Best Vacation in Years

I don't know how many of you have had a chance to vacation in Hawaii. If the opportunity comes up, take it. To celebrate 20 years of marriage, my wife and I spent last week in Kona on the big island of Hawaii. What an amazing place.

I booked a hotel room in the town of Kailua Kona that was an easy walk to the ocean, restaurants, grocery stores, and just about anything else you would need. I didn't realize it until we got there, but the place I booked was half a block from the start line for the Ironman Triathlon that happens each November. I saw a quite a number of very fit men and women running, biking and swimming. I have no desire to do anything that extreme. It did reinforce my desire to get out and ride my bicycle more which I have done everyday since we got back.

I am not sure if this is “GRM”, but for the first 4 days of our stay we didn't have a car. We walked everywhere. The last days we rented and car saw a little more of the island. Six days of soaking up warm ocean breezes, swimming in warm tropical waters, eating fresh local fruits / vegetables / fish and drinking some of the worlds best coffee left me in a more refreshed mental state than I have been in years. This is the first trip I have taken where I didn't feel like a needed another few days of vacation to recover from my vacation.

If you need a place to unplug/decompress and you have means, the big island of Hawaii should be on your list to explore. Where have you all had great vacations?

My recent favorites that can be accomplished by average tourist:

Road trip from Madrid to Biarritz France

Costa Rica

Road trip around the NW corner of France

Yeah, got married on Kauai last year and spent one of two weeks of our honeymoon in Kona and loved it.

Previous years we've stayed in Maui and Oahu and also loved them, which led us to stay in Kauai for a few days while we scouted for Wedding locations.

We knew we found the right place when we stopped off at a hole-in-the-wall pizza joint and had some of the best pizza we've ever had with a cold beer, a warm breeze and live music playing inside to go with a spectacular view from our table.

Compared to the two weeks of hectic travel, heat and all around lack of relaxation that we just spent in the Philippines, I'm looking forward to our trip to the 24 Hours of LeMans next year more than ever. Wish I got more than 2 weeks of vacation per year, got spoiled with the 4 weeks I had at a previous job.

My wife and I stayed in the guest house of the Wood Valley temple on the big island, that was awesome. Days of doing nothing but hiking around the mountain, etc. I agree, Hawaii is amazing, and as long as you stay away from Waikiki you're going to have a great time. Waikiki is like an ant farm for people.

dculberson wrote: My wife and I stayed in the guest house of the Wood Valley temple on the big island, that was awesome. Days of doing nothing but hiking around the mountain, etc. I agree, Hawaii is amazing, and as long as you stay away from Waikiki you're going to have a great time. Waikiki is like an ant farm for people.

You know, I actually didn't mind Waikiki all that much. Its a big city, there's going to be lots of people, so you just roll with it and enjoy the sun and the great places to eat (Leonard's Malasada's, like crack cocaine is what they are) and make sure to hit up the some of the historical areas and attractions and you learn to take things slow or avoid certain areas to keep from being run over by some of the big tour groups from further west :)

My mom and step-dad went there about 10 years ago, with another couple. They had a great time but really REALLY hated the flight time there and back.

She asked me what I wanted for a souvenir. I told her a real authentic Hawaiian shirt. She went to a real authentic Walmart and bought me a real authentic Hawaiian shirt.

Walmart is the best place to buy souvenirs in Hawaii. Same crap they sell in the tourist shops, but cheaper. They do have a rather thriving artistic community (mostly retired wealthy people I believe) in Kona though.

Kailua Kona has a full selection of stores, even a Costco. I have to say that the town is a bit to "white" for me, but I do like it. I enjoy the ethnic variation of Oahu a bit better, but I don't like how crowded it is (Los Angeles in the middle of the Pacific). Kailua is essentially comprised of: wealthy retirees / trust funders, tourists and poorer locals. It makes for a strange combination.

I have a friend that lives in Kailua Kona. I am pretty sure the monochromatic weather is driving him insane.... or maybe it's the vog....

The Road to Hana is in Hawaii. 900 waterfalls along the way plus twists and turns to make the Tail of the Dragon out to be a piker.

If I could find a way to make enough of a living to actually have a house over there, I'd move!

Those of you who have been to Hawaii, have you also been to the Caribbean?

I've never had much desire to go to Hawaii because it's expensive and takes forever to get there, and since all the wife and I want to do are sit on the beach, get a buzz, fall asleep, walk in the ocean, repeat.

Is there any reason for us to go?

We just did our "sightseeing" trip in Manhattan.

I've lived in the Caribbean. Hawaii is different, but if you don't want to spend the money and time to get there, I'm not sure you would get THAT much out of it versus the Caribbean if you're just sitting on the beach all day. There's a lot to recommend it but at the end of the day sand and water is sand and water. I think the weather in Hawaii is milder, it can get hot as hell in certain places on the Caribbean.

turboswede wrote:

dculberson wrote: My wife and I stayed in the guest house of the Wood Valley temple on the big island, that was awesome. Days of doing nothing but hiking around the mountain, etc. I agree, Hawaii is amazing, and as long as you stay away from Waikiki you're going to have a great time. Waikiki is like an ant farm for people.

You know, I actually didn't mind Waikiki all that much. Its a big city, there's going to be lots of people, so you just roll with it and enjoy the sun and the great places to eat (Leonard's Malasada's, like crack cocaine is what they are) and make sure to hit up the some of the historical areas and attractions and you learn to take things slow or avoid certain areas to keep from being run over by some of the big tour groups from further west :)

Yes there were some great things to see and good Mai Tais to be drank, but the beaches were like a bitter cruel joke. Literally towel to towel as far as the eye can see, thousands upon thousands of people on a small spit of sand. Why anyone bothered to go to those beaches was a mystery to me.

