Hawaii’s climate and volcanic soil create a great environment to grow unique crops that don’t typically grow on the US mainland. The climate diversity of Hawaii (Big) Island, in particular, provides the conditions to grow these special foods. As you are making your sightseeing and activity plans for your Big Island vacation, you might want to consider including a tasty ... Read More »

We’re fresh off a trip to Hawaii Island where we had excellent dining experiences. So, we just updated Hawaii (Big) Island vacation restaurant guide. We create our restaurant guides as if we are writing it for our friends and family. As such, we take our recommendations very seriously. We put an emphasis on restaurants with ocean views that offer both ... Read More »

* Costco is offering a nice Maui hotel and car deal with Makena Beach & Golf. This five-night deal includes partial-ocean-view room, full-size rental car, daily breakfast buffet for two, hotel and car taxes plus $100 resort credit per room per stay for $759 per person based on double occupancy. That works out to $303.60 per night for hotel, car, ... Read More »

If you were watching Hawaii Five-0 last night, you may have noticed the pastry spread at the breakfast Kona, Adam and his brother had. Adam’s brother took a bite of a pastry and commented about how delicious they were. Kono quickly confessed that she didn’t make it and that they came from Leonard’s Bakery. Another great bakery that’s been featured ... Read More »

After our recent visit to the Big Island of Hawaii, we’ve updated our recommendations of where to dine in Hawaii. Though the Big Island restaurant post was originally published in 2008, we do update it regularly. We aim to try as many new places as we can, which has not been so kind to our waistlines. As I say in ... Read More »

We’re back from a wonderful week on Hawaii’s Big Island. I sincerely love all the Hawaiian Islands, but my love for Hawaii Island grows deeper and deeper with each visit. After each visit to Hawaii, I like to provide a quick snapshot of all we did in case it helps you for your vacation planning. Of course, I’ll provide all ... Read More »

*  Starting January 11th, Hawaiian Airlines will begin offering non-stop flights between Maui and two Bay Area airports – Oakland and San Jose. To celebrate, Hawaiian is offering an introductory rate starting at $299 roundtrip. You need to book by today, September 14, 2011 for travel dates between January 11 to March 14, 2012. * As promised in the recent ... Read More »

WARNING: You may want to have a napkin nearby as we review these mouthwatering sweets. If you like sweets, you’ll find some onolicious ones in Hawaii! From easy to find to off the beaten path, here’s my list of Hawaii’s tastiest sweet treats: 1. Coco Puffs from Liliha Bakery in Honolulu, Oahu When I took my first bite of a ... Read More »

Each year, HONOLULU Magazine recognizes Hawaii’s top restaurants through their prestigious Hale Aina Awards. The 2011 award winners have just been announced and will be featured in their January issue. In the meantime, here’s a snippet of the award winners by island. Best Oahu Restaurant Gold – Alan Wong’s Honolulu Silver – Le Bistro Bronze – Azure Top 5 – ... Read More »

UPDATE: Unfortunately, Kona Village Resort closed in Spring 2011 due to tsunami damage. It is my understanding that all operations at Kona Village Resort are closed, including this luau. I will keep this review available in the event that they might reopen. Since we’ve been to a number of luaus all over Hawaii, we have a good comparison base to ... Read More »