Sunday, October 2, 2016

Aloha



We considered taking a cabin on one of the big cruise ships and simplifying travel arrangements, but decided to plan our own route to adventure in Hawaii. Rob said, imagine planning this holiday 25 years ago? Without the internet, we definitely would have needed a travel agent and wouldn't have had the variety of places to stay.

Looking for accommodation took many hours and hours of fun and frustration. Some places on Home Away and Air B & B look like the hosts had snapped a photo of their kids' bedrooms just after the toys were stuffed under the bed. The occasional review was bedbug-scary. In our virtual tour of the island we were looking for places where we could hear the ocean waves, get a great view of the stars, and get a sense of what makes each island so unique.

Now we have lined up our stays and there is a good variety, including a cottage on an exotic flower farm, an open-air lanai, and an ocean view B&B. The places are all bookmarked on my work computer and when I get stressed out or bored, I take a quick escape to imagine our stay, still months away.

This will definitely be a driving holiday! We will be visiting different places on four Hawaiian islands. After the long flight to Big Island, there will be short commuter flights between each. Several rentals have strict cancellation policies, which means we're committed, and that we'll be paying for the time we don't use if we happen to arrive a day late. Hopefully things will go smoothly, we'll make our connections and there will be no major volcanic eruptions before or during our vacation!

BIG ISLAND
Makalani Oceanview Cottage (Kona) 
Stained Glass Cottage (Volcano Village)

MAUAI
Hana Cabana (Hana)
Moana Lani B&B (Lahaina)

OHAHU
Courtyard by Mariott (North Shore)

KAUI
Zen Root (Kilauea)
Waimea Plantation Cottages (Waimea)



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