Hawaii

[Tinkin]

The house is in a gated community. The house is in Kapoho (Kapoho beach lots), Puna is another small town near Kapoho. All of the islands are made up of small towns.

A leasing agency is used by the owners to rent the house. The owners live near by and always try to meet their guests, unfortunately we only talked with them by phone because of our touring schedule, but they seemed like wonderful people.

I will add that this side of the Big Island is working class Hawaiian’s. It is not touristy/resorty by any means....it is unpolished, natural, every day Hawaii. The high crime is news to me! We did a lot of traveling in that area of the Big Island and never experienced any trouble. I definitely never felt unsafe and we returned to the house after dark each night.

As for leaving valuables out in plain sight I think common sense would tell you that's a bad idea anywhere. I don't even do that at home and I live in a nice suburb of Houston

As far as the locals not liking tourists that was not our experience. We had many interactions with the locals and found them all to be pleasant and very helpful when we needed help.

 

[Pooh's Pixie]

Thanks for the feedback Tinkin. I agree with you guys that you need to be smart anywhere, even at home. Hawaii isn't a third world country where you would be afraid of kidnappings, etc. Crime is everywhere, and the fact that the owners live nearby is a definite plus to me. I am going to show this to DH and we will talk about it. It would suit our needs. Thanks for contributing to my planning!!!!

 

[islangrl]

As far as the locals not liking tourists that was not our experience. We had many interactions with the locals and found them all to be pleasant and very helpful when we needed help.

The only reason that locals would be rude, is if you are rude or even a little disrespectful. They don't like when people from the mainland complain about the way it's done back home. But, I'm guessing none of you would act that way anyway.

 

[DawnCt1]

The house is in a gated community. The house is in Kapoho (Kapoho beach lots
As far as the locals not liking tourists that was not our experience. We had many interactions with the locals and found them all to be pleasant and very helpful when we needed help.

That has never been my experience either.

 

[Tinkin]

The only reason that locals would be rude, is if you are rude or even a little disrespectful. They don't like when people from the mainland complain about the way it's done back home. But, I'm guessing none of you would act that way anyway.

We flew into Honolulu and transferred over to GO Airlines to catch our plane into Hilo. The minute we walked into the GO terminal we realized we were on "Island Time", no mistake about it and nothing you can do to change it!

We only met one person that made us go . He was on our flight from Honolulu to Hilo, he lived in Honolulu and was visiting friends in Hilo. He wasn't really scary, just different.

I really enjoyed the locals we met, my favorite locals to meet (because they were usually fun) were the ones who "can't wait to get off this rock". They were usually mid twenties and they wanted to know everything about you and your life on the mainland.

Hilo has a Baskin Robbins and we stopped there for ice cream on our first night. It was a Friday and the place was full, the line of customers was 5 families deep. There were 2 guys working and the one who took our order told us to grab a seat, he would bring it to us at our table.

He came to our table sat our ice cream down and pulled up a chair to visit, leaving his coworker on his own....no one seemed to care. Every now and then he would yell something we told him to his coworker , like "Hey they're from Texas" and his coworker would shout out a question. He was asking all kinds of questions... about us, our home, where we were from, all the places we've lived, how long were we staying, where were we staying, things we should do, things we don't want to miss. He was a lot of fun

 

[Heather1101]

We live on O'ahu and went to the Big Island last Christmas. We stayed at the military cabins, so I can't really help w/ other accomodations, but from what we saw, The Volcano House ( I think that was the name of it) looked decent, but most of the motels in Hilo and surrounding areas looked a little to me. We only did the east side of the island to include Pahoa, Puna, Kapoho, Hilo...We never felt unsafe or witnessed any crime. We did have a rental car but left NOTHING inside each time we got out and we never left stuff in the trunk or opened it and put stuff in while we were in a parking lot. Puna and that whole area is very tropical/jungle-like, so the views were great. I will tell you that Hippies didn't not die out after the 70's though...they all moved to Pahoa..lol!

You can also stop by the Mauna Loa factory on the way from Volcano to Hilo. Very small production, but you can do a self-tour and watch the nuts go from shell to chocolate covered...the kids thought it was neat and it doesn't take long at all. The products inside are expensive, but you can get the "ugly" chocolate nut clusters for a good price and IMO they taste better than the "pretty" ones.

The Volcano Nat'l park was great. Check out the steam vents, Chain of Craters road, Thurston Lava Tube(take flashlights if you want to go further into the cave..the "tourist" section is lit well enough, but after that is goes black and you can't see anything). Haleamaumau crater is neat, but if you have small children make sure they have something to cover their mouth/nose with b/c the sulfur is very stinky and caused both of my kids to cough pretty violently and we had to leave.

The Petroglyphs are neat to see as well and are located off the chain of craters road..it's about a 3/4 mi. hike over lava rocks to get there. There is a little bit of a path but definately NOT stroller friendly.

I think you can actually see the lava if you hike down to it. When we were there it was only visable from a helicopter and wasn't running into the ocean.

If you have a 4x4 you can drive up to the very top of Mauna Kea...the road is a little hairy though. If you go at the right time, you can see snow on the top. DH has been up there, but we didn't go up there as a family due to our rental car and they didn't recommend kids under 16 go up b/c of the increasing difficulty to breathe the higher you get. We did stop at the visitors center halfway up and it was COLD! Kids drank hot chocolate and we got to see many people that had their personal trucks full of snow.

