Why visit Hawaii? Well why not? Here we are in London, loving everything the capital has to offer, but still, the dreams and the plans are with us and as strong as always. We’re slowly stashing away the travel bucks and getting ready to spend them next year, but where, where will we go next? You will need to check current travel restrictions, this post came out pre-pandemic, but Hawaii is open to some holiday-makers.
Deepest thanks to Suzanne of Boomeresque travel blog for sharing some of her images with us. Suzanne and her husband lived on the Hawaiian islands for 3 months recently.For more Hawaii posts visit her blog.
The Indian subcontinent is calling us, it has been for a long time, but a new destination has made it onto our travel wish-list, Hawaii. Not just Hawaii. A trans-Pacific cruise with Hawaii as our final destination, yes, it’s true, a plan is forming. You already know how much we’ve enjoyed cruising (our experience is mostly Trans-Atlantic cruises) and how affordable cruising can be, but why Hawaii? Why pick Hawaii as a destination?
Why Hawaii?
Hawaii has a great climate. Tropical temperatures with little seasonal variation at sea level keep the Hawaiian islands blissfully warm all year round. There can be snow on the highest peaks in winter.
Hawaii is child friendly. Keiki, children, are welcomed and accommodation and attractions are geared for families. This is a great list of kids’ attractions on the islands.
Ironman Friendly. My husband is an Ironman, Kona is an IronMan Mecca. He’s not training at the moment, a full event takes a year of preparation, but he wants to breath the air, swim in the sea and touch the tracks of Kona.
Hawaii is Dolphin and Whale Friendly. We’ve got a thing about marine mammals, nothing beats seeing them in the wild. We’ve experienced hump back whales off Australia and from cruise ships, seen blue whales in Sri Lanka and spotted dolphins many times. On the Hawaiian island they come in close to shore, I hear you can even swim with the dolphins.
Hawaiian cuisine to try. Polynesians, whalers, diverse immigrants and missionaries contributed to Hawaiian cuisine. We want to try Kalua pig, lau lau and lomi salmon, I’ll have a Blue Hawaiian with mine please.
The diversity of the Hawaiian islands. Volcanoes, huge surf, history, local and WWII, high rises, rain-forests and ranch land. We want to see it all!
Grass skirts and hula dancing. Independent travellers with attitude may call it cheesy, but cheesy is fun, we want to go to a luau, a traditional feast with music and dance. Hawaiian men were barred by custom from eating with women, in 1819 King Kamehameha II did away with the old rules and luau parties were born.
Luckily, the nice people Australian site, My Holiday Centre have sent me this infographic on how to Hula, the kids and I are in training. This wahine, however, refuses to wear coconuts!
We also suggest you take a look at this company to get a quote for all kinds of the more tricky adventure or extended travel insurance.
Try Stayz / VRBO for an alternative way to find rentals on homes/apartments/condos in any country!
About the author
Alyson Long
Alyson Long is a British medical scientist who jumped ship to chase dreams. A former Chief Biomedical Scientist at London's West Middlesex Hospital she started in website creation and travel writing in 2011.
Alyson is a full-time blogger and travel writer, a published author, and owns several websites. World Travel Family is the biggest.
A lifetime of wanderlust and over 6 years of full-time travel, plus a separate 12 month gap year, has given Alyson and the family some travel expert smarts to share with you on this world travel site.
Today Alyson still travels extensively to update this site and continue her mission to visit every country, but she's often at home on her farm in Australia.
Hi Alyson! Well, do whatever you can to get over there! I haven’t lived on Big Island, but Maui and Oahu – yes, for 6 years. Quite amazing, especially Maui. I am going to shoot for some time residing on Big Island if we can swing it. It fascinates me. I am not any sort of IronMan, but I did the olympic distance triathlons years ago. The long bike rides would be picture perfect. I do hope you go! Aloha and best of luck and life! – VL
We just got back from the Big Island with the kids in March! We had a great time and the kids learned so much about Hawaiian history, tropical plants and animals, geology (volcanoes!) and lots of other things. One tip for keeping the budget down is to stay on the rainy (east) side. Tourists flock to the dry western coast, but there are some very reasonable rentals on the Hilo side. I’ve written a few posts about Hawaii with kids on my little blog.
