#Last Minute Luau Tickets Oahu | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

stevebell59 · 2 years

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Big Island of Hawaii Jan 2022

Since I had already been to the island of Oahu (Honolulu), we chose the Big Island for Ann’s first trip to Hawaii.

The volcanoes make the island a geographical oddity. Eleven of the twelve global climates are represented there - weather is always a’ changing but the resort coast is almost always perfect.

Southwest Airlines recently added Hawaii to list of destinations. The price of ticket from the US central time zone to the Honolulu zone (HST: -4 hours) was less than half the price I paid about eight years ago on American.

Prices in and around the Kona/Kohala side of the island are very high for most everything except, surprisingly, alcohol. Groceries: bacon $14/lb; bread $5; eggs $5; cheese $8 and up/lb. Gas: $4.75 (when it was $3 in Houston).

After traveling all day and checking in to the Hilton Grand Vacation Bay Club, we were tired and hungry. There are no fast food places or delivery services. We freshened up, jumped on the shuttle and headed for Kings Shops mall for a bite and a few drinks. Restaurants near the resorts are pricey, as expected. We loved the vibe and bar service at A-Bay’s, so we returned three more times during our week in paradise. It’s a favorite of local restaurant workers so we met several who shared their stories about living in Hawaii. Love ‘em, hate ‘em!

The Legends of Hawaii luau experience at the Hilton was very nice. Sunset, stage show, and great table service was on the menu. Open bar (beer, wine, Mai-Tai, Blue Hawaiian), chips/poke appetizer, salad, a buffet dinner and dessert filled is up royally.

Day 2 ended with a gorgeous sunset catamaran trip out of A-Bay that lasted about ninety minutes. The fun crew of three kept pouring drinks and served us a bowl of teriyaki chicken and rice.

We booked a circle bus tour of the island for Day 3. A miked up driver took twelve of us to several stops in a Sprinter van. Christopher was extremely knowledgeable about island history and geology. He has lived and worked here his whole life. His pronunciation of the Hawaiian words and places was totally believable, but you can’t prove it by me. He waited on us hand and foot when we stopped for breakfast at Greenline Coffee Farm, the southernmost bakery in the US for donuts and at the Volcano Winery for lunch. There were three stops in Volcanoes National Park before heading toward Hilo. We took a route through the rain forest waterfalls, mountain vistas and into the sunset near the town of Waimea as we headed home.

The next day was spent at the pool and grilling a steak on the gas pit nearby. We had met a jeweler at the luau that provided delivery service of a Peridot (state gem of Hawaii/August birthstone) ring for Ann. Kai is back in the family jewelry business with his mother and his wife - great guy.

Over the course of our ramblings around the resort area, we saw a shaggy looking guy in a green bandanna five times, once at the bar. He wasn’t carrying a bunch of belongings and wasn’t panhandling. I asked a bus driver about him. He said he is definitely homeless and was probably sent here by a religious ministry in California. That comment made me think back to my seeing people “backpacking” along the highway from the Kona airport. The bus driver explained that some religious groups send their problems to Hawaii so they don’t have to deal with them long term. Sad.

Time for the beach! We had to take the shuttle ten minutes and then cut through the Marriott for public access. (All beaches in Hawaii are open to the public) The sand is a mix of black and light brown graduals with lots of golf ball-sized lava rocks around. After pictures of driftwood on this beautiful bay, we had lunch on the beach at the Lava Lava Beach Club.

Just as we were posting pics of the beach and our food, Southwest Airlines sent me a message: “Tomorrow’s flight home has been postponed 24 hours. We hope this isn’t an inconvenience.” Another day in paradise? I guess we can manage it! By luck we were able to spend an additional night in our suite at the Bay Club.

This trip ranks pretty high up there on the “trip of a lifetime” list. If you ever have a chance to go to Hawaii, I recommend the Big Island for its diversity of scenery and variety of destinations. Mahalo!

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richyr · 7 years

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Chronicles of the Three Musketeers: US Trip 2016 - Part 1

It started as a passing comment that we (Alan, Dave aka Kristian and I) should go on a holiday to the US and you know what we said ‘Let’s do it’. So off we went looking at plane tickets and that was it, the rest is history. As the days neared, the excitement grew and also the chances that there will be a hurricane when we arrive.

As we arrived at Sydney International Airport on the 2nd of September 2016, it dawned to me that we are actually going after a number of fault starts over the years.

Pre-flight drinks to start off the trip.

After 9 hours in the air we landed in Honolulu and we waited for our connecting flight to Maui. After a short 30-minute flight, we landed in Maui as the wind picked up. The storms are coming. Better than a hurricane though. Once we got our rental car, off we went to our accommodation at the Maui Sunset in Kihei. We arrived just in time to see the sunset and what a sight it was.

As we were getting hungry, our first point of call was booking a table at the Mill House Maui. Thanks Michael Deleon for the suggestion.

This was a great end for the first day of our trip.

Day 2 - Road to Hana:

The strong winds brought the wet weather with it and it made an interesting day 2 of our trip. It was Road to Hana day, so off we went to our first stop of the journey, Twin Falls on the North Shore, and the weather greeted us just as we arrived there. A bit (maybe more like a lot) of water won’t stop us so off on our 2.5 mile hike to the Twin Falls and it didn’t disappoint as we were drenched from head to toe but it was spectacular as the falls was more like a rapid. Not many would’ve experienced Twin Falls like that!

