accommodation options for girlfriend trip?

Hello,

I%26#39;m from the US and I%26#39;m meeting my native Japanese friend on the Big Island for a vacation (we are both 29). We have one week there. We%26#39;re going to Hilo for one-two nights and I%26#39;d like to stay in the west side for the remainder of our trip. However, it%26#39;s so expensive especially once you add up all of the guided tours, food, rental car, etc. My friend%26#39;s request is only that we snorkel and find some beautiful beaches to relax on.

Do you have any hotel/villa/special lodging recommendations for us? We%26#39;ll be there in August.

Thanks!

accommodation options for girlfriend trip?

No recommendation, but a suggestion. Be sure where ever you choose it has AC. In August, especially in Kailua-Kona it will be hot and humid. Miserably so anywhere without at least some trade winds (which is is a lot of the Kona area south of the airport and makai of the highway).

accommodation options for girlfriend trip?

what is your budget....cant suggest anything without a price....you must have AC. proably in the $150 a night range would be the Magic Sands for a studio

cook...dont eat out, pack a lunch.

This is the second most expensive time to come

you will have a hard time even getting a reservation with this short notice....

hotels or condos with beautiful beach are all in the 300-1000 a night range in Waikoloka and Kohala...but the snorkeling will all be in Kona. 1 hour south

Thanks! Yes, I%26#39;d say $150-250 per night for price range. Wow, I didn%26#39;t realize how stretched out the Big Island is. I%26#39;ll look into the studios you suggested. Yes, we can only go over the Japanese Holiday, Obon week. That%26#39;s the only week off she gets so we%26#39;re kind of stuck with those dates in August.

Does the Hilo area shut down on Sunday?

Hello,

I am planning a week trip to Hawaii. I was going to stay in Hilo two nights - Sunday and Monday. We want to visit Volcanoes National Park and that famous waterfall (the name escapes me). I%26#39;m worried about booking on Sunday because I hear that everything shuts down. Is that true? Should I do Hilo on Monday-Tuesday instead?

Thanks!

Does the Hilo area shut down on Sunday?

you are correct....the park will be open so will be Akaka falls.

Does the Hilo area shut down on Sunday?

Thanks!

it%26#39;s mostly restaurants that are shut down on Sunday and Monday both. Lots of shops and businesses are closed Sunday or close earlier but none of this really affects the visitor unless you had a particular restaurant on your list.

On non-rainy Sundays the beach parks in Hilo and Liliuokalani Gardens are very crowded with little or no parking, so if you want to see the Gardens at least (which I recommend), try them on Monday to avoid crowds ... but if you want to see Hilo social life then go on Sunday -- if you can%26#39;t park right there you can walk in.

It depends on what you are looking for. Did you have something specific, other than the HVNP, Rainbow and Akaka Falls in mind?

Other thank Volcanoes National Park and Akaka Falls, I didn%26#39;t have anything in mind. I still have to research Hilo though. Thanks!

wireless mouse

Captain Bob's Adventure Cruise

Has anyone taken the ';Captain Bob%26#39;s Adventure Cruise';? What can you tell me about it? do you recommend this? It would 4 girls in 20%26#39;s. Thanks for your help.

Captain Bob's Adventure Cruise

I took it in April 2006. Maybe the regular boat was under repair or something (some posters claim it was great) but it was the worst waste of time and money I have ever experienced in Hawaii.

This is what I said about it in a previous post:

We hated Capt. Bob%26#39;s last year. We thought it was a complete waste of time and money (badly kept boat, indifferent crew, unappetizing food, lousy snorkeling and a LONG, not very scenic, bus ride to windward side). We were stuck with it due to the Waikiki pollution in April 2006 but there are better trips that go to places off Diamond Head and Waikiki.

There were not a lot of other boats there where Bob%26#39;s went but perhaps there was a reason... the wind made it very cold (it was April) and no one stayed in the water very long at the sandbar. Hence no volleyball, etc. The snorkel site was very mediocre, with poor visibility from runoff and stirred up sand. The boat (a motor boat, not a sailboat as in the picture on the web site at the time) was rundown. We did not eat the food, preferring to wait and eat something more appetizing.

This is probably the most negative I%26#39;ve been about anything on this forum. Sorry, but it was really a bad experience for us. Try searching the Oahu forums for Ko Olina Cat, Outrigger Cat, etc. and see if you can find some trips people liked.';

Captain Bob's Adventure Cruise

Thank you for letting me know. I will take off my list and look for something else.

I respect the review from Honu_Ohana. But, April of 2006 was nothing but rain %26amp; floods for the entire month.

Kaneohe Bay was not swimmable during most of that time.

I have not been on the cruise so I cannot recommend it.

Here are some other reviews:

tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60982-d52鈥?/a>

Hey Dusty! Looks like everyone on the link you provided had good things to say. I will look into it some more. We did the Mai Tai catamaran last year and it was fun so i have the impression that it might be similar

Thanks!

