Honeymoon Planning - Hawaii!

Oh my god we're going to Hawaii! We just found out today! I guess those timeshare dealies aren't as worthless as I thought! :) :) :) :)

Where in Hawaii are you going? We're going to Kona on the 'Big Island'.

[QUOTE=Cashy98]Oh my god we're going to Hawaii! We just found out today! I guess those timeshare dealies aren't as worthless as I thought! :) :) :) :)[/QUOTE] Woo Hoo! I'm jealous, haven't been there in over 10 years and I'd love to go again. Get going on that tan!

[QUOTE=Cashy98]Oh my god we're going to Hawaii! We just found out today! I guess those timeshare dealies aren't as worthless as I thought! :) :) :) :)[/QUOTE] Congratulations! You are so lucky. I have always wanted to go to Hawaii. Have fun!

Oh I'm sooooooo happy! I could just dance around like Snoopy right now! :D SOM - We're going to Kona too! Oh, I'm so excited! I have to find out what all there is to do there! I can't wait to see what fun things there are to do!

[QUOTE=Cashy98]Oh I'm sooooooo happy! I could just dance around like Snoopy right now! :D SOM - We're going to Kona too! Oh, I'm so excited! I have to find out what all there is to do there! I can't wait to see what fun things there are to do![/QUOTE] Well. I'll be there at the end of this month. I'll let you know all the details when we get back!

[QUOTE=SOM Z28]Well. I'll be there at the end of this month. I'll let you know all the details when we get back![/QUOTE] Oh wonderful! Make sure you remember some of the activities you did! I would love to hear all about it!

[QUOTE=Cashy98]Oh wonderful! Make sure you remember some of the activities you did! I would love to hear all about it![/QUOTE] there are a ton of websites you can check out for things to do in Hawaii too. Try [url]www.hawaii.com[/url] or [url]www.gohawaii.com[/url] or [url]www.hawaiiactivities.com[/url].

Cashy, congrats! I'm glad things are looking up for you! :)

[QUOTE=ca_dawson]Cashy, congrats! I'm glad things are looking up for you! :)[/QUOTE] Oh gosh! Tell me about it! Something is actually going my way! :) Thanks!

Cashy- If you and your FH want to visit the Volcano National Park, you don't need to do a tour. Go on your own. It's a day trip, but worth it. When you're in Kona, you'll see signs that say 'Volcano - 96 miles'. Grab a map and follow the signs. It's a beautiful drive, but it takes some time because the roads are very curvey in places. I recommend: Leave around8 or 9. Eat a good breakfast and pack a lunch. Wear sunblock, light colors and tennis shoes and take a sweater or light jacket (they say it can get cool up there). Take a flashlight. And have some bottled water with you too. There are only a few places to grab snacks and gas. And once you get to the park, the only place that sells snacks is way out at the end of 'Chain of Craters Road'. It'll cost you $10 to get into the park too, but you can go back as much as you want within 7 days. Since we weren't going back, we gave our receipt to another couple we met so that they didn't have to pay to get in. Anyways, when you get there, you'll probably go to the visitors center. We went, but it was packed, so we took off to check out the park. You can go 2 ways when you leave the VC. Pull out of the parking lot to the right and you'll start driving around the crater. There are lots of places to stop and look. And you can pretty much go anywhere you want, at your own risk, of course. It's an 11 mile drive around the crater and there are some great spots for pics. Eventually, you'll see a sign for 'Chain of Craters Road', which is another 20 miles or so. But if you follow it, you'll come to where the volcano erupted and lava flowed over the road. At this point, you can park and hike across the lava field toward where there is still lava flowing into the ocean. You can see the steam from it for miles. They say it's about 3 miles from where you park to the point where the lava is flowing. The hike across the lava fields is cool, but it's a lot of up and down. This is where you want your bottled water, expecially if it's hot out. We didn't hike the whole way because it was getting later in the day and neither of us had eaten since breakfast and we were hungry. I think we turned back toward the car around 330 or 4. After you drive back up to the main road, you'll come across the lava tubes. One is lighted and it's cool to see it. There is another lava tube that is open to the public, but it is not lighted, which is why you need the flashlight. You can go in, but it's black in there without a flashlight. The lava tubes are a bit cool inside too. And in the same area where you park to see the lavatubes, there is a 4-mile trail. After this, you'll pretty much be done. I guess that the direction you take from the visitors center will depend on what you want to see more. I wish we'd gone to the left instead of the right, because I'd have like to hike the 4 mile trail and spend more time hiking the lava field. That was the coolest. The view of the ocean and everything was AWESOME!!! But since we went to the right, we spent more time looking at the crater than I would have liked. Of course, we had no way of knowing that at the time. Take the time to stop on the way to the park to see the Black Sand beach. It was gorgeous. Just don't take the black sand. It's prohibited, for one, but I've heard that anyone who takes the sand is cursed. I'll post more stuff for you later!

