Hawaii Vacation Tips

Hey Unc - I can't shed any light on the big island, as I haven't been there, or Oahu, since I was only 5 & 6 when I lived there, but I did go to Kauai four years ago.

The must-see stuff is pretty obvious -- Waimea Canyon is really breathtaking, and of course, Na Pali is very cool. We went snorkelling at Ke'e Beach on the north coast, and that was great. We hiked into Na Pali from Ke'e Beach, we didn't go very far (only hiked for a few hours), but it was spectacular. To be honest, we spent most of our time at the resort, we were at the Hyatt Regency in Poipu Beach.

If I had it all to do over again, I would spend a lot more time in Na Pali -- there was a full day hike that went really deep in where it's so dark the vegetation is all dwarfed -- you had to bring hip waders! I really wish I'd done that hike. Also wish I'd taken the time to visit the botanical gardens. We drove out to Barking Sands beach, which was nice enough, but I didn't think it was anything special. We also didn't take any of the trips to see Na Pali from out away from the island, like one of the boat or helicopter tours, and I wish we'd done that.

Looks like I need to go back!

The best tiki bar is the one that's within stumbling distance of your bed
The Humuhumu Room

[ Edited by: Humuhumu on 2003-06-25 17:56 ]

I love the Big Island! Where are you staying? We stayed at the King Kamehameha right at the end of Alii Drive (where all the bars, shops, etc. are in Kona) A MUST is right across the street from the Hotel (on Alii Dr. where it starts to turn) a small restaurant/bar called (and I forget the exact name) but it's like "Lucy's almost by the sea" I just forget the name but it's the only place open late (after bars close) There is the best sandwich in the world there! It's called "Kona Gold" and is like a hot crab salad sandwich. Hard to explain but well worth the flight to Hawaii just for this sandwich! You MUST go get one, or two, or three! I think we ate there every day of our trip!

We dove with the dive shop in the King Kam Hotel. They have a night dive where you go out to about 60' and anchor yourself (extra weights required) to the ocean floor around a huge spotlight. Everyone has flashlights that you hold to attract plankton which attracts Manta Rays! We had a special treat-5 Mantas. They come so close to you that you can touch them and they brush up over your head to eat whats in your light beam. They don't let you wear your snorkel because they come so close to your head, they'll knock your mask off! They flip and dance gracefully in the lights. They are huge and look like king size mattresses gliding around. A MUST dive! Absolutely the best dive experience of my life!

And, of course, you must see the lava flow. Spend a day driving around the island it really is amazing how it goes from rain forest like to desert like. Stop between Kona and Hilo because there are many waterfall parks/walks just off the main road! The Big Island is my favorite! I'm so jealous!

Mahalo! The manta ray dive is now booked! Those hikes sound incredible, on past trips I've hit the beach for diving and surfing, but I may head for the hills a bit this time. Look out crab salad sandwich, here I come! Any other tips are appreciated.

-Weird Unc

Since you dive, on Oaho, we dove with the dive master for the Kahala Mandarin Hotel (pretty high end, we were guests of William Morris Agency) Small dive boats 4-5 people, the guy let me use his scooter, he'd charge the battery up just for me, man you've got to dive with a scooter, it's awesome! Any way, we did a WWII plane wreck at 100', a cave where we had an encounter with a large octopus, and free dove a tank at 80'. Fun! At the other end of the island (away from Diamond Head) There is extensive lava flow caves to explore and we dove a huge Mine Sweeper wreck, home to spotted eagle rays, sharks, eels, and numerous fish species. I think every island has unique dive sites so live it up. The only thing you're missing is the Humpback Whale migration (around Jan-late Feb.) when you can hear them singing under water! A moving experience for any diver!

We should plan a TC dive trip to Catalina, I know there are several TC divers-Al/Shelley, Laney/Cory, and you, at least-I think there are more? That would be fun, I like CA diving. Have a great trip!

On 2003-06-26 05:25, laney wrote:
We should plan a TC dive trip to Catalina, I know there are several TC divers-Al/Shelley, Laney/Cory, and you, at least-I think there are more? That would be fun, I like CA diving.

This sounds like fun. I am PADI certified myself although I haven't gone diving since 1996. A refresher course is definitely order. Catalina is beautiful. Also used to do a lot of diving at Anacapa going out of Ventura. Good Times.

Weird Unc, do dive Hawaii if you get a chance. Last time I was on the islands we did some diving around Oahu. Very beautiful indeed!

Just back from Maui myself. For dining in Lahaina I'd recommend IO and Pacifico (sister restaurants) on the far end of Front Street. Definitely a giant upgrade in the dining scene for Lahaina.

With more direct flights to Maui, Kauai, and Kona it's been a year or so since I've been to Oahu (passed through on the way to Bora Bora last year, but that's another story). Lots of good stuff about Honolulu already on this thread, but my contribution would be to try the unbelievable Plate Lunches at a place called the Rainbow Drive-in. Totally local and always good.

There's also a bar in a parking garage (the Sheraton maybe?) with a window into the hotel swimming pool. Don't recall it being particularly Tiki-ish, but interesting nonetheless.

Aloha,

Vic

Any TC trip to Catalina would be fun (I prefer the rough and tumble Two Harbors side to the Palm-Springs-By-The-Sea Avalon side, but that's just me), but a DIVE trip would be awesome! Maggie's never been and I keep telling her how great the kelp forests are there.

I didn't think to ask about TC divers - we go to Monterey regularly on season to dive - we should all hook up sometime for one of those trips - do Pt. Lobos or Monastary - then skip over to Hulas for mai tais after.

when we went to the big island, we did a road trip (yes, it's really that big). we started in the kailua-kona area, then went to the volcano area, then to hilo, then to waipio. if i had to do it again i wouldn't stay in hilo (but i do highly recommend visiting hilo)

here's where we stayed in the waipio area:

you can get more advance from my friend michael:

http://www.blackbamboohawaii.com/

please let him know that chris & emilia recommended him to you.

have fun,
chris

old thread about maui:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=830&forum=1&4

On The Big Island (Hawai'i) there's an activity called Flumin' Da Ditch. Along with guides and fellow travelers you'll kayak down several miles of old sugar cane irrigation flumes.
The excursion starts in their headquarters in Hawi, North Kohala. There's a briefing and short video to watch and then you'll be crammed into a van for one of the bumpiest, shakingest rides through cow pastures you could imagine. The kayaking itself is calm, but if you're prone to seasickness take a Dramamine for the van ride!
Once you've arrived at the flume departure point, ask to be in a kayak with a guide so you'll be able to more easily hear the history, legends and ghost stories that are told along the pleasant drift. You'll be given a light that straps onto your head(miner-style) and then you're off.
The scenery is beautiful. Very lush, with many tropical plants and flowers as well as mountain and valley views. At several points the flumes cross bridges over deep valleys, if you're not into heights, don't look down!
There are also may tunnels that the flumes enter. The longest takes about twelve minutes to go through and this is when those forehead lights come in handy as there's no natural light in there. Not a good place for the claustrophobic.
North Kohala is a very rainy area of the island, but even if it does come down (as it did on our trip), the rain was warm and the ride was still pleasant.
We disembarked at a point where wild cinnamon was growing and were able to chew on some leaves. An unexpected fun treat!
Once back at the office there are chips and soda and Hawaiian Sun drinks as refreshments.
So Flumin Da Ditch is an agreeable experience. Certainly not a thrill ride (except for the van), but a nice way to pass a couple hours seeing the sights and talking story in a very unusual way. I'm certainly glad I did it, but I'd spend the hunk of money it costs on a scuba dive next time I'm out that way.
http://www.flumindaditch.com/flumin/index.html

-Weird Unc

[ Edited by: weirduncletiki on 2004-04-28 12:08 ]

cool! Thanks weirdunc!
This is one of my favorite tips threads, I've got it bookmarked and will probably print much of it out for my trip.

