Some might say this trip report is long winded, but I prefer to call it very detailed, something I personally was looking for when reading others’ trip reports. I think this trip had a great balance of chilling and activities. There really is so much more to do than this but I think I really hit up the main one's.
We took off Sunday 9:30 AM on Delta from JFK to LAX on lie-flat seats, LAX to HNL in cattle-car-class ($92 of course) and took a Hawaiian Airlines flight to LIH. They were able to check the bags through to Kauai. If someone tells you otherwise, speak to a manger. We got in at about 8:15pm Hawaii time (after about 18hrs of travel). I found the interisland tickets on HA website to be over $10 less than Orbitz so we got a $100 credit from Orbitz using their Best Rate Guarantee. We checked in to Grand Hyatt Kauai.
-The check in process: It was very hard to get a step by step help from ppl on the forum on how to do this by buying free-night certs. Basically, I bought 2 free nights from 2 separate people, plus one cash+points award from my account for a total of 5 nights. The first 2 nights i was a “second guest” with a diamond member so we emailed before hand requesting a suite. We got it. Not the most insane one I’ve ever seen but very nice and spacious. Wife waited in the car till I was all checked in. Met me in the room. I felt like 007. Once checked in, i would call in between check-ins/outs to make sure i don't need to change rooms. They never gave me a problem.
-The hotel: It’s pretty amazing. The views, the vibes, the rooms, the facilities were all great. It almost seemed like a waste staying there bec we spent so much time away from the hotel. It is worth the money if you have the $200-250/night to buy the award nights. If not, don't beat yourself up. The Sheraton is nice too for 9k/night SPG’s and maybe a fellow dansdealer would share their room number so you could get towels & use the facilities. I was actually thinking of doing this but some one didn't respond. (you know who you are.....(cough cough))
-The car: A friend of mine got some random corporate code at Avis so we got a wrangler for 5 days for $282 (including taxes/fees). If that didn’t work we had a backup reservation with Costco Travel for $354, the cheapest I was able to find.
Itenerary:
-Sunday night we gave the hotel chef our suitcase of frozen food and gave him 2 Chap-A-Nosh meals from Gourmet Glatt (5Towns) to heat up. Had them deliver it to the rooms. Meals were very good and I particularly liked the poppers and potato knishes.
-Monday: We were up by 630am due to jetlag. We started off the day with Oahu Kosher pancakes and waffles, complements of the Regency Club. Pancakes were better than the waffles which were pretty dry (probably one freezes better than the other). They charged us $4 to have it delivered to the room.
We were in Costco by 10am opening to buy a toaster oven and Blue Hawaiian Helicopter gift cards. After confirming several times, you cannot combine the gift cards with the $210 internet price. So for $400 we got 5 $100 GC. Two full-price tickets is about $480 and we used the leftover credit (plus $5) to buy the video. I’m glad I got the video but quality is very weak & doesn't do it justice. Out of all the things we did, THIS IS A MUST DO. Do not bother coming if you don’t do this! I did a plane ride over TBI and didn't feel i was missing out. But in kauai, you have to do the heli bec a plane ride wont cut it. It is a real-life IMAX experience. Warning: if you are a fatty like me, don’t plan on getting a front seat. Seems the best you could hope for is back seat, second from the right. You can see it all no matter where you sit but for picture taking (which won't be great bec of glare) it’s the worst you can get. Another warning: If you are 5 pounds fatter than me (255lbs) then they make you buy a seat and a half. If you are 262, they wont bust your chops. Up to 265ish, they assume your boych wont throw the helicopter off course. After that, who know what will happen!!?
We went back to chill at the hotel pool. Wow what a crazy pool area.
We stopped at the Glass Sand Beach on the way to Salt Pond State Park for BBQ supper and sunset with mokellman and wife. They have picnic tables and covered gazebos with lights. The best view of the sunset is either by the rocks on the water or if you leave the park and make a right, you can catch more of a view. At the beach, we joined an authentic Hawaiian kumzitz. A bunch of locals with guitars and smelly food were singing the night away. They were very welcoming and offered us some of their pig brains and tongue.They claim to do this every night there. It was a very authentic experience.
-Tuesday: We got Regency Club breakfast again. We hung out in the Anara Spa for the morning. They have a nice lap pool, comfy beach chairs, jacuzzis, wet and dry saunas and lava outdoor showers (cool rainbows bouncing off you in the sun). Nothing really special, just much quieter and relaxing than the busy pool.
