Paging Alan...

Alan: I found an old post where you stated that the east side was more commercial than say the south side.

How so?? More stores or what?

I%26#39;m still trying to decide whether to stay on the east side or the south.

If you%26#39;re familiar with Maui -- I liked staying in Kihei. And there were alot of shops etc. there. I didn%26#39;t like Kaanapali.

Paging Alan...

Don%26#39;t know about Maui, but I do know that the East side of Kauai is the more commercial. Lihue and Kapaa are the population hubs of the island. The airport is there, so are most businesses. Nawiliwili Harbor is also closeby. Whether you stay North or South, travelling thru this area can be challenging especially at pau hana (end of work day). I usually suggest the South to anyone who visits Kauai for the first time. It is just nearer to most sites and activities. The north shore is a must, but can be experienced in one day trip. When we go for two weeks we usually split our time between north and south, but that%26#39;s just what works for us. Hope this helps. Harry

Paging Alan...

The east side is where most residents of the island live, in Kapaa and Wailua. Kapaa is often described as being ';quaint'; with a lot of stores and shopping lining Kuhio Hwy. It%26#39;s where you will find the most traffic in the morning and late afternoon, but it%26#39;s also the area you%26#39;re most likely to find good deals on lodging. Keep in mind, that the population of Kauai is still only about 60,000 so it%26#39;s not like being in Waikiki or Honolulu. The great thing about the east side is the central location. You can get to the north or south shores in 30-45 minutes or less depending on the time of day and traffic.

KukuiNut, what I mean by more commercial is that there are more stores, more traffic and more crowds. The whole stretch of highway on the east side is lined with condos and hotels on the makai (ocean) side and shopping centers, mini malls and more condos on the mauka side.

The condos in the east are cheaper and less upscale than many in Poipu. I don%26#39;t like traffic and crowds and so prefer Poipu. Its also not pretentious as is Princeville.

I would say that the east side is sort of like Kihei but that all traffic passes through town rather than on a separate highway. Forcing the comparison Poipu is sort of like Wailea - more upscale with planned condo resorts. That said, it is really not fair to compare Maui to Kauai. Maui is far too built up and crowded and doesn%26#39;t have the natural beauty that Kauai has.

Alan

facbook

so you want to see some maui zip pix

taken from another board

…kodakgallery.com/Brow...id=632802404203if

so you want to see some maui zip pix

lougee: Tried this but it didn%26#39;t work.

so you want to see some maui zip pix

I tried this too and I think the problem is the ellipsis in the link (the portion between Brow and id)

yepper dosent work!

sorry--try this one

amazon.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp…

bump

bump

bump

thank you - I was able to see them now

5 Nights on Big Island - Need advice

We going to Big Island in Sept. for 5 nights. We%26#39;re flying into Kona and spending the first 3 nights on that side (probably at the Hilton).

While there, we plan on exploring the northern areas. We will also take one day to drive along Hwy 19 down towards Hilo to explore the waterfalls and parks. So my first question is, is it better to take Rt. 19 from the Hilton, or should we take Rt. 190 to Rt. 19, which seems to cut off some of the distance?

On the 4th day, we plan to drive around the southern end of the island to Volcanoes National Park. While there, we want to drive around the crater, visit the info centers, and drive down Chain of Craters road. We may walk on the lava a bit, but will not be doing the long hike to see the flowing lava. I%26#39;m not really sure if that all would take more than one day, but we will also have the next day to finish up our sightseeing. We will probably spend that night (the 4th night) near the Volcano National Park.

We are undecided as to where to spend the 5th night. We could spend another night near Volcanoes, but we have to catch an 8AM flight the next morning from Hilo -- so that would be a long drive in the morning. We could spend the last night in Hilo, but I heard the hotels are not so good there. Does anyone have a suggestion as to where to spend the last night before our Hilo flight?

Also, are there any suggestions about what to do in the Volcanoes park with our limited time, and any other ';not to be missed'; sights in the area south of Hilo? Is the Thurston lava tube in this area?

Any info would be greatly appreciated -- I%26#39;ve been lurking on this site for a while and the community spirit is wonderful!

