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The Hawaii Travel Podcast, show number 20, for Tuesday, April 23rd 2013.  On this episode we’ll discuss one of the true wonders of the world – SPAM^®. All that and more, on this episode of The Hawaii Travel Podcast.

WHY IS SPAM^® SO POPULAR IN HAWAII?

Listener Frank left a voicemail explaining the history of SPAM^® in Hawaii.  He also mentioned the annual SPAM^® festival that takes place in Waikiki each year. This call lead to a lively discussion about SPAM^® and the SPAM^® Jam.

SPAM^® facts: Continue reading “Hawaii And Spam, A Match Made In Heaven : Show 20” »

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The Hawaii Travel Podcast, show number 19 for Tuesday, April 16, 2013.  Today we’ll talk about the amazing island of Oahu–specifically, things to checkout and activities to experience on Oahu for the young and the young at heart.  All that and more on this episode of the Hawaii Travel Podcast.

OAHU WITH KIDS

This week, we wanted to talk about the top things for kids to do while visiting the island of Oahu.  We purposely picked things that we feel are fun for kids and adults.

Dole Plantation
64-1550 Kamehameha Hwy.
Wahiawa, HI  96786
Phone: 1-808-621-8408

Pineapple Express Train
Pineapple Garden Maze
The Plantation Grille Continue reading “Oahu With Kids (And The Young At Heart) : Show 19” »

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The Hawaii Travel Podcast, show number 18 for Tuesday, April 9th 2013,  We explore the fantastic Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, We’ll tell you how to have a Memorial Day Weekend To Remember while visiting Oahu, a quick Merrie Monarch Festival update, and beware of the dreaded Box Jellyfish!

HAWAII TRAVEL PODCAST’S HAWAII TRAVEL POLL

Remeber to vote in our new Hawaii Travel Podcast’s Hawaii Travel Poll.  This week’s question is…

After airfare and lodging is factored in, where do you spend the majority of your money while visiting Hawaii?  

And your choices are:  Food, Drinking, Tours, Activities, Rental cars, Transportation, Massages or spas, Shopping or Other

Make your voice heard!  Vote now at http://www.hawaiitravelpodcast.com/poll and we’ll discuss what you and your fellow Hawaii Travel Podcast listeners had to say in an upcoming episode.

MERRIE MONARCH FESTIVAL

This year was a first for the Merrie Monarch Festival. In years past you could stream the festival over the Internet.  This year marked the first time mobile devices, like the iPhone/iPhone etc could stream the event. Continue reading “Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, Oahu Memorial Day Weekend, And Merrie Monarch Festival: Show 18” »

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Inter-island travel tips, a super memorable day trip while visiting Kona on the Big Island, and more tips are featured in this episode of the Hawaii Travel Podcast.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Our question of the week deals with inter-island travel.  Have you ever island-hopped the Hawaiian islands?  And, if so, what do  you prefer most?  Do you like to visit one island per trip or hit multiple islands?  We would like to hear from you.  Scroll down to the comments section of this episode’s show notes and let us know your thoughts.

INTER-ISLAND TRAVEL TIPS

If you have the time, visiting an additional island on your Hawaiian vacation doesn’t have to bust your budget.  On our recent trip, we picked up tickets from Oahu to Hilo on the Big Island for about $80 per person. Continue reading “Inter-Island Travel Tips, And A Fun Day Trip While Visiting Kona: Show 17” »

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Some useful tips on how to visit Maui on a budget and two great lodging options while you are in Hilo on the Big island and more are featured in this episode of the Hawaii Travel Podcast.

Question of the week:

Our question of the week this week deals with lodging.  Where do you prefer to stay while traveling to Hawaii?  There are so many great choices ranging from hotels, B&Bs, condos, and vacation rentals by owner.  Which do you prefer?  Scroll down to the comments section below and let us know your thoughts.

LODGING OPTIONS IN HILO ON THE BIG ISLAND

M.L. in Louisiana sent us an email.  His question is about where to stay in Hilo.  He writes:

Hi guys. Quick question. On the past two episodes of the podcast, you made reference to how hard it could be to find lodging on the Hilo side of the Big Island.  Any tips on places to stay?  We heard that renting a condo for a few days may be an okay option, but it depends on the person who owns the property and how well it is maintained.  So, now we are trying to decide between a B&B and a hotel (if we can find one that is clean).  PS, Jennifer, my wife and I also don’t enjoy cockroaches.  Any tips?

On our recent trip to Hilo, we were lucky enough to stay at both a hotel and a B&B, and we loved both of these options.  In this episode, we gave in-depth reviews of both.

An amazing hotel…
Dolphin Bay Hotel
Continue reading “Maui On A Budget And Hilo Lodging Options : Show 16” »

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Tips About Traveling To Kauai And What To Explore At Volcanoes National Park And More Are Featured In This Episode Of The Hawaii Travel Podcast.

KAUAI TRAVELING TIPS

Our first question came in from a listener via voicemail. He is planning a trip to Kauai and is looking for some advice:

Hey guys, great show.  My wife and I are planning on heading to Hawaii soon.  We’re thinking of heading to Kauai.  We wanted to know if you had any suggestions as to where to stay in Kauai and what sort of activities would be perfect for us.  We would like to walk and travel around Kauai, and kind of keep the activity on the light side.  I am an avid scuba diver and snorkeler.  Any suggestions would be great, and we look forward to the next show.