I like cities, but Waikiki is not like a normal big city. The only industry is tourism so it's all hotels and tourist oriented businesses. Manhattan, Chicago, LA, Mexico City, Lima, and Tegucigalpa all have more to recommend them as cities than Waikiki. It's like the wasteland of suburban Poughkeepsie grown up into an enormous city with warm weather and beaches.

I love Hawaii, but if all you need is surf and sand there are a lot of places to get that.

Hawaii has some great hiking and outdoor activities in general. For folks on the west coast, it's also pretty easy to get to, and you don't need a passport.

BVI. Crazy nice people...assuming you're nice to them. Nobody thinks you're weird for drinking all day long, which is good, because the liquor store gives you a serious price break if you buy 3 bottles at a time, and a big jug of Absolut is like 10 or 15 bucks. Beers in the car are tolerated as long as you're not drunk. Spot where we go has a 24 hour commissary on the "honor system." Take what you want, write it down on the pad. Killer snorkeling. Killer food. No violent crime.

Aaaaaand now I'm daydreaming. Just kinda sucks GETTING there, especially with a 2 year old. Kind of totally out of the question right now, as I don't want to be that guy on the plane.

Oh, and outer banks SC. Especially some of the weirder, less known, non-ritzy spots. Great fishing. Crabbing. Nice food. Nice people. Laid back attitude.

True story: my buddy and his wife went there. They gave me a gift when they got back. They went to a garage sale of all things. They bought me a Beta Max tape.

Been to both the Caribbean and Hawaii a lot and I like the Caribbean better - for visiting.

But were I seriously considering moving someplace warm & wet it would be Hawaii.

The water is better in the Caribbean and it's a lot cheaper.

I am not knocking Hawaii in the least.

I hear everyone about getting there. I live literally half way between San Francisco and San Jose. There are direct flights to choose from. 5 hours on plane is easy compared to the 11 hour trip to Tokyo to visit the family there.

That being said, United Airlines managed to make it onto my least favorite carrier list with this trip. They kept constantly trying to up-sell as well as nickle and dime us for every little thing. The flight there was delayed 5 hours which meant we arrived at 1:00 am. My wife had the presence of mind to call the hotel concierge desk before we left and got the phone number for two 24-hour cab companies. We were off to our hotel while most of the rest of the flight was trying to figure out how to get to their destination.

To be fair, coming out of Tulsa, it's hard to get just about anywhere. We can't even get to 3/4 of the Caribbean in one day since we can't get to Miami early enough.

Enyar wrote: Costa Rica

the things i would do to get back to that place...

ScottyB wrote:

Enyar wrote: Costa Rica

the things i would do to get back to that place...

I too am on the Costa Rica bandwagon. I spent a week and a half in San Jose and Jaco at the beginning of March this year. Tourism is big business down there as their economy is in the hole, too. Most everyone is at least partially bilingual, meaning their English is better than my Spanish. People were incredibly friendly everywhere we went. And there is a bitchin' Sloth on the $20 equivalent note.

Years and years and years ago I travelled from Australia to Canada, island hopping across the South Pacific. Hawaii (Honolulu) was on the way home, and it was a massive culture shock after the really laid back feel of Tonga, Vanuatu and Fiji. I've never been tempted to go back.

I had a very similar vacation in Cozumel a few years ago, though. Drift diving every morning, relaxing in the afternoon, rinse, repeat. Ahhhhh.

Keith Tanner wrote: Years and years and years ago I travelled from Australia to Canada, island hopping across the South Pacific. Hawaii (Honolulu) was on the way home, and it was a massive culture shock after the really laid back feel of Tonga, Vanuatu and Fiji. I've never been tempted to go back.

I know exactly what you mean, and believe me, Honolulu is like an entirely different country than the rest of Hawaii. I had a waiter on Maui tell me that if I ever came back I had a place to stay. Guys on the beach offering me pot - I did not partake but they were still really cool. It was awesome. Southern Honolulu is the suburban wasteland of Hawaii.

I'm glad to hear that. Not for the people that live in Honolulu, of course. If I were to visit again, I'd be on Maui so fast you'd hear a sonic boom. Windsurfer, you see...

Keith Tanner wrote: I had a very similar vacation in Cozumel a few years ago, though. Drift diving every morning, relaxing in the afternoon, rinse, repeat. Ahhhhh.

Then you need to go here on Roatan, or should I say, just slightly off Roatan

Huts on the beach, dolphin research center so waking up to dolphin chatter, swimming with the dolphins and drift diving to your heart's content. Good food too.

http://www.anthonyskey.com/

z31maniac wrote: To be fair, coming out of Tulsa, it's hard to get just about anywhere. We can't even get to 3/4 of the Caribbean in one day since we can't get to Miami early enough.

Delta flies direct from ATL to St Thomas. Dunno if that's helpful or not. Last trip it took us 13 hours to get from ATL to Virgin Gorda. Because Island Time. Ferry simply "wasn't running" that day. Feck. Threw a big wrench, and an extra $400-$500 in the works. Still totally worth it.

poopshovel wrote:

z31maniac wrote: To be fair, coming out of Tulsa, it's hard to get just about anywhere. We can't even get to 3/4 of the Caribbean in one day since we can't get to Miami early enough.

Delta flies direct from ATL to St Thomas. Dunno if that's helpful or not. Last trip it took us 13 hours to get from ATL to Virgin Gorda. Because Island Time. Ferry simply "wasn't running" that day. Feck. Threw a big wrench, and an extra $400-$500 in the works. Still totally worth it.

I'll check into that! IIRC from looking around (we are trying to meet up with some friends in the Caribbean this fall) essentially the only places we can get in one day are Bahamas/Jamaica/Grenada........and even Grenada only on a few days during the week.