Our trip is over, and we had an amazing time. This post attempts to share some of what we learned as we traveled through Maui, the Big Island of Hawaii, and Kauai. If you're going, buy a guidebook!
1. It takes twice as long as you think it will to travel anywhere. There is often only one road to take you there, and you aren't the only one going. Kauai has the worst traffic, particularly in Kapa'a.
2. Jump right into island time. You don't have to see all the big attractions in a couple of days. The best part about being there is soaking up the ambiance, with an umbrella drink in hand.
3. Make sure your snorkel mask seals properly before you leave the snorkel shop. If it doesn't seal well, it won't keep out the salt water, you won't see as much, and you'll have a less than perfect time. If you have a mustache, bring chap stick to smear on it so facial hair won't prevent a good seal. I was amazed to find that they make prescription snorkel masks, for us nearsighted folks.
4. Buildings with cement block construction in general make for a quieter and more insect-free experience. Frame construction means thinner walls, more noise. And if you're on the first floor, you'll have more bugs.
5. If you would enjoy and are willing to spend a little more money, having a larger vehicle, ask your rental car agent if there is an upgrade available. If you're not traveling during peak demand periods (December through March and holidays) there will be cars available, probably for less than you think. This will of course add to the bottom line. For us it was worth the extra money.
6. Before you leave home, plan how you will handle all day excursions where a variety of stuff may be needed. Rental companies and guide books both suggest leaving no valuables in your car, even in places hidden from view. Thefts are rampant in places like beach parks, trailheads and scenic attractions. Our solution was to use the camera case for valuables or take a backpack. Car keys went into the water with us, double bagged in plastic. Ditto ID and credit card. Everything we left in the car was in plain view. We left umbrellas, rain jackets, beach mats and towels, and walking shoes. No packages that weren't open to show the contents. And we rented small SUV's with a clearly visible cargo area. Maybe we were just lucky, but we had no problems.
7. Pick up publications at the airport. There are a lot of them, and many have discount coupons. Usually a vendor will give you the coupon rate if there is one, whether or not you have a piece of paper. Always ask for a discount rate if you book your own excursion.
8. There is no substitute for a good guide book. We used mostly the Lonely Planet series, but also liked the [fill in island name]Revealed publications. If you didn't plan your trip around one, they are readily available in airports and souvenir shops. We picked up a AAA map and trip book, which were of very limited value and not worth the time it took to drive to AAA. Like everywhere else, Hawaii has been hit hard by the recession. We found that some restaurants and shops had closed since our guidebooks were published. Calling ahead will save you time.
9. If you're 62 or older, you can buy a lifetime pass to all National Park administered attractions for $10. It works for you and your spouse and is tied in to your driver's license. There are many national parks and scenic attractions on each of the islands. You'll need to produce the credit card sized pass and your driver's license each time you enter a park. It won't work for your spouse if you're not present. It saved us a lot of money.
10. If you're not 62 yet you can purchase an annual National Park pass for $89. It may save you money if you're going to several islands or have other vacations planned within the year. You can also purchase weekly passes for less money.
11. Inter-island flights allow less weight for carry on bags than the big international carriers. Check your airline requirements before you leave home. Hawaiian Airlines doesn't count a camera as an extra bag.
12. Flat rate boxes from the U.S. Post Office are great. We mailed home the island guides and literature we didn't need any more, along with shoes we brought and then didn't need. You can use the boxes for anything that isn't perishable, liquid, or fragile. The boxes can be tracked and insured like any other package.
13. The road to Hana: If you're going to Maui, don't let the rental company talk you out of driving to Hana in your rental car. It's true, there are hundreds of curves, and over fifty one lane bridges. But the road is well paved, with plenty of warning for the one lane parts and yield signs with lines help regulate traffic flow. If you drive to Hana, the $20 CD and map guide from the Shell Station at the start of the road is well worth the money. We bought the Haleakala guide for $10 more. It was good, but we didn't find it as helpful as the Hana guide. If you want to look out the window and take photos, take a tour bus. If you're driving yourself, get to the the start of the road, near the airport, by eight a.m. at the latest to allow lots of time for stops along the way and to return home. If you decide not to go back the way you came, the one lane road west from Hana is paved except for a couple of miles. The pavement is rough for most of it. The scenery is awesome, and for us worth the bumps and narrow curves.
