From Napa to the Napali Coast

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From here on the East Coast, the flights to Hawaii can be daunting, and clients often ask about breaking up the trip with a stop in California along the way. Honeymooners Kaitlyn and Joe did just that, with a few days of winetasting in Napa as an “aperitif” before the main event —  their adventurous honeymoon on the Big Island and Kauai.

Hi Ann,

Sorry I am just getting back to you, but we have been busy getting settled back in.

We had an awesome time on the honeymoon!  Thank you so much for all of your help planning it.  Everything went as planned and we didn’t have any issues.  Our favorite hotel room was definitely the Andaz Napa.  We got upgraded to an Andaz Large Loft room.  While in Napa, we did winery tours of Robert Mondavi, Castello di Amaroso, and Cakebread Cellars.  Castello di Amaroso is a little touristy, but was definitely worth seeing.  We want to go back to Napa at some point so we can spend a few more days checking out the other wineries.  Downtown Napa where the hotel was located, was also very cool.  We would enjoy exploring that area a little more as well.

beautiful Hawaiian beach for a perfect honeymoon

The Big Island was our favorite part of the honeymoon.  The Waikoloa Marriott was nice, but the rooms could use some renovation.  When we checked in, I asked about getting a room upgrade because we were on our honeymoon, but they said they were all sold out.  When they brought us to the Garden View room, it was on the first floor and the balcony walked out to a main pathway.  I went back to the check-in desk and asked if they had anything off the ground level.  They were able to put us in a corner room on the second floor.  It was much better than the original room we had a view of the pool and partial ocean.  The highlight on the Big Island was the doors-off helicopter tour we took out of Hilo to see the volcano and waterfalls.  We booked it through http://hawaiivolcanoeshelicoptertours.com/  We also drove around a lot and got to see all of the different parts of the Big Island.

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aerial view of waterfall in Hawaii

The Kauai Marriott was the nicest resort out of any of the hotels we stayed at.  I would love to stay here again.  The grounds were beautiful and pristine.  We were upgraded to a partial ocean view room on the top floor upon check-in.  While on Kauai, we did a boat tour of the Napali coast through http://napaliexperience.com/, saw the Waimea Canyon, hiked on the Kalalau trail, and did some shopping.  We didn’t have the best weather while we were there, which is probably why we liked the Big Island better.  Everyone we talked to said it was the worst weather they had seen on Kauai in the last 10 years, but we still had a great time.

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rocky beach waves in hawaii

Overall, it was the trip of a lifetime and was everything we thought it would be.  Thank you again for all of your help putting it together!

Joe and Kaitlyn

Hawaii: Not Another Beach Vacation

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When it comes to beachy vacations, I can be hard to impress. It’s not my fault, really. I grew up on the water, spent summers working as a lifeguard, and am lucky enough to live in the “Ocean State”, with the ability to go swimming, boating and kayaking whenever I want.  I’ve been all over the Caribbean, Mexico, and Florida and the thought of just chilling on a beach on vacation really doesn’t excite me anymore. While I send lots of clients to tropical destinations every year, my own personal vacations have tended to be in Europe.

For these (misguided) reasons, and because of the long flights from the East Coast, I had never visited Hawaii. Fortunately, that changed last month, when I was invited to attend the Hawaii Travel Exchange.  Along with about 70 other hand-picked travel agents from across the country, I was invited to come to Maui and Kauai, to tour hotels, meet with local hospitality professionals, and – most importantly – sample the tours and activities that bring travelers back to these islands year after year.

Hawaii beach

I stayed in some gorgeous hotels, I ate some amazing meals, I snorkeled with sea turtles, I sailed along the untamed Napali Coast, I kayaked down a river where they filmed “Indiana Jones” movies, I took in the jaw-dropping beauty of Waimea Canyon,  I learned to make a mean Mai Tai, I drove a golf cart through a rain shower and under a rainbow, I watched an albatross guard his nest, I photographed a monk seal catching her breath on a beach of lava rocks, I sampled Hawaiian shave ice for the first time, I saw dolphins and whales, and the one thing I did NOT do, was to lay in a lounge chair on a beach.  After a week in Hawaii, all I can say is that I am hooked. I can’t wait to go back!