5 Nights on Big Island - Need advice

Aloha- i am also planning an overnight to BI- volcano area and people have been great with their opinions. They suggested some one day iteneraries for me in the post (Hilo Hotels- 3 choices) and also advice there about hotels etc in Hilo

The Thurston Lava tube is right in the National Park drive and %26#39;not to be missed%26#39; according to sources :)

other suggestions:

The black sand beach about 40 mile south of Volcano NP

Rainbow Falls and other waterfalls

I am very curious about the tidepools on the southeast part of the island

good luck planning! Hopefully others can respond also :)

5 Nights on Big Island - Need advice

you might consider staying at a good B%26amp;B in Hilo the last night. the Shipman House in Hilo is supposed to be quite nice - you can google it for more information.

IMO, the best way to drive from the Hilton to Hilo would be through Waimea, over the Hamakua Coast to Hilo. it%26#39;s a gorgeous drive. you can take the Queen K hwy to Waimea through Kawaihae, or drive up to Waikoloa Village and to Waimea, which might be a bit faster - maybe.

I personally love Hilo - it%26#39;s a sleepy authentic hawaiian town - and on a day when it%26#39;s not raining, there%26#39;s nothing like it. there are tons of threads on TA about what to do in Hilo. I love Akaka Falls, Cafe Pesto, the Big Island Candies factory, and Akatsuka Orchid Gardens on the way to Volcano.

enjoy!

We spent 3 short nights on the BI at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel; this is a great resort that would fit into your plans well. It is a beautiful place and right on Hwy. 19. Be sure to stop in Wailea and look around on your trip around to Hilo (took us 2 hrs.) from Hapuna Beach. WE loved Hawaiian Tropical botanical garden and saw Volcano Ntl. Park too that day. THere is much to do, so you might want to spend that last 1-2 nights there. Have fun!

Try to fit in a stop at the Wai%26#39;pio Valley lookout, which is fantastic - scenic %26amp; great for photos. In fact, we have several of these photos framed now as they look so incredible %26amp; unreal. In Hilo, be sure to visit Akaka Falls %26amp; the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens.

p.s. Kamueala Provision Co. at the Hilton is a nice place for an oceanside sunset dinner (good lobster!).

Aloha!

Thanks to everyone for the great suggestions. Pokemom, I looked up your prior posts -- lots of good suggestions there.

Mauna Kea lady %26amp; AZ Sundevil, we definitely want to do the north coast drive, stop at Waipo Valley lookout, Akaka Falls %26amp; the Botanical Garden. Originally, we had planned to do that after our 3 nights at the Hilton, by taking our time to sightsee on our way to the Hilo/Volcanoes Park area where we will spend the last 2 nights.

But now I think we might just use one of the 3 days while we are at the Hilton and take a day trip to drive and sightsee along the north and east coasts (all the way around to the Botanical Gardens).

That way, we could get up early on the 4th day and drive south direct to Volcanoes National Park and get in a full day there. That would leave us one more day in the Hilo area to do more at the Volcanoes park or explore more of the area around Hilo.

Questions:

Do you think its reasonable (time-wise) to drive/sightsee from the Hilton around to the Botanical Gardens and back as a one day trip?

We%26#39;re undecided as to whether we should stay near Volcanoe or Hilo the last 2 nights. If we are at the Park until late that first night, it would be nice to just stay near there that night. But if we stayed in Volcanoe the 2nd night too, we%26#39;d have to drive to Hilo for an 8 AM flight that next morning. About how long would that drive be? (volcanoe area to the Hilo airport).

Any suggestion would be welcomed!

Thanks!

d- a day trip to Hilo is perfectly doable. plan on leaving the hilton around 8 or 8:30 am and it will take about 1.5 to 2 hrs of driving through beautiful scenery to get to Hilo. stop at starbuck%26#39;s in waimea for an infusion of caffeine to keep you awake through the sublimely peaceful and gorgeous hamakua coast. plan on leaving hilo around 4 pm-ish - it%26#39;s best to avoid navigating the road between hilo and waimea while it%26#39;s still light. going to volcano adds an additional 45 mins each way - so that could be too much for 1 day, unless you like spending most of the day in the car.

for the flight, the airlines advise arrival at the airport 1.5- 2 hrs prior to the flight, so you shoudl plan on getting to the hilo airport at about 6- 6:30 am for a 8 am flight. driving from volcano would add another 45 minutes, which makes for a very early and long day. how about staying at a B%26amp;B in Hilo that night, instead of in volcano? google the Shipman House B%26amp;B in hilo - it%26#39;s very nice.