On 2004-04-28 12:10, Tikiwahine wrote:
cool! Thanks weirdunc!
This is one of my favorite tips threads, I've got it bookmarked and will probably print much of it out for my trip.

Fantastic! Have a blast in the islands and be sure to share your experiences here when you return.
Looking forward to hearing all about it.

-Weird Unc

JohnnieVelour, Thanks for the Oahu tips:

Dine at Chan's Island bistro at the Ala Moana Center and, of course, at La Mariana. Smorggy's Buffet for cheap eats.

Shop at the Flee Market at Aloha Stadium and the International Marketplace.

Sunset at the MaiKai Bar at the Royal HawaiianPink Palace or the House without a Key. Visit the punchbowl for the pre-sunset view.

For more tiki, Bishop Museum and PCC.
Hula & show at the PCC.

Free hula and torch lighting ceremonies apparently occur at Kuhio Beach Park, followed by a Conch Shell sounding and a Hula performance by local halaus nightly at 6:30 p.m.

. . . and Rebecca's very necessary recommendation for cheap eats & fresh fish from the graffiti art decorated fish truck towards the PCC on the North shore.

I fear I can not recall all of your insightful suggestions - I need a MaiTai or two to return me to the same state of mind as when you were telling me.

[ Edited by: christiki295 on 2004-05-24 19:45 ]

Just adding this blog to the list of resources:

http://onokinegrindz.typepad.com/ono_kine_grindz/

Auwe! This page is making me crave squid luau something fierce. I need to go back for an extended vacation.

I just discovered this topic. Mariana and me would like to go to Hawaii this year, and all the hints and recomendations are very welcome.
Now, the thing is: we consider tieing the knot right there! And the from what TikiChris said the Big Island seems to be great.
So we would be happy if somebody has got experience to share about wedding in the islands (…for foreigners).
By the way has anybody here got pictures show from the Kailua-Kona Tiki Hotel?

KK

On 2004-06-09 14:50, Kawentzmann wrote:
Now, the thing is: we consider tieing the knot right there! And the from what TikiChris said the Big Island seems to be great ...
So we would be happy if somebody has got experience to share about wedding in the islands (…for foreigners).

KK

we got 'officially' engaged on maui & went to the big island for our honeymoon. it was perfect. i highly recommend staying at the rain forest retreat in volcano & the cliff house just above the waipio valley.

my friend michael at http://www.blackbamboohawaii.com/ lives on the big island & actually helps lots of germans book their trips. michael has a lovely place w/ a view of kealakekua bay that he rents out. here's a pic:

one half of the folks at http://www.bebackhawaii.com/ is german. they have places on oahu & molokai.

[ Edited by: Tiki Chris on 2004-06-09 15:14 ]

*On 2004-06-09 14:50, Kawentzmann wrote:*By the way has anybody here got pictures show from the Kailua-Kona Tiki Hotel?

I have some from a few years back but I don't know if I ever scanned them. I'll look on my home computer tonight.

It's not very fancy but it's a good, friendly, and clean place to stay for not much money. It's a small two-story building right on the shore (a rocky shore, no beach) with tiki faces on each door but no tikis on the grounds. The lower units have little patios overlooking the ocean. I think the second floor units have lanais but I can't remember. I believe all the units have kitchens. There are no TVs or phones but we heard a TV next door - I think it was the owners' unit. We also left the windows open all night and slept to the sound of the waves.

There's a great lava rock pool right above the ocean. Waves sometimes crash over the lava rock wall and splash into the pool. There's some tables and chairs around the pool where they serve continental breakfast. There are barbeques for guest use and beach chairs and other beach gear in the office that can be used.

The location is a couple miles south of town. There's a small beach within walking distance towards town.

Hi everyone,
My husband & I(and daughter) have finally saved to go to Hawaii(Oahu) in 2005.

Has anyone seen Chief Sielu Avea's show at the Ali'i Tour at the Kualoa Ranch?

Also,what luau is the best?We were wanting to see the one at the Royal Hawaiian,but can't find any reviews of it.

What restaurant has the best fish?We eat "kosher" fish if you all know what I mean,and vegetarian fare.

Any recommendations for things to do with kids?

Mind you,we want the most bang for our buck,since we may not be able to go back for a long time.

Mahalo!

P.S.-Anyone ever stayed at,'The Breakers?'

On 2004-06-12 12:06, artbyanne wrote:
P.S.-Anyone ever stayed at,'The Breakers?'

We booked a room there for 3 nights once. I liked the original 50s styling on the outside, and love their beachcomber mascot sign, but the inside of the room we had was somewhat dreary. I did like the Japanese style sliding screens in the room but I was hoping for a room with a lanai that was a little brighter.

The staff were very friendly and accomodating.

We ended up checking out after one night because there were no other rooms available and switched to the excellent Hawaiiana Hotel down the street.

I would definitely consider staying there again in a different room. These low-rise older hotels are rare in Waikiki and it would be a shame if it closed.

The Breakers' web site:

http://www.breakers-hawaii.com/

I found the website 100 Things To Do On Oahu very fun and informative.

It also gave me idea of going to hear the beautiful cadence of the Hawaiian language at the services at Kawaiahao Church.
http://oahu.101thingstodo.com/guide/thingstodo/detail.php?id=171

Has anyone seen Chief Sielu Avea's show at the Ali'i Tour at the Kualoa Ranch?

he's cool. did a good show at da PCC and now does even better here.

Also,what luau is the best?

that is a verry subjective question.

We were wanting to see the one at the Royal Hawaiian,but can't find any reviews of it.

do it anyway. The RH is a classic and you won't walk away thinkin; 'well, we coulda been shopping at walmart!"

What restaurant has the best fish?

again, very subjective. depenbds on what kinda fish. keonis and leos is great also Buzzes and chucks.

We eat "kosher" fish if you all know what I mean,

well some of us have not a clue what that mea\ns.

Any recommendations for things to do with kids?

zoo, hanauma bay, wakywaky beach. window shop alamoana ctr when da hula show is on...
PCC

Marian (The Bamboo Blonde) and I are back from Hawaii a week or so, but still moving into our new house - so I only have time for a quick run-down on our trip.

Hawaiiana Hotel -- perfect old style lodging in the heart of Waikiki. One of the best recommendations I have ever recieved from Tiki Central. Mahalo for that one Hoity-Toity folks.

La Mariana -- We meet Gecko, Freddie and Mogambo there. A true tiki time capsule. Wonderful treasues everywhere you look. And, Gecko arrived with an armload of Aloha spirit. What a great guy. Thanks for the welcome home bruddah!

