INTRODUCTION

Sometimes I think the last thing the world needs is another travel guide to Hawai‘i. Then the phone rings. And I get some e-mails. Friends are having a tough time wading through all the information available about Hawai‘i. “Should we island-hop or stick to one island?” “Should we believe all this marketing hype about that resort?” “Should we take our one indulgent helicopter trip on Kaua‘i or save it for the Big Island?” “We’re going to be on Maui for seven nights; what are the seven best restaurants?” Or “We really don’t want to spend a fortune on dining; is that even possible?” And then there’s the big one: “I really need to rest, but I don’t have time to research every option and I can’t afford to make a bad decision. What should I do?”

And so I’ve written this guide from a conversational point of view for all those friends. Somewhere along the way, I’ve become a schizophrenic writer. I speak to a growing chorus of voices in my head as a project like this progresses. What does that mean? I hear my sister wondering where she can take her kids without having to raid their college savings plans, so I write with her in mind. My friend’s well-off parents are celebrating a once-in-a-lifetime anniversary, and I include them in my perspective. My Dutch friends muse about how to divvy up their six-week holiday, and I talk about camping and hiking with them in mind. My San Francisco friends deliberate on long weekend getaways, so I write for them (with a secret jealousy). My gay friends want places where they won’t be given a sideways glance, and I’m grateful to help make some lives a bit easier. If I wrote simply for myself, it would be a pretty skinny travel guide. But I write with a large circle in mind. Hopefully you’ll think I write with you in mind. See The Over-the-Top Life of a Travel Writer on O‘ahu; p. 84/O‘ahu.

It’s my fondest hope that you read this guide as if a friend has gone before you and she is simply telling it like it is. But who am I and why should you trust me? First things first: I’m not Hawaiian, and I don’t live in Hawai‘i. I bring an outsider’s perspective to seeing and experiencing the islands. I’ve been writing travel guides since the first day after college graduation in 1984. I know how to play and rest. I value and guard my time and money with vigor. I have been smitten with Hawai‘i since the mid-1990s, when I got my first assignment to author Best Places to Stay in Hawai‘i. That’s when I started spending two months a year in the state. And it’s also when the spirit of the islands started seeping into my blood and spilling over into my mainland life.

Over the years, I have discovered the value of an $800-a-night hotel room, but I grew up appreciating what $50 a night would get you. There’s still a time and a place for both. I’m just as happy to park at the beach and slurp a steaming bowl of saimin as I am to dine at ocean’s edge by the light of tiki torches with waiters dressed in white hovering silently around as I indulge in a plate of panko-crusted mahimahi. I used to run around, seeing and doing five or six things a day on vacation. Then I scaled back to scheduling 10 perfect activities for 10 perfect days on vacation. Now I love to sit still and do nothing on vacation. But I still write for those three distinct personalities.

I try to convey the enchantment that arises in places like Hawai‘i, those mystical qualities that separate Hawai‘i from Dubuque. I try to summon the escapist allure that’s such a potent aphrodisiac. I try to remind myself why I fell hard for the islands in the first place.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT ISLAND

How do I decide among the six major islands—which one is right for me? That’s the most important question to ask. It’s also the hardest to answer—and the one that most guidebooks don’t address particularly well. What’s the fundamental character of a place? What does each island have to offer, and for whom? The introduction to each of these islands addresses these questions.

Each year thousands of people return home from Hawai‘i disappointed. They have tithed their annual income for an experience they enjoyed as much as their boss’s birthday party. The beach in the travel brochure turned out to have so little sand they could count the grains, the neighborhood reminded them more of a New Jersey mall than their image of paradise, and their room looked out into a parking lot. The trip almost certainly had its moments of fun, but it wasn’t what they expected.

If you don’t have enough information to make an informed decision about where to go and what to do, travelers Bill and Cheryl Jamison’s observation will ring true: “Most blind dates produce good stories at least. They just don’t often lead to love.” Take a little time upfront to pick the right partner and your odds for happiness in Hawai‘i will exponentially improve. This guide will help.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT LODGING

It’s the second most critical decision, after picking the right island. It may seem like this guide has an exhaustive listing of places to stay, but trust me, it doesn’t. If I wouldn’t want to stay in a place for more than a couple of nights, I have not included it. It’s my intention to describe a place objectively and evaluate the execution rather than the concept.

Cost, convenience, and comfort are important considerations. But perhaps the most important of all is the relationship of your room to the ocean or the beach, two variables that can make or break holidays. If wonderful beaches are among your reasons for going to Hawai‘i, stay on one. If a good ocean view is even more important than a beachfront location, make sure you get one. Anyone who doesn’t live directly on the sea at home is likely to be thrilled by the sight and sound of the Pacific surf. If cost is a consideration, get the least expensive room in the property of your choice. That way, you at least gain access to the two most stellar features of any given property: location and service.

To help you wade through the choices for each island, I’ve culled a list of the Best Romantic Hideaways, Best Intimate & Affordable Lodgings, Most Worldly Resorts, Best Condos, Best B&Bs, Best Family Resorts, and Best Resort Values. I’ve visited them all, stayed in most over the years, and spied them with a critical eye. I sit around a lot on the job: I settle into hundreds of lobby chairs and watch the check-in process. I eavesdrop on concierges as they problem-solve requests big and small. I ply bartenders with questions and talk to housekeepers. I talk to hundreds and hundreds of fellow travelers about their experiences and catalog these informal surveys for my reviews here.

