A Great Alternative To Waikiki And Honolulu : Hawaii Travel Podcast Show 27

Today we’ll tell you about a great alternative to Waikiki and Honolulu, and we’ll flip the tables, and we’ll read some listener emails that came in with answers to questions WE had. All that and more on this episode of The Hawaii Travel Podcast.

Last week we showcased David, Georgia and Richard’s incredible 4 islands in 8 days vacation, and we had a few questions. Dave was nice enough to write in with some answers...

Thanks for featuring us on this week’s podcast! It was great to hear your input and suggestions for next time. Here are answers to a couple of questions that came up during the podcast.

Queen Liliuokalani Gardens to Rainbow Falls/Pe’epe’e Falls & Boiling Pots and Akaka Falls Question:

– How long did it take?

We did it in a couple of hours, but Akaka Falls was pretty rushed (it’s further north and far off the main road). They rest are very close to Hilo. [DETAILED MAP]

Safari Helicopters Question

– How close to crater? Did we see lava?

We did not get very close to the crater (and there wasn’t much activity in the crater other than steam blow-off during the helicopter tour). We flew by the lava flowing into the ocean and over hot spots in the lava stream (also some of the few surviving patches from the town). Also, it started raining during our flight, sending up sheets of steam.

Coco Palms Question

– Do they have a tour?

We did our own quick look around because we just missed the 2pm tour. Apparently they are in the middle of a fight to get it open again

I would call the tour number (808-346-2048) to find out before showing up for the tour.

International Market plans?

Looks like the International Market is slated for redevelopment

but not without some opposition

Thanks again!

Second email came in multiple parts from Marge in New Jersey...

Parts of this email features “play-by-play” action...

Hi Dan and Jennifer,

I love listening to your podcast and want to share an interesting fact I just found out. I am on the Big Island right now and wanted you and your listeners to know that rental cars can be infested with roaches. My husband went out to our rental car last evening and to his surprise he found them crawling around in the car. Needless to say I wish I knew this was a possibility as I would have checked the car more thoroughly yesterday when we picked it up. I thought I would pass this on to other listeners just in case.

Right now we are staying at the Volcano House which is on the rim of the Kilauea Caldera in Volcanoes National Park. What a beautiful view, at this moment there is a rainbow over the crater. My husband is trying to get a picture of it. Ok he got the picture it looks good.

We really love this park. I think my favorite place here is at the end of Chain of Craters Road and walking out to see the ocean from the cliffs. I feel really blessed to be able to see and experience Hawaii.

We’re leaving for home tomorrow. It’s been a great trip. The best part about getting home is going through all the photos we took then making a book or two through shutterfly.

The second email continued with her answering my question about what it was like to sleep so close to an active volcano in the Volcano House...

It looked awesome, how often do you have an opportunity to see and be so close to nature like that. I slept with the drapes open and when I woke up about 1:30 am and saw the glow from the crater. As dark as it was outside with the orange glow off in the distance lighting up the sky and still the night sky with all the stars were so beautiful.

Our room had a nice view, it was partially obstructed by a tree, however from my side of the bed I could clearly see the glow.

The hotel was completely open including the restaurants which were good and reasonably priced.

Unfortunately we weren’t able to take the trek to see the flowing lava. I wouldn’t have been able ...