Tiki Bar & Grille -- kinda like Taboo Cove in Vegas. New style and old style all mixed up. Nice place for drinks and dinner. Go there.

Moana Banyan Tree Courtyard & Bar -- Beautiful ( and free) Hapa Haole music at 5:30 pm each day. Totally transported us to the days of Webley Edwards and Hawaii Calls. Great beachside bar.

Mai Tai Bar @ Royal Hawaiian -- decent Mai Tai w/ killer views of Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head. Also did the luau there. Great setting, but the food was not as good as at the PCC.

Chucks Steak House in the Edgewater hotel -- First Mai-Tai we sampled and kept going back for more. Bartender there is Gecko's good buddy and he learned his craft from none other than Donn Beach. Great decor and across the street from the hotel. Can't ask for more than that.

Buzz's Steak House in Kailua -- coldest Hinano beer on best beach on Oahu. Also, it's in my hometown.

Polynesian Cultural Center -- fantatsic shows, great tourist luau, best place to buy tapa, carvings, etc.

Duke's Canoe Club -- Great place fo' breakfast. Barefoot bar is good too.

Overall, Waikiki is THE place for Hawaiian urban archeology, but you better see what's left while you can. They take down International Marketplace next summer and there's no guarantee places like Chuck's will survive much longer.

One last ting. Don't get in an outrigger canoe with four little Japanese guys. That's really messed up.

Aloha till later,
KG

Mainstream? I don't think so.

[ Edited by: Kailuageoff on 2004-06-22 15:14 ]

[ Edited by: kailuageoff on 2004-06-23 09:44 ]

Kailuageoff,
I arrive on Oahu for a week next Tuesday. Thanks so much for the great trips! I've already printed them out. I booked at the Hawaiiana as soon as I read about it here, that was indeed a great tip.
Thanks again, I very much appreciate your reviews!

i've been meaning to post our travel experiences in Oahu Nov 2003 ~

Saturday: Got off the plane Saturday afternoon and, upon picking up the rental car and dropping off the luggage, immediately started zooming around. Didn’t know our way around yet and had only one of those vague maps from the rental car place, but there are L&L Drive-insall over Oahu so that’s where we had a late lunch. L&L is a good local plate lunch chain; I had the mahi, my husband had the chicken katsu with curry, both “minis” (only one scoop of rice plus mac salad) since it wasn’t that long until dinner. L&L is always a safe choice and a good way to try plate lunch if you haven’t had it before.

After lunch we picked up some coconut turnovers from Ken’s Bakery(41-865 Kalanianaole Hwy, in Waimanalo) just because they looked so good (they were, too).
Dinner was at Sam Choy’s Diamondhead on Kapahulu Ave. (a ritzier place than the other Sam Choy’s on Oahu, the Breakfast, Lunch and Crab on Nimitz Hwy.). We loved the Sam Choy’s on Maui before, and this one is still great; I had a combination dinner with pan-seared moi (fresh-caught) in an edamame-garlic sauce, a small lobster tail, and an excellent piece of lamb in a peppercorn sauce, while my husband had the moi in a sweetish ginger vinigrette. Good food, the service was a bit off that night.

Sunday: The day for the** big swap meet at Aloha Stadium**, and breakfast was warm malasadas (fried dough rolled in sugar, Hawaiian/Portuguese doughnuts) from a truck there. The swap meet was a bit disappointing, almost all the stands sold exactly the same mass-manufactured stuff, but by chance we met Gecko (!) there, the first day he had put up a stall at the swap meet. We arranged to meet later in the week.

Lunchtime we wanted to try something truly local; problem is, a lot of the truly local places aren’t open on Sundays. We ended up going to the New Uptown Fountain (from the “Puka Guide”) which is at 522 N. School St. ; what the “Guide” doesn’t tell you is that it’s on this little, one-way stub of School which you can only reach going north from Liliha St. (also, the Chevron station the guide talks about is gone now). The place looks like a dump, but it had fantastic saimin. My husband had what the “Magee [=really big] saimin”(comes with vegetables, char siu, stuffed won tons), and it was truly huge. Oddly, the bowl that came with my combination was just as big and had more won tons in it! Mine came with a hamburger, homemade old-style patty on a nicely-grilled bun but no fixings at all, not even a pickle slice. Amazingly cheap and filling food.

We went to Germaine’s Luau that night. Germaine’s has the usual crummy luau drinks (watery mai tais and such) but the food was pretty good, better than you get at a lot of luaus anyway; there was decent mahi, nice kahlua pork, good haupia. (If you’re really interested in authentic Hawaiian food, though, see Tuesday below.)

Monday: For breakfast we head for **Leonard’s Bakery **on Kalahulu Ave for fresh-baked malasadas. Leonard’s is often considered the Malasada Mecca; they bake fresh throughout the day and offer five varieties, unfilled rolled in plain or cinnamon sugar or filled with custard, haupia (coconut “pudding”), or chocolate creme. The chocolate was the best filled one, but my personal fav was the unfilled cinnamon sugar.

Since we visited the Arizona Memorial (Pearl Harbor) that morning, we chose **Shiro’s **for lunch as all four of them are in the Pearl City area; the one we went to is in a strip mall on Hwy 99, on the right as you head west from Pearl toward Ewa (Waimalu Shopping Center is the name, had a number of other interesting-looking food possibilities as well, and is across the street from a Goodwill which has a really large selection of used Hawaiian shirts and is worth checking out). At Shiro’s my husband had the Beeg Shiro, a double-decker sandwich with char siu and teriyaki, while I had saimin again, I forget the name of the dish but it had ten different toppings including a nice butterflied shrimp which came on the side so you could choose to dip it or plunge the whole thing into the broth. The broth at Shiro’s is chicken rather than the bonito flake broth they used at New Uptown Fountain; I liked it better, but my husband is a fan of the milder-tasting fish broth and didn’t. Again, an excellent, filling, and pretty cheap lunch.

A visit to the Bishop Museum followed (great Hawaiiana, including a large display of tapa cloth), then we went for a sunset cocktail at the [/b]House Without a Key[/b] at the Halekulani; terrific view, really fun live entertainment, and good tropical drinks, but expect a wait for a table even just for cocktails so show up early. As a bonus, they validate you for four hours of parking in the hotel garage, so after that we just walked up the street to the House of Hong for dinner.
[/b]House of Hong[/b] has that wonderful old-style Chinese restaurant decor giving it a fun atmosphere, but the food was only adequate. (Be warned; fried tofu there is not Japanese-style seared tofu in broth, but battered deep-fried tofu with a small saucer of very weak sauce on the side, rather strange to our taste.) We’re told the bar downstairs is good, but people were smoking and we decided against hanging out there.

Tuesday: Our day for the Polynesian Cultural Center on the north shore, so we drove up to Kailua first to check out some antique shops. Breakfast was malasadas from the Leonard’s Jr. truck (noticing a pattern here yet? :wink: .) Alii Antiques in Kailua (21 Maluniu Ave.) was the real find, though. Hard to locate (the storefront’s not really on Maluniu) and there’s actually two shops, one off the parking lot and one across the alley leading to the parking lot; the one across the alley is chock-full of Hawaiiana and tiki stuff. Prices aren’t low, but are better than you find in Honolulu.

