Who: Cheryl and Whitney Vestal of Arvada
Where: On the Black Sand Beach, also known as Punaluu Beach on the Big Island. We also traveled to Oahu, Kauai and other places on the Big Island. We saw many beaches, including a rare Green Sand Beach that is accessible only by a four-wheel trail or a 3-mile hike. Some of our favorite activities were the Na Pali Coast boat trip, which included snorkeling and the only way to see the extraordinary cliffs of the Na Pali Coast in Kauai. One of our all-time favorite sites was the hills of the Big Island’s Volcano National Park, where flowing lava glows.
Best meal: A sunset dinner on Waikiki Beach at the Outrigger Reef Hotel on Oahu. Here we ate some of what we thought were Hawaii’s best seafood dishes. The mahi-mahi was delicious. For a more low-cost, casual dinner, the best deal was Bubba Burgers on Kauai in the town of Hanalei. Some of the best burgers we have ever had came from this stand.
Best deal: Most of the beaches on the islands of Hawaii are public, so frequently we just drove around the island and stopped to swim, snorkel and sunbathe whenever we couldn’t take the heat any longer. For the plant enthusiast, Hawaii offers many extremes of flora, from rain forest to desertlike plants.
Best time to go: Even though travel books say Hawaii gets more rain during the winter months, we think that anytime of the year is great to visit the beautiful islands. Besides, without the rain, you can’t have rainbows!
Don’t leave home without: Sunscreen and a swimsuit. A trip to Hawaii without a swim in the ocean is not a trip to Hawaii. Even though you’re farther from the sun in Hawaii than in Colorado, you still need plenty of sunscreen. For those of you who want to hike out and see glowing lava, don’t forget a flashlight; it’s dark and there is no trail. You are walking on the hardened flows from years ago.
