In my opinion, the Iao Needle is not to be missed when you visit Maui. The scenery will have you gawking as you learn about the deep history of this mysterious place. See my previous post with tips on visiting the Iao Needle.
The Hawaiian Island’s volcanic mountains combined with the pleasant trade winds create such a diversity of climates. As I’ve share with you before, each island has a wetter windward side and a drier leeward side.
As you plan your Hawaii vacation, you might want to find the best places to stay to avoid rain, particularly in the rainier winter months. That being said, there’s a good chance that rain will not put much of a damper your vacation, even in the winter. I’ve been to Hawaii in all seasons and have rarely had rain create any vacation issues.
So where are the best places in Hawaii to avoid rain? I’ll list those resort areas by island. Here are the top resorts in Hawaii with 20 or less inches of rain per year.
Maui - The best sunshine is on West and South Maui. (See more details about where to stay on Maui for the best weather.)
Oahu - Basically the southern end of the island is the driest.
Big Island - The Kohala Coast is super sunny year round where it only receives around 10 inches of rain each year.
Lanai - This smaller island only has three total hotels with one of them situated on the sunny southern end. That would be the Four Seasons Resort at Manele Bay.
Watch for future articles to find more weather comparison details and the sunniest spots to stay in on each island.
Now you may be wondering where is Kauai and that’s a great question. Kauai tends to get a bit more rain than the other islands. Here’s an article on where to stay on Kauai for the best weather.
Rainfall Sources:
One of the first e-mails I look at each day is my Hawaii airfare alerts. This morning, I had to do a double take when I saw fares as low as $441 listed! I’ve been trying to determine the pattern and which particular airline has the deals. Northwest, Delta, and Continental all seem to be having fare sales below $500 from various cities across the US. (The FrugalTravelGuy has also confirmed this pattern.)
Here are some airfare sale shopping tips to help you find the best deals.
Happy airfare sale shopping. Let me know if you find any extra special deals.
Having an entertaining, enriching and fun time in Honolulu doesn’t have to break the bank. In fact, there are several great things you should do that are completely free. Here are six excellent things you can see and do in Honolulu for a dollar or less.
1. See the free hula show at Kuhio Beach Park. This free hula show operates Tuesdays through Sundays at 6:30pm. See this article for more details about the Kuhio Beach hula show.
2. Catch the free Polynesian dance and fireworks shows at the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Friday nights. Check this link for show times. Your cost for the show is $0 though you may want to buy a drink as a way to say thank you to the venue.
3. Visit the USS Arizona National Memorial in Pearl Harbor. This national memorial is well worth a visit that will surely leave a memorable impression on you. Your cost is $0.
4. Hike to the top of Diamond Head Crater for a challenge and beautiful city view. The cost to you is $1. For more details on the hike with a printable trail brochure, see this link.
5. Take a walking tour of Waikiki to dig into its interesting history. You can download a free guide with a map. (Note: it’s 21 pages long and the map is on page 21.) Your cost is $0.
6. Watch the sun set at Waikiki Beach. Not only is this beach wonder for watching sunset, it’s a great people watching beach, too. Your cost for this nightly show is $0.
So forget what you may have heard about Hawaii being too expensive. As you can easily see from this list, there are some fantastic things to do in Honolulu alone that will be well worth your time.
This article was inspired by the Problogger Writing Project and the Wise Bread Writing Project.
Hawaiian Airlines has another great fare sale going on with roundtrip prices as low as $360*. If you can fly out of Portland or Phoenix, you can get some of the better deals. Here’s what Hawaiian is advertising.
* Fares are subject to seat availability during the travel period shown and may change at any time without notice. Additional cost of $3.50 ZP tax per segment, a $2.50 per enplanement September 11th Security Fee (not to exceed $10) and PFC surcharge of $3-$4.50 where applicable will be applied to each ticket purchase.Taxes, fees & other restrictions apply. Additional baggage charges may apply.
You must book by August 29, 2008 for travel between now and December 12, 2008.
Photo of the pool and bay at Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu’s peaceful North Shore.
Yes that is snow on top of a mountain. And, yes this photo captured on Hawaii. We took this photo on a Mauna Kea summit sunset and stargazing tour on Hawaii’s Big Island. What a contrast it was to go from sea level to snow capped cinder cones in a space of just two hours! Though it was very cold at nearly 14,000 feet above sea level, we really didn’t mind as the intensity of these sunset colors had us wide-eyed and wanting to soak it all in. If you are considering taking a tour up to the top of the Big Island, be sure and read my advice on choosing a Mauna Kea stargazing tour.
Let’s take a peek at the vacation news from the 50th state.
After reading my article on packing light, a reader recently asked how is it possible to travel to Hawaii with just carry-on luggage. I can certainly understand how that might be a mystery, especially for the first time vacationer to Hawaii. On my first and second visits to Hawaii, I way over packed. Now as a seasoned Hawaii traveler, I now know what to pack and what not to pack. So, how do I travel with just carry-ons? Here are my tried and true strategies.
1. Start with minimizing the number of shoes you bring.
Since shoes take up the most space in your luggage, make sure you minimize the number of shoes you’re bringing. Chose black and/or tan shoes that coordinate well with clothing. I usually only bring a pair of flip flops, hiking shoes, and a one or two pairs of sandals that goes with shorts, skirts, and a sundress.
2. Wear the shoes that occupy the most space on the plane to free up space in your luggage.
3. Choose a clothing color combination and stick with it. I usually select either tan, white, and/or black shorts that will coordinate with the one or two pairs of sandals I’m bringing.
4. Lay out all your clothes before you pack them. Don’t just pick a shirt from your closet and pack it directly into your luggage. Instead place your clothing on your bed before you pack anything in your case. By laying out your clothing, you can better visualize how your clothing will coordinate with each other and your shoes. You’ll be able to determine if you have any duplications or mismatches. I also try on most of the clothes I plan to take to check the fit, especially if it is in the winter and I haven’t worn my summer clothes in a while.
5. Don’t pack a completely different outfit for each day of your vacation. Go ahead and plan to re-wear some of your clothing, underwear excluded, of course.:-) You’ll probably want to re-wear your favorite pieces anyway. I love my travel-sized Febreze to Go to freshen clothing that I plan to wear again. If I get a spot, I use my Shout wipes. Also, don’t forget that you can take advantage of the hotel’s laundry service or if you are staying in a condo use the washer and dryer.
6. Don’t waste space by packing clothes you don’t love. Only pack your favorite clothing - the clothes that are flattering and make you feel confident. Those are the clothes you’ll want to wear on vacation.
I hope these practical strategies will help you to pack light for your travels. Are there any other tips you’d add for how you pack light?
Maui’s weather is wonderful year round and if you’re headed there, then you’ll want to know how the weather is looking. Here are some resources to help you out.
Long-Range Weather Forecasting
There’s a saying that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. To a large extent that’s true for the weather. Weather.com maintains a history of Maui’s average temperature and rainfall levels by month. Those averages are a great indicator of future weather. For example, you can see that January is the coolest and rainiest month while June is one of the warmer and drier months.
Seven to Ten Days Out
Hawaii’s local television stations have quite a bit of weather information online. You can even watch a video of the seven-day forecast. For example, here’s the link for KGMB weather.
Weather.com offers ten-day weather forecasts. Here’s the link for Maui’s 10-day forecast.
Weather Forecast When You are On Your Maui Vacation
The National Weather Service offers a toll-free telephone number to hear more detailed and shorter term weather forecasts. That number is (866) 944-5025. In addition to the general weather forecast, this automated phone service offers a wealth of information including:
What Maui weather forecasts do you use?
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