Heading away from Kailua on the Kamehameha Hwy. we regretfully bypassed Giovanni’s shrimp truck in order to have lunch at the Waihole Poi Factory, 48-140 Kamehameha Hwy. (This one needs some directions; first, it’s on the Hwy 83 Kamehameha, not the Hwy 99 Kamehameha; also note that as you head north it splits into Hwy 83 (which is then named Kahiliki Hwy) and Hwy 836 (which takes the Kamehameha name), but then these two come back together after awhile and it’s Hwy 83/Kamehameha. The Factory is not too far past the junction of the two highways). The place looks really run-down from the outside, but DO NOT BE PUT OFF. This is real Hawaiian food, the kind which the stuff at commercial luaus is only a pale imitation of. I had the tripe, stewed in a tomato sauce just like my Aunt Betty used to make, with absolutely incredible chicken long rice on the side. My husband had the Aloha (?) plate with lau lau, lomi lomi, and chicken long rice; he also chose to have poi (you can have rice instead) which I admit was better than the poi you get at luaus, but was still poi (he liked it; some Hawaiians there mistook us for locals, me because I looked local, him because he was eating the poi). The meals also came with little hunks of steamed taro and breadfruit and with two squares of haupia, one traditional coconut, one chocolate. The coconut was the best haupia I’d ever had until I tasted the chocolate, which was even better! They sell boxes of haupia for $5, you should strongly consider bringing along a cooler and buying some to go.

By the way, seating at the Poi Factory is on picnic tables outside, and the place is only open from 10 to 2. But you just can’t get more local than this. Again, don’t pass this up when you go to the windward or north shores.

The rest of the day was spent at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Great entertainment including a fantastic show that evening, but don’t expect good food. The culinary highlight was the Pineapple Delight, ice cream and canned fruit in a hollowed pineapple.

Wednesday: We broke the malasada streak by going to Wailua Bakery and Shave Ice(525 Kapahulu) for breakfast, which was a variety of filled buns: sweetish Portuguese egg bread, like King’s Hawaiian Bread only fresh, filled with char siu, inuki bean paste, or custard. Also got some excellent butter cookies and a “honey cake” which was basically a giant Twinkie without the fake cream filling. Really good. No coffee, so we went up the street to a Starbucks, bought a tall drip and used their outdoor tables.

The bakery is on the same block as Bailey’s Antiques and Aloha Shirts, which is great fun to check out; they have the real article, shirts from the 1940s and 50s, at prices you probably won’t feel like paying (looking is free, anyway). We did get one of the modern reproduction shirts they also stock; there’s a variety of tiki mugs and other memorabilia offered as well.

Lunch was Tiki’s Grill and Bar at the Aston on Kalahua. The decor is the main draw, lots of Shags and other tiki artists on display here. The food was pretty good, with local fish (opa in this case) in the fish and chips and a good fried calamari steak. Drinks can be ordered in a souvenir hurricane glass or a coconut shell with a Tiki’s logo silkscreened on it, $9.

We met Gecko that evening for cocktails at La Mariana Sailing Club. This place is nearly impossible to find: Go down Sand Island Rd. until you see Auiki St., then start looking at the right side of the road until you see a little sign that says “La Mariana” on a driveway; take the driveway back until you see the club, you can’t see it at all from Sand Island Rd. Anyway, the decor here is unbelievable and should not be missed, much of it rescued from extinct tiki bars such as Trader Vic’s Waikiki. We had drinks and some good lumpia, also a great time with Gecko, his girlfriend and brother, and Tiki Royale who was also in town.

After that, we went to **Alan Wong’s **(1857 S. King St., on the third floor of a very nondescript building, watch for the valet parking sign). Great higher-end food, with a terrific selection of fresh fish; they had opakapaka! (Never pass up opakapaka if you find it, even places where it’s on the menu often are “out” of it.) We had that and the ginger-encrusted onaga, both wonderful. Corn chowder with lobster to start was served as little piles of ingredients in the dish which the hot chowder was then ladled over. Desserts were also terrific, fantastically rich “chocolate crunch bars” and a banana cream “pie” (a saucer of crust balanced on bananas and creme anglaise, whipped cream and chocolate ice cream on top). Plus they had a coffee menu with about a dozen different Hawaiian beans available. A small, very popular place, so reservations are a must.
Thurday: The end of the Oahu portion of the trip was breakfast at our hotel (the Doubletree Alana) just because we had a $25 meal credit there. Well, $25 just paid for one (quite ordinary) continental breakfast, one (pretty good) carmelized banana upside-down pancake, and a side of linguica. Not great by any means.

To be continued with our adventures in Kauai..

[ Edited by: dogbytes on 2004-06-22 18:04 ]

Dogbytes: Way to Bring it! Excellent travelouge.

I was at Waikiki beach a month ago. We stayed at The Royal Hawaiian. It was fabulous, I think I had several mai tais at least twice a day. That was preety much all I was able to do. I had the best time. Do I sound like an alchy?

Hey, I posted this same question a month ago. I'm glad to see more answers, as I'm leaving for my Big Island vacation in 5 days.
One question...are there local artists carving and selling tikis in the marketplace areas ?
Also...are the prices on tapa cheaper there than here?
I went to Da Show and the tapas were semi reasonably priced, but I wonder if the deals are better in Hawaii.

On 2004-06-23 18:50, tikiyaki wrote:

One question...are there local artists carving and selling tikis in the marketplace areas ?
Also...are the prices on tapa cheaper there than here?

on oahu: fake "artists" trying to pass off mass produced tikis as their own at the Marketplace. they 'carve' a log into matchsticks or, my favorite, the guy who just bonks the cement with a piece of bamboo to create the sounds of carving.
found a real tiki artist at the swap meet ~ our very own Gecko
didnt see any tapas.

found nothing on kauai, but really didnt expect to!

Geez, I tickets to Hawaii are goin up fast! Plannin on going in late sept. Thanks to everyone contributing to this thread, its made alot easier to plan my vacation.

tbird.

Geez, I tickets to Hawaii are goin up fast! Plannin on going in late sept. Thanks to everyone contributing to this thread, its made alot easier to plan my vacation. >>

I went through Expedia.com and got a pretty damn good deal. They were the best I found.

Try them.

I paid $100 for a 4' x 6' piece of Fijian style tapa at Polynesian Cultural Center. We didn't see real tapa cloth for sale anywhere else on the island. PCC also had the best carvings we saw, although they were expensive. The tikis in the International Marketplace were mostly crude, mass produced pagan idols; except for the ones that still adorn the shopping area -- which are priceless artifacts of tikidom.

View from our room at the Westin Maui Ka'anapali Resort

Snorkeling at Molokini and Turtle Arches (Must see)

Day hike at Mokamokaole Valley

Our guide Kahi lending a hand to wife at real waterfall

Wife doing disappearing act inside waterfall, note the outstretched hand and arm

Kirk da' Surf in Honolua Bay

Real natives at the PCC

Find da' lizard game

Find da' real Lizard Man Gecko at La Mariana with me and my nephews who also live on Oahu. Thanks Gecko!

Wao Nahele Kalepa Kumula'au Hale

[ Edited by: Jungle Trader on 2004-07-04 00:53 ]

On 2004-06-25 13:41, Kailuageoff wrote:
The tikis in the International Marketplace were mostly crude, mass produced pagan idols; except for the ones that still adorn the shopping area -- which are priceless artifacts of tikidom.