O'ahu..can't help with places to stay, but the Oahu Revealed book is great and can give you some recommendations...we always stay at the military hotel, Hale Koa, right next to Hilton Hawaiian Village. That is a great hotel in a good location, but it can be pricey. Souveniers can be purchased at Walmart like someone else said, but you can also go to the Aloha Stadium Swap meet on Wed, Sat, and Sunday and get those along w/ Hawaiian foods and other things for sale pretty cheap.

Nuuanu Pali lookout has great views and is VERY windy. Check out the Blow Hole and Hanuama Bay if time permits. Kaneohe Bay, Lanikai, and Kailua beaches are GORGEOUS. Sharks cove on the North Shore is good for snorkeling and you can often see turtles on the first beach you come to after you leave Haleiwa town. Waimea bay is great as well, but parking is horrible...you can park across the street at the Waimea falls park for free and walk back to the beach if you can't find closer parking.

Paradise Cove is my favorite Luau...Fabulous sunsets. Polynesian cultural center is neat too, but they are alcohol free and it can be an all day thing. Paradise cover is only a few hours long at night...pay for the package where they bring you the food instead of having to get up and get your own food from the buffet...it is worth it. The seating is MUCH better and you don't have to deal with the insane lines and crowds around the buffet.

Ala Moana mall is nice...food court is very large and has everything from Hawaiian food to your basic pizza meal.

I'm sure I'm missing things, but the Oahu revealed book will help you greatly! We are a military family and have lived here twice, and we still use it all the time to find new places to eat or new adventures!

 

[crz4mm2]

The house is in a gated community. The house is in Kapoho (Kapoho beach lots), Puna is another small town near Kapoho. All of the islands are made up of small towns.

A leasing agency is used by the owners to rent the house. The owners live near by and always try to meet their guests, unfortunately we only talked with them by phone because of our touring schedule, but they seemed like wonderful people.

I will add that this side of the Big Island is working class Hawaiian’s. It is not touristy/resorty by any means....it is unpolished, natural, every day Hawaii. The high crime is news to me! We did a lot of traveling in that area of the Big Island and never experienced any trouble. I definitely never felt unsafe and we returned to the house after dark each night.

As for leaving valuables out in plain sight I think common sense would tell you that's a bad idea anywhere. I don't even do that at home and I live in a nice suburb of Houston

As far as the locals not liking tourists that was not our experience. We had many interactions with the locals and found them all to be pleasant and very helpful when we needed help.

That was our exact experience.

This place sounds marvelous. I will look at it for my next stay too! Thanks so much. Sounds perfect for us.

 

[H.E. Pennypacker]

As far as the locals not liking tourists that was not our experience. We had many interactions with the locals and found them all to be pleasant and very helpful when we needed help.

You'll find that most of the locals you meet in most of the places you go will be friendly to you, or at worse, indifferent to you. Where they get a little unfriendly is when you start encroaching upon places that are generally accepted to be just for the locals. An example - the beach at the bottom of Waipi'o Valley. Yes, with a 4X4 you can get down there, and I've been down there myself, but if you're not a local, you stick out like a sore thumb and may get a little stink eye from the locals. Keep in mind, it's your vacation spot, but they live there. And understand that Hawaiian time is not like mainland time. Slow down and enjoy it!

I'd also recommend that if you buy any of the "Revealed" books, like Big Island Revealed, Oahu Revealed, keep them under wraps. They've been known to illicit some negative responses from locals if they happen to see it. I've heard of incidents where people have left the book on the front seat only to return to find the window broken and the book gone. The Revealed books and others like it have sent a lot of tourists to a lot of previously unknown areas (and sometimes areas sacred to the Hawaiians), much to the dismay of many locals. Always remember that a guide book doesn't necessarily entitle you to go anywhere you darn well please. Respect the people, their land and their traditions, and you'll come home with wonderful memories of a beautiful paradise filled with warm, inviting people who shared a little bit of aloha with you.

 

[Pooh's Pixie]

Heather,
Thanks for all the info. We are actually probably staying (not booked yet) at the Hilton Hawaiian Village's Vacation Villas (HGVC) during our Oahu stay. My DH's office is staying there and I prefer the suite for our family, so that is our pick. I am thinking that the idea of renting a house like the one Tinkin mentioned might be the way to go on the Big Island, as it won't be touristy like Oahu. Lots to think of, thanks for all your great info!

 

[Pooh's Pixie]

Shameless bump in case the evening crowd has any insight!

 

[rparmfamily]

Bumping, I'll add some tonight after the kids go to bed! (it's 330pm here on O'ahu)

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

We spent 2 1/2 glorius weeks splitting time between The Big Island and Oahu. I will say that we didn't care for Honolulu -- it was very crowded and felt "big city" ish. Though we were surprised that people would actually let you in on the highway! We stayed on the North Shore in Haleiwa and loved it. Turtle beach was wonderful as was Chun's Reef! I was swimming one afternoon and looked down and low and behold there were about 10 sea turtles swimming not too far below me. It was an awesome sight!

As far as The Big Island -- it's very BIG! We stayed about 1/2 way between Kona and Hawi...not to far from Waimea. If you want to do the Volcano at night, I'd definitely recommend staying in Hilo area at least one night. We stayed at a small hotel (I'll have to find the name of it) that was very clean but older. The staff there was very helpful and we'd stay there again. Just remember it's not the Ritz....think more like an older Holiday Inn!

We went to the Observatory on Mauna Kea, the Black Sand Beach, the Green Sand Beach and I'd definitely recommend the "Revealed" books. They were very helpful. When we went to the Green Sand beach we parked and walked it and were very glad that we did given the ruts that other cars had left!

Have a great trip!