Some Favorite Hawaii Places to Stay and Play

This article was printed in the Seattle Times last week.

By Gary A. Warner


Here's a sampling of my favorite places in the islands.

Favorite beaches

Hanalei Bay, Kauai: A golden crescent of sand on the lush, green north side of Kauai. The waves are gentle in the summer and manageable in the winter. Much of the bay is ringed by homes, many of which can be rented for family getaways.

Lumahai, Kauai: A small, gorgeous and sometimes dangerous beach. It was featured in the movie version of "South Pacific" and can be reached only by a sometimes muddy trail leading off the road just west of Hanalei. It's the hidden tropical fantasy that everyone thinks of when they visit Hawaii. Just be aware that the surf often is dangerous.

Kailua, Oahu: Along with nearby Lanikai, this is the beach featured in dozens of postcards and calendars over the decades. Its white sands, gently sloping drop-off and brilliant green-blue waters are huge draws, but its distance from the tourism crush of Waikiki means there's rarely a crowd. It's suffered from severe erosion in recent years, but I'm hopeful the state will do the right thing and save this iconic strand.

D.T. Fleming Beach, Maui: A great bodysurfing beach on the sometimes-turbulent northwest shore of Maui. There are trees along parts of the mile-long strand for when the sun gets too hot. When you are ready to call it a day, head for the bar at the Ritz-Carlton hotel, just up the hill, and enjoy the sunset.

Mauna Kea Beach, Big Island: The Big Island is the youngest of Hawaii's volcanic islands, so the lava hasn't been smashed into the fine grains of Kauai, Maui or Oahu. Finding a decent beach is tough. One of my favorites is in front of the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. Though the deluxe resort doesn't advertise it, the beach is open to the public and a small number of parking spaces have been set aside for nonguests.

Favorite historical-cultural spots

Pearl Harbor, Oahu: The harbor on Oahu has become synonymous with treachery, disaster and revenge after the Dec. 7, 1941, attack by Japan that brought the United States into World War II. In recent years, the sunken remnants of the battleship USS Arizona have been joined in the area by the USS Missouri, where the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay was signed in 1945, along with a submarine warfare museum and an aviation museum.

Pu'uhonua o Honaunau, Big Island: Restored and maintained by the National Park Service, the old lava walls and reconstructed simple buildings on the southwest coast of the Big Island represented the city of refuge where those who had broken laws — kapu — could flee to safety. There's a stone bench where Mark Twain once sat with Hawaiian royalty.

Iolani Palace, Oahu: The only royal palace in the U.S., it is a reminder that Hawaii was a sovereign nation taken over by the United States in a dubious series of events in the 1890s. Built in central Honolulu by King Kalakaua, it shows Hawaiian rulers had embraced the architecture, culture and religion of the West as symbols of modernization. In the end they lost nearly everything their forefathers had fought to build.

Nakalele Point, Maui: One of the most mysteriously beautiful areas in the islands. At mile marker 38 is a turnout on the winding, rugged Highway 340. Visitors stroll a green, rolling field above sea cliffs. Visitors have stacked scores of stone piles — cairns — and made stone circles. Eerily beautiful, especially on sunny weekdays when you can sometimes be alone at the spot. A trail leads to a blowhole that shoots sprays of water into the air on days when the surf is large.

Favorite natural spots
Pipeline, Oahu: Ocean meets land on the North Shore of Oahu in a creation of natural perfection — curving, thundering pipe-shaped waves known around the world that draw top surfers.

From Ehukai State Park, walk to the left down to the beach. Pipeline is the wave that breaks from your left to your right. The wave breaking the other way is called "Backdoors."

Diamond Head, Oahu: The view from Waikiki has been unforgivably hemmed in by rows of boxy hotels and apartment buildings, but the extinct volcano's prow-shaped edges say Hawaii more than any other symbol.

Mountains from Hanalei Bay, Kauai: The crescent-shaped beach would be fantastic all by itself, but the jagged, green flank of the backside of the Na Pali Coast gives it a tropical quality unparalleled in the islands. Add a rainbow and it's a magic kingdom of surf, sand and sky.

Waipio Valley, Big Island: A rare spot on the islands that feels much like it must have been like to live in Hawaii 50 or even 100 years ago. This is the kind of place where Hawaiians have always traditionally lived — deep valleys by the sea, often accessible only by boat. Waipio Valley on the northeast coast of the Big Island can be visited on tours that go down a steep, narrow road. Once there, you'll find a few shacks, wild horses and taro fields, along with a beach popular with local surfers. It takes work to get there, but it's worth the journey.

Pools around Hana, Maui: I prefer the lush, rainy, green parts of Hawaii. The twisting, slow road to Hana on the rain-bathed eastern end of Maui passes by several pools fed by waterfalls. There are more just beyond the tiny town of Hana. They're idyllic swimming holes for the adventurous. The pools come with their own dangers — slippery rocks, waterborne illness and sudden flash floods that can turn a gentle waterfall into a thundering torrent. At least look, even if you don't touch.