At about 1pm we head out to Waimea Canyon. A great tip from the Revealed app was to take Waimea Canyon Road up the mountain, not Kokee Rd. A lot of the really nice views are on the way up on random shoulders on the road, not always at the official lookouts. The nicest one, the Pu’u o Kila Lookout is aaaalllllllll the way at the end. I couldn't believe my eyes. Wow. We stopped at the Kalalua Lookout, and all the other major ones along the way. We also did the 4WD Miloloi’i Ridge Road. It’s definitely fun to drive. When you get to the end by the satellite dishes, start to climb down a bit for a better view. We started doing that and it started raining so we got back in the car.I regret not waiting it out. Also, make sure to have primary insurance bec we scratched the car up pretty bad towards the end of the road, though we haven't heard from Avis.
At about 5ish we high tailed outta there to Polihale State Park for sunset. The 5 mile dirt road can be done in any car. There are no major potholes or anything like that. Just 15 min of annoying vibrating. Even though I bet the wrangler would be able to handle the beach sand, it’s really not worth the risk considering the cost of towing, on the small chance you get stuck. Beautiful sunset and nice swimming. That night we heated up a pan of corned beef we brought with some sides, in our toaster oven.
-Wednesday: We got a late-ish start to the day. We left GHK 10:30ish and made to to the Kalalua Trail by 12:45. We planned on doing the first 2 miles till Hanakapiai Beach. Now I don't care what anyone says but for your average guy with a baalabatishe boych and does not exercise besides the occasional Thursday or Saturday night ball game, this hike was very difficult! Far from impossible but very challenging. You climb straight up 600+ feet and go straight down the same to the beach, over the course of 2 miles. Essentially, you climb and descend 50-something flights of stairs and do it again on the way back. Again, not impossible but hard. The beach and the sites along that way are amazing and yes, it is worth it. Three 1.5 liters of water was enough for my wife and I. It took us 1:20 to get there. spent a little over an hour chilling/swimming (be careful, waves are strong) and about 1:20 to get back. We planned on snorkeling at Ke’e Beach (which is right there) after but we skipped it bec we were pooped.
We drove back to Po’ipu Beach park for sunset and another BBQ. Genius mokellman lost the grate for the grill so we had to drive out to walmart to get another so we ended up grilling at Kalapaki Beach. Nothing special there.
Thursday: We were at the Kamokila Hawaiian Village by 9:30am and there were still plenty of kayak/canoes (or canaks as they like to call them). No reservations needed, they told us to show up before 10 and we’ll get one. mokellman and wife were still sore from kayaking for 45+ min the day before so we knew to start at Kamokila which was a 10 min kayak trip from the beginning of the Secret Falls Trail. Unless you are into kayaking, it’s a big mistake to start anywhere but here. The trail to secret falls was a walk in the park compared to Kalalua. The trail was very muddy, like 2 inches of mud at some points. If you just embrace it in the beginning and don’t spend time trying to avoid the mud, you’ll enjoy the hike more and save time. Though I can't explain why i suddenly had a crazy craving for thick gewey chocolate cake…….. At one point you need to walk across a river, about 2 feet deep and there’s a rope across to hold onto. The falls were cold and very nice. I think the hike to Waipio Falls on The Big Island has ruined all other hike/falls for us bec that was the best one we’ve seen. It is still my favorite thing I’ve done on all the islands (now that I’ve been to all of them).
Once back, we drove to the Wailua Falls, right off the road. Park, take a few pictures and leave.
Then we drove to Tunnels Beach to snorkle. There are 2 access points to get in. Parking is miserable but I used my NY ninja parking skills to park in a spot e/o else was passing by. The snorkling and the beach was very nice, just nothing compares to the Molokini snorkeling we did in Maui where you see 40 feet down in the water, clear as day. But this was nice too and we saw lots of fish, though no turtles :-/ .
Once up there we called the Chabad rabbi, Michoel Goldman just to say shalom alechem. Really nice guy with a great story and doing some wonderful things. We made it back to Po’ipu Beach Park for sunset again. Very nice.
Friday: We spent the morning walking around the GHK and saw even more of this amazing place. We chilled by the pool though even at 10am, it was hard to find 2 beach chairs together. Seems that everyone comes down to puts towels on the chairs to reserve them and then goes to eat breakfast or do whatever. It’s disgusting but I would do it next time, as it really is the only way to get good chairs.
