Da Big Island of Hawaii: Recs, Nov. 2009
Capt’n Skully and I just spent Thanksgiving week on the Big Island and I wanted to give updates as to what’s still there/good/worth it/etc. And since we basically planned our trip from recs here, I thought it only fair to give back :)
AIRLINES:
Flights were a b*tch. November has got to be about the worst time to fly, price-wise. But the trip was worth it. We went via US Air. No real complaints, save the “Mai Tai.” I was thinking they were serving Trader Vic’s ones, and a stewardess said they stopped 2 years ago. The “Mai Tai” they do serve: Stirrings Mai Tai Mix & a travel bottle of Bacardi Silver... for only $8! YUM!! It contained orange, pineapple, cranberry and I think lemon juice. “And other flavorings.” We passed (after sniffing our seatmate’s).
LODGING:
** First 3 nights at the Royal Kona Resort (3rd night free with two). Not cheap, but not crazy. And beautiful. Gorgeous inside and out. And right in the heart of the beachside Kailua-Kona “stuff.” AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, with Don the Beachcomber’s and Don’s Mai Tai Bar in the lobby and at the ocean. Some of the Mai Tai’s were cheap (Happy Hour) and some were fine. Not Don’s, not Trader Vic’s, but fine. (And we had TV’s brand mix up in our room, so acceptable Mai Tai’s were consumed on the premises... Ssshhh...)
We bought the Squid and Crazy Al mug at Hilo Hattie's; Don's was not using them. Hell, they weren't even using Don's barrels. Nor were they selling them. Grrr. (My only complaint.)
Check out the photos of Don’s:
http://www.hawaiihotels.com/Main/Sub.cfm?Id=200&Ref=HHR
** Last 5 days at a rental condo. BEST DEAL ON THE ISLAND. We found it through VRBO:
http://www.vrbo.com
Approximately 4 miles south of the heart of Kona, Kona Magic Sands was our spot, next door to Magic Sands Beach and on the other side, a green park where local [non-Haole] girls learned hula on Sat AM’s. $75 a night ($100 deposit, plus $100 cleaning fee, which was included in the price). Seriously. Everything provided: full kitchen (including coffee grinder for the of-course 100% Kona coffee), wireless/free internet, AC (which we never turned on), beach towels, snorkel gear, and even binoculars (which we unfortunately did not discover until after our volcano excursion - Agh!). But the view: worth 10X the cost. We were 30’ from the water, had palm trees out the window, fish in the waves, and rocky promontories on one side. Even had a Condo Nazi who left little notes on the car, informing us of rules we were breaking (never intrusive and always entertaining). PM me if you want our spot.
Comparison:
We loved both places and were glad that we did both.
AND we regretted not being able to stay at Tiki Dug’s spot (already booked). It too seemed perfect, despite not being on the water. http://tikiislandhawaii.com/
A.) The Royal Kona was great for just lazing around, getting happy at Happy Hour
(with TC’ers and now-locals Brad TikiShark, Thomas from Bamboo Too, Bryce & Lisa, and their friends Jeff & Cindy, who were enjoying their first night on the island with us as well, having just moved there). The silver haired vibes player is still there! Sunday nights. We watched the sun set at Don’s as we heard him play “Quiet Village.” I was pinching myself. Royal Kona also has convenient and delicious dinner at Don’s, walking to the shopping spots, and just relaxing – something I never do on vacation. Just couldn’t afford to stay there the whole time, and we both really wanted to cook.
B.) The rental was good for using as a home base, and when we stayed at the Volcano House another night, we didn’t feel horrible “throwing away” a night at the condo. View from our window. Queen sized bed behind the camera (we had more than a futon):
(Fresh mahi mahi, prepared on the poolside grill at the condo, and fruits/vegetables from the market were as good as we’d dreamed.)
ACTIVITIES:
Snorkeling/Diving with the Mantas at Night
Brad TikiShark and Laney were SO RIGHT; it’s perhaps the most amazing thing I’ve ever done. Top three at least. DO IT. DO NOT MISS IT. Brad’s rec of Jack’s Diving Locker http://www.jacksdivinglocker.com/ was dead-on. It’s a 2:45 – 9:30 affair, which was surprising. Lots of waiting around and wetsuit-fitting eats up the time, but you get an afternoon dive and a night one, plus a small dinner (sandwich and chips). We both snorkeled and loved it; there were 2 males and 4 females our night, including a 16 footer. And we both want to get dive certified and do it underwater (and see the eels!) next time.
Not our footage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evMUdYoWaDU
Yes, I’d spend $95 (for snorkeling/$150 for diving) and 6-7 hours to dive for one hour with manta rays a second time. It really was that cool. And it is NOT SCARY, those of you who think the night thing or claustrophobia would get you. It's so well lit (and filled with divers) that you just can't be scared, even if you're floating on top of the water snorkeling.
It was rather chilly when you get out of the water (in November). Bring enough clothes/towels to keep warm.