We were in Hawaii 2 weeks and we are going next year again, first, wear good non slip shoes to the falls, you do have to walk to get to it, early in the morning is the best time. If you like B and Bs there is one near Kona, It is close to Capt. cooks Monument and we stayed a week there. It is called Areca Palm Estate, It comes with a full breakfast, it is online and we had a great time there. Jan will tell you great things to see and do, Had a blast.

Also DO NOT stay at the volcano Inn in the park Too much money for ripped curtains no service, impolite people. Never again........

Otherwise had a great time

Aloha, dsarah. Sounds like you have some good plans shaping up.

If you take that southern route to Volcanoes NP, make sure to stop at the Punalu%26#39;u Black Sand Beach on the way. You pass right by it, and it%26#39;s quite scenic. You%26#39;ll also see sea turtles there.

I think your decision on whether to stay 1 or 2 nights in Volcano is a tough one. Either would work, depending on what you want to do during your days. In my opinion, 3 hotels in 5 nights is a lot of moving around. You never quite settle or relax into a place. When we were on the Big Island in April, we stayed at a B%26amp;B in the Kona area for 5 nights and a B%26amp;B in Hilo for 3. From Hilo, we toured up the coast to Waipio Valley (about an hour from Hilo) and spent another day at Volcanoes NP (about a half hour from Hilo). Maybe you%26#39;d want to consider basing in Hilo, too, for exploration of that side of the island? I probably wouldn%26#39;t recommend the B%26amp;B where we stayed (Hale Kai Hawaii). It is in an awesome location above a surfing beach, but the rooms were rather outdated. Wonderful breakfasts, though, and friendly hosts. Our second choice (which I wish we would have gone with) was the Waterfalls Inn B%26amp;B (www.waterfallsinn.com/pages/1/index.htm). It gets rave reviews on this Web site.

Good luck with your planning!

If you are going to Volcano National Park, you must walk to the lava flows at night. It is a once in a lifetime experience. Takes about 4 hours and you will remember it the rest of your life. Lava is bright orange and beautiful. When you get home people will not believe your pictures.

You will be tired when you are done that night, so stay in Volcano Village.

%26lt;%26lt;We are undecided as to where to spend the 5th night. We could spend another night near Volcanoes, but we have to catch an 8AM flight the next morning from Hilo -- so that would be a long drive in the morning. We could spend the last night in Hilo, but I heard the hotels are not so good there. Does anyone have a suggestion as to where to spend the last night before our Hilo flight? %26gt;%26gt;

Last month we did the exact same trip except in reverse. I would suggest that you stay near Volcanoes so you aren%26#39;t rushed to see it all. There are some lovely B%26amp;B%26#39;s in the area. The drive to Hilo the next day is only about 45 min to the airport.

stop at Costco first , or go back a bit later??

We fly in to Maui in the early afternoon and wonder if we should stop at Costco first before heading to the condo, or check in and see what goodies are already in the condo and then go back to Costco.

We%26#39;re staying at the Hale Kamoale condos in Kihei. Does anyone know how far a drive it is from there to Costco?

thanks for all your help - this forum is great for getting info and ideas!

stop at Costco first , or go back a bit later??

proud

based on what ive read costco is right near the airport and kehei which is close to where we are going to be staying read is about 25 miles- someone will give you the exact miles-

my wife and i were discussing this subject this am--- and we will most likely stop before going to the condo--- there will be 4 of us and i am wondering how much stuff we will actually buy considering the bulk packages they sell and we will only be on maui for 1 week ----------may have to end up in safeway or something like that and pay more for smaller quantities

stop at Costco first , or go back a bit later??

Great question. We have the exact same scenario. Will arrive around 1:00 noon. Staying at Maui Sunset in Kihei. I%26#39;m thinking the trunk of the rental (intermediate) will already be full of luggage. The rest of the car will have 2 adults, 3 kids, and maybe more luggage. Hoping there will be enough room; will probably stop first as I heard all food is removed from condos when someone checks out.

But would love to hear how others do this.

I heard the drive is 20 minutes.

We%26#39;re going to stop on our way as being just the two of us for 2 weeks don%26#39;t think we%26#39;ll buy many bulk items. Plan to stop for milk, bread, cereal, bagels.. that kind of stuff. Oh and a ittle alcohol.

CanadianMom..are you flying on Harmony? I haven%26#39;t flown on them yet but hear they are great with lots of leg room. We don%26#39;t go until September.

It is about 15 miles from the airport to Kam III (near Hale Kama`ole) in Kihei, allow yourself 20-25 minutes, depending on time of day. Costco is right there by the airport.