Curious, I purchased a handcarved tiki from someone who had just finished carving it - based upon the wood remains in front of him on the floor.

However, I didn't seen any tikis adorning the shopping area, although I did like the water fountain in front.

On 2004-07-13 19:57, christiki295 wrote:

On 2004-06-25 13:41, Kailuageoff wrote:
The tikis in the International Marketplace were mostly crude, mass produced pagan idols; except for the ones that still adorn the shopping area -- which are priceless artifacts of tikidom.

Curious, I purchased a handcarved tiki from someone who had just finished carving it - based upon the wood remains in front of him on the floor.

However, I didn't seen any tikis adorning the shopping area, although I did like the water fountain in front.

I have my suspicions. I was there last week and saw a fellow 'carving' a chunk of wood. It had a slight tiki look to it. The tikis he had for sale were the same as the mass produced ones everywhere, and I didn't see anything that looked like it had been carved that day. (they all had the same finish) I assumed that this was his scam, he trys to make people think that he carved them. (I could of course be wrong though!)

That fountain was very cool! Was it the one with the koi, New Guinea mask and dozens of orchids growing around?

On 2002-05-16 12:02, Tiki Chris wrote:

There is also an Uncle Billy's hotel in Hilo that I spent a few days at. It was cheap but very nice with a central garden with ponds full of koi and our room had a lanai that looked out over the lava rock gardens (with old rotting tikis) next to the hotel and beyond to Hilo Bay. They had some tiki mugs in the gift shop for sale and you could get drinks in ceramic bamboo mugs in the bar.

can't vouch for the accomodation at uncle billy's in hilo, but i gotta recommend the free hula show and the bar w/ the giant pineapplde hanging from it!

My Uncle Billy's experience was unfortunately not pleasant. I went to the restaurant in Hilo. It was July 4th, and the day after my girlfriend's birthday. Being that we spent her birthday doing the exausting hike to see the lava flow (amazing!) I wanted to treat her to a special birthday dinner.
We got there at 6-ish and the restaurant was half full, and they couldn't seat anyone else because they were "slammed". After waiting 1/2 an hour to be seated, we waited another 15 to get our order taken.
We watched the Polynesian show, which was ok. I had arranged with the hostess to have the band sing Happy Birthday to my girl with a cake and the whole deal...well...it never happened. It took 30 minutes for my girlfriend to get her Mai Tai, and an hour to get our food.
By the time we were finished eating, the band finished and there was no birthday ANYTHING. They totally snubbed me. From the time we entered the place until the time we left, we'd spent nearly 3 hours. We also missed some of the fireworks going on outside.
There seemed to be enough staff to handle the 30 or so people in the restaurant, but the place is SO poorly run, they couldn't even handle it. By the time we left, there was maybe 2 other tables with people.

So, needless to say, Uncle Billy's is on my shitlist. I totally appreciated the 50's old Polynesian charm of the place, but with service as bad as it was that night, I will never go back. I also will never stay at any of his hotels, which, the locals tell me, I shouldn't do anyway.
When in Hilo, I highly recommend the Hawaii Naniloa Hotel...right next door to Uncle Billy's. It's nice and VERY inexpensive. I stayed there for $69 a night !

Oahu Recommendations:

BISHOP MUSEUM

Currently featuring the "Ku" exhibition. It is the point of connection with the historical Hawaiian tiki gods. Possibly the only place on earth where original wooden tikis persevere.

ASTON WAIKIKI BEACH HOTEL

Located at the end of the strip, it features colorful, but small rooms. It also features free breakfast, which can be had on the balcony overlooking the beach or bags are provided for the quick walk across the street to the ocean.

There is also Hula poolside, at breakfast time.

TIKI'S BAR & GRILL

Tiki's @ the Aston Waiki Beach Hotel is a must see & do. The bar scene is happening and the cuisine is delicious. Tikis abound as do Shag prints and even Gecko has an Easter Island inspired carving on the outside wall.

A photo of Tikis is here: Link to Photo

Tiki's has two 8-1/2 foot tiki at the entrance, eight tiki on the back walls of the dining room, a 3-1/2 foot tiki head named “Hibiscus Tiki” in the bar area, and a 6-1/2 foot, one-of-a-kind hula tiki in the central dining area.

Tiki’s also has palm wood flooring, fish nets hanging from the ceiling with starfish and shells, glass balls, plus 50 hand-carved masks, statues and war clubs from different regions around the Pacific.

POLYNESIAN CULTURAL CENTER

I was disappointed in the tours, with the exception of Samoa, but not in the shows and not in the abundance of tikis. The early afternoon boat parade is very fun and features hula & other dancing on barges which cruise the river.

The evening show Horizons is spectacular. It features chanting, taditional Hawaiian hula, Tahitian hula and fire dancing.

The luau is definitely worth the price, although cocktails are not served and I forgot to BYOB at Foodland.

The village tours feature more comedy and crowd participation and only incidentally provide a few facts about the particular South Pacific nation.

Tikis abound. Worth it for the tikis alone!

TURTLE BAY RESORT

Now famous as the location for the TV show the Northshore, Turtle Bay is diametrically opposite of Waikiki because it is not crowded, it features grassy lanais, not concrete sidewalks and the sun sets directly over the water.

However, the Northshore is countrylike, there is not much to do at night, except have cocktails on the sand while looking at the stars and enjoying the tradewinds, which is not bad. Treat yourself to one of the cottages.

DOLE PLANTATION

The gardens are spectacular. So much color everywhere. The display of pineapples is eye-opening - I never knew there were red pineapples!

The train ride is informative, although very, very sanitized. For example, in a glaring ommission, the tour failed to acknowledge that Dole stole Hawaii from the monarchy and then imprisoned the queen.

BRUNCH - ORCHIDS @ HALEKULANI

Very gracious, very beautiful presentation of cuisine, not hurried and a wide selection of appetizing selections.

GIOVANNI'S SHRIMP TRUCK

A North Shore institution. When you see the bumbersticker that says "Tikientertainment.com," you know you are at the right place.

So much garlic, it one can smell it when drinving by. A dozen shrimp & rice for $9.00!

[ Edited by Humuhumu to fix overly long link ]

[ Edited by: Humuhumu on 2004-07-30 01:59 ]

[ Edited by: christiki295 on 2004-07-30 10:14 ]

[ Edited by: christiki295 on 2004-08-17 19:12 ]

Tikitronic & I just this minute purchased our plane ticket for our belated Hawaii honeymoon in November! Eeeeee! This thread has been a great inspiration!

i've been meaning to post this:

Island of Kauai (Nov 2003)

Thurday: We arrived about noon, but what with picking up the car and registering at the hotel it was 2 before we had lunch. Chose the A-1 BBQ in Lihue (very obvious as you head toward Popiu from the airport), a converted fast-food restaurant serving plate lunch and Chinese food. There’s a steam table, but we skipped that and ordered from the menu. I had the seafood combo plate lunch; breaded mahi and shrimp with short ribs (there’s a choice of meat, that was mine) with rice and mac salad. The mahi was good but the shrimp breading was overly doughy and the short ribs were too sweet and too fatty. My husband had Chinese, beef with green beans, also served plate-lunch style with rice and mac salad, and his was much better than mine.

