocean view studio. It was very nice and clean with a kitchenette. The only thing that bothered me was the fact that there was no air conditioning in our building. Some buildings do have air but ours did not. The trade winds only do any good if your room is situated so that the winds blow into your windows. Ours was not situated that way. We kept the ceiling fan on, which helped but it was still a little warm so we had to keep the sliding doors to the patio open. Our building was behind and up the hill from the restaurant and pool, which made for some noise at night. We had great ocean views from our patio that we really enjoyed, and there was plenty of room there as well. If we were to stay there again I would go for the ocean front studios, which are right over the water and rocks. Now, those were nice. There are also large condominiums there for families.
I did have my first mai tai at dinner that night. The food and service in the Seahorse restaurant was great. However, by 7:30 of our first night in Hawaii we were fighting to stay awake. We gave it up and were in bed by 8 pm. So much for our exciting first night in Hawaii.
On our first morning in Hawaii we woke to a beautiful sunrise. As our bodies were still on Dallas time, to us it felt much later. From our balcony you could see Lani and Molokai. I just loved the views from our balcony. Napili Bay is very pretty. I had heard that one of the best restaurants to eat breakfast at on the island was the Gazebo Restaurant on the other side of the bay, so we walked over for breakfast. To avoid waiting in line you need to be there when it opens at 7 am. We did not get there until 7:30 so we did have a little bit of a wait. It was worth it as the macadamia nut pancakes and coconut syrup lived up to their reputation. All that great food and stunning views of Napili Bay, what more could you ask for. Now that is paradise.
After breakfast we relaxed on our patio then I went out to the beach for a while and Mark took a nap. I walked along the beach path that followed the boulders along the sea wall. This is a very nice walk with great photo ops so I do recommend it if you are on Napili Bay.
Mark and I went into Lahina that afternoon for lunch as I had heard that there was a big festival and craft show there that day. I bought a beautiful hand carved palm tree made of monkey pod wood. The artist even carved his name into it for me. I made arrangements to have it shipped. So now I had my first souvenir from my birthday trip to Hawaii and it was a hand made individual piece too. We picked up sandwiches to have for dinner that night in on our balcony while watching a superb sunset. AHH!!!
We did a lot of sleeping late and sunning on the beach and the pool at Napili Kai on Maui. I did walk over to look at Kapalua Bay and the Ritz there one afternoon. That is a nice bay and hotel. They have some lovely shops too. J
On Monday night we had dinner reservations at Nick's Fishmarket Restaurant for my 50th birthday dinner. Nick's is at the Kea Lani down in Wailea area of Maui. It was quite a drive but very pleasant with the top down. We got to the Kea Lani early and had the chance to look at the beautiful grounds. I had put many clients here and had heard rave reviews. They were right. The Kea Lani is gorgeous and the next time I go to Maui I plan to spend part of the time there.
Mark said my birthday dinner at Nick's was the best meal he had ever eaten which included food, service and ambience. I had to agree 100% with him. It was a wonderful, magical evening. I think we were there over three hours. I had arranged our reservations to coincide with sunset and a full moon J. So, we just had it all that evening. We did not have just one waiter -- we had a whole staff of about three or four with Mr. Collins as our headwaiter. He was so great with suggestions and general conversation. We just loved him and wanted to take him home with us. The sunset that evening was stunning, especially from our exceptional table location outside by the garden wall, overlooking the grounds and beach (oh my). We had a great seat to watch the torch lighting ceremony at sunset. The different courses served were excellent and imaginative in preparation. To commemorate the event the house photographer took our picture, which we later purchased. Toward the end of the evening, I had one of those flaming desserts prepared at tableside and ice wine to end the meal. I guess I have gushed enough about the evening. Do let me warn you that Nick's is very expensive but worth the money for a very special date. As we were reluctantly leaving we looked up to see the full moon above the palm trees. It made for a very romantic ride back to our hotel to watch that full moon out over the water as we drove.
The next day we had planned to do the "road to Hana". Since we did not want to do it in one day (which would make for a very long day of driving), we had decided to stay one night at the Hotel Hana Maui then drive back the next day. We did not check out of Napili Kai, but instead just packed overnight bags. This saved us lugging luggage again. I know it was extravagant but to us it was worth it for a more relaxed Hana drive. We got an early start, which is necessary to avoid bumper-to-bumper traffic up to Hana. We stopped in Paia for the famous pancake dinner at Charlie's and then went to a nearby restaurant for a box lunch on the drive up. I had the Maui Revealed book open in my lap to help me know where to stop, so we could see all the ‘must see" stops on the way. Unfortunately, many of the mile markers you are supposed to look for were either missing, obscured or -- even if we did see them -- there was no room to park.