Hawaii sailing

Yes, the flights are very long. And, yes, the time difference knocked me out for the first day. But for three very important reasons, Hawaii has cemented a place at the top of my favorites list.

Natural beauty – It’s hard to compete with the manicured beauty of Maui, with its golf courses, beachfront promenades and views over Molokai, but the unspoiled scenery in Kauai is even more impressive. Soaring mountains, lush green rainforest, tumbling waterfalls, and private little stretches of beach. I loved both islands, but now I really need to see the crashing waves on the north shore of Oahu and the volcanic landscapes on Hawaii Island.

Hawaii Princeville

Aloha spirit – Every person we encountered, from the bus driver who lulled us with folk stories about the Menehune and the Hawaiian goddess Pele, to the musician who taught us a mini-lesson on how to play the ukulele, absolutely loved his/her island. They wanted nothing more than to share that love with us, and to teach us about their culture. You can’t help but enjoy a place where the people are so genuinely glad to host visitors. (Are you listening, Parisians?)

Courtyard Coconut Beach sunrise

Ease – Maybe I’m getting old, but I feel like I’ve done my share of navigating strange countries, figuring out foreign money, and deciphering signs in Spanish, French, Italian or Icelandic (try that some time!)  Hawaii is the good old USA. No passport needed. No worries about driving on the wrong side of the road. And no need to convert money (or electricity). The islands feel familiar, and yet exotic at the same time, and it’s a combination that really works.

Sunrise

I’m generally not a person who wants to re-visit the same places more than once (with the exception of Italy, but I think that’s totally justifiable) – so it definitely says something that I’m already struggling with how and when to get back to Hawaii. Should I take my college-aged kids this summer, and let them enjoy adrenaline-fueled activities like ziplining, surfing, and helicopter tours? Or should I hold off for another year or two and go back with just my husband, for a romantic 25th anniversary “escape”?

Maybe both!

Hawaii selfie

From Waikiki to Wallabees

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I’m sure many of us have taken advantage of a work commitment (conference, training, out of town meeting, etc.) to tack on some extra vacation time for ourselves…but my client Selina really did it right! Since she was going to be in Hawaii for a conference, she brought along the family and headed to Australia afterwards for some exploration and adventure!

Hi Ann,

We had a great time! Here are the highlights of the trip, along with some tips:

In Honolulu / Waikiki, we hiked to the Manoa Falls. It was about a 2-3 mile hike, the last half mile of which was muddy (but we were advised beforehand to wear old sneakers). We made arrangements with Oahu Tours. They were good (although I don’t have any way of comparison with the other companies).  Zipline Oahu not worth it, though. It was a dinky line over the minigolf overlooking the ocean.

If you’re in Honolulu, don’t forget to go to Diamond Head. It’s a hike and there are some steep areas but with rails. It’s worth it though, as the scenery on top is breathtaking. I would imagine parts of the trail would be slippery when wet.

As an American, visiting Pearl Harbor and being at the USS Arizona Memorial was really moving, as you imagine the soldiers and civilians scrambling for action and safety during the attack.

If you want to take surfing lessons in Honolulu, don’t do it in Waikiki as it can be crowded and somebody can be in front of you and cut short your smooth glide on the wave! We went with Discover Hawaii Tours. They brought us to a nearby town and we took a boat to the surf site offshore. Of course, I stayed on the boat and watched the girls from afar while they surfed. Our group was pretty much alone, so the girls could ride their wave without interruption.

Food (and everything else in Hawaii) is expensive. But we went to a hole in the wall place called Ono Hawaiian Foods and it was delicious. It’s a small place, maybe about 10 tables and they serve authentic Hawaiian dishes like laulau (roast meat covered in taro leaves) and haupia (I think this is the dessert containing coconut cream, almost gelatin like).