NOTE: If you get seasick, be prepared. Thankfully, we had Dramamine. Wish the lady doing a fabulous Tretchikoff imitation on our boat had taken it...
Volcano
We didn’t give ourselves enough time to do the hike out across the caldera, but instead drove down to the bottom, SE end of the Volcano National Park to hike out to the water’s edge and watch the lava hit the ocean – at dusk. Pure magic.
View from a boat (which we did not do), from the Tourist Board:
http://www.gohawaii.com/perfect/?cid=10Brand_020#/Lava
All the recs on this thread about what to wear/bring/arrange are still true (flashlight, jeans, water, dinner for later, etc.). Maps and instructions for where is the best current viewing are everywhere, such as at the park info center across the street from the Volcano House.
We spent the night at The Volcano House, a great old hotel. Imperfect, but you CANNOT beat the location!
http://www.volcanohousehotel.com/accomodation.htm
It’s inside the park, so $10 park entrance to enter the grounds. Great old main building with an outstanding view of the smoking caldera...which glows at night. We had a cheaper [rather crappy] room (cheapest are $100 and $130), so I can’t say if a volcano view was worth the extra $ (up to $250). Perhaps. We certainly gawked like tourists when we finally saw it by day the next morning over our kickASS buffet breakfast. (With bacon 2 ways: flimsy and extra crispy!)
NOTE: In winter, the park/hotel was much colder than the viewing spot down by the ocean. Don’t be tempted to buy an expensive (but great looking) Volcano House sweatshirt to stay warm, unless you’ll be in the higher elevations. But do get a $2.50 rain poncho from the same gift shop if it looks like rain – and it’s always dizzling, from what we heard. (Drizzled on us.)
FURTHER NOTE: Their website reads that they are closing for renovations on Jan. 1, 2010. No idea when they re-open. Hopefully they’ll clean the grout in our shower....
Drive Around the Island (we did counterclockwise)
Go ahead and rent the convertible; you know you want to. We found an ok price on Travelocity or Expedia, then called the company itself. They knocked $100 off the week.
Once again, didn’t give ourselves enough time to do all the things we wanted to (like stop for waterfalls on the southern drive from Kona to Hilo), but we enjoyed what we did.
**Stopped at the Ka’u(?) Trading Co. before reaching Hilo. Skully bought a nice tiki from local carver Cisco.
**Saw Hilo on Thanksgiving Day. Everything closed, so can’t give any report.
**Kolekole State Park (10 min N of Hilo). Rock beach, river runs into it. Fun watching the surfers. Too effing cold in November to swim, but we experienced true Aloha there; when we asked for a knife to cut our boulder-sized avocado from the Kona market, we were given plates of turkey dinner and pressed to stay and hang with the providers. (You can take the avocado seeds home to the Mainland to grow your own. Not illegal.)
Notice little surfers in the water.
**Akaka Falls. Almost a cliché, it was so beautiful. Postcard perfect. Walk the full circle. Bathrooms located in the parking area. Shopping alert: little shops at the turn to go there, open on Thanksgiving Day! ha! And yes, they suckered me in bigtime. I bought a ridiculously expensive sarong ($45) from another original hippie-turned-island-girl’s shop, and it’s the most beautiful thing I bought on the trip. Wore it night and day ‘til the plane home. (Another local artist product. We fell for that line every time, I swear! But we really wanted to support the local economy. The public school system is in shambles – NO money.)
Tourist Board footage:
http://www.gohawaii.com/perfect/?cid=10Brand_020#/AkakaFalls
Skully's photo:
**Waipiu Canyon. Didn’t get to do the trading co./antique store in the town mentioned earlier here on this thread, but it’s still there and it looked great. Rats. Hit the canyon rim in the afternoon and hiked down...in the drizzle. Wore my ass out. And that was going down. Started too late back up, so by the time we were halfway back up the mile-long, 4-wheel-drive-only road, it was dark. But my muscles did not die the next day, and the black sand beach and Bali Hai beauty made it worth the effort.
But next time, I AM GETTING A RIDE, DAMNIT.
Would love to have seen Pololu Canyon too, recommended here as well.
Luau
We skipped this. We watched the one at the Royal Kona from our balcony and they ain’t got nuthin’ the Mai Kai ain’t got. The one at the King Kamehameha supposedly has The King ride up right to the beach on an outrigger, which sounded like cheesy fun. But these were both running $85-ish, with maybe one shitty drink included. I’m waiting ‘til I go to Kauai and do the one there rec’d by a friend. In the meantime, I’ll gaze at Motor Booty at the Mai Kai and order another Jet Pilot.
Snorkeling at Honokohau Nat’l Historic Park
(Just north of K-K). Didn’t make Mauna Kea Resort and its killer beach (dadgummit), but we loved this spot. It’s actually at the marina where Jack’s Manta Dive takes off from, just north of town. And FI-nally saw honu (turtles) here! Nice sand, few people.