The drive up to Hana is very pretty and interesting, though. Lots of hairpin turns and slow going with no room to pull over, either. This was the perfect drive to make with a convertible, too. We finally arrived at the Hotel Hana Maui. What a wonderful romantic secret jewel this is, and it certainly should not be missed. It is as if you are on your own private island devoid of tourism when you are at the Hotel Hana Maui. It is very peaceful, calm, charming and romantic, with no TV or radios in the cottages. This is not your typical hotel as it is on a large ranch and made up of one-story rooms or "sea ranch" cottages. These are two duplexes that share a wall. The cottages are scattered about and not too close to one another. We had reserved an ocean view cottage.
Mark and I were greeted with tropical drinks and cooling moist towels. Checking in was a breeze, after which we were whisked away to our cottage by golf cart, getting an impromptu tour of the grounds on the way so we would know where everything was located. Our cottage was very unusual in construction and design as well as furnishings. Hana enjoys a higher elevation and lots of breeze so air conditioning was not needed. Our cottage was beautiful. It had a giant balcony with a view of the horse pasture to one side and the ocean in the distance in front of us. The bathroom was as big as a bedroom, just huge with a walk in shower and big soaking tub. We walked across the tiny street in the front of the hotel to get sandwiches to have on our balcony for dinner that evening. The sunset that night was a beautiful rosy glow WOW!!! I walked over to the fence by the pasture. Two horses looked up to see me and, thinking I might have food for them, galloped over to investigate. That was so cooool but they left when they discovered I had no food for them, fickle horses. The hotel has horseback riding offered every day so I assume these are the horses used for that.
That night Mark and I decided to go for a night swim in the beautiful infinity pool. We put on robes over our swimsuits and walked over to the pool. To our amazement, we had the pool to ourselves and had a great, fun romantic time. We then got in the huge hot tub to enjoy that for a while. After a few minutes it started to rain lightly, which made it even more romantic in the hotel tub J J then it started to rain just a little harder. We just laughed. Then it started raining harder, the heavens let loose and we weren't laughing because we were drowning!!! We got out of the hot tub, threw on our robes and ran for our cottage only to stop suddenly, because there were thorns on the grassy area we were running in. I had forgotten my shoes so Mark went back for them. I didn't move an inch. A golf cart came by with a passenger, who laughingly called out to us. "Hey, how was that hot tub in the rain?" We laughed all the way back to the cottage where we toweled off and changed into dry clothes. That night was very pleasant as we listened to the rain on the roof. As we prepared for bed, the rain on the roof made a pleasant, soothing noise that eased us into sleep.
The next morning we had breakfast delivered to our cottage. What decadence on our part! After breakfast, we took the hotel's shuttle van with only one other couple down to the semi-private beach and had a great morning there. Mark learned boogie boarding and only managed to drink half of the Pacific Ocean but he learned to "respect " the waves, as the kiosk attendant put it. Ha! Ha! All too soon it was time to head back to the cottage to pack and check out BOO HOO L we should have stayed longer and next time we will. I recommend anyone going to Maui at least split his or her stay between a hotel in the tourist area and a stay at the Hotel Hana Maui. The following day we did not get back to the hotel until sunset so we just ate at the restaurant there.
On our last full day in Maui we slept late, washed clothes, then went over to Kaanapali Beach to shop, have lunch and do the tandem parasail ride. That evening we had reservations for the Old Lahina Luau. The luau was a lot of fun and we had good seats at the luau as I had made the reservations several months ago. The meal is buffet style and they put on a really good, authentic luau. I certainly would recommend it, especially for families. I have heard that the Feast of Lele put on by the same people is more romantic, so I might recommend that for couples. The next morning we checked out and manhandled our luggage to the airport where I sat with it while Mark returned the rental car. Maui was a fun and energetic tourist island. There are lots of things to do to keep you very busy. The worst problem we had in Maui was the traffic in Hana. The Hotel Hana Maui where we had dinner at Nick's was the best of Maui for us.