I’m looking forward to hearing where you’re going next, but I’m also hoping you’ll be in London for a while so we can keep hearing your updates from there!
Hi Deanne, yes, we’re in London probably until after Christmas, but the boys and I will probably take some short trips from here while Chef works. The major problem was finding a short term flat rental, the one we’re probably taking is allowing us an 8 month get-out clause. We love London, so this is an awesome opportunity for us. I’ll go read your Hawaii posts, thanks!
I have lived in Hawaii for over a year now on 2 different islands and while it is slightly expensive it is not as bad as most people think. If you are a budget traveler you can find a way. Certain areas are cheaper than others and the farther away you get from tourists the cheaper it will be. Big Island is the most affordable!
Hawaii is so amazing though that even if you pay a bit more it is worth it. I would NEVER come here on a cruise though, you will not even scratch the surface of what you would want to see and do here. Just doesn;t give enough time!
It must be do-able Mary, everything is! Where there’s a will and all that. I’m not a fan of seeing the world via cruise ships either, you have a ridiculously short time. On Madeira we didn’t bother going beyond a cafe in the harbour, it seemed crazy to bomb round ticking off sights. This cruise is a trans Pacific, terminating in Hawaii. We’ve crossed the Atlantic twice in the last year, now we want to do the big one, we love being at sea.
I’ve always thought of Hawaii as an expensive, tourist destination. I’m sure with the right planning and research you’ll make it affordable. Personally, I would love to visit French Polynesia.
Us non-Americans actually know very little about Hawaii, it’s very rarely on the European travel radar, being so far away. We all head to Asia instead. But a trans Pacific cruise is very likely next year and it termintes in…yep, Hawaii. It does all the islands on the way, too. Love my boats!
Hi Alyson! Well, do whatever you can to get over there! I haven’t lived on Big Island, but Maui and Oahu – yes, for 6 years. Quite amazing, especially Maui. I am going to shoot for some time residing on Big Island if we can swing it. It fascinates me. I am not any sort of IronMan, but I did the olympic distance triathlons years ago. The long bike rides would be picture perfect. I do hope you go! Aloha and best of luck and life! – VL
We just got back from the Big Island with the kids in March! We had a great time and the kids learned so much about Hawaiian history, tropical plants and animals, geology (volcanoes!) and lots of other things. One tip for keeping the budget down is to stay on the rainy (east) side. Tourists flock to the dry western coast, but there are some very reasonable rentals on the Hilo side. I’ve written a few posts about Hawaii with kids on my little blog.
I’m looking forward to hearing where you’re going next, but I’m also hoping you’ll be in London for a while so we can keep hearing your updates from there!
Hi Deanne, yes, we’re in London probably until after Christmas, but the boys and I will probably take some short trips from here while Chef works. The major problem was finding a short term flat rental, the one we’re probably taking is allowing us an 8 month get-out clause. We love London, so this is an awesome opportunity for us. I’ll go read your Hawaii posts, thanks!
I have lived in Hawaii for over a year now on 2 different islands and while it is slightly expensive it is not as bad as most people think. If you are a budget traveler you can find a way. Certain areas are cheaper than others and the farther away you get from tourists the cheaper it will be. Big Island is the most affordable!
Hawaii is so amazing though that even if you pay a bit more it is worth it. I would NEVER come here on a cruise though, you will not even scratch the surface of what you would want to see and do here. Just doesn;t give enough time!
It must be do-able Mary, everything is! Where there’s a will and all that. I’m not a fan of seeing the world via cruise ships either, you have a ridiculously short time. On Madeira we didn’t bother going beyond a cafe in the harbour, it seemed crazy to bomb round ticking off sights. This cruise is a trans Pacific, terminating in Hawaii. We’ve crossed the Atlantic twice in the last year, now we want to do the big one, we love being at sea.
I’ve always thought of Hawaii as an expensive, tourist destination. I’m sure with the right planning and research you’ll make it affordable. Personally, I would love to visit French Polynesia.
Us non-Americans actually know very little about Hawaii, it’s very rarely on the European travel radar, being so far away. We all head to Asia instead. But a trans Pacific cruise is very likely next year and it termintes in…yep, Hawaii. It does all the islands on the way, too. Love my boats!