St. Benedict’s (“The Painted Church”)
and
Puuhonua O Honaunau (“Place of Refuge”) National Historical Park.
Both about 30 minutes south of town, at Captain Hook. The former is a precious little jewel, with great tromp l’oiel painting. The latter, we saw at sunset (there aren’t enough sunsets on a trip to Hawaii!!) and it was phenomenal. Took a bajillion shots and wanted to take more. TC-ers canNOT miss this.
(Couldn’t find the purported tiki shop near the church, but I think we weren’t in the right area to look.)
SHOPPING
** Bamboo Too to at least drool, get build-out ideas, and meet the wonderful TC-er (and Gecko-recommended) Thomas, aka Alii Tiki (and co-worker Autumn). Located across/down the street from 2 great thrift stores (I scored a dress and 2 shirts) and from the Kona International Marketplace. One light north of “town.”
** Zan’s stall in the above-mentioned Marketplace. Classic original hippie, super-sweet and friendly, and she carries Gecko’s and other locals’ work, and Tiki Farm mugs. And she’ll tell you which things are imported vs. island-made. Skully and I both picked up the ubiquitous fishing hooks EVERYONE wears; we were constantly complimented by dealers who noticed how nice ours were. She’ll also try to sell you her Ka’u coffee (“Better than Kona!”). A bit more expensive...and IMO, it is a little bit better than the Kona we also bought (and brought back tons of).
** Rec’d brand of Kona coffee, according to Lisa and Bryce: Kona Black Label Coffee and No KA ‘OI. Grab whichever is on sale at the grocery store. Still ain’t cheap, BTW. Zan’s Ka’u stuff rocks, too. I’m happy every morning now :)
** Antiques dealer Dan Brown (ha!) in the same Marketplace. Coooool old Hawaiian stuff, though mostly overpriced, but we got some nice things from him. He’s a carver, and Skully bought a couple of scrap chunks of beautifully grained native woods at a huge discount.
** Wed-Sun Market in town. Fruits, cheaper fishhook necklaces, flower clips for the hair (like I didn’t already have enough from the Mai Kai!! HA!!), and interesting artisan stuff. Do all of your small souvenir gift shopping here or the smaller one a little further south. Don’t forget to bargain. Note: the guys who made tikis and sold tapa are no longer there - making rock walls instead, damnit. Loads of Indonesian fake tiki crap.
** Don’t kill me: Wal-Mart. Yes, we went in there – breaking our boycott - for a camera card...and because we’d heard they had loads of cheap, tropical fabric – the kind you Californians take sooo for granted. Got 9 yards of DREAM stuff for $3.50 a yard. HELLO, FASHION TRAMP! (and new curtains, etc.). But the clincher: whole sets of pre-made slipcovers, in good, ‘50’s-looking barkcloth tropical prints for your rattan furniture!! $166 for a fiver (3-seater couch plus two more chairs, so 10 cushions) or $36 for a single chair (two cushions). Two different makers, who sell only to WalMart - and only on the islands!! Bastards! I bought - gulp - TWO complete sets. 7 lbs per set. Yep, 14 more pounds for the bags. I have a lot of rattan...
** Sack N Save, the grocery store in Kopiko Plaza, which also has Hilo Hattie’s, Kona Mix Plate ((808) 329-8104), Long’s Drugstore (north end of town, on the street that runs between Queen K Highway and Ali’i Drive). Got all our booze and mixers (like Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Mix) at the Long’s and Sack N Save (and cheap limes at the market). Great poke in the back, as well as the mahi mahi we grilled. Loved the Mix Plate rec, too; we were the only Haoles in the joint, and the food rocked.
Note: Orgeat, orange curacao, and simple sugar were available at Long’s, S n S, and The Wine Market in the shopping center next to Kona International Market, but we took the easy route.
** Island Lava Java (in the middle of all the Ali’i Drive shopping) has free internet for your laptop, in addition to the desktops you can rent by the 20 minute module.
** Kava. We tried it at Kanaka Kava in the Coconut Grove shopping center (which has or is next to all the shopping plus Jack’s Diving Locker HQ). Trip advisor said it was run by “dirty hippies”. Um...I can see why some would say that. But super nice folks (and a tiki I covet on the bar).
The kava – well – maybe I’m just not into water that tastes like dirt. And we did it on the recommended empty stomach. 2 big cups a piece at $5 a cup. No buzz for me. Nuthin’. Just dirt-water sloshing around in my stomach. Skully had a short-lasting buzz, and it was fun to try, at least. Check that off my list of “Things To Do/Try in Hawaii”...
I gotta go back! I can’t compare with the other islands, since this was my only time ever there, but I can say a big thank you to those who said if you only do one, do The Big Island. A mix of olde/touristy/natural/tiki/busy/isolated. Just perfect.
[ Edited by: Formikahini 2010-02-07 07:56 ]
