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Old 04-30-2010, 06:04 PM
 
Location: Highland CA
493 posts, read 1,446,749 times
Reputation: 126

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How did I overlook recommending this excellent book of things to do and places to go on the Big Island:

Amazon.com: Hawaii The Big Island Revealed; The Ultimate Guidebook (9780963942968): Andrew Doughty, Harriett Friedman: Books

The authors make periodic trips around the island to report on attractions, restaurants and activities. If a place is a tourist trap, they will point that fact out.

The two have drawn the ire of some of the local residents by disclosing some off-the-beaten-path venues that the locals considered to be their own turf.

The restaurant reviews are among the better features of the book. We went to a number of restaurants, like Cafe 100 in Hilo, based on their recommendation, and were not disappointed. Another, Don's Grill, located on what I'd call a relatively unremarkable side street off the beaten path, would never have been discovered otherwise. That was evident from the significant local/tourist ratio dining there.
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Old 05-01-2010, 02:16 PM
 
Location: Hawaii-Puna District
3,752 posts, read 11,506,708 times
Reputation: 2483
They make updates to the book on the website as well. Since things change so frequently, it is a good idea to hit their website before driving to that great restaurant find. It could be out of business...
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Old 05-01-2010, 03:26 PM
 
18,950 posts, read 11,586,547 times
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Badatta, JML, and MD - thank you!

White pineapple - yum! Will have to find some.

I heard about those books and actually got one for the Big Island and one for Oahu! Even with so much on the web there is lots of good stuff in there and it'll be nice to have along with us - maps and little reminders all in one place. Will have to remember to check their website - totally forgot!

Oh, and to those who asked - I definitely plan on reporting back about my adventures after I return!
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Old 05-01-2010, 07:48 PM
 
Location: Highland CA
493 posts, read 1,446,749 times
Reputation: 126
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdand3boys View Post
They make updates to the book on the website as well. Since things change so frequently, it is a good idea to hit their website before driving to that great restaurant find. It could be out of business...
Good point. It's nice to know that the website has updates, as well.

I recall that places would go from great to mediocre, or vice versa, from one edition of the book to the next. Probably a change in ownership or management. That seems to be epidemic in the business.

And the economy has been especially devastating to the restaurant industry.
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Old 05-02-2010, 02:18 PM
 
18,950 posts, read 11,586,547 times
Reputation: 69889
Default extra question - inter island flights

Hey everyone,

You've all been so helpful! My husband was just home over night (he lives in another state right now) and was amazed with all the info I had thanks to you!

Hoping a few of you will pop back in and see these extra questions...

We don't have our inter-island flights booked yet but it looks like Hawaiian Airlines has a number of flights there and back throughout the day.

1. My husband is arriving in Honolulu on Thursday afternoon and needs to check bags and fly to Kona, Big Island in order to meet me that night. Does it seem reasonable this time of year that he will be able to arrive and buy a ticket that day in order to leave just a few hours later?

2. I'm arriving in Kona, Big Island (which I heard is super easy) and renting a 4WD. We'll be returning the car at Hilo and leaving from there to go to Honolulu, Oahu on a Tuesday afternoon. My husband will have bags to check. Does having 1.5 hours after arriving at the airport in order to return the car, buy a ticket for travel that same day, and clear security in time for the next flight sound reasonable?

3. The next Friday I'll need to fly from Honolulu back to Kona in order to catch a 8:30pm flight back to the mainland. My husband is staying for work on Oahu so he'll drop me at the airport in Honolulu and I'll just have carry on bags - nothing to check. The answer to question 1 will help here but also...since I'm arriving in Kona in order to catch a plane out again, any idea how much ahead of time I should be there? I've seen comments about getting there 3 hours ahead of time and that sounds crazy to me but maybe I'm missing something. Arriving 30-40 minutes ahead of time sounded reasonable to me...yes...no...?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!




BTW, Zip line is in our future - woohooo! We're going to try snorkeling on our own (following your excellent suggestions for places) and will play it by ear if we want to take a snorkel tour to Captain Cook or not. If they're booked if/when we feel like going, than so be it - we will find our own fun on our own time Just didn't want to be too "scheduled". Now the only actual scheduled thing will be the zip line.

