Maui and Oahu wrap-up

The Great : Haleakala National Park on Maui. There is no other place like Haleakala National Park. There are a number of trails inside the crater. Visitors can choose to walk for two hours or hike for several days. It is even possible to rent wilderness cabins and camp out inside the crater.

This would have been a great option for us. Unfortunately, our 5-15 degrees celcius sleeping bags simply do not provide adequate warmth for the freezing night temperatures. A sleepless night in Volcano Park on Big Island was enough to convince us that we are not equipped to camp out at high altitude.

Hawaii is not unique because of its beaches; we will surely see other stunning beaches in Fiji and Australia.

Hawaii is unique because a visitor can walk inside a huge crater in the morning and catch a great wave in the afternoon.

That's why Haleakala is so special.


The Hidden: Waikiki Backpackers Penthouse. The owner of the hostel runs his hostel the way it should be: cheap and clean accomodation. But the owner goes an extra step: he cooks diner twice a week for all his guests! He even buys all the wine and beer for us thirsty backpackers!

This level of service is rare. Waikiki Backpackers Penthouse is a hidden gem in the huge world of hotel businesses in Honolulu.


The Overrated: Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. This world-class beach has only its name going for it. The beach is overcrowded, long but not wide and, worst of all, useless for swimmers. Sand dunes disappear about 20 meters inside the water. Beyond that, it is rocks and reefs everywhere. A quick dip in the water made it clear why most people in the water are surfers. Waikiki may be paradise for surfers, not for swimmers.


The Ugly: The airport to hotel experience. Honolulu runs a milk-the-tourist business where taxis charge 35 $ to get a visitor to Waikiki (a short distance from the airport). Shuttles cost less, but the level of service can be abysmal. Tourists cannot get on public buses that run from the airport to Waikiki. Apparently, our bags our too big (read – we want to protect our precious milk-the-tourist business).

We got into a shuttle with a couple of Germans and their kids. The father had crutches so he couldn’t load his luggage inside the shuttle. The operator just sat there smoking his cigarette while the wife was struggling to get all the bags inside. We waited for about 15 minutes in the shuttle so the operator could get more customers.

At some point the German decided to call a cab. As the cab pulled over, I took the opportunity to ask the cab driver about his price to get us to Waikiki. The operator of the shuttle did not tolerate my discussion with the competition: he took our bags and dumped them on the street!

Honolulu is not the capital of a banana republic. Airport officials should know that this kind of service reflects poorly on the city.