Hey if any of you need any information about Kona, Hawaii . . I was born and lived there for about 9 years . . . . . so anything you might want to know, just ask me, you can PM me too if ya want. Congratulations though, very beautiful there! :)

those of you who have been already, about how much would honey mooning in hawaii cost?????????????????

not as expensive as some think . . what are you looking for? what type of location, and what kind of housing . . . what kind of entertainment . .tours?

well I don't really know because I have no idea what to expect. As for housing a really nice hotel near the water. Something close to area attractions. What type of activities are there?? I live in the city so we are used to the city life always active, so there is always something to do.

[QUOTE=nobya blanks]well I don't really know because I have no idea what to expect. As for housing a really nice hotel near the water. Something close to area attractions. What type of activities are there?? I live in the city so we are used to the city life always active, so there is always something to do.[/QUOTE] My FH and I are getting married in Kauai and going to Maui for our honeymoon and we're from Seattle. We're getting our package from a travel agent. Our whole package is a little under $4000. The package includes the following: airfare from seattle to kauai 1 week at a hotel by the water (kauai) 1 week car rental (kauai) airfare from kauai to maui 1 week at a hotel by the water (maui) 1 week breakfast at the hotel (maui) 1 week car rental (maui) airfare from maui to seattle you could also contact more than one travel agent and go with who can get you the best deal. I hope this helps.

I think that is an excellent deal!!!! way more for the money than I thought. Anybody know what there is to do in Hawaii???

you could go snorkeling, there are some beautiful waterfalls in Hawaii, everywhere, you could go tour thoose, and there are nice volcanos to look at, you could go golfing, just look around, sit on the beach . . lots of things . . . . one thing i do suggest is, if your staying somewhere for a long period of time, go to a store to get snacks and food, cause its expensive . . but there are plenty of things to do in hawaii, but search for them BEFORe you go.

[QUOTE=CKNEET]Hey if any of you need any information about Kona, Hawaii . . I was born and lived there for about 9 years . . . . . so anything you might want to know, just ask me, you can PM me too if ya want. Congratulations though, very beautiful there! :)[/QUOTE] Oh my gosh! Really? That just happens to be where we are going. Any suggestions would be great!

[QUOTE=SOM Z28]Cashy- If you and your FH want to visit the Volcano National Park, you don't need to do a tour. Go on your own. It's a day trip, but worth it. When you're in Kona, you'll see signs that say 'Volcano - 96 miles'. Grab a map and follow the signs. It's a beautiful drive, but it takes some time because the roads are very curvey in places. I recommend: Leave around8 or 9. Eat a good breakfast and pack a lunch. Wear sunblock, light colors and tennis shoes and take a sweater or light jacket (they say it can get cool up there). Take a flashlight. And have some bottled water with you too. There are only a few places to grab snacks and gas. And once you get to the park, the only place that sells snacks is way out at the end of 'Chain of Craters Road'. It'll cost you $10 to get into the park too, but you can go back as much as you want within 7 days. Since we weren't going back, we gave our receipt to another couple we met so that they didn't have to pay to get in. Anyways, when you get there, you'll probably go to the visitors center. We went, but it was packed, so we took off to check out the park. You can go 2 ways when you leave the VC. Pull out of the parking lot to the right and you'll start driving around the crater. There are lots of places to stop and look. And you can pretty much go anywhere you want, at your own risk, of course. It's an 11 mile drive around the crater and there are some great spots for pics. Eventually, you'll see a sign for 'Chain of Craters Road', which is another 20 miles or so. But if you follow it, you'll come to where the volcano erupted and lava flowed over the road. At this point, you can park and hike across the lava field toward where there is still lava flowing into the ocean. You can see the steam from it for miles. They say it's about 3 miles from where you park to the point where the lava is flowing. The hike across the lava fields is cool, but it's a lot of up and down. This is where you want your bottled water, expecially if it's hot out. We didn't hike the whole way because it was getting later in the day and neither of us had eaten since breakfast and we were hungry. I think we turned back toward the car around 330 or 4. After you drive back up to the main road, you'll come across the lava tubes. One is lighted and it's cool to see it. There is another lava tube that is open to the public, but it is not lighted, which is why you need the flashlight. You can go in, but it's black in there without a flashlight. The lava tubes are a bit cool inside too. And in the same area where you park to see the lavatubes, there is a 4-mile trail. After this, you'll pretty much be done. I guess that the direction you take from the visitors center will depend on what you want to see more. I wish we'd gone to the left instead of the right, because I'd have like to hike the 4 mile trail and spend more time hiking the lava field. That was the coolest. The view of the ocean and everything was AWESOME!!! But since we went to the right, we spent more time looking at the crater than I would have liked. Of course, we had no way of knowing that at the time. Take the time to stop on the way to the park to see the Black Sand beach. It was gorgeous. Just don't take the black sand. It's prohibited, for one, but I've heard that anyone who takes the sand is cursed. I'll post more stuff for you later![/QUOTE] Wow... that's sounds like a great idea! Please, keep the ideas coming. I really appreciate it!