On to Sydney...the Bridge Climb was an experience! It’s expensive, but it’s a good way of raising funds for the upkeep of the bridge. It’s one of those things that you do once and could say ‘been there done that.’ It’s not for somebody who is afraid of heights, though. The view of the opera house from above is impressive. Holiday Inn at Darling Harbor was a nice location and the rooms are clean and a good size. We had adjoining rooms and the staff was very accommodating and opened the door between the two rooms. We took the Harbor Cruise from Darling Harbor. It’s a hop-on-hop-off ferry to different sites on the Harbor including Taronga Zoo, with onboard commentary about the different locations. That was a nice trip, except the weather was not very cooperative. It was drizzly and damp the day we did it. Still worth it, though.

The Blue Mountain tour was wonderful, especially since we were the only group present. So we basically had a private tour. Our guide was knowledgeable too, and accommodating, especially when we spotted two kangaroos with joeys in the bushes. We took our time taking pictures and watching the joeys eat! Then on to King’s Table where it got foggy and looked like we were on top of the world.

Surfers Paradise and Q1 Resort and Spa was almost perfect. There was just a lot of construction on the main drag (updating the cityrail tracks) of Surfers Paradise, so walking along it was cumbersome and the machinery was noisy. We got upgraded at Q1 from a two bedroom suite to a three bedroom. It was huge! The girls each had their own room. We also had an ocean view which was so nice, we could watch the sunrise.

We drove to Burleigh Heads, which was about half an hour south of Surfers Paradise. We hiked on parts of the small National Park. It was a good hike with trails and lookouts along the rocky cliffs and forest. We enjoyed that too. The girls also enjoyed watching the surfers from the park shores. You could tell that it’s a surfing mecca as even the park benches were in the shape of surfboards. It was a quaint beach town.

The highlight of Australia Zoo was the enclosure of the kangaroos and wallabees where you can feed them from food you get at a vending device. One can also pet the koalas.

Driving in Australia had its moments! Ray had to get used to driving on the ‘wrong side’ of the road. He said that was not as bad as trying to get used to the car where the buttons and levers are on the ‘wrong side.’ The street signs are also not that visible. Sydney / Gold Coast has a high standard of living, higher than here, so it is more expensive. It even seemed more expensive than Hawaii. Sydney is a beautiful city and is pedestrian friendly with plenty of sidewalks and separate walking lanes for pedestrians. I would not mind going there again!

Selina

Somewhere, Over the Rainbow…

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My clients are the best! I love that they take the time to send me such detailed feedback (and photos) after their trips, along with tips for other clients who might be considering a similar “escape”.  Check out this helpful trip report from Joely and Jim, who enjoyed a romantic honeymoon in Hawaii.

So my idea of fun is doing lots of relaxing activities, drinking fabulous drinks, eating fabulous food, and getting spa treatments! I know I sound like a primadonna, but what can I say! I’m not much into athletic type of activities or long tours, etc. I just wanna chill, eat, drink and be merry. So that being said, my honeymoon was skewed towards that!
 
Here is my synopsis:
 
Honolulu: We had a nice time there and enjoyed our hotel right on the ocean. The restaurants and housekeeping were very good at the Outrigger Reef on the Beach. We only spent 3 days there and used it to adjust to the time change for the most part. There was tons of shopping right next to the hotel. We tried to do Pearl Harbor and caught a taxi there but it was a 4 hour wait to see the Arizona memorial so we just walked around briefly and left without seeing the Arizona (which is the main attraction there). My favorite activity in Honolulu was the Hole in the Wall Food Tour by Hawaii Food Tours. This is a great activity for foodies or people that aren’t looking to be very active. Two tour guides take you around the parts of Honolulu where locals eat and let you sample tons of Hawaiian specialty foods. The point is to get away from where tourists are and get a real look at Hawaiian food. So we sampled the best Manapua (delicious Hawaiian calzone type things)! Ate delicious local desserts, etc. The tour guide even made us a special cocktail while we were in China town. This should be booked a month in advance if anyone wants to do it. Hawaii Food Tours also has an evening tour where you go to 1-2 sit down restaurants. 
 