Now I need to figure out how work in all these luscious food ideas!
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Old 05-03-2010, 11:58 AM
 
820 posts, read 3,034,451 times
Reputation: 649
Quote:
Originally Posted by toosie View Post
1. My husband is arriving in Honolulu on Thursday afternoon and needs to check bags and fly to Kona, Big Island in order to meet me that night. Does it seem reasonable this time of year that he will be able to arrive and buy a ticket that day in order to leave just a few hours later?
Yes, depending on the time that your husband arrives at Oahu. Hawaiian Airlines lists 7 flights from ~2pm to last flight ~8pm. Can't see them being sold out. It sounds like since your husband won't have a confirmed flight, he will have to arrive Oahu, retrieve his bags, then go to HA to book a flight, check bags, get to his gate. I've never picked up bags in Oahu, so I can't say how long that takes, but I tend to think with most airports getting off a big plane (a bunch of people deplaning) and getting bags takes about 45+ minutes. Then getting a ticket, checking bags, getting to gate...you only have to be at the gate about 15 minutes before the flight.

Quote:
Originally Posted by toosie View Post
2. I'm arriving in Kona, Big Island (which I heard is super easy) and renting a 4WD. We'll be returning the car at Hilo and leaving from there to go to Honolulu, Oahu on a Tuesday afternoon. My husband will have bags to check. Does having 1.5 hours after arriving at the airport in order to return the car, buy a ticket for travel that same day, and clear security in time for the next flight sound reasonable?
We flew out of Hilo after Merrie Monarch, and the whole process was super quick. Hilo is a small small airport. The car rental return is right across the street, steps away from the airport, no shuttle or anything like that. We parked the rental car, wrote down our mileage on the papers, took the paperwork to the station (a booth in a line of booths), and walked across to the airport. Ticketing lines were empty, but I suppose that depends on the moment. Security was steps away, our gate was just upstairs, also within sight. You will have time to check out the gift shop, where I bought some Hilo t-shirts for $5 on sale!

Quote:
Originally Posted by toosie View Post
3. The next Friday I'll need to fly from Honolulu back to Kona in order to catch a 8:30pm flight back to the mainland. My husband is staying for work on Oahu so he'll drop me at the airport in Honolulu and I'll just have carry on bags - nothing to check. The answer to question 1 will help here but also...since I'm arriving in Kona in order to catch a plane out again, any idea how much ahead of time I should be there? I've seen comments about getting there 3 hours ahead of time and that sounds crazy to me but maybe I'm missing something. Arriving 30-40 minutes ahead of time sounded reasonable to me...yes...no...?

If you have checked bags and are changing airlines (e.g. Hawaiian for inter-island and Delta for mainland), you need to allow 2 hours between flights. If you don't, they may not check your bags through. Sounds like a lot of time, but that's what they need. If you are going carry-on, then I'll leave it to others to answer as I don't know Kona airport.

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Old 05-03-2010, 12:14 PM
 
Location: Resaca, Georgia
145 posts, read 450,885 times
Reputation: 109
Just four more days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Old 05-03-2010, 12:17 PM
 
Location: Hawaii-Puna District
3,752 posts, read 11,506,708 times
Reputation: 2483
Inter-island flights to Kona and Hilo, especially the last 2 of the night, are routinely sold out. Buy your ticket in advance and get to the gate (check-in) early! Buying your ticket 14 days in advance also gets you a much cheaper ticket price.
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Old 05-03-2010, 03:44 PM
 
18,950 posts, read 11,586,547 times
Reputation: 69889
Thank you Calico! I feel better about that Hilo to Honolulu flight now

Thank you MD! I'll talk to my husband tonight and plan to book each of our flights from Honolulu to Kona tonight! Too late for 14 days in advance but at least we'll have a flight

Blooming, I know!!! Ack!! If you hear little squeaks and gasps now and then it's just me - barely containing my excitement!
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Old 05-03-2010, 08:27 PM
 
Location: Hawaii-Puna District
3,752 posts, read 11,506,708 times
Reputation: 2483
You could also try Go! Airlines for additional choices on flights. However, they have very few planes and crews - we recently experienced a very late flight because they said "one of the TWO planes had a breakdown" and then the later excuse was that they had to call in a crew to fly it. They DO offer free standby, which Hawaiian Airlines does not offer anymore.

Go Mokulele - Hawaiian InterIsland Airline Flights – Mesa Discount Airfare: go Mokulele www.iflyGo.com: Book Flights Today
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