We did a helicopter tour with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters. It was pretty cool, as we got to see a lot of the island. We got to see the volcano from the air, but I actually enjoyed the visit to the volcano much better. And then we flew to Hilo and saw the coast and the waterfalls, which was beautiful. However, I'd have rathered see the waterfalls in person on one of the horseback riding tour. Or I bet you can drive to some of them. Plus, we couldn't get the video of the tour because their camera malfunctioned somehow. :( And the helicopter tour was expensive... we spent $900 for the 2 of us. I didn't really consider it worth that kind of money.

[QUOTE=nobya blanks]I think that is an excellent deal!!!! way more for the money than I thought. Anybody know what there is to do in Hawaii???[/QUOTE] I went to Honolulu, Oahu last year and if you are looking for something active, I would recommend Honolulu. From what I have heard, the other islands are beautiful but there is not as much to do. If you stay on Oahu, you can hike Diamond Head, visit Pearl Harbor, snorkel at Hanauma Bay, there is a ton of great shopping, nightlife is great and beaches are beautiful. these are all of the things we did, I am sure there is much more to offer as well.

[QUOTE=Cashy98]Wow... that's sounds like a great idea! Please, keep the ideas coming. I really appreciate it![/QUOTE] OK, I try to post a bit more for you each time I have a few minutes to get online. Here's more stuff we did... We did one of the dinner cruise things. We did ours through a company called Ocean somethingorother or Something Ocean. Either way, I really wouldn't recommend them. I wasn't overly impressed. We paid $200 to eat cold marinated grilled chicken and a couple of side dishes that were just so-so. We ate off of paper plates and sat on the cushioned bench seats around the perimeter of the boat. No tables. The 'open bar' was champagne (not even close to good stuff either) and mai-tai's that were just ok. And we were on a little catamaran (I think that's the type of boat) that might have held 20 people. Maybe I wasn't impressed because I was expecting something more. All of the stuff you see on these cruises talk about how romantic and all of that, so I was expecting a bigger boat with tables where they'd serve us food and we could sit and eat and enjoy each other's company. Maybe some music and dancing. But this one was suggested because of the fact that it was only 15 minutes from our hotel and was supposedly 'good', and we figured 'why not'. There is the Capt. Beans Dinner cruise, which I heard was just a huge party (kinda corny too), but not romantic at all. And from the pictures you see on the website, it appears that you can actually sit at a table to eat. And they have music and dancing too. I guess it just depends on what you're in the mood for. If you dive, Pacific Rim Divers was who we went out with and they did a good job. Patrice (the dive master) and Dave (the boat Captain) were both great to work with and loads of laughs. We paid about $100 each for 2 tanks, regulators and BC's (we had the rest of our own gear). They pay attention to the conditions, take into account the experience level of the divers on the boat and plan the dives accordingly. They have a cooler full of bottled water and several containers of snacks (crackers, fresh pineapple & Patrice's fresh made brownies). They handle setting up your gear and cleaning it up afterwards. Definately recommend them if you're into diving. If you want to snorkle, you can pretty much hit any beach you can find. There was a small beach near our hotel, so we just went there. It's a public beach, not just a hotel beach. You'll need to rent a snorkle and fins, but you can see all kinds of fish. I was amazed that there were so many fish swimming around just in the swimming area where all of the kids were playing. And the further out you go, the cooler it is. Just don't feed the fish. They post signs, but people ignore them. The fish aren't always capable of processing the crap that people want to feed them, so it's not good for them. But as an alternative, take a hair scrunchie. A light colored one seems to work best. Gene took mine and was waving it around and all of the fish thought it was food (I guess) and came right up to us. They'd even nip at it! It was cool. Gotta get back to work...I'll be back for more soon.

