Visiting ancient temples, listening to prayerful chants, learning to weave a ti leaf lei. My favorite part of visiting Hawai‘i is absorbing the Hawaiian culture. Many destinations offer sun, surf, and sand, but only Hawai‘i has the rich heritage that rode the waves with the ancient wayfarers, survived in traditions passed down through generations and lives today in the soulful sounds of chanters and the graceful movements of hula dancers.

On my first trip to the islands, I visited Pu‘uhonua o Honauanau National Historic Park on... Read More

     This list has been provided by Chuck Gross, travel and marketing manager with AAA Southern New England, a Hawaii specialist and the veteran of 20 trips to the islands.
 
1. MAUI: The Road to Hana
This may be one of the most beautiful drives on the planet. Plan a full day for the roundtrip and take your time to enjoy the adventure...too many drivers speed along thinking that the tiny village of Hana is the goal only to be seriously disappointed. From Kahului take 36 east, just past Pauwela the road will narrow and become State Route... Read More

     This is a magnificent island, as I described in a previous blog, Kauai, Yes We Have Rain, and especially for driving. Every mile brings a stunning vista, and the traffic generally is light. The island’s airport at the island capital of Lihue is equidistant between the end of Kauai roads to the west and to the north/northwest.

First, drive on short Route 570 (also called Ahukini Rd.) to leave the airport area and then turn left on Route 50 (aka Kaumualii Hwy.) and point the car towards the... Read More

    Never fails. I pack a book to read on vacation and finish it in two days. Soon, I’m reduced to reading tourist magazines and the superlative-overloaded tripe composed by the local convention and visitors bureau. What’s a word-starved haole  to do? On Maui, you’ve got two bookstores to replenish your portable library. We know what Barnes & Noble is about, so I head for touristy Lahaina, wade through a sea of ice-cream-cone-licking couples in matching Hawaiian shirts and find the Read More

     You scored on that dirt cheap Maui vacation package and landed on the “Valley Isle” without withdrawing what’s left of your 401k. Sunbathing, swimming and romantic sunset strolls are free, last time I checked anyway, but you’ll still need to appease that growling belly of yours. On Maui’s west coast, arguably the priciest resort zone in Hawai‘i, finding affordable grub that doesn’t involve drive-thrus or value menus presents a challenge.

On my last trip I stayed in Kahana (north of Ka‘anapali) in a condo with a full kitchen. Determined to pinch pennies, I... Read More

Question:  David Henning asks:  My wife and I are planning to go to Hawaii in March 2010.  What is a good length of time to stay (7 days, 10 to 14 days)?  We’d love to island hop, so what islands should we visit?  We enjoy the beach, we are not golfers, and we enjoy doing things on our own.

Answer:  Tonya Powell, Vacation Sales Specialist at the AAA office in Chico, Calif., says:  If you were going to visit just one island, I usually recommend five to 10 night stays.  Since you want to island hop, you need to determine how... Read More

     The world’s wettest spot generally is agreed to be the range of hills between the Pu‘u o Kila Lookout and Mt. Wai‘ale‘ale on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, the westernmost populated (another accolade if one ignores the populated but private island of Niihau) of these gorgeous isles. The road to the lookout is reason enough to come here, numerous layoffs giving majestic views of the Waimea Canyon , which in my opinion gives its more famous cousin in Arizona a... Read More

Before I even began researching my trip to Molokai, I knew there was one attraction I couldn’t pass up: the island’s infamous Kalaupapa leprosy colony, now a National Historic Park . I never got around to reading The Colony, the 2006 bestseller by John Tayman. But I knew the tale of Kalaupapa from Jack London’s short story, The Lepers of... Read More