I would expect the only things you may find in your condo will be a few spices. I have a friend who has a condo cleaning service and they are required to throw out anything that is left behind by the previous renters. And boy! do they throw out a lot of stuff.

Are you doing a lot of cooking? Are you planning on buying a lot of meats? I don%26#39;t find Costco to be all that much better in price for many things. I get better deals on soda at Safeway, better prices on beer and wine at Long%26#39;s Drugs. If there are a lot of you then Costco might be a good idea, but for only two of you are you really saving money of you spend the same for twice as much and throw away half? Remember the time you will spend at Costco--that place is a zoo!

Msparkyace: Glad to hear your comments on Harmony. I hear they are supposed to start flying out of Calgary by Fall. I sure hope so as we would like to fly a charter flight to Maui rather than Air Canada or something similar. Charters have no stops and are less expensive.

We stopped at Costco on the way to our condo in Kanapali, after arriving in Maui around 3 pm. Costco was very crowded and I bought way too much stuff, thinking that we would always eat in. Of course we didnt. And what I bought took up the whole back seat of the convertible. Since the trunk was full of our luggage I dont know where you would put anything if you had passengers in the backseats. That being said, we did use up quite a bit of the groceries for breakfasts and lunches and they do have good prices on some stuff. But considering you have to buy it in bulk, you might come out ahead at Safeway.

We just make the stop when we get in so we don%26#39;t have to think about it later. We also stay in the Kihei area.

Hello all - thanks for all your comments.

We are a family of 4 (with one VERY hungry teenage boy, and one teenage daughter). I plan to buy mostly breakfast stuff, gallons of milk, bottled water, and maybe some steaks %26amp; chicken for the bbq. We%26#39;ll eat out sometimes, but hope to enjoy sunsets at the condo grilling something up on the bbq , sipping on something cool.

Thanks for the info on cheaper beer %26amp; wine at Longs, Kaiwahine. I would have guessed Costco to be cheaper for that. Definately want beer %26amp; wine!!!! (maybe even more than the water!!)

Msparkyace - yes we are flying Harmony direct to Maui. Have heard they%26#39;re good but haven%26#39;t flown with them before. They still serve food and have free movies - I haven%26#39;t flown anywhere for a few years and was really surprised to find out that many airlines don%26#39;t serve food anymore - unless you pay a premium for it.

We are staying for 12 days and one thing I hadn%26#39;t thought of when I posed this question was how full our trunk would be with the luggage. I don%26#39;t think we would have room for a Costco run before unloading the luggage at the condo - thanks for reminding me of that small detail !!

';Remember the time you will spend at Costco--that place is a zoo! ';

Not really. If you go right after a large plane of visitors arrive, then it can be crowded.......or a day or two before a major holiday. But most times it%26#39;s not bad at all. They keep those lines moving pretty quickly. They close at 8:30pm, so I usually end up going around 7:00 and can be in and out of there pretty fast. Now Walmart is a zoo!

Costco on Maui never takes us long. We only have three people but we like to buy our wine, juice and bottled water there. I also like to get bread there because it%26#39;s less expensive, you can packs with 2 loafs which is not a lot and freeze one. Also, like to get deli meats there and kids snacks for our son.

lot of oil refined

What are the top 3, must see tours in Honolulu?

I will be in Honolulu for 3 days in September and was wondering what were the recommended tours for a family with 2 kids under 4?

What are the top 3, must see tours in Honolulu?

I would say go to the Polynesian Cultural Center. The children might enjoy that.

I would not take them to the Arizona Memorial, it is intended to be a quiet, serene place to pay your respects to the lost lives.

This isn%26#39;t a tour, but at the Pacific Beach Hotel in the Oceanarium Restaurant, it is a 3-story, 280,000 gallon ';aquarium'; that while you are eating, you see quite an assortment of fish, and at certain times, the skin divers feed the fish!

The zoo would be a good place to take them. That way they can see the animals.

I hope this helps you some way.

Aloha,

Gloria

What are the top 3, must see tours in Honolulu?

I think they would like the zoo, the waikiki zoo is a nice small zoo where you get close to the animals, and I would take them to see the penguins and turtles at the hilton hawaiian village, also dad need to get down to the beach and build a sand castle they will love it.

Sand Castle is definetly in the plans, will do the zoo! Any idea how much time is required to do the entire zoo, or at least half??

Is the Sea Life Park worthwhile? Is it near the zoo. Are there any waterparks?