Then we went to Kauai. In Kauai we rented a mustang convertible which was fun! The weather was overcast the whole time which was a slight bummer but I still loved Kauai. The Sheraton we ended up staying at was very nice, right on swimmable ocean, and had a pretty pool that was recently renovated. The restaurant on site was great too. They had an awesome breakfast buffet and great dinner meals as well. We did ziplining in Kauai which was definitely a fun time! I’m glad I tried that and I would recommend it. The one mistake we made was booking all of our activities on the north side of the island but we were staying on the south side so it got exhausting with all the back and forth driving. My favorite part of my honeymoon was here in Kauai when we had dinner at the St. Regis Princeville Resort at the Makana Terrace restaurant (I think that is what it’s called). The view at dinner was absolutely AMAZING!!! The hotel is built into the side of a mountain and overlooks the bay and other mountains. Two rainbows were in the sky and it was just the most peaceful, beautiful scene I’ve ever been in. The restaurant is very expensive (side of lobster mash potatoes was $18) but I felt it was money well spent since it was our honeymoon. Tip: This resort is part of Sheraton’s network so I heard that if you stay at the Sheraton, you can use the St. Regis pool facilities as well. The resort is gorgeous and the design of their pool is beautiful too, so it would have been fun to spend the day at the pool there. We also did the Napali Coast tour. I definitely recommend people do it by boat (versus kayak or motorized kayak). Waters can be rough. The view was gorgeous again and we stopped to snorkel. They served lunch and breakfast on board, as well as alcoholic drinks. It was nice to get out on a boat and see the beautiful caves along the Napali Coast cliffs. I don’t like to get in salt water so I just stayed on the boat while everyone snorkeled and that was just fine with me. Very relaxing I’d say! 
 

We then flew to Wailea, Maui. We stayed at the Marriot. It was a nice hotel, but the food wasn’t that great there. I thought the adults pool was relaxing. We were within walking distance to the Shops at Wailea and several restaurants so we didn’t necessarily need a car there. I loved eating at Longhi’s where they served pizza bread before dinner arrived. So delicious. I loved the boardwalk in front of our hotel here. It stretched through the Four Seasons, Grand Wailea, and beach. It was a great place to take walks or go for a run. In Maui we visited the Surfing Goat Dairy Farm. It was very cute and quaint. They make their own award-winning goat cheeses. So we pulled up, got a charcuterie and ate it under a covered area. It was relaxing and the food was fresh. Goats were roaming around. Enjoyed that! We also did the Old Lahaina Luau which we enjoyed. It was a very gourmet experience and they offered wine and beer pairings with each course. I thought that was cool! Every one of their 4 courses focused on a specific Pacific region: Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa, etc. The show was great as well and we had great seats because we booked early (like a month in advance). We also did a sunset cruise out of Lahaina. It wasn’t really that great but hard to complain when you’re on a boat in Hawaii right?! Again, we booked two activities in Lahaina but we were staying in Wailea so I’d suggest people not do that. It’s a lot of driving back and forth and a little tiring. We also did the Road to Hana which is beautiful as you know but I suggest people wear sneakers because hiking to the waterfalls is muddy! Flip flops are not the best for that.   Next time I’m in Maui I definitely want to stay at the Grand Wailea. That hotel looked out of this world! 
 

So there you have it. I know it’s a bit discombobulated but I hope it helps! I think next time we stay two weeks we’d just do two islands so that we can have enough time to relax and do and see all that we want to on those islands.
 
Thanks for your help!

Joely and Jim
 

 

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You provided excellent guidance for us. I appreciated that you really had us think about what was most important to us when we were selecting the right cruise – and not to totally focus on what other people had to say. THANK YOU for helping to make this a memorable trip for our family! It really was a trip of a lifetime!

– Clare and Mark (family cruise to Alaska)

The level of service we experienced was out of this world (and we did NOT make it easy on Ann). We weren’t quite sure where we wanted to go, when we would be able to go, or what “vibe” we were going for. After asking us some key questions (what we liked, didn’t like, why, etc.) Ann helped us narrow down our trip details and planned the honeymoon of our dreams. She helped book some of our excursions, answered some emergency questions while abroad and was always available/willing to help. I think it’s safe to say we won’t be using anyone else for future travel planning – Ann is a rockstar!

– Carli (Italy and Spain)