Back in the car, we headed through the twisty roads on the way to Hana. We stopped a few times to take some photos of the scenery. As we got to Hana, the Cops greeted us telling us that the beach is closed. Scratching our heads on what to do now, we decided to back track and go to Waianapanapa Black Sand Beach.

The beach was closed but that didn’t stop us and what a sight it was. It’s the first time I’ve seen a black beach.

Next stop was the 7 Sacred Pools at the Oheo Gulch Haleakala National Park. Unfortunately the pools were closed so we did a short 2 mile hike. Mozzies were in abundance, and they liked my blood.

Most people would’ve turn around and go back the way they went but we didn’t, we decided to continue drive along the eastern side of Maui and that was one of the most dangerous drives I’ve experienced with cliff face on my right and the ledge of the road of the left but so rewarding as well. The eastern side of Maui has no greenery but it had its charm.

Only way to end the day was having a nice cold beer at the Maui Brewing Co.

Day 3 - Lahaina/Luau:

After exploring the east side of Maui the day before, it was the west side’s turn. Before we headed out, breakfast was on the cards and it didn’t disappoint at Kihei Caffe.

First stop was going to the beach at Lahaina. After the swim, we were hungry so we went into the town centre of Lahaina for some lunch and exploring the shops.

It was Luau time at Old Lahaina Luau. The atmosphere with the culture, people, traditional food and drinks definitely made it an experience that I will never forget. We met some people from San Francisco and they gave us some tips on where to visit and eat on our leg of our trip there. More about that part our trip later.

Day 4 - Last day in Maui/Haleakala Crater:

As the final hours ticked past before we had to leave this island, one last adventure was still to be discovered. So off we went winding up the twisty road up to Haleakala Crater. Not only did we had contend with the roads but also the fuel light appeared and we passed the last petrol station a few miles back. We kept going up to the summit and once we got there it was another Kodak moment.

Running on fumes, we headed back down and reached the next petrol station. Dave was relieved. Alan and I knew we had enough!

Heading back to the airport, we had a bit of time to spare so we decided to detour to Hookipa Beach as there were turtles the day before. Unfortunately they weren’t there this day so we headed to the airport.

We dropped by Denny’s as we were starving and it was one of the worse service we’ve experienced ever, the food took forever to come out and by the time it did, we had to pretty much breathe it in as we were late. Rushing to the airport, we just made it in time for the flight. After a quick flight back to Oahu and taxi ride we reached our hotel in Waikiki.

Day 5 - Diamond Head/Pearl Harbour/Factory Outlet:

First activity in Oahu was Diamond Head Trail. After a short 45-minute walk, we got to the top.

It was time to get back to the hotel, as our rental car was about to arrive. We flagged a taxi and she was an interesting taxi driver to say the least. Dave even got her number! (She told him to call her when we needed a taxi back to the airport)

Next stop was Pearl Harbour. You can’t go to Oahu and not visit it.

Next stop was to do some shopping at the Factory Outlet. We spent the rest of the afternoon there.

Day 6 - Kualola Ranch/Turtle Beach:

Day 6 started early as we headed to the Kualola Ranch. We booked a two-hour ATV tour of the Kualola Ranch and what a time we had quad biking through one of the most scenic places in the world. Man, machine and nature!

Even Tyrannosaurus Rex made an appearance.

Next stop was the Macadamia farm. Can’t beat fresh macadamia nuts.

Heading north again we stopped by the famous Romy’s Shrimp truck to get some garlic shrimp. The shrimps are the size of our prawns!

Needing a drink after the lunch, we headed to Turtle Bay Resort to get some Lava Flow and Mai Tai while looking out to the Pacific Ocean.

After the short break, we got back into it and headed to Turtle Beach in search of turtles. As we drove passed Pipeline, we decided to have a quick stop and check out the famous beach where the surfing competitions are held. As we approached Turtle beach, traffic was getting bad, it was a good sign that there could be turtles and we were in luck, there was turtles on the beach. It’s photo time!

Day 7 - Hanauma Bay:

It’s snorkel time! Off we went to Hanauma Bay and it didn’t disappoint. Being my first time snorkeling, it took me a while to get into it but being as one with the marine life of Hawaii was a magical experience. Alan and Dave were off filming the underwater scenery that makes Hanauma Bay famous.

Day 8 - Last day in Hawaii:

Day 8 had an eventful start as Alan realised that he left his watch in the rental car that we gave back the previous day. Lucky enough, after a few back and forth with Envy car rentals (They are awesome) they have found the watch. Before heading to pick up the watch we dropped by Eggs n Things for some breakfast.

It took us a while to find the car rental place but the watch was acquired and we spent the rest of the afternoon at Ala Moana Shopping Centre before heading to the airport for our flight to San Francisco.

It was time to say Aloha to Hawaii and hello to San Francisco as we boarded our flight. Time to get some shut-eye before the next leg of our trip.

A snippet of Part 1 courtesy of Dave:

vimeo

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