For dinner we went to Lawai Restaurant (on Hwy 50 almost 3 miles west of the junction with Hwy 520, it’s next to a 7-11). Real dive of a plate-lunch place, menu is on a chalkboard and hard to figure out. The ginger-fried chicken was excellent, a big portion of all dark meat with a crisp, slightly sweet crust; my husband’s teriyaki pork was good but streaked with a bit too much gristle. Both were served as plate lunch, the mac salad was better than at A-1 and the steamed rice just right.

Friday: Our Hyatt package came with their breakfast buffet, which is worth paying for at all the Hawaiian Hyatts we’ve visited. This isn’t a grand brunch (except on Sundays), there’s no chef carving prime rib or making crepes, but there is a wide selection of excellent fresh fruit (sweet strawberries no matter what the season), wonderful fresh-baked pastries and croissants, fresh tropical juices, good coffee, cheeses, smoked salmon, plus hot breakfast selections including (on this particular day) two sorts of eggs, bacon, sausage links, corned beef hash, hash browns, french toast, and bread pudding, all of it really good. Also steamed rice and miso soup with fixings (seaweed, tofu, shredded bonito, etc.) presumably meant for Japanese guests but which I really like to include in my breakfast. We experienced the “free” Hyatt buffet during a previous stay and ended up stuffing ourselves every morning and then collapsing in our room until noon, but this time we managed to be a little more conservative.

Drove up to Hanalei after that, stopping at a number of shops along the way. Tincan Man’s in Kapaa and Yellowfish Trading Co. in Hanalei both had some interesting artifacts, but at premium prices. (The lighthouse at Kilauea Point is well worth seeing too, great views.) Ate a late lunch at Hanalei Mixed Plate; okay, first off, serving something alongside a scoop of rice should not allow you to call it a “plate lunch”. Plate lunch has to come with something in addition to rice; macaroni salad or potato salad or at least coleslaw. Second, they’re nice people, gave us a taste of the kahlua pork (which was enough to decide to avoid it), and they serve big piles of food, but . . . the ginger shoyu chicken was bland and the vegetable chow mein even blander. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasted an opportunity to have truly good food.

After driving all the way back to our hotel we were pretty tired, so we just went to Popiu Tropical Burgers for dinner. They stuck to the state law about cooking burgers no less than medium well, despite our wink and nod to the waitress. I had the Popeye (spinach, swiss, and bacon plus the usual lettuce/tomato/pickle), my husband had some-weird-name burger (Portuguese sausage, broiled pineapple, plum-pineapple BBQ sauce), both good but in no way exceptional; same with the fries. The banana milkshake was disappointing and should have come with an advisory saying, “no live bananas were harmed in the making of this milkshake.”

Saturday: Spent the day checking out local charity bazaars (nothing worth talking about) and driving west along the south coast. Lihue and Hanapepe are both full of galleries and “curio” shops with overpriced stuff. We did see a number of freestanding tikis at various shops and restaurants along the way, like at Giorgio’s Gallery and Big Braddah’s Takeout.

First food stop was the Omoide Deli/Wong’s Chinese Restaurant in Hanapepe (on Hwy 50). Had a slice of their “famous” lillikoi chiffon pie which was terrific and ought to be famous, also a “cream square” (cream puff-type custard in a wonderful light puff pastry). Saw someone having the crispy fried gau gee mein, which looked so good we came back later that night for dinner; at this point in time (November) the restaurant portion wasn’t open, though, you have to order food from the deli (you can still sit in the restaurant, just no table service). The chow mein, saimin, duck with noodles, and other noodle dishes are done fresh; the gau gee mein we ordered had vegetables, char siu, and chicken over soft chow mein noodles, topped with four large gau gee (mild ground pork in fried won ton skins). The other entrees are from a steam table, but they were recently cooked and good (the shrimp with green beans had fresh green beans), served in large portions, and came with either rice, vegetable chow mein, or half of each. This was a definite find; cheap, big, tasty food.

Stepping back in time to lunch, we stopped at the Waimea Bakery to share a teriyaki ahi sandwich (after breakfast and then the pie, we weren’t too hungry). The sandwich was great, a fine, delicate hunk of fish on wonderful fresh-baked bread. Came with corn chips from a bag, however. Later, on the way back from our trip, we stopped at the other bakery we had seen; Thrifty Bakery (next to Thrifty Mart) on Hwy 50 between Waimea and Hanapepe. Had apple and coconut pastries (looked like Chinese moon cakes, but weren’t), quite good.

Before dinner we had cocktails on the Seaview Terrace at the Hyatt; there’s live entertainment and a great sunset. I was feeling a little hungry so we ordered the Hawaiian nachos. For $10 I was expecting a little plate of nice nachos; instead we got a large dinner plate piled high with great nachos; a mix of corn, blue corn, and flour tortilla chips (all made at the hotel), topped with sour cream, cheese, guacamole, etc. plus big hunks of kahlua pork. Pretty much a meal-sized appetizer, it prevented us from finishing our gau gee mein that night :) .

Sunday: Lunch was at **Duane’s Ono Char Burger **(Hwy 56 near Anahola, drive-up with outdoor seating only); the “old-fashioned” burger, shrimp basket with fries, and onion rings were all competent but not special. The marionberry milkshake was very nice, thick and creamy.

After hiking and sightseeing we went for cocktails to Tahiti Nui in Hanalei. Tahiti Nui used to be a restaurant, but now only the bar is open (the current owners are trying to open a new place (with the old decor?) at the Hanalei Colony Resort, a good ways down Hwy 560 past Hanalei town). The bar still seems to have its original interior (the barstool pedestals are all tikis), but it has devolved into a run-of-the-mill bar otherwise; sports blasting from a big TV, the bartender couldn’t find any coconut creme to make a pina colada, and the mai tai was rum and pineapple juice (though decent rum and pineapple juice, I have to admit).

For dinner we stopped at **A Pacific Cafe **(yes, “A” not “The”) in Kapaa. It’s in the Kauai Village mall and looks totally nondescript from outside and not all that interesting inside, and a number of people turned away after looking at the prices on the menu (not cheap). The wok-seared mahi and the blackened opa were both top-notch, however, and the “Toasted Hawaiian” (white chocolate cake with haupia layer and caramel sauce) was delicious.

Monday: Lunch at Hamura Saimin Stand (Kress St. in Lihue, Kress is a cross-street to Rice). Hamura’s is very well-known for cheap, good eats; I don’t think anything on the menu is more than $6. Their menu is pretty limited; saimin with various things in it, fried saimin, udon, teriyaki beef sticks; counter seating only. The regular saimin was very good noodles in a light chicken broth with a little green onion, fish cake, and canned ham (maybe Spam?). The saimin with won ton had the above plus some nice stuffed won tons and char siu. The teriyaki was very thin-sliced and then cooked until it was crunchy on the edges. We split a piece of their lillikoi chiffon pie for dessert, very light and fluffy. Whole bill came to less than $12 before tip.