Kauai has four sections:

SOUTH SHORE REGION

Poipu is the place to visit and/or stay on the south side of the island.  It is dry and sunny and has beautiful beaches.

Places of interest in the southern region of Kauai:

Poipu Beach Park Beach Park
Poipu Beach Park Beach Park is a beautifully spectacular beach.  You would be hard pressed to find a better beach for snorkeling since it is usually always calm. Continue reading “Volcanoes National Park and Kauai Traveling Tips : Show 14” »

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Priceline Survival Tips, A Really Fun Waikiki Water Sport Adventure And Two Oahu Food Tours And More Can Be Found In This Episode Of The Hawaii Travel Podcast.

WATER JETPACK FUN IN WAIKIKI

Our first question came in via email from Jesse in Fort Lauderdale—just days before our trip.  He wrote:

Dear Dan and Jennifer,  I hope this email isn’t too late.  You asked for idea suggestions for possible activities to review on your upcoming trip to Hawaii.  Would you be willing to try the water jet pack device?  It looks very fun and a little scary at the same time.  My wife and I are taking bets that you won’t do it–I know you are both afraid of heights.  Both my wife and I think Jennifer would strap one of these on her before you would.  Let me know if you will do it.

We were lucky enough to try the JetLev water jet at H2O Sports powered by SeaBreeze at Maunalua Bay near Diamond Head.  Because Jennifer is pregnant, she couldn’t participate in the actual JetLev experience–so Dan did it and loved it!  Jennifer watched Dan fly by as high as 12 feet from water.  According to Dan, learning to fly was an exhilarating, a once-in-a-lifetime experience–and he felt safe the entire time thanks to expert guidance of his instructor Tony. Continue reading “Priceline Survival Tips, Waikiki Water Sports And Oahu Food Tours : Show 13” »

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Advice on how far in advance to book your trip to Hawaii to ensure you get the best flight and hotel deals, where to see zoos, aquariums and more on Oahu, some tips for people looking for swap meets and flea markets on Maui and more can be found in this episode of The Hawaii Travel Podcast.

BOOKING STRATEGIES

Jeff from Detroit called in with this voicemail…

Hi, I just found your website/podcast and it looks great. I’ve got a question for you. This is Jeff in the Detroit area. And, I’m planning a Hawaii trip–my first Hawaii trip–for this September–my wife and me. And I’m curious at to when would be a good time to book a trip to Hawaii for September, how soon should it be done, in order to not book it too early and maybe overpay because some rates may go down, but not book it too late and risk being shut out of good rates or good hotels of what I might want. So, if you’ve got some general guidelines for that, that would be great. Thank you.
Continue reading “Booking Strategies, Meet A Monk Seal, Maui’s Swap Meets : Show 12” »

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Horseback riding on the beach in Maui, the best snorkeling locations in Maui, things to do on Oahu’s North Shore and more are featured in this episode of The Hawaii Travel Podcast.

HORSEBACK RIDING IN MAUI

Listener Kelly called in with a question about horseback riding in Maui:

Hi Dan and Jennifer, This is Kelly from Phoenix. I’ve got a group getting together going to Maui in late July, and I’m wondering if you have any tips on the best places to go horseback riding. We are all pretty experienced riders and would love to ride along the beach. So, if you have any information on that, I look forward to hearing from you.

It is not easy to find a place where you can actually ride horses on the beach in Maui, but we found one that actually does. The Triple L Ranch offers a wide variety of rides–including two types of beach rides.

There are many ranches, however, that offer to get you close to the beach with a coastal view–such as the Mendes Ranch.

Fancy an alternative to riding a horse on a beach?  How about horse riding in the crater of a volcano?

Continue reading “Explore The North Shore, Maui Snorkeling & Horseback Riding: Show 10” »

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Have an exciting skydiving adventure over Oahu and Kauai, explore a few Pacific palaces fit for royalty, and, coffee snobs rejoice–check out this map of Big Island coffee hot spots. All of this and more in this episode of the Hawaii Travel Podcast.

SKYDIVING IN HAWAII

Our first question came in via email from Lawrence and Kim in New York, and it reads:

Dear Jennifer and Dan. My wife and I are big fans of the TV show The Amazing Race. In at least two seasons of the show, the teams end up somewhere in Hawaii skydiving. It looks like an extremely fun thing to do and it looks like they have companies specifically set up to offer skydiving services while in Hawaii. Can you recommend any and share prices? It can’t be cheap! I don’t know why I am even considering this because we are not big extreme sports people, but everyone who skydives seems to look at it as a life changing event. My wife and I have talked about this for years and we are planning a Hawaiian vacation sometime in August. Thank you. Lawrence and Kim from New York.

There are quite a few options for skydiving in Hawaii. Prices are not really as expensive as you think, and they range from about $125 to $225. You should note, however, that each company has different weight limits. For example, there is a $2 per pound charge for tandem students over 200 pounds. They may, for example, have a weight limit of 240 pounds. Make sure you do your research! Continue reading “Skydiving Adventure, Pacific Palaces, Big Island Coffee Map – Show 9” »