14. We found that it was worth paying for shipping to avoid carrying small pieces of pottery and artwork. We did carry home some stone coasters, which caused the TSA security person to search the entire backpack. We were literally the only ones in line, so it didn't take long. But if we'd been cutting the time close it would have been bad!
15. If you have any medical implants (plates, knee or hip replacements, etc.), ask if there is a body scanner before you walk through the metal detector. If you set it off, they have to do a complete pat down. The Lihue, Kauai airport is the only one we visited with a body scanner right now, but the Kahului, Maui airport is getting one soon. I'm guessing that the Honolulu airport also has a scanner, but we didn't go through security there so I'm not sure.
16. For $5 or less, you can buy topographical maps of all the islands, published by the University of Hawaii Press. I ordered ours ahead of time, but that was totally unnecessary since every airport shop and national park sold them. These maps show all the roads, and sometimes mark which ones are private, as many up country roads are. Maps furnished by rental companies conveniently omit roads they would prefer you didn't use, like rural unpaved and one lane roads.
17. If you plan to hike lava field trails, bring a compass and get a trail map. Sturdy shoes are essential for all island hiking. Check conditions with the park rangers before setting out on longer hikes. Some of the trails are dangerous and many are poorly marked. Many of the national parks require registration (free) before hiking past marked lookouts.
18. Don't bring too much stuff. I brought everything I thought we'd need, even flashlights for night lava viewing. We ended up hauling things we never used. Everything we needed was readily available at reasonable prices near or in the national and state parks. Beach mats are $3 each everywhere, so you can just donate them to the next occupants of your lodging when you're done with them. A twin pack of flashlights was on sale in Volcano for $10, and our host had loaners available. Straw hats are inexpensive. You get the idea. However, if you're hiking, don't skip the hiking boots or shoes. They are essential, and worth bringing. We wore ours on the planes so they wouldn't add weight and bulk to our suitcases.
19. Dressing up means slacks or shorts and a clean aloha shirt for men. Ladies sometimes wear long floral dresses or sun dresses. Everyone wears sandals all the time, except for hiking. Unless you're staying at a really expensive hotel, you don't need dress clothes. Even at church or the fanciest restaurants.
20. Shop around for airfare. We found that there was a $5000 difference between the highest and lowest fares for our complete trip. We got the best deal on Orbitz.com. Surprisingly, Expedia was the very highest, even more than Delta Airlines. Priceline was close to Orbitz.
21. We got a $50 discount from Budget for pre-paying for our car on Maui. There are several web sites that will compare car rental rates. We found that the lowest rate we could find ourselves was the same as the comparison site's rates for the same company.
22. We found that overall renting a condo from a private person or management agent was the best value. We don't like to eat every meal out, so wanted a kitchen. Most condos have a private lanai, and the weather is almost always good for sitting outside. The research did take a lot of time, but we were happy with our choices except for the apartment hotel on Maui, which advertised a nice beach and told us we'd have a partial ocean view. The beach was small with coarse sand, and the slice of ocean was between two beachfront condo complexes. Our building was between the street and a beachfront condo. The apartment itself was fine, and the lanai looked out over nice tropical trees. Barking dogs in a nearby building were annoying. Homeaway and VRBO (vacation rentals by owner) are good places to start your condo search.
23. If you don't have the time or inclination to do a lot of research, reading and web searching, you might want to use a travel agent. Or just let Orbitz or a similar site pick your flight, hotel and rental car company and put it in a package.
24. As soon as the glimmer of Hawaii (or really any exciting travel destination) appears in your brain, subscribe to newsletters like Sherman's Travel, Travel and Leisure, and Budget Travel. They all send regular email newsletters, and Sherman's has a weekly deal newletter. Some great values, especially if you can be flexible about dates.
25. If you have to go back to work when you get home, give yourself a few days to get back on local time. Pat recovered faster than I did. It took about five days for us, but had we been forced to be functional early in the morning we probably could have done it in a couple of days.
Aloha, and mahalo for reading our blog!