Dinner was at Green Garden in Hanapepe (on Hwy 50 on the right as you go west, but keep two eyes out as they’re largely hidden by vegetation). [/b]This one is a real must-do, on many fronts: 1) It’s a Kauai tradition, having been in the same spot since the 1940s 2) They have one of the best tiki-per-square foot ratios on Kauai,[/b] nearing that of Tahiti Nui; there are eight old 4 to 5 foot tikis (rescued from other places) in the “atrium” area in the front of the restaurant, three similar ones in the other front room, two smaller foot and a half to two foot tikis that are very detailed and done by the owner’s brother quite a few years back, and a few more by the bar; plus a large case full of big conch shells and such and some old furniture (a very old looking Chinese tea cart, for instance) 3) They serve full-strength mai tais in water tumblers (my husband’s face flushed red after one, and he’s not Asian) 4) All dinners come with an all-you-can-eat soup and salad bar 5) good food; we had the mixed pu pu platter (deep fried sui mai, won tons, and spring rolls), followed by the “Chinese plate” for me (battered fried shrimp, char siu, spare ribs, chicken chow mein, and fried rice; I used to work at a Cantonese restaurant, um, we’ll just say “not recently”, and this meal was a real blast from the past, though the spare ribs were fatty) while my husband had the ono (charbroiled with butter and a little garlic, served with choice of potato (mashed or fries) or rice) which was simple, fresh, and tasty 6) they bake their own pies, we shared a piece of chocolate cream which was great 7) very reasonable, the whole meal (two cocktails, appetizer, two entrees, two coffees and one dessert) came to $55. Again, a must-do on Kauai.

Tuesday: When we visited Kauai ten years ago the bell captain at our hotel recommended a restaurant which was a really local, family place in an out-of-the-way industrial corner of Lihue. We couldn’t remember the name or exactly where it was, but he thought it was in the area near Hamura’s Saimin. To make a long story short, we went to Ma’s Family Restaurant (4277 Halenani, around the corner from Hamura’s) for lunch. It wasn’t the same restaurant; Ma’s has only served breakfast (though it serves it till 1:30) for decades, and the one we remember had dinner. My husband ordered fried noodles (yakisoba) and teriyaki beef, I had fried rice and eggs; good, fresh-made fried rice, but the eggs were over-easy when I ordered them over-hard. Ma, who’s 89, cooked the food and served us, then sat at our table and talked with us (we were the only ones there for lunch, as I said they really only serve breakfast). Total bill came to $12 before tip. Very local.

(Never did find the restaurant my husband remembered, probably it’s gone now.)

I felt like buying some pastries after lunch. Stopped at Lihue Bakery and Coffee Shop first; bought a cream eclair and an apple turnover, both of which started leaking grease through the paper bag immediately; didn’t eat more than a bite of either one. Then tried the Kauai Bakery (at the Kukui Grove shopping center) and bought a cinnamon roll; not bad but nothing special.

For dinner we went to Oki Diner and Bakery (Kuhio Hwy in Lihue), another very local place. I like meals which give you lots of choices, and this place did great at that; meals start out with cornbread (sweet and buttery) with chips and salsa (packaged and ordinary), followed by your choice of mac-potato salad or a green salad; we both had combination dinners, which include both rice and fried noodles (yakisoba, very good), with choice of two entrees, so by sharing we got to taste four of the offerings. Neil’s chicken was chunks cooked in a sweetish-spicy teriyaki; teriyaki fried chicken was deep-fried with a slightly-sweet breading; chicken katsu was typical breaded chicken; and mahi-mahi was served in a thick butter beurre. The first two of these were quite good, the katsu was average, but the fish had a surprisingly strong (and unpleasant) flavor for mahi that the sauce didn’t entirely mask. Dinner also came with dessert, fairly good Dutch apple or custard pie. Lots of food. Total bill was $20.

Wednesday: The Shrimp Station (Hwy 50 in Waimea) is a drive-in place that features (what else) shrimp. The shrimp (soft) taco started with a burrito-size flour tortilla, making it enormous for a taco; the filling was mostly shredded lettuce and cheese with bay shrimp almost as an afterthought, rather disappointing at $6. The chips and salsa it came with, though, were both home-made and excellent. The coconut shrimp on the other hand was a deal even at $11, about a dozen jumbo shrimp coated with a tasty batter including lots of toasted coconut, served in a basket over pretty good fries (though if you can talk them into substituting a side of chips and salsa for the fries you definitely should).

For dinner we went to Tidepools at the Hyatt. Pricey, but great food in a wonderful atmosphere, like an open lanai with palapas and tikis. French onion soup and a baby romaine salad with goat cheese to start were very good; I had opa stuffed with crabmeat and shittake mushrooms over asparagus, my husband had Chinese-style steamed “snapper” (not further identified, but a very tasty piece of fish) which came with noodles and rice, both excellent. We had the Mudslide (ice cream cake with homemade cookie “crusts”) for dessert, also really good.

Thurday: Here’s a find courtesy of Lydia, our breakfast waitress at the Hyatt: **Mark’s Restaurant **(from Hwy 50 at the Kauai Community College take Puhi Rd. away from the college toward the Puhi Industrial Park; turn right on Hanalima, then right on Haleukana (basically after the first building you see on Hanalima); 1610 Haleukana St.). This is a new restaurant/catering business started by the former executive chef at the Sheraton, who teaches cooking at the college. No inside seating, basically serves just plate lunch and bento; I had the daily special combo, two large tempura shrimp, teriyaki steak, and teriyaki fried chicken, while my husband had “Mark’s famous mixed plate”, beef stew, teriyaki beef, and chicken katsu. Both came with rice, mac salad, and fried noodles, neither cost more than $7.

I envied the ono my husband had on Monday at Green Garden so much that we returned there for Thursday dinner. I asked for extra garlic and it came just as I hoped, charbroiled on the outside, firm and moist inside, and garlicky. My husband went for the teriyaki ahi this time, also very good. After eating at Tidepools, the different in portion side (about twice as much at Green Garden) and price (about $29 per entree at Tidepools vs. $19 (including soup and salad) at Green Garden) made the quality here even more impressive. Coconut cream pie for dessert, yum.

Friday: What we wanted for lunch was the Hawaiian nachos we had experienced earlier. It turned out that they only had those at the Seaview Terrace after 4 PM, however, so we settled for coconut shrimp at the poolside bar (nice but overpriced). Went to a Lappert’s for ice cream (always good).

Since this was our last night in Hawaii we went in search of opakapaka one more time. Lydia (mentioned earlier) told us that our best bet was Duke’s Canoe Club or Keoki’s Paradise (in the Poipu Shopping Village, Poipu Rd., Poipu). A call to Duke’s revealed that the fresh catch didn’t include opakapaka, so we headed to Keoki’s, where opakapaka was indeed available. Keoki’s has a nice ambience, open lanai-style dining set off by torches, palapas and bamboo, with a couple of tikis tucked away near the stairs. We had opakapaka (grilled with butter) and opah (grilled with butter with Ponzu sauce on the side), both excellent and providing an interesting comparison; both are mild white-fleshed fish, the opakapaka being more tender with a taste and feel close to lobster, while the opah was firmer with a more intense flavor. Entrees came with a small salad and herbed rice. We ended with their “hula pie”, a large wedge of macadamia ice cream pie with a chocolate wafer crumb crust, topped with a goodly amount of hot fudge, chopped macadamias, and whipped cream.

Excellent reporting!! Mahalo for sharing your experiences.