Hey Monkey00,

I was thinking of doing this as well. I don%26#39;t know how much it is but it sounds like so much fun. My sister who use to live there for about 3yrs advised Sands bar a must! She said the only way to see this was by boat. Let me know if you find any other trips such as this. The main reason I wanted to do this trip was because we did something similar in Cozumel. Where you take a boat to a private island, barbecue, do volleyball %26amp; snorkeling/Kayaking. I was looking for something like this in Hawaii but the only thing I saw similar was Captains Bob%26#39;s cruise.

I think you will enjoy the cruise if, like the other people who reviewed it, you want a day on a boat and several activities. If you are going just for the snorkeling or want a nice sailboat I think there are trips leaving from the leeward side that would be a better trip for that.

I know April was a bad month for runoff, but the poorly maintained and dirty boat and unappetizing food and foodservice and indifferent crew were offputting, compared to other trips we have been on in Hawaii and the Caribbean. Plus the underwater site, even in clear water, was not spectacular.

Here are some alternatives I found when we were planning our trip, but did not take because of the day of week and/or Waikiki pollution incident:

KoOlina Cat (this leaves from 45 minutes north of Waikiki but the website says they have Waikiki pickup)

http://www.hawaiinautical.com/tours.asp#1

Outrigger Catamaran

http://www.outriggercatamaranhawaii.com/

Th, Th, Sa off the beach in front of the Outrigger Waikiki

Here are some others:

hawaiiactivities.com/us/鈥?0

www.bikehawaii.com/snorkel_adventures.html

My wife and I have done this cruise and plan to go again this summer with our son and daughter in law.

We drove to the pier, so I can%26#39;t comment about the bus. The boat, crew, and food were fine. Had a great time playing volleyball, sunning and socializing. The snorkeling was good, not the best ever, but fun. The interactions between guests and crew really made the day.

Maybe Honu Ohana hit them at a bad time. I would consider an experience two years ago like Ohana%26#39;s and mine which is three years ago not a particularly reliable predictor of current excursions. Would like to know more recent experiences if anyone could share.

BTW, we kayaked K-Bay to the sandbar last year and had a good time too.

Thanks everyone! I will look into ALL suggestions. The other 3 girls have left me to decide on what to do so i have the pressure of choosing the right stuff. My trip wont be for a few months but i like to plan ahead :)

My 15 yo son and I did Captain Bob%26#39;s in January 2008. It was a fun day out. It%26#39;s about a half hour drive to the boat so you get to do a bit of sightseeing on the way, the food was simple (hamburgers with salad, beans and cornchips, fruitsalad) but it tasted good and was fresh, the crew were great and very attentive to everyone%26#39;s wants and needs. The volleyball was a fun way to get some interaction happening and lots of laughs. You actually stop here so you can get your snorkel gear organised, fitted and tested and, then the boat moves to the reef. I agree that it%26#39;s not the best coral in the world but there is some pretty coloured coral there and the fish were cool. We saw turtles as we were cruising which was so cool!!! Their cute little heads would pop out of the water. I would recommend it for a fun all around day out. I think the best part was there was no one else around, so just us to enjoy the environment.

skin

Easter brunch on Kauai

We%26#39;ll be on Kauai April 14-24, staying at Marriott Kauai Beach Club timeshare. Looking for a good Easter brunch. Any recommendations?

Easter brunch on Kauai

Check out Gaylords at Kilohana Plantation. We went there for brunch last week. It is $11.95 and although it was good, we don%26#39;t eat enough to make it worthwhile. Easter brunch might be more elaborate and more $. All the ladies get an orchid lei which was a very nice bonus.

Easter brunch on Kauai

I second Gaylords! But you must make a reservation, not only for Easter but anytime you want to go there. We had the 11.95 breakfast also, and it was very good. If I were you I%26#39;d make the reservation A.S.A.P. (google their phone number) because in the case of a holiday they probably fill their reservations quickly.

Bump, any good suggestions for Easter 2008?

Aloha from Kaua%26#39;i!

Pretty much the same spots - the Hyatt, Sheraton all offer special Easter brunches and while they are pricey, they are very nice indeed.

I have heard Gaylord%26#39;s has a good one as well, but have never done that one myself.

If you want to go ';cheap and local'; the Wailua Family Restaurant has a great buffet as well - we took my elderly mother there last year and she loved it!

Malama Pono,

Janet

Pride of Aloha leaving Hawaii

NCL cruise ship Pride of Hawaii left Hawaii last week.

Now NCL has announced plans for Pride of Aloha to leave in 3 months.

That will leave Pride of America as the only cruise ship that will be based in Hawaii.

honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article鈥?/a>

Pride of Aloha leaving Hawaii

I think given the reviews on here of those cruises they won%26#39;t be missed. It was a great experiment it just didn%26#39;t pan out.