ITINERARY HELPERS

To help in your voyage of discovery, each island has recommendations for “Musts for First-Time Visitors” and “Ideas for Repeat Visitors.” And I’ve gone one step further with this edition: creating “Building Blocks for Perfect Days in…” for you to use as a quick glance of the best of the best. I trust you’ll use it as a jumping off point of departure. A warning, though: If you try to do everything in the time allotted, your trip may feel like a forced march rather than a deserved holiday. I’ve also culled lists of the best beaches on each island for swimming and sunbathing, snorkeling and water sports, walking and watching sunsets, and family frolics.

Constructing an itinerary for Hawai‘i is mainly a matter of deciding how many islands to visit. On any single island, select one spot and use it as a base for sightseeing. On Maui and the Big Island, you might want to move once or twice to get a better sense of their diversity, and some special-interest travelers—say, golfers—may want to sample more than one resort. But point-to-point travel is not necessary or generally desirable on an individual island.

I have two rules for Hawaiian itineraries: Visit at least two islands on any trip, and spend a minimum of five days on an island. The rules are clearly contradictory if you have less than 10 days, in which case I’d suggest extending your trip. You also need to anticipate a couple of days of low-energy jet lag on arrival. Depending on where you are starting and the time of year, Hawai‘i is two to six time zones away.

When you can arrange only a week and it’s your first trip to Hawai‘i, forget the five-day rule and visit two islands. The islands are so different from one another and have so much to offer individually that it’s important to experience some of the variety. A person who has been to one island and claims to have seen Hawai‘i is like a New Yorker who has been to Los Angeles and claims to know the West.

If this is a return visit to the islands and you’ve gone beyond Waikiki and West Maui, a catalog of exceptions comes into play. Use Honolulu for a short stopover of less than five days on the way to another destination. Or pick a favorite spot on one island and sink into the sand for an extended stay. Or consider a two-or three-day jaunt to Moloka‘i or Lana‘i or a remote hamlet such as Hana for a change of pace. Once you have some acquaintance with at least O‘ahu, Maui, Kaua‘i, and the Big Island, these two itinerary rules become almost infinitely flexible.

Novices should be more cautious about breaking the two rules. They should design an itinerary with the two principles in mind and build it around their personal interests and the amount of time they have.

See Itinerary Suggestions (p. 17).

MANY MAHALOS

The new work paradigm does not include freelance researching and writing in a vacuum. To that end, a heartfelt mahalo goes out to a small cadre of folks who morphed from being friends to full-fledged colleagues and from being colleagues to full-fledged friends. Hawai‘i brings people together. Bonnie Friedman is, first and foremost, a friend. She is also an extraordinarily sophisticated foodie who dines and wines with me whenever we get the chance (which is often), an inveterate Maui booster, and perhaps the most supportive haole that any native Hawaiian could want. I have learned a great deal about Hawai‘i from her over the years.

Kim Bolger unraveled centuries of the Hawaiian monarchy, Captain Cook’s conquering, and zealous missionary incursions. Michele Bigley provided an exceptional depth of knowledge about all things Kaua‘i. Michael Clark, my alter ego (by way of Melbourne, O‘ahu, and Berkeley), provided an eerily synchronistic voice-over in O‘ahu. Julia Regan, a two-decade treasure, is just as comfortable outdoors as indoors and morphed into an activities expert. Bill and Cheryl Jamison and Bruce Shaw continue to get utmost kudos for introducing me to the islands in the first place.

Kermit Hummel practices the patience of a sage; thank you for all your support. Jennifer Thompson, per usual, is the manifestation of efficiency. And to all the new authors that I hire in my role as Acquisitions Editor at Countryman, thank you for making me a compassionate colleague.

On the Big Island, mahalo to Aven Wright-McIntosh, Donna Kimura, Vicki Kometani, Leanne Pletcher, Cathey Tarleton, Michael Tuttle (a rain forest friend and rainbow coalition lifeline), Jeannette Vidgen, Laura Aquino, and Michele Gamble. On O‘ahu, mahalo forever to Joyce Matsumoto and to Caroline Witherspoon, Cynthia Rankin, and Sandi Yara. On Kaua‘i, a big mahalo to Rosemary Smith…. On Maui, mahalo to Bonnie Friedman (again), Keli‘i Brown, Janice and Tom Fairbanks, Bea Wolfe, Arabella Ark, Tanna Swanson, Mark Simon, Luana Pa’ahana, and Cherie Attix. On Moloka‘i, Julie-Ann Bicoy, Michael Drew, and Dayna Harris get special thanks.

PLEASE WRITE FOR US AND TO US

In a departure from other Explorer’s Guides, look for some first-person experiential anecdotes in this guide. And please consider sharing one of your own for possible inclusion in the next edition. (Send them to hawaii@kimgrant.com.) I think it is important that we collect and hear as many rich voices and inspirational stories as possible. I hope this alternative framework infuses the guide with a fresh perspective; I expect it to grow as a feature. I am only one person, albeit a professional traveler and trained observer, and although I try to maintain as fresh an eye as possible, I value other people’s perspectives. In my travels, I constantly encounter a tapestry of understanding and wealth of humor that deserve to reach a wider audience.

I welcome readers’ thoughtful comments, criticisms, and suggestions for the next edition of Hawai‘i: An Explorer’s Guide.

As with all editions, this one benefits from the accumulated knowledge that fellow explorers have shared with me, through letters and over breakfast at B&Bs.