For the one of the dreamiest tropical views in Hawaii, head south from Waikiki, past the snorkeling Mecca of Hanauma Bay, to the southern tip of the island at Makapu’u Point. From here, looking north, is Windward Oahu, where the jagged green spine of the Ko’olau Range drops steeply to sandy beaches and coves, with small islands floating offshore: pure eye candy.
Get ready to take the leap! Hawaii currently has limited beach access and visitor quarantines in effect. When the pandemic passes, you can be ready to hit the trails and beaches by… Continue reading
The green nub on the north end of the Big Island—Kohala— that points toward Maui is a million years older than the island’s southern volcanic slopes, whose shores are being widened by fresh… Continue reading
The analogy is obvious: Eight principal Hawaiian islands are adrift in a universe of ocean, just as our eight planets (sorry Pluto) are isolated in a universe of space. The first Polynesians, from… Continue reading
The new 21st anniversary edition of Kauai Trailblazer is now available on Amazon. Check it out here. Trailblazer Guides are geared toward independent travelers who have a sense of adventure. The books cover all the well-known… Continue reading
Anyone who has been to the Islands recently will tell you traffic and crowds at popular destinations are a hassle. Seriously. For real. But the hassle is avoidable. The trick is to get to the many destinations that are out of the Yelp-o-Sphere, without having to sacrifice scenic values to do so.
Although the first rodeo champs in the America were Hawaiians, horseback riding is not among the postcard images normally associated with the Islands. But it should be. If you like riding horses, or… Continue reading
For the first time in more than 30 years, Kilauea Volcano is not spewing vog—volcanic smog—and the air is pure and clean everywhere. The nastiness of vog has not been widely publicized, even though the air quality has been worse at times, in places, than L.A. in the early 1960s. People were not only gasping in Kona, but also on Maui and Oahu, and even as far as the north shore of Kauai.