Pride of Aloha leaving Hawaii

most of the reviews were written by super economy passengers expecting luxury for their $50 a day cruise.....

I took Pride of Aloha this past October and found nothing to complain about and I am used to Luxury ships.......

The Pride of Aloha was excellent in - layout and ports and food was pretty good....crew was very good.

The departure means a loss to island business of over $166 million... a lot of little places in Kona Hilo and Kauai are going to go under... Who remains will charge more.... It is a very big impact to Hawaii,

No ,the problem was that with 3 ships sailing around the islands there were 7000 cabins to fill each week...and inorder to fill them NCL had to offer up to 86% discounts.....selling $3500 cabins for $549.

Then seeing NCL in Hawaii ...Carnival, Princess ,Holland, Celeb.all stepped in with double their cruises.... and they all had to start slashing fares to breakeven...sort of like the airlines did a few years ago

The days of the cheap cruise to and around Hawaii as I advised last year...seeing this coming, will be by May....gone forever. The total number of cabins now available will be 60% less than last year....THe airlines are doing the same...less seats..more demand= higher prices....its shifted to a sellers market from a buyers market.

Just think how that would effect Honolulu and Maui, it they tore down 60% of the hotels ?

If NCL had to discount up to 86% then they were their own problem for having 3 cruise ships in Hawaii.

With one cruise ship, they shouldn%26#39;t have to discount at all to fill it up.

I don%26#39;t agree with the total loss in business that Hawaii will suffer because of the loss of 2 of their ships.

The ports will lose a lot of $$, but many that were going on a Hawaii cruise will still opt to go to Hawaii %26amp; fly to one or more of the other islands.

What percentage of those that take Hawaii cruises that will still end up going to Hawaii, I have no idea.

I%26#39;m sure it will affect hotel reservations %26amp; rates if a lot of them opt for land instead of cruising Hawaii.

But, to be honest, I thought they were just wishful thinking in that they needed to operate 3 cruise ships in Hawaii.

Hmmmm....

They could always install berths on the Superferry.

Win, win.

Valley Isle Resort????

Anyone ever stayed in a condo at the Valley Isle Resort, up in Kahana? If so, how was your experience and would you recommend it? I am looking at either renting units #805, #509, #809 or #409.

Mahalo!

Valley Isle Resort????

My family stays at the valley isle on most trips to Maui because my aunt has a condo there. The rooms are pretty big, but nothing fancy. Standard Hawaii condos, with mostly great views from your lani.

Parking on Maui

How is the parking situation on Maui? I know it probably depends on the tourist season, therefore we are leaving in 2 weeks and staying for 2 weeks. Can it be expensive and a headache to find parking?

Does anyone know any tips about saving money on parking and finding alrernative safe places to park?

I don%26#39;t mind having to look a bit for parking but I will be with my nice, but impatient Husband.

Thank you

Bellini

Parking on Maui

Never had any problems with parking. It%26#39;s a bit harder in Lahaina but we never had to pay for parking.

Parking on Maui

Where are you guys staying? What part of the island?

We are staying in Kihei. We can walk across the street to go to the beach, but I can see us trying out other beach%26#39;s especially for the snorkeling, and boogie boarding. What is the parking like at the beach%26#39;s?

all of the beaches have free parking -- the shops and restauants all have free parking available--the condos have free parking but i believe that the bigger hotels may charge guests for daily parking and valet assistance

other then that you should have no problem --

whereever possible park next to other cars and in the evening try to find well lighted locations

I only know of two places on Maui where you are charged for parking: Lahaina and Kaanapali. There are also some free spaces in those areas, if you can find a spot. Some hotels and a few condos charge for overnight parking, and a hotel%26#39;s valet parking will be a charge.

The Lahaina pay parking is only a couple of dollars. Weigh that against the time driving around to save a couple of dollars.

Here is my free parking tip for Lahaina. Get there around 4pm and park in the free lot just off Prison and Front streets. For free beach parking, get to the lots before 9 am. If you find some beaches that you would like to go to, list them and some of us will give you directions to the free lots.

ChiSue I believe you are also charged for parking at the Kahului airport (after the first half hour).

We didn%26#39;t have any trouble parking last April. The night we ate at Cheeseburger in Paradise it took two passes, but a spot opened up right in front. Parking was plentiful, and free, in most areas.

Doubt the OP%26#39;s question was about airport parking, but yes, you do pay unless you are in the temporary lot (20 minute limit, we were told).

BTW, it is a good idea for new arrivals to use that temp lot. You can get your rental car, park in temp parking and go across the street into the terminal to collect the rest of your party and luggage. (Avoid a run-in with the airport police who enforce the rule about not leaving your vehicle in the pick-up lanes.)

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