Thanks for the

the waikiki aquarium has a pool with critters the kids are allowed to touch.

all the ones that people have mentioned -- plus rent a car, drive them to Lanikai beach and let them frolic on the gentle shores there :)

the nice thing about the waikiki zoo is you can do it in about 2 hours, its in a very nice park with beautiful landscaping and just a short walk from waikiki. Makes for a nice morning activity.

If you are lucky to be here when there is ';sunset at the beach'; event, make sure you take your kids, its free and a great way to spend an evening.

Sunset on the beach is movies they play on certain sat and sun nights. It%26#39;s on a giant outdoor moive screen set up right on the beach in Waikiki near the zoo. They play family movies and some entertainment beforehand.

Starts at 5 pm and movie begins at 7pm. All you need is a mat to sit on, pull up a good spot and enjoy a great evening with.

Hopefully they will have a movie that would be suitable for your kids.

They played Sharks Tale a few weekends ago and it was a huge hit will all the litlle ones.

Polynesian Cultural Center, for the adults, for sure. Kids are probably too young to know the difference.

Kids under 4 won%26#39;t care. They would be most happy in water somewhere, like a beach or pool.

The Polynesian Cultural Center (many miles from Waikiki) is very good, but like the other person mentioned, not sure if the very small children will like it, even with the great shows they have there. Sea Life is many miles from Waikiki, and I hear it is not as great as it used to be; it is not as good as the various SeaWorlds are -- from what I hear. Besides the giant fish tank in the Pacific Beach Hotel, there is another one right on the main street in the heart of Waikiki (Kalakaua Avenue) across from the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center.

Maui Lu goes timeshare

I think it is finally going to happen, we just received a certified letter today from the Maui planning commission, The Maui Lu which has been in ruins for years and is sadly run but Aston Resorts is slated for 400 time share units. Although I am not a time share person this will be very good for the area.

The resort will be totally reconstructed including adding recreational facilities.

Not sure if anyone is really interested in this but for those of us who own units in the area it is big news. And for those of you who have ever seen how sadly run down the resort is I think you%26#39;ll find it interesting. It is so sad to me that somebody didn%26#39;t buy the resort and refurbish it the way it once was. But land is land.

Maui Lu goes timeshare

Thanks for your update on the Maui Lu. A number of yrs ago we stayed in one of the oceanfront units of the Maui Lu and it was quite pleasant. I remember walking across their lawn to the Longhouse for dining. How sad that it was allowed to deteriorate and I agree that it%26#39;s better to go timeshare than descend into an even worse condition. Do you know if any of the buildings will be saved or is it going to be a complete teardown?

Maui Lu goes timeshare

Do you know why the owners of the Maui Lu allowed the property to deteriorate into such a sad state? Who are the owners? And I always wondered why Aston would be associated with this property? Is it possible that Aston are the owners?

I actually do not know who the owners are or were, I do know that The Genesee Corporation has aqquired the property and July twelth there will be a public planning meeting. Unfortunately we are returning July 5th and will not be able to attend.

I am not sure if they are planning on preserving any of the existing buildings, I seriously doubt it. I heard talk of restaurants and an activity center on the ocean side and with 400 units going in it sounds as if they will just doze everything.

I do know it can take a long time for these plans to actually go into effect on Maui but receiving this letter today intrigued me and makes me think things are definately getting underway. Of course this will also be an open time for anyone to file concerns over the developing of the property so that could slow it up more. I am giving it several more years at the rate things happen there.

Again though, I am sad that the property is in such a state, it could be the ideal place to stay if it had been maintained properly. The redevelopement will clean up the area though.

anyone else having trouble getting this cam site

was active and then it started going into a perpetual apple download without ever finishing

hawaiilive.sheratonhawaii.com/sm-cam.cfm

anyone else having trouble getting this cam site

make that java applet

anyone else having trouble getting this cam site

lougee: The Old Lahaina Luau also has a live cam that I look at daily. www.oldlahainaluau.com - skip the intro and then go to the bottom right hand corner and click on the eye.

lou,

That sight does that from time to time. Just keep checking, I know it frustrating!

Island

lovely ----have that site but its a fixed pix---------the sheraton is much better

as long as its not my computer i will be patient and keep trying- like to see the people swimming in the pool etc

I never can open that one.

i enjoy this site becsue you can pan the cam from the pool area to the beach and its in real/stagger time that you can following people walking or swimming

facbook