I had the same thought. It wasn't worth the travel time getting there and back. Caribbean islands are equally beautiful and much easier for me to get to.
Eva, as much as I love Hawaii and it is my home, I would choose Tahiti for the simple reason that the VOG (volcanic organic gases) sulfur dioxide in particular has affected the entire island chain and life is pretty miserable for for folks with respitory problems. The Volcano National Park has been closed periodically because of the bad air.
I for one have been affected by the VOG and may have to move from the Big Island becfause of it.
Just a head's up.
Sglass
Hawaii and Tahiti are such very different options.
What are you looking for, Eva? A place where you can go to Costco or ...
Tahiti. Who cares about flight times...how often you plan on making that trip? Be different, Tahiti is more exotic.
Sglass -- is the VOG problem really serious enough to affect tourists? I can understand how this could be a major problem for someone who lived there, but...just for a week or two? Really?
ehBeth -- No, Costco...and Wal-Mart...are definitely NOT selling points! Slappy's got it. This is our 25th anniversary. It should be a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
This is a complicated decision. I'm calling the travel agent tomorrow. We'll see what she can put together for each place.
Once in a lifetime trip - go to Tahiti, f'gudness sake!
Get out of the US!
Do something really special.
margo wrote:Do something really special.
Okay then, why don't you go to Venice, Italy, Eva?
You've had that as your dream location for a number of years already
in your profile.
Been there.
Wanna go back someday, definitely!!!
But not now. Europe is not a good idea this year. The exchange rate is the worst it's been in years. And besides, we're overdue for a tropical vacation. We've spent lots of time in the Caribbean, but we want to go someplace different. Create some new memories.
If you don't mind my asking, how did you find out about houses to rent in Hawaii?
I'm no help as I don't know either place. I'll pick Tahiti et al, but my vote shouldn't count/didn't put it in the poll.
I'd go for Tahiti--more exotic.
I'll pm you some info, Eva.
Tahiti is further away and you may have some trouble if you don't speak French.
But....Tahiti will be less spoiled. There will be fewer people, which also means fewer amenities, fewer civilization distractions. There should be good scuba diving if that's what you are into. Lots of time to laze and enjoy the scenery. Outside of Papeete, the capital, there is basically one road which circles the island at the coastline- there is an undisturbed mountainous jungle interior. Moorea and other islands even less spoiled.
Yesterday I checked into specifics on Tahiti, and it doesn't look good. First of all, the airfare has gone up. It'd be $700 per person (x3) higher than Hawaii. In addition, the only ship that's cruising between the islands doesn't allow more than 2 people per cabin, so we'd either have to leave SonofEva at home or book 2 cabins, which puts it WAY over our budget. The overwater bungalows are extremely expensive, too. All in all, this trip would be considerably more expensive than it looked at first.
I started looking at CJ's links (thanks!) for houses in Hawaii. That made me want to compare with rentals on St. John, USVI, where we spent our 10th anniversary, since I was pretty familiar with those.
There is some history here. When Hubby and I got married, we took a Caribbean cruise and missed the last ferry from St. Thomas to St. John. We stood on the ferry dock, looking across at the island, and promised each other we'd come back and spend time on St. John. So that's what we did on our first big anniversary ten years later. St. John is just one picture-perfect white sand beach after another...the most gorgeous beaches we've ever seen anywhere...and 2/3 of the island is national park and undeveloped, so it's not spoiled.
After considerable exploration, we chose a favorite beach on St. John. A coral reef starts at the beach and goes right out into the middle of the bay, so snorkeling was wonderful and extremely easy. We have pictures of ourselves sitting on that beach, looking up at the hillside behind it where there is a gorgeous open-air home. We laughed and said those people had the perfect spot.
Lo and behold, yesterday when I was online, I found out that very house is actually for rent, and it's available! Wouldn't that be cool?!
We're still checking out Hawaii, but St. John is looking awfully good.
I'll keep you posted.
You could always come to Australia!
Hubby and I are not on the same page today. I was all excited and ready to make reservations for St. John, and he came home with 23 guidebooks from the library...on Hawaii.
Australia, you say?
<throws up hands>
Sure! Why not!
Okay, we have finally hit upon a plan that will make all three of us happy.
We're thinking of going to Hawaii (2 islands?) for 8-10 days, then stopping back through San Francisco for a few days.
S.F. is another place we've never been and have always wanted to see. My favorite aunt lives there, who I rarely get to see. She's in the travel business, so she's thrilled at the idea of showing us around.
Now...to figure out which Hawaiian islands to visit.
We were thinking Oahu and Maui, because we could take a rental car on the Superferry between the two. But that turns out to be pricey. It would probably cost less just to fly. Which opens up the possibility of other islands.
Those of you who have been to Hawaii...where did you stay, and how did you like it? What would you avoid, and what would you definitely plan to do?
Eva wrote:
If you don't mind my asking, how did you find out about houses to rent in Hawaii?
For U.S. cities Craigslist has served me well for vacation rentals. That's where we found our Las Vegas poker home base.
Have a look:
http://honolulu.craigslist.org/vac/
I've been to Oahu and Kauai and found in both islands a less touristy
town to stay. Kauai is called the garden island and I liked the scenery
much better than on Oahu, I also found there are less tourists on Kauai.
Seaglass lives on the big island, you should PM her if you consider going
there.
Eva as much as I love the Big Island the VOG is really a problem. A secondary vent opened up and the sulphur is just awful. My teacher friend will not let her kids go outside on recess. It is really bad, and Kona which is the major tourst trap is voggy most of the time. Sometimes the trade winds get rid of the vog on my side.
Get Yitwalls opinion. He lives on Kona side.
Would love to meet you. Love your posts/