[QUOTE=SOM Z28]OK, I try to post a bit more for you each time I have a few minutes to get online. Here's more stuff we did... We did one of the dinner cruise things. We did ours through a company called Ocean somethingorother or Something Ocean. Either way, I really wouldn't recommend them. I wasn't overly impressed. We paid $200 to eat cold marinated grilled chicken and a couple of side dishes that were just so-so. We ate off of paper plates and sat on the cushioned bench seats around the perimeter of the boat. No tables. The 'open bar' was champagne (not even close to good stuff either) and mai-tai's that were just ok. And we were on a little catamaran (I think that's the type of boat) that might have held 20 people. Maybe I wasn't impressed because I was expecting something more. All of the stuff you see on these cruises talk about how romantic and all of that, so I was expecting a bigger boat with tables where they'd serve us food and we could sit and eat and enjoy each other's company. Maybe some music and dancing. But this one was suggested because of the fact that it was only 15 minutes from our hotel and was supposedly 'good', and we figured 'why not'. There is the Capt. Beans Dinner cruise, which I heard was just a huge party (kinda corny too), but not romantic at all. And from the pictures you see on the website, it appears that you can actually sit at a table to eat. And they have music and dancing too. I guess it just depends on what you're in the mood for. If you dive, Pacific Rim Divers was who we went out with and they did a good job. Patrice (the dive master) and Dave (the boat Captain) were both great to work with and loads of laughs. We paid about $100 each for 2 tanks, regulators and BC's (we had the rest of our own gear). They pay attention to the conditions, take into account the experience level of the divers on the boat and plan the dives accordingly. They have a cooler full of bottled water and several containers of snacks (crackers, fresh pineapple & Patrice's fresh made brownies). They handle setting up your gear and cleaning it up afterwards. Definately recommend them if you're into diving. If you want to snorkle, you can pretty much hit any beach you can find. There was a small beach near our hotel, so we just went there. It's a public beach, not just a hotel beach. You'll need to rent a snorkle and fins, but you can see all kinds of fish. I was amazed that there were so many fish swimming around just in the swimming area where all of the kids were playing. And the further out you go, the cooler it is. Just don't feed the fish. They post signs, but people ignore them. The fish aren't always capable of processing the crap that people want to feed them, so it's not good for them. But as an alternative, take a hair scrunchie. A light colored one seems to work best. Gene took mine and was waving it around and all of the fish thought it was food (I guess) and came right up to us. They'd even nip at it! It was cool. Gotta get back to work...I'll be back for more soon.[/QUOTE] Oh my! That sucks that you paid so much for the "cruise" and it wasn't any good. I'll have to keep that in mind. I think it would be fun to go snorkeling. So did you just see little fishies? Or did you see some other animals? I've heard of these tours you can take that will take you to see sea turtles and dolphins and stuff. Ever go on one of those?

[QUOTE=Cashy98]Oh my! That sucks that you paid so much for the "cruise" and it wasn't any good. I'll have to keep that in mind. I think it would be fun to go snorkeling. So did you just see little fishies? Or did you see some other animals? I've heard of these tours you can take that will take you to see sea turtles and dolphins and stuff. Ever go on one of those?[/QUOTE] When we were snorkeling, we saw tons of fish and a few of the green sea turtles. They are huge and sooooo cool to watch. We just floated above one while he was eating. You'll also see tons of coral, but not much in the way of plant life. Keep an eye on the coral in some of the little holes...you might see some eels too. We saw tons of dolphins while we were out on the water on the dive boat. It was the most amazing thing to see. There were a couple of groups that had babies too. One group swam alongside our boat and you could see the baby swimming with the momma. Then the baby started trying to jump...you know how you'll see a dolphin kinda jump up and dive right back down...well this baby was trying it and he couldn't quite get it so he was just breaking the surface and flopping around and going right back under. It was adorable. If you go diving, you'll see lots more fish, as some don't swim too close to the top, but instead stay down deeper. Plus, you'll see more coral that's intact because it's deeper and not being beat up by the ocean breaking over it. We saw several types of eels...yellow mouth, moray and viper eels, and a hammerhead shark swam right past us. We missed him, but the rest of the dive group saw him. We were too busy looking in a little cave and he went right past us.

Anyone planning to travel to Hawaii for leisure or even anniversaries, birthdays or any event, I suggest that you try to visit some volcanoes in Hawaii. I have done it with my husband and all I can say is awesome!!! I never thought that there were many people visiting the volcanoes for many reasons... Plus the scenery is great!:)Got our tickets here ([URL="http://www.hawaiitours.com/volcano.php"]Hawaii Volcano Tours[/URL])