Kauai Oct. 1-6 for 5 nights
The minute you get off the plane in Kauai you can tell this is a much more laid back, pastoral, peaceful island. The airport is small which made getting our luggage easy. I again collected brochures and waited with the luggage while Mark went to get our rental car, this time a jeep. We managed to get the luggage in J and headed off to our first hotel, the Hyatt Kauai. There are no freeways on Kauai, just one main road that circles most of the island making it hard to get lost.
You feel like royalty driving up to the entrance of the Hyatt Kauai. The bellhops were waiting for us. They gave us beautiful leis and escorted us to the check in counter while taking care of our luggage. The lobby has a very beautiful, very Hawaiian feel to it. It is open air with views straight out to the ocean. You could stand there gazing all day. By law, no hotel on Kauai can be taller than a palm tree so the Hyatt is built on a hillside going down in a series of terraces to the sea. The lobby is on ground level where you come in and we went down a floor to our room instead of up, as you would in normal hotel. Our room was a ground floor room with a partial ocean view, and just lovely. Best of all it had blissful air conditioning.
By the time we got settled in it was lunchtime. We strolled the beautiful grounds in search of the restaurant at the adult pool. We found it and had a nice lunch while watching all the activity around the pool and river. Since the beach that the Hyatt sits on is not that great (dangerous waves and currents) they went beyond expectations to have fabulous grounds, pools, and slides from one level to another and a swimming lagoon to kayak in. After lunch Mark was tired from the early morning and driving so he took a nap while I explored the interior areas of the Hyatt. One of the Hyatt’s wedding gazebos was right down from our room, so that afternoon I got to see a wedding. We listened to some lovely music, compliments of the wedding couple.
That evening we had dinner reservations at what is considered one of the best romantic restaurants on Kauai, Tidepools. Tidepools looks like it does in Tahiti, with thatched hut roofs and seats over the huge koi pool. We had a table right by the open wall and the koi entertained us between courses, as they were little beggars wanting us to feed them, which we did. But when someone new sat down at the next table they all swam over there to beg so the koi are fickle fish. J We had a very nice dinner then strolled up to the seaview terrace to listen to some wonderful Hawaiian music.
The next day was our only full day at the Hyatt as we were checking out the next day. We started the day by getting body massages at the Hyatt’s Ansara spa. Let me preface my review by saying that I am just not into massages, but I have never had one and everyone had always told me I was missing something wonderful. It was a very nice massage but I kept thinking that I could be at the pool right now instead of laying here while someone rubs my back etc. I was impatient to get it over with. “Ho-hum” was my verdict. Now for Mark’s opinion of his massage. I was sitting in the spa lobby area waiting for him, impatiently tapping my foot, when I saw him stagger out like he was in some kind of trance. He said, somewhat incoherently, that that was the best massage he had ever had and never wanted to leave the spa. But you have to know that, unlike me, Mark loves massages in general. I whipped out our agenda and vetoed that idea! Mark would recommend that anyone staying at the Hyatt have one of their massages and if you like massages I, too, would recommend you have one.
The rest of the day we spent enjoying the lagoon, adult and kid’s pools, and the slides from different levels of pools. Keep in mind you have to go get a special bracelet to use the slides. My favorite area was the winding river with its waterfall grottos. More than once we went in those for a stolen kiss or two. The hot tub is secluded and fun too.
That evening we had reservations at another restaurant that was highly recommended on Kauai, the Beach House. It was just a five-minute drive from the hotel down by Poipu beach. The restaurant sits right by the sea. The meal was terrific, as was the service, and I had a yummy chocolate dessert to end the meal with. We had a great table from which to watch the sunset. Gosh, I do so love those tropical sunsets. This restaurant has a house photographer so we had our pictures taken here as well. When we got back to the room, the hotel had sent us a bottle of champagne in celebration of my birthday!!! So we topped the evening off with chocolate covered macadamia nuts and champagne.
The next morning we packed up and had the hotel store our luggage while we ate breakfast, then went on a drive to Waimea Canyon. The weather was just perfect for a tour of the canyon. I can see why they call the Waimea the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific”. It is huge and vast with stunning views around every turn in the road. You are up at a high elevation as well. We did not have the time to go as far up as we wanted because we had reservations with Inter-island Helicopters for our helicopter flight and waterfall landing with lunch.
