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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
 Posted - 07/01/2007 : 1:37:52 PM
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I've been thinking about how I could have made my Kaua'i vacation cheaper and wanted pass along a few thoughts. Skip this thread unless you're interested in travel tips. It's strictly how-to stuff:
Thrift stores: I'm an avid thrift shopper at home and there are several on Kaua'i. Most prominent is the Salvation Army on Rice St. in Lihue. Also, the Kaua'i Humane Society has a nice store on the highway in Lihue. A for-profit store, called Ho'omana, is just off the highway on Kuamo'o Rd. in Wailua. These are good places to buy Aloha shirts, though they're not dirt cheap, around $8-20, you can find premium shirts for quite a bit less than the stores. I bought used local shirts for my friends, from local bars and events. I got a nice Merrie Monarch tshirt (though I've never been) as a souvenir, much nicer than some silly saying about getting "lei'd". We also bought beach bags, extra towels and paperback books there, and could have saved more if we'd planned to shop there earlier in the trip.
Food: There's no need to stock up on food in Lihue when you arrive. Every place is equally expensive, so you can shop near where you are staying. Many people recommend Costco warehouse, which is cheaper, but you have to buy such huge quantities that it was impractical. Unless you're staying for three weeks or more, you might as well shop at Big Save (ha!).
To save money on most days, a cooler full of sandwiches and drinks is a fraction of the cost of a meal, even fast food, anywhere on the island.
For great pastries, including malasadas, go to Kaua'i Bakery in the Kukui Grove Shopping Center. 'Ono!
Entertainment: The big tourist attractions on Kaua'i are helicopters, cruises, luaus and ATVs. The beaches and mountains provided so many experiences that we're glad we didn't do much else. Our kids loved digging on the beach and would still be doing it long after the adults were bored. My eight-year-old is a boogie board junkie now. You can sometimes buy used boards at the thrift stores.
Hiking in Koke'e state park was a wonderful experience. It's very rugged and there were lots of scrambles and climbs, even on easy hikes. The views are spectacular and the forests are almost all Ohi'a trees full of lehua flowers. At the end of the road, you can look down on the Na Pali coast on one side and Waimea canyon on the other side.
We went to the Smith's luau, which we enjoyed. Luau is Hawaiian for "overpriced meal and cheesy entertainment", but the Smith's luau had a nice feel. Mr. Smith, the patriarch of the huge Hawaiian family, greeted everyone cordially over the imu and told the story of his family, which has put on a luau for 46 years. The ticket takers, servers, dinner entertainers and polynesian dancers are all family members. The food was awesome, the grounds and amphitheater for the show were beautiful, but it was still $70 per adult, which is a nice meal at any restaurant on the island. I told my wife that next time we should try a free hula show at one of the many shopping centers on the island, then go to the Hyatt for a fancy meal. If you want to or have to skip the luau scene, I would recommend the Smith's boat ride to the fern grotto ($20) to enjoy the Smith family's many singers who perform on the trip.
Car rental: If you plan to do much hiking, then having an SUV is a plus so you can skip some road walking to get to your trailhead. Gas there was about $3.50 a gallon.
Ukuleles: There are a few uke stores on the island, including Scotty's in Kalaheo, Hanalei Strings, Bounty Music (from Maui)in Kapa'a and a few others. There is quite a selection on the island and it's not a bad place to buy. The top of the line are probably Island Ukulele, abalone-encrusted works of art from Raymond Rapozo (sp?). Almost all the shops will bargain with you, especially on the more expensive ukes. They all carry the familiar brand names, both luthier and factory-made: Lanikai, Kala, Hula Ukes, Pono, Mele, Kamaka, Koaloha, etc. I'd never seen so many ukes in one place. I resisted the urge to charge one and pay for it later--more savings.
Live music: As I mentioned on another post, we didn't see much live music. My kids wouldn't sit still for much of what we could find, so we just played tourist and left the music for another trip. I wanted to see the McMasters in Hanalei (Fri or Sun), but the kids were squirrelly.
