Put Hawaiian island hopping on must-do list
3 magical islands lure visitors to Hawaii
The Hawaiian Islands hold a special, almost mystical, appeal for many mainland Americans, myself included. Recently I traveled to Oahu, the Big Island and Kauai to see which island I liked best, and to discover new places to stay and activities not to be missed.
I began my odyssey in Oahu, the most well-known and populous island. Using the centrally located Laylow Waikiki hotel as my base, I wandered along Waikiki’s main street, Kalakaua Avenue, and marveled at the diversity of shops, restaurants and hotels that attracted countless visitors.
As dusk approached, street musicians provided background music while two bare-chested, muscular Hawaiian men, holding torches, invited visitors into the historic International Market Place to watch its free, half-hour Hawaiian culture show, and to explore its upscale shops and huge banyan tree, once the site of Don the Beachcomber’s treehouse, where he lived for years.
Instead of shopping, I decided to watch the sunset from the beach, so I headed down a walkway lined with dozens of 9-foot-tall longboards, emerging to find a crowd of similarly minded folks snapping sunset selfies as the red orb dropped below the horizon and painted the iconic Diamond Head crater in crimson shades.
The next day, Hawaii Jeep Tours took us on a three-hour excursion around the south and east sides of Oahu. We stopped several times to admire spectacular views of the turquoise ocean bordered by tawny sand beaches and green-clad mountains. My greatest thrill was seeing humpback whales cruising through these breeding waters, not only spouting as usual but also hurling themselves out of the water
(known as breeching). The tour did a good job of revealing the beauty of Oahu outside of congested Honolulu.
Later that evening, the good times rolled as we boarded a chartered yacht, Vida Mia, for a memorable sunset cruise replete with fine wine, appetizers and a splendid view of the Waikiki skyline glinting in various hues while a brilliant full moon rose over Diamond Head.
The Big Island, where I headed next, is also called Hawaii, and it differs in many ways from Oahu. The Big Island has only 186,000 people occupying more than 4,000 square miles, while Oahu packs nearly a million people in 597 square miles. This largest of all the Hawaiian Islands boasts 11 of the world’s 13 climate zones, and Mauna Kea, which, when measured from the ocean floor, is considered the world’s tallest mountain (it rises 33,000 feet, or 13,800 feet above sea level).
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, my refuge for the next two days, lies on the reliably dry and sunny western side of the island, where much of the landscape is dominated by otherworldly looking black, jagged lava fields. Fortunately, the hotel sat next to Hapuna Beach, one of the island’s largest white sand beaches, with clear, turquoise water that beckoned paddleboarders, kayakers, swimmers and snorkelers like me.
The highlight of the trip was a Sunshine Helicopter flight. We arrived at the heliport around sunrise, and as the helicopter gracefully ascended in the dawn sky, we watched the full moon setting over a pastel-colored ocean. Our 90-minute flight soared over the craggy shoreline and waterfall-laden valleys and, best of all, we circled above one of Kilauea’s craters that sent towering plumes of white smoke high in the air while vivid orange lava pools bubbled in the seething blackness.
My final destination, Kauai, is an island tied with the Big Island for first place in my heart. Kauai, rightfully called “the Garden Island,” is only one-seventh the size of the Big Island but offers dramatic coastlines — the Napali Coast in particular — and a mini-Grand Canyon called Waimea Canyon. Its small population and compact size, plus a law that prohibits building anything taller than a palm tree, appealed to me.
Our explorations took us to Opaekaa Falls, near a placid river perfect for kayaking, then on to Steelgrass Farm for a unique chocolate tour, at the end of which we sampled half a dozen varieties of its specialty chocolates. And what better way to end the day than to visit to the Koloa Rum store and sample their awardwinning rum?
Since Kauai has one of the rainiest places on Earth — Mount Waialeale, which receives nearly 460 inches per year — I shouldn’t have been surprised by the gale force winds and lashing rain that greeted my departure. The weather notwithstanding, I felt Hawaii’s aloha spirit in my heart when I contemplated all the unforgettable experiences I had on three magical islands.