This helicopter flight was the absolute highlight of Kauai and the entire Hawaii trip for me. I had done a considerable amount of research to determine the safest helicopter ride and Inter-Island was it. They are the ones called in when there is a helicopter crash or some one needs rescuing. The day we arrived in Hawaii there had been a helicopter crash on Kauai involving Bali Hai Helicopters (not one of the company’s recommended to me). Inter-Island uses small and very maneuverable helicopters with powerful, high-performance engines, which makes it easier for them to get out of unexpected wind situations -- unlike the bigger, fatter tourist helicopters. Now, the Inter-Island helicopters only hold 4 passengers, making for a more personal experience. They are not painted pretty, nor do they have lush interiors and they DO NOT have doors on them. It is open-air, folks, so bring jeans and sweatshirts to put on, as it is cold way up in the sky. It does make for an absolutely exhilarating experience with nothing between you and the views. How can you not take great pictures?
Our pilot’s name was John. He had lived on the island for several years and knew its idiosyncrasies well. John also performed the maintenance on the helicopter, so he knew it inside and out.
After watching the safety video and getting our safety gear on we were strapped in by the friendly ground crew and off we went. The other couple on our flight was from Israel and sat up front with John. Mark and I sat in the back. Inter-island takes off from an area near the Hyatt and close to Waimea Canyon so right away you have great scenery to see.
The views of Waimea Canyon from the air with all its waterfalls were even more impressive than the drive we had taken. After flying over Waimea Canyon, we flew to the interior, and then started our descent into the jungle to land in a small clearing. After exiting the helicopter, we walked down a rough, narrow path until we reached a platform with a picnic table and a beautiful waterfall -- all for us! J We all quickly changed and into the water we went, only to get a rude awakening. The water is fresh water and very COLD. I am from tough pioneer stock J so I gritted my chattering teeth and went in. After all, this was a once in a lifetime experience and I was not about to miss it because of a little cold water. After an invigorating time in the water we got out. Mark actually swam all the way over to the waterfall but I stayed where my feet touched ground. We all had a nice lunch of sandwiches and chatted. All too soon, it was time to take off again.
We next flew over the stunning Napali coast with its incredible rock formations, sandy beaches and blue water. It did not look real at all but I knew it was, as I was looking right at it from the helicopter. Next we flew over toward Hanalei and over the Hanalei Colony Beach Resort, which was our next hotel, toward Princeville. We flew over Kilauea and finally Mt. Waialeale, which is an astounding 5,148 ft tall. John said that it was a rare clear day and we actually flew over the top, which is often not possible because of cloud cover. Everyone on board had headphones to talk to each other during the flight, which made it easy to ask questions about what we were looking at. We did fly over the waterfall shown in the movie “Jurassic Park” as well, before reluctantly landing at home base. I just can’t imagine coming to Kauai and not going on the helicopter ride. You would miss so much of the island since most of it is inaccessible. And the waterfall landing made our ride so extra special.
After landing we went back to the Hyatt to collect our luggage and head toward another part of the island for three nights at the Hanalei colony Beach Resort. I chose this resort as a quaint, peaceful retreat with incredible scenery. No TV’s or radios are in the condominiums, which all have two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Our drive was very scenic, and the closer we got the more incredible the views became. We had splurged on an ocean front condo and I do mean oceanfront, as it was only about 10 feet from the surf with nothing between you and the sea but air and sand. The beach here is nice but you cannot swim here due to undertows and currents. You have to go the short distance to Tunnels or Kee beaches if you want to swim.
The condo was impeccably clean and the furniture nice to look at also. There was no air conditioning but it is windy at this resort. The rooms had plenty of windows, which were clean as a whistle. We had views of the sea and beach from every room. I even saw a NCL ship sail by and waved at it. J That night we drove back in to the quaint little village of Hanalei to eat at Zelos and get a few groceries.
The next day we spent relaxing and reading, just taking it easy. We did go into Hanalei in the afternoon for a little shopping.
On our last full day in Kauai, we spent the morning at Tunnels (what a beautiful beach) and Kee beaches. Since October is considered winter on Kauai the surf and undertows are bad, so no swimming is allowed, just walking on the beaches. Warning signs were everywhere. We hiked a short way up the Kahala Trail. It is not for the faint of heart and you do have to climb over rocks. The view at the first lookout point was wonderful, though. Unfortunately, or maybe it was fortunately, we ran out of time and had to leave to go to the Princeville resort for lunch. We had a nice but expensive lunch at Café Hanalei at Princeville. Mark had his first $15 hamburger but, again, the view was gorgeous. Since I am a travel agent, I asked to see a room so we did. Princeville is a beautiful but somewhat cold resort. The views from the rooms facing the Hanalei coastline are amazing though, and worth the money. It is a very elegant resort, contrasting with the Hyatt, which had a more relaxed, Hawaiian island feel to it. But Princeville wins on views.
