1. #1
    RetiredinPunta
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    Anyone in Hawaii? need tips...

    Will be in Hawaii for 1 week (the big island) for a wedding. Any hidden gems to see/visit in the big island other than the obvious tourist destinations?

  2. #2
    captrobey
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    I was there years ago . One side of the Island is all the tourist stuff (Waterfall tour etc...) the other side there really are none it is more just the natives which i liked. If you want to say you visited the southern most bar in the US you can go to Shaka it is also a restaurant . They have the Southern most bakery there too. Not too far from there is the Black sand beach where Giant turtles can come out of the water onto land. Once you get a bit in the water it is actually heated there by the lava but it feels good.

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    gauchojake
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    There's a really cool tour where you can swim with giant rays at night. The big island is really big so I am assuming you will be on the kona side. Hilo is kind of a dump. There's a tour book called The Big Island Revealed. There's a lot of good stuff in that book.

  4. #4
    Booya711
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    take a day or two and visit Maui would be my recommendation

  5. #5
    RetiredinPunta
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    How much are return flights from island to island generally. I see them priced around $170USD in most sites...this price is honolulu to kona on most booking sites like expedia. is that a normal price just asking because i see that there are over 20 flights and its a short flight...are there some hidden localsites or are these prices the norm? thansk.

    Skipping Maui. been there already on a previous trip.

  6. #6
    RetiredinPunta
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    for the rental car is itbetter to get a 4/4 or can a regular sedan handle the mountains?

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    SouthBayGame
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    You need a 4x4 if you go up to the top of the Mauna Kea. Brunch at the Mauna Kea hotel on sundays is about as good as food gets. The beach there is also top notch.

  8. #8
    RudyRuetigger
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    I recommend checking out their wifi by posting on SBR the whole time

  9. #9
    Duckshit
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    Went to school at university of Hawaii -Hilo..........Kona to Hilo and back, take Both routes, Amazing. Sun, snow, and Rain.

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    RetiredinPunta
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    I plan to go up Muna Kea. I have a toddler (4 years) and an infant 8 months. I reserved a standard suv with my reservation (it said rav 4, jeep compass or similar) but i don' think any of these are 4x4. Can the new rav 4 or jeep compass handle the climb to mouna kea with two car seats and two adults?

    I am there for 8 days. The wedding is at athe Hilton Waikoloa village. we are staying at the hilton the first two days. I haven't booked places for the other days yet but thinking of booking 2 other places (one on hilo side) and one maybe south or in the Kailua-Kona coast. This way we can allocate the site seeing by region and not drive back all the way. what do you guys think?

    Are the lava areas too dangerous to go with toddler....are there clear signs for noobs? Are there any chance of stepping on hot rocks without knowing? any tips in that area is welcome?

    and what about the kapoho pools? Are they safe? I read something about some bacteria that is dangerous is resistant to all antibiotic.....we are all pretty healthy with good immune system...is it something to worry? is it safe to swim for a toddler? I read its not recommended to swim with cuts but after the all the hikes and even the pool area you are most likely to get scratched at least once from those rocks.....

    I do love food so will try the Mouna Kea Hotel Brunch on sunday.

  11. #11
    mohye1980
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    Quote Originally Posted by RetiredinPunta View Post
    I plan to go up Muna Kea. I have a toddler (4 years) and an infant 8 months. I reserved a standard suv with my reservation (it said rav 4, jeep compass or similar) but i don' think any of these are 4x4. Can the new rav 4 or jeep compass handle the climb to mouna kea with two car seats and two adults?

    I am there for 8 days. The wedding is at athe Hilton Waikoloa village. we are staying at the hilton the first two days. I haven't booked places for the other days yet but thinking of booking 2 other places (one on hilo side) and one maybe south or in the Kailua-Kona coast. This way we can allocate the site seeing by region and not drive back all the way. what do you guys think?

    Are the lava areas too dangerous to go with toddler....are there clear signs for noobs? Are there any chance of stepping on hot rocks without knowing? any tips in that area is welcome?

    and what about the kapoho pools? Are they safe? I read something about some bacteria that is dangerous is resistant to all antibiotic.....we are all pretty healthy with good immune system...is it something to worry? is it safe to swim for a toddler? I read its not recommended to swim with cuts but after the all the hikes and even the pool area you are most likely to get scratched at least once from those rocks.....

    I do love food so will try the Mouna Kea Hotel Brunch on sunday.
    Food here in Hawaii sucks. Especially if you're from a big city with good food.

  12. #12
    RetiredinPunta
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    Quote Originally Posted by mohye1980 View Post
    Food here in Hawaii sucks. Especially if you're from a big city with good food.
    Last time i was in Hawaii, the food was great. Lot of natural stuff with no preservatives. The food in the mainland is crap and processed which the body becomes addictive too. So when people from mainland come to the island eat real fresh food that is good and healthy they think that the food is crap.

  13. #13
    mohye1980
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    Quote Originally Posted by RetiredinPunta View Post
    Last time i was in Hawaii, the food was great. Lot of natural stuff with no preservatives. The food in the mainland is crap and processed which the body becomes addictive too. So when people from mainland come to the island eat real fresh food that is good and healthy they think that the food is crap.
    im sorry but I was referring to fresh steaks and fresh fish. Can't really process those other than seasoning. Even the locals that we're getting married agreed with us non locals the food in Hawaii sucks.

  14. #14
    RetiredinPunta
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    Quote Originally Posted by mohye1980 View Post
    im sorry but I was referring to fresh steaks and fresh fish. Can't really process those other than seasoning. Even the locals that we're getting married agreed with us non locals the food in Hawaii sucks.
    When it comes to steak the mainlanders are used Cows grown with hormones that rarely moved around and fed GMO corn. The lack of movement makes the steak tender. The GMO corn makes the meats flavor somewhat sweeter and tastier. The grass fed free roaming cows meat are somewhat rougher and not as sweet. Same thing witchchicken. And finally for the fish there is also big difference between wild fish and farmed fish. For the fish it could also be howit cooked. If you go to japan and eat real Sushi, i bet you would think its disgusting because your taste buds wont agree with those pure tastes since your are used to sushi flavored with tons of sauces and syrumps and other artificial crap.
    It just matter of what your body/taste is accustomed to. The body gets addicted to bad stuff much easier than good stuff.
    When it comes to steak i am a victim. I prefer the taste of lazy idle fat corn and hormone fed cow over free roaming grass fed cow.

    Same is true with the chicken. all the chicken that we eat in the mainland is grown at a rapid rate....their meat is so delicate. when you eat real chicken thats never been caged theirmeat is lot tougher and theirbones aerstrong...if you try to break the bone from a real chicken's drumstick you would break you teeth. when it comes to chicken i prefer the real chicken because it is more flavorful....that chicken cooked in pressure cooker is yum.

  15. #15
    gauchojake
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    The Hilton Waikoloa is cool - I stayed at the hotel a few nights and then had a timeshare for about a week. Good location - easy to get to cool spots.

    Bringing a toddler and a baby to the volcano is fine - the fumes are the biggest concern and you might get some sideways looks but I fukkin did it and everybody lived. We were at the Volcanoes national park - not sure about Mauna Kea specifically. At the national park you won't be stepping on lava - you need to hike to get to the active part of the volcano.

    Like Duckles said the drive there and back is pretty amazing. There's a lot of cool little towns, black sand beaches, all sorts of shit.

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