-Weird Unc

Anyone have any info on Molokai? First-hand experience? Recommended guide book? Any advice? I may have the chance to head there soon and would love to hear the skinny. Of course, I'll post my thoughts when I get back. Mahalo.

-Weird Unc

When I lived in Hilo the place to eat was Jet Burger, a small island burger chain. They served Saimai, fresh papya, egg salad sandwiches and a dozen other non burger things. I ate there every day.
If there is no Jet Burger, plate lunch is always the best deal on food in Hawaii. You can get it at all kinds of places,plate lunch speciality stands, Korean BBQ places,stalls at the malls, you name it. The thing with plate lunch is that no matter what entre you order ( roast pork, teriyaki chicken, beef stew and meatloaf are my faves) you get two scoop white rice and one scoop of the best maraconi salad in the world for about 5 bucks. I understood the rice, because of the huge Asian population in Hawaii. There are a lot of East Asian things that have become part of the fabric of modern Hawaian culture, but when I asked a lot of locals how macaroni salad became a staple of the Hawiian diet, most had no clue, but some said it was the midwestern wives of navy officers stationed at Pearl Harbor that introduced it to Hawaii and as with all things good in Hawaii the locals picked it up, and made it thier own. Hawaiian macaroni salad is just like what my mom made in New Jersey; macaroni, onion, celery, celery seed and cole slaw dressing (mayo, sugar and sweet pickle juice)and maybe a little sweet pickle relish if you are fancy. The recipe has not changed in Hawaii. No pinnaple or teriyaki sauce added, thank god. Just the sweet creamy goodness of American summer food.(potato and macaroni salad, deviled eggs, cole slaw and every kind of poulty, sea food and meat you can drown in mayo)

A few tips for anyone going to Waikiki:

Look for free booklets called "Hawaiian Gold" or "Oahu Today". They're full of coupons for cruises, restaurants, museums, stores, airport shuttles, etc. You can find these booklets in news racks all over town.

Don't book a Dinner Cruise - you pay a lot for food that isn't very good. Just take a sunset cruise and then eat dinner at a restaurant on shore.

Avoid the people offering free or 1/2 price cruises or luaus. It's just a pitch for timeshare vacations.

There is a flea market at the Aloha stadium on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Don't expect to find vintage stuff there. You should only go there if you want to buy large quantities of t-shirts and cheap souvenirs to bring home.

Don't leave anything valuable in your car.

If you go to Tikis for dinner, try the Caeser salad with seared Ahi. Mmmmmm.
If you're really hungry get the sampler platter.

If you go to Dukes for dinner, save room for Hula Pie! (oreo cookie crust, macadamia ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and a cherry)

There are lots of internet cafe's around Waikiki, so you have plenty of opportunities to log onto Tiki Central and let us know how much fun you're having...

I just got back from Oahu myself. Here are my recommendations...

Divers: If you're staying on O'ahu for your whole trip, you might check out Reef Trekkers, http://www.reeftrekkers.com. They do a couple dives a day, have great prices, and fairly small groups. I only did a 1 day 2-tank package, but it turned out great.

Anyone wanting to see some culture: I recommend a tour with The Real Hawaii...www.therealhawaii.com. They have a "Real Sacred" tour that is just incredible. Worth EVERY penny.

We did a hike through the ko'olaus up to a waterfall with Oahu Nature Tours that was an outstanding value as well.

If you want any specifics drop me a line! jeepfifty at yahoo dot com.

Charlie

Our favorite island so far is Maui. We haven't been to Kauai yet, and I am sure it will rank high as well.

I have been very fortunate in visiting the islands 15 or more times over the last 12 years, mainly for business, and mainly to Oahu. Honolulu provides lots of entertainment, but if you want a true (affordable) Hawaiian adventure, I would suggest either the Big Island or Maui.

This (early November) will be our 3rd annual trip back to Maui. I discovered a wonderful, small condo complex on the northwest side of the island, away from the hustle of Ka'anapali. This condo complex is called the Honokeana Cove Resort, and is situated on a small cove full of fish, coral, and sea turtles. The HCR is actually in Napali, just north of Ka'anapali and south of Kapalua (where the Ritz Carlton is located).

The complex has about 50 units, 2 stories tall, and was built at least 25 - 30 years ago. It is not plush, nor are the prices. This year, we booked our regular condo at $160 per night. It has 2 full bedrooms (king bed downstairs and queen bed upstairs in a loft) and 2 full bathrooms (one up and one down) along with all full sized appliances (refrigerator, stove, dishwasher,etc), complete set of dishes / glasses / cooking utensils, television / CD player / VCR, and complete living room setup. Pricing the hotels in the area, the medium price was between $215 and $325. They have a large grassy area and a freshwater pool (for non-snorkelers and sun bathers), 3 gas grills for everyone to use, and very nicely kept grounds. The entire complex has an old Hawaiian look complete with lava rock buildings, palm trees, and lots of vegetation. The condo we book has an unabstructed view of Molokai, and literally sits above the rocky shoreline of the cove.

The HCR is around a small jetty of land from the Napali Beach, but doesn't have beach around the cove. It is such a treat to suit up, grab the snorkeling gear, and walk 2 minutes down to the water without having to drive / park / fight other folks / snorkel / pack back up / drive home. The fish are abundant, and you are almost guaranteed to see at least one turtle. (During a normal 1-1.5 hours worth of snorkeling, we spot 3-5 turtles.) Snorkeling guide books rate this cove with either an A- or B+ (the water can get a bit murky at times if the ocean is rough).

Lahaina is only 15 minutes away from HRC, so if shopping and nightlife are necessary, its very convenient. There are markets and restaurants near the condos. But, we like it best for its quiet atmosphere and closeness to snorkel all day long. During our last visit, we met other renters and owners from all over California (5 from our area) and other parts of the country. On Wednesday night, the manager of the complex hosts a PuPu gathering, asking all attendees to bring a PuPu to share. You get to meet other residents and make friends.

If anyone is interested in more information, please contact me, or check out their web site. After you have been there, you know which units have the best views or nicest lanai's, etc. But I found asking the right questions when booking a condo, and being flexible in my travel dates, got us a GREAT choice.

The Honokeana Cove Resort won't rate high on having tiki's on the property, but the Ohana factor is the highest I can rate it. Darn, I want to be there now!!

See some pictures of the place here:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mykecmi/album?.dir=/79a6&.src=ph&.tok=phgh2LDBvMOI88bS
(let me know if this link doesn't work!)

Aloha
Myke

May the Tiki be with you, and float the Aloha to all parts of the world!

[ Edited by: tikiwinebear on 2005-06-21 18:46 ]

Just got back from a trip to O'ahu...going to the Big Island in September. I've only got 3 full days, 1 goes to diving, 1 goes to da Volcano. 1 goes to driving around the island trying to find great things (plan set to visit as many heiau as possible). One big question. Where's a good place to look for a nice hand carved Kanaloa. Maybe a club too. If I was going to O'ahu I'd head for the PCC...but the big island...I haven't been there yet. Any hints on where to find real hand carved wood at a not-so-budget-busting price?

Mahalo,
Tekoteko

Big Island forest fire - thick smoke from a runaway brushfire in South Kohala that is expected to burn 25,000 acres before it's extinguished.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050803/NEWS0101/508030355/1001