Mark is into woodworking so we made a quick trip to a specialty wood working shop in Kappa, so he could look at Hawaiian Koa wood that he had heard so much about. We had dinner at our condo on our last night and did laundry. I loved Kauai and really did not want to leave it L we will return!!! I am into sewing, so on the way to the airport we stopped at a Hawaiian fabric shop and I did some major shopping J
Oahu (Waikiki Beach) Oct. 6-8
My first impression of Waikiki was that is just like South Beach in Miami. My second impression was the same. The only reason we included a stay in Waikiki was so that we could go on a very special tour of Pearl Harbor with Home of the Brave Tours. It would take most of one day so we spent two nights in Waikiki. We chose the Radisson Prince Kuhio resort, which is just one block up from the beach. We had an ocean view room, which was very pleasant and pretty. The hotel had just undergone a complete renovation of the public areas and it looked very nice. It was also a very convenient location and a great price for us. Mark was tired from dealing with the luggage and driving, so while he took a nap I went shopping at the international market place. Taking a nap was a big, big mistake on his part because the noise of me dragging in all the bags is what woke him up. J
That evening we walked over to the Sheraton Moana Surfrider for a sunset cocktail drink, then rushed back to the hotel because Lost was coming on, so we just ordered a pizza to eat while we watched it.
The next monring we had to be at the hotel next door by 6:30 am to be picked up for our Home of the Brave tours. Mark was in the Army and is into military history so I did considerable reseach to find this tour company that is the ONLY ONE allowed onto the military bases. Our tour guide, Olaf, was a very, very entertaining military historian. He absolutely made that tour for us. Our first stop was Pearl Harbor and since Olaf knows everything about Pearl Harbor (including many never heard before stories) he kept us mesmerized until we got inside for the tour. He knew a lot of short cuts and tips to make our tour of Pearl Habor special that none of the other tour companies knew. Weren’t we special! J We were in the first group to go in for the film, then to go to the memorial. As a matter of fact we were standing on the Arizona memorial at the exact time of day the bombs began falling all those years ago. It was a very solemn and quiet tour group.
Every person who goes to Hawaii for the first time needs to stop in Honolulu to see Pearl Harbor. The security is, of course, tight, as it is a terrorist target. No purses or fanny packs are allowed. Next, we went to the next military base for lunch in the commissary. Mark remarked that the mess halls he had eaten in had never been as nice as that one. Next we went to Hickham Air Force Base to tour it and its museum, then to the army base to tour the Pacific headquaters. Much of the movie Pearl Harbor was filmed here. We were honored to meet with the Sergeant Major of the Pacific, the highest ranking enlisted person in the U.S. Army in the Pacific. After his talk to us I wanted to enlist J
Our next stop was a drive through the Punchbowl military cemetary. Olaf told us some very unusual stories pertaining to wherever we happed to be. Our last stop was the Home of the Brave Headquarters museum and gift shop, where we finally had some time to chat with Olaf. We were back at our hotel by 2:30 pm. I will absolutely beg any client who goes to Honolulu to go on this tour as it was so enriching and educational. There is no other tour like it in Honolulu.
Mark was tired and decided to nap while I hit Waikiki Beach. This was our last night in Hawaii so I had made reservtaions at the Cabanas Restaurant in the Kahala Oriental Mandaran Hotel in Kahala, a short distance out of Waikiki in a quiet residental area. Cabanas is out on the beach where you eat under a tent with the sunset and tiki torches. Dinner was great and it was a very romantic last night in Hawaii.
The next morning we slept in and had room service breakfast. We went back over to the Sheraton Moana Surfrider for high tea with white glove service under their huge banyan tree. I really enjoyed it and had warned Mark beforehand that it was tea with finger sandwiches, so he should eat a meal before we went. After high tea, we checked out and went to the airport for our overnight flight back home to Dallas.
We loved Hawaii and I was glad I finally got a chance to see many of the hotels and experience many of the activies and restaurants I had been recommending. Our personal favorite island was Kauai. We did not get to the Big Island, that is the next trip to Hawaii. J
If any of you who read this would like my help planning your perfect Hawaii trip, please let me know as I would dearly love to help you.
Kay Mitchell