At checkout I told the lady that we had a leak and wet carpet in the suite the whole time. Engineering was in there like 4 times trying to fix it and by Thursday they offered to switch rooms which we weren’t gonna do when we’re checking out the next day. She went to the back room and came back to tell me “you have no charges”. They forgave the resort fee and other fees and charges to the room! A little over $200 was waived, a more than fair resolution. We went to airport to go to Honolulu for shabbos.
Shabbos in Honolulu: Both myself and mokellman reached out several times to book with JJ@dansdeals.com to get the 2 free bags on interisland flights. No response, so I’m not sure that they do that anymore. Maybe someone can clarify.
Anyways, I again found flights $12 cheaper on Hawaiian Air so i got another $100 credit from Orbitz so it sort of defrayed the $50 cost of 3 bags I paid (less bec i signed up for their mileage program). We got a CTS from Hertz HNL upgraded from a Maxima.
The second I pulled into traffic in Honolulu, I could feel all the relaxation from Kauai melt away and the tension in my neck and shoulder muscles tense up. Welcome to the big city. Originally we made reservations by the Ala Manoa hotel where the Chabad is. The rabbi told me they don't do shabbos accommodations anymore so the Modern and Prince hotels are the shabbos friendly one’s.
We had a voucher to stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. This place was a zoo. It’s like 5 hotels in one with one check/lobby area. Soooo many Japanese. Seriously, I would say about 70% of the whole Waikiki Beach was Asian (not that there’s anything wrong with that #seinfeldreference). I called ahead and the manager said they are familiar with shabbos and would accomodate. They put us in the 5th floor of the Diamond Tower which helped, and the stairwell had no sensors and constantly lit. The hotel was 15-20 min walk away from Chabad. Chabad was $70pp for the whole shabbos, I guess it’s a small price to have all minyanim and hot kosher food in the middle of no where. Motzi Shabbos, we just chilled at one of the hotel bars with nice live music.
Sunday: we were on the north shore getting a surf lesson from Buttons Surf School by 10am. We got lessons from a groupon. It was ok and our instructor, AL, was eh. The waves were better in a reefy area so we got a little scraped up so maybe bring water shoes just in case. My back and neck were killing by the end from staying in the position and paddling so much. My wife got up on the board a few times and I kinda did once. Happy I did it, but maybe it was just the waves or our particular instructor. Tip: drink a lot before hand and use ALOT of sunscreen.
From there we went to tripadvisors #1 beach in America and #8 in the world, Lanikai Beach. Parking here too was horrific but my NY ninja parking skills once again came in handy and we got a good spot. The water was a special type of green/blue that I've never seen before and the mountains in the background really make it something unforgettable.
From there we went to Pearl Harbor. We werent gonna be from the first ones there to go on a tour, so we just walked around the plaza, read a few signs, saw a few missiles and left. It just felt too unAmerican to go and not see Pearl Harbor.
Then we went back to the hotel to chill by the pool. We made good use of their hospitality room (reservation required), got yummy chicken sandwiches from Oahu Kosher and off to the airport for our 9:15pm flight.
They were asking for volunteers to be bumped ($400+free night at hotel and economy comfort on next flight) and I imagine the 915 to LAX is always the busiest. Had we not been away from our kids for a week, we probably would have taken the bump offer. Our flight back was uneventful other than getting Kosher for Passover meals on our business class flights from LAX-JFK. Nothing a $50 Delta voucher cannot solve…..
Some thoughts from this trip
1) If you only experience of Hawaii was the Island of Oahu, you’ve never truly experienced Hawaii.
2) My favorite Islands are ranked in this order: A tie between TBI & Kauai, then Maui, Oahu with Oahu a distant 4th
3) for 5 days I was the the last jew in America (maybe the world) to daven mincha (espeicially on the day I was at Polihale for sunset). Everyone’s favorite tuneh bygul mokellman might say he was but davening after shkia in my book doesn't work ;-)
Here is the link to some of the pics i took. Disclaimer: these pics DO NOT do justice to what we saw. I am not a good photographer. Also, in the background of a couple of pictures are ppl and they may be not be dressed like bais yaakov girls. I tried to use pics without ppl but kauai is not a deserted island. I put in the description some narrative so u could keep track of what i took pics of
https://www.flickr.com/photos/11746148@N05/sets/72157646972324292/