Travel
Neighbor Isles on a dime

By Chris Oliver
Advertiser Staff Writer

Illustration by Jon Orque • The Honolulu Advertiser

A few miles north, Tedeschi's Winery opens its lava rock tasting room, where visitors taste wine from ranch-grown grapes and tropical fruits.

Southeast on the Big Island, a stunning display of fresh-cut flowers awaits morning shoppers at Hilo Farmer's Market: White, green, pink and purple anthuriums, tiger-striped orchids, sweet-smelling tuberoses mingle with crowds of orange calla lilies.

Day-to-day life in Hawai'i is filled with extraordinary events in a landscape most of the world only dreams about visiting. And it's all in our own back yard.

With travel experts predicting flight delays and airport chaos, high gas prices and crowded theme parks this summer — coming on the heels of an education strike that swallowed many folks' vacation dollars — Neighbor Island getaways have never looked more appealing.

In a 2000 Gallup poll of Islanders, 33 percent of those queried had taken a Neighbor Island getaway in the past year, and 34 percent were planning to take one in the coming year. That made Hawai'i the No. 1 destination of all Hawai'i residents.

Easy to get to, with cheaper round-trip fares, budget hotels and guaranteed good weather, paradise makes a strong case for Island residents this year. And if you haven't been there in the past few years, you'll find plenty to make your visit worthwhile.

Donna McAfee and Kate Critz took a trip to the Big Island in January, a much-needed getaway from Critz' job as director of the Child Development Program at Kaiser Permanente and from McAfee's family responsibilities.

For three days, the friends kicked back and explored the Kona coast from Hawi on the northern tip of the island down to the City of Refuge. Critz says they chose the Big Island for its diversity: "There is just so much to see."

McAfee agreed.

"The best thing was being off O'ahu and away from the traffic," she said. "We had the open road to drive, the scenery was beautiful and we saw so many great things: petroglyphs, caves, St. Benedict's painted church, orchids, the City of Refuge. There is just a whole different atmosphere on the Big Island, so many different climates, even. I really felt like I got away."

"Getting away," "chilling out," "escaping the everyday" is what we aim for. The traditional American vacation remains intact, yet according to the American Express Retail Index, the two-week vacation is a thing of the past. The average "extended" vacation is now eight days. Increasingly, travelers are opting for long weekend trips. The average is three long weekend trips a year.

Weekends away fit easier with work and family schedules, and are often tagged to business trips. You can take more of them, more frequently, and most important, a two- or three-night getaway is not as costly as a full-fledged vacation — and can be just as reviving.

Every Labor Day weekend, Beth and Tom Andrewes, with sons Nick, 15, and Ian, 11, head for Lahaina for Race Week. This local yachting event that draws about 200 sailing buffs has been a tradition in Beth's family for more than 30 years. Twenty years ago, she met Tom, a sailmaker from New Zealand, sailing in Lahaina Harbor on Labor Day weekend.

While the men and teens race, women and younger children mostly hang out in Lahaina, watching the races, reading, shopping, and getting together for dinner.

"Every Labor Day, our kids know what they'll be doing," Beth Andrewes said. "But the best thing about going to Maui is the rest and recuperation and the monkey business with our sailing 'ohana. It's fun to share a group holiday in paradise.

"You don't need a car to be a local tourist in Lahaina ... you don't need anything fancier than rubber slippers and plumeria in your hair."

Or a backpack and good walking shoes, if you're 28-year-old Shari Sakuda.

A favorite Neighbor Island trip for her was backpacking last year with friends across Haleakala summit wilderness area in Maui.

"We reserved the park cabins for three nights, which meant we hiked about four hours each day between cabins, so it was quite leisurely," Sakuda said. "And having accommodations meant we didn't have to carry camping gear on top of our food and water."

For Sakuda, a teacher at Hawai'i's Tokai International College, the 20-mile hike was memorable. On the first day, the group arranged to be dropped at the Haleakala Visitor Center (9,000 feet) and then were picked up north of Hana after the hike.

"It was my first trip to Haleakala," Sakuda said. "We saw so many different ecosystems, from moonscape to lush rain forest. There was plenty of room in the cabins and hiking with a big group of friends across the crater was just great."

The trip also suited Sakuda's vacation philosophy and budget.

"I'm a budget traveler. I'd rather be outside and close to nature than staying in a glitzy resort," she said.

With a budget holiday in mind, is it possible to find nirvana on the Neighbor Islands? Read on.