Ned
02-24-2008, 06:25 PM
We're back from Hawaii. We stayed on Hawaii (the "big island"), Maui and Oahu.
Both Hawaii and Maui were gorgeous, with natural beauty aplenty. The citizens of these islands are wonderful, with a real desire to please. There is plenty of sightseeing and adventure activities such as snorkeling and diving from these islands. On both islands, Hawaiians and the state government have done much to preserve their cultural and natural heritage, along with the US Parks Service.
Hawaii in particular is expensive, and the better hotels quite insular (We were in the Hilton complex north of Kona). There are few good places to eat outside of the resorts. Hawaii has 2 cities; Kona and Hilo. Kona, on the west side of the island, is the one near most of the resorts, time shares and condos. Hilo, on the east side is close to the Volcano National Park. There are lots of places to snorkel near Kona and the resorts, and some more south of Kona.
On Maui we stayed in the Lahaina area where there is a concentration of resorts and hotels. The town is touristy but quite nice, with lots of shopping, and plenty of restaurant alternatives to the resort offerings. The Lahaina area is located well for quick travel to Maalaea Harbor (Boat trips for snorkeling and diving), and many other Maui site seeing offerings such as Hana and the Halleakala National Park.
We were primarily in Oahu to see the Arizona Memorial and Pearl Harbor environs. As a result, I can't speak to much outside of Honolulu. To me Honolulu seemed like Vegas without gambling. The name shops were there, along with the "honky tonk" right next door. It's a combo of the top of the heap, and pure schlock. There are wonderful restaurants and really awful ones. On Waikiki, there are terrific hotels which are expensive, and lousy hotels which are expensive, though somewhat less so. The Hawaiian Islands are not generally a cheap vacation. I felt safe everywhere we visited in the Hawaiian Islands. Waikiki Beach itself is short and narrow. For those used to eastern US beaches, all the Hawaiian beaches are small.
I will talk about more specifics about our hotels, the restaurants we ate at, the sights we saw, and the activities in which we participated in a follow-up thread. I will mention, in particular, a really well run boat operation from which we snorkeled.
As many are aware, the Hawaiian Islands are a major tourist destination for Japanese tourists. On Hawaii and Maui I would estimate that Japanese nationals make up 30% or so of all tourists. On Oahu, on the other hand, I would estimate that Japanese nationals make up 70% or so of all tourists. I think the difference is the shopping available in Honolulu. On Oahu there is also a significant number of Japanese immigrants, or legal residents, in service positions in the hotels, restaurants and shops with little or no English ability, clearly there to service Japanese customers. Many signs in stores, and most menus in restaurants, for example, are in English and Japanese. While Hawaii and Maui are clearly very different from the US mainland in the appearance and climate of "tropical paradise," they are still clearly American, but Oahu felt like a Tokyo suburb, with so many residents and workers barely speaking English, and much of the written language in both English and Japanese.
More later.
Both Hawaii and Maui were gorgeous, with natural beauty aplenty. The citizens of these islands are wonderful, with a real desire to please. There is plenty of sightseeing and adventure activities such as snorkeling and diving from these islands. On both islands, Hawaiians and the state government have done much to preserve their cultural and natural heritage, along with the US Parks Service.
Hawaii in particular is expensive, and the better hotels quite insular (We were in the Hilton complex north of Kona). There are few good places to eat outside of the resorts. Hawaii has 2 cities; Kona and Hilo. Kona, on the west side of the island, is the one near most of the resorts, time shares and condos. Hilo, on the east side is close to the Volcano National Park. There are lots of places to snorkel near Kona and the resorts, and some more south of Kona.
On Maui we stayed in the Lahaina area where there is a concentration of resorts and hotels. The town is touristy but quite nice, with lots of shopping, and plenty of restaurant alternatives to the resort offerings. The Lahaina area is located well for quick travel to Maalaea Harbor (Boat trips for snorkeling and diving), and many other Maui site seeing offerings such as Hana and the Halleakala National Park.
We were primarily in Oahu to see the Arizona Memorial and Pearl Harbor environs. As a result, I can't speak to much outside of Honolulu. To me Honolulu seemed like Vegas without gambling. The name shops were there, along with the "honky tonk" right next door. It's a combo of the top of the heap, and pure schlock. There are wonderful restaurants and really awful ones. On Waikiki, there are terrific hotels which are expensive, and lousy hotels which are expensive, though somewhat less so. The Hawaiian Islands are not generally a cheap vacation. I felt safe everywhere we visited in the Hawaiian Islands. Waikiki Beach itself is short and narrow. For those used to eastern US beaches, all the Hawaiian beaches are small.
I will talk about more specifics about our hotels, the restaurants we ate at, the sights we saw, and the activities in which we participated in a follow-up thread. I will mention, in particular, a really well run boat operation from which we snorkeled.
As many are aware, the Hawaiian Islands are a major tourist destination for Japanese tourists. On Hawaii and Maui I would estimate that Japanese nationals make up 30% or so of all tourists. On Oahu, on the other hand, I would estimate that Japanese nationals make up 70% or so of all tourists. I think the difference is the shopping available in Honolulu. On Oahu there is also a significant number of Japanese immigrants, or legal residents, in service positions in the hotels, restaurants and shops with little or no English ability, clearly there to service Japanese customers. Many signs in stores, and most menus in restaurants, for example, are in English and Japanese. While Hawaii and Maui are clearly very different from the US mainland in the appearance and climate of "tropical paradise," they are still clearly American, but Oahu felt like a Tokyo suburb, with so many residents and workers barely speaking English, and much of the written language in both English and Japanese.
More later.