I’m glad that you are finding Go Visit Hawaii to be a good guide for your planning! I sincerely hope you pick up advice here that helps your vacation be even more special. After you return from paradise, please let me know how everything worked out. Also, let me know if you’d be interested in writing any guest posts here. I feel like we all learn from each other here at Go Visit Hawaii.

By the way, I thought that I was going on my trip of a lifetime to Maui and my one and only ever trip to Hawaii over 5 years ago. Little did I know then that I was about to fall in love with Hawaii and eventually write this blog.

I did see the articles you suggested, and your post on what not to pack (another one I wholeheartedly agree with!). We do intend to go to Mauna Kea on our own. We have already splurged on the 4 wheel drive, and intend to take the free tour on the weekend from the visitor center. We are not without limits to our resources, and so, since it is possible to do Mauna Kea on our own, we can use the money we would have spent on the tour for upgrading our helicopter tour on Kauai to the one that stops at the private waterfall.

Thanks again for all of your very helpful website – I am learning so much that will surely make our upcoming trip the “trip of a lifetime.”

Mahalo, Jennifer

It’s all magic. Just kidding! Seriously, it can be done. Here are some of my tricks:

- I start with the shoes and go from there. I try to stick with one or two colors – black and tan and coordinate all clothing to go with those shoes.
- I generally try to wear the shoes that occupy the most space on the plane.
- I generally just bring hiking shoes, sandals, and flip flops.
- I lay out all my clothes before packing. That way I can tell if I have any mismatches or too much of the same thing.
- I re-wear some things and use my travel sized Febreze to Go.
- We often stay in a condo, where we have access to a washer and dryer. Alternatively, you can also take advantage of the hotel’s laundry service, which can be pricey, but so is checking luggage these days.

Looking over your activities – you’ll need hiking trousers. You can wear those for horseback riding, lava flow viewing, and up to Mauna Kea. I have a great pair from REI that are extremely lightweight and take very little space.

Will you be going up to Mauna Kea with an organized tour? (I do recommend going with an organized tour, by the way.) If so, then the tour company will provide the parka and gloves.

Did you see my post on what not to pack?
http://www.govisithawaii.com/2008/07/31/what-not-to-pack-for-your-hawaii-vacation/

Here are some more articles that may help based on what you plan to do.
http://www.govisithawaii.com/2008/04/01/advice-for-mauna-kea-sunset-and-stargazing-tours-an-excellent-big-island-activity/
http://www.govisithawaii.com/2008/03/16/advice-for-viewing-the-big-island-lava-flow/

Hope these tips and tricks help.

Anxiously awaiting your reply,
Jennifer

We’ve never visited any of the Lost sites. In fact, other than the airport, we’ve never visited Oahu. Maybe you’ll have to give us “5 Outrageous Reasons to Visit Oahu.”

I’m glad to hear I’m not alone as a Lostie. Have you been to Oahu to check out some of the spots where Lost is filmed?

Where do we stay on Maui? We’ve stayed in Kaanapali, Kahana and Kihei. Recently we’ve found a condo we like in Ma’alaea, where the harbor is. Andrew Doughty in his “Maui Revealed” book (p.131) recommends against staying here unless you get a really good deal. We’re getting a one bedroom ocean front condo for about $105 a night plus tax, which seems like a good deal to us.

Here are a few things we like about the Ma’alaea condo:

The price. As stated above it’s quite reasonable for the location.

It’s ocean front. The condo is literally 50’ feet from the ocean. There is no beach in front, but a short walk takes one to 3 miles of sand along Ma’alaea Beach.

We like to go whale watching. From the condo to the pier is a 5 minute walk. When not out on a boat we can watch the whales from our lanai.

It’s quiet. The condo is well off of the highway so there’s little traffic noise. The harbor noises do filter in, but we find them quite pleasant.

It’s centrally located. We travel around a lot taking pictures and researching places to add to our websites so the location saves us some time.

The owners are terrific. Renting from a private owner can make one a bit nervous. The owners of this condo have always conducted business very professionally with us.

And the most important thing. It has a washer and dryer, so we can pack light.