One fun outing was the senior center ukulele club Saturday mornings in Koloa. They welcomed me and my mother warmly and we sang hapa-haole songs with them. One lady asked "Do you have a Hawaiian who teaches you these songs?" I'm not sure she believes you can sing the songs without instruction from a local person.
The big costs, obviously, of Kaua'i are plane fair and lodging, but you need to be ready to resist the sales pitches to do all the expensive stuff. The schedule of "activities" can easily double or triple the cost of the trip. For my family, we were happy to skip most of it.
We made use of the "Kaua'i Revealed" handbook from Wizard Publishing. All the info was solid and didn't gloss over shortcomings.
Jesse Tinsley
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Edited by - hapakid on 07/01/2007 6:29:22 PM |
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thumbstruck
Ahonui
USA
2177 Posts |
Posted - 07/01/2007 : 6:08:42 PM
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| Aloha, Jesse. It's been 30 years since I was on Kaua'i. What a treat for you! I did the sleeping bag routine at a friend's place, ate local, had fish and poi, hung out and played guitar at the laundromat while wash was in the machines. Good fun! |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 07/01/2007 : 6:30:44 PM
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A couple small changes since then, Kory. A lot of very rich haoles have redecorated the place.
Jesse Tinsley |
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 07/02/2007 : 12:58:19 AM
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Jesse - thanks for sharing some very practical advice. Did you find any farmers' markets or any place to buy fresh produce? A few months back in Hawai`i Magazine, there was an article on farmers' markets on the various islands as an inexpensive way to get good eats.
We never did get to Koke`e when we were there last year. Cannot take a rental car there unless you rent 4-wheel drive. Waimea Canyon, though, was one of the most spectacular sights I have ever seen. The majesty of it was so awe inspiring. The colors, so spectacular...the waterfalls way off in the distance, WOW.
Re: lu`au and cheesy entertainment....that depends.... When we were O`ahu we went to Paradise Cove Lu`au. It was expensive, especially since we splurged on the deluxe tickets so we didn't have to stand in a long buffet line. However, the music was pretty darn spectacular. Before dinner, there was a gentleman playing guitar by himself, just mood music, I guess, while everyone took advantage of the "2 free mai-tai coupons per person". No one was paying any attention to this most excellent musician except Paul and I. When he finished a song, we clapped, and were the only ones clapping. He looked over at us and smiled. Then he played Hi`ilawe, a very jazzy sounding rendition, but it was most excellent. After dinner we saw the guitar player and thanked him for his music and told him that we liked "his" Hi`ilawe. He was pretty darn surprised that we knew the mele and asked if we were local. We told him that we were from Cleveland, OH but we truly loved Hawaiian music. In this long treatise, the point I am trying to make is that if you go to the touristy stuff, show the musicians you appreciate their music. Ask for the traditional stuff, if they take requests; feed the tip jar/gourd/calabash; show appreciation when you find the traditional music. If they know there is a market for it, someone will fill the need.
I'm going to ask Andy to put one of my Waimea Canyon pics here, just because the beauty overwhelms me....and maybe it will overwhelm you, too.
Wanda |
Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 07/02/2007 : 06:05:43 AM
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Thanks for your insight, Wanda. I didn't think the luau was cheesy because of the people involved, but because luaus present what they think we want to see, a Polynesian pageant with Tahitian dancing. Indeed, the Smith's luau is far above average with performers who are genuinely enthusiastic and talented. I've been to luaus where performers are phoning it in and thinking about something other than what they're doing. The setting for the Smith's family luau is spectacular, with a stage built over a manmade lagoon and a Disney-style volcano. The dances alternated with performers on the stage,then on the lagoon edge right in front of us. I enjoyed myself, as did my family.
Here are some photos from the luau:
Mr. Smith welcomes the crowd to the luau.
In the center, my two boys try the hula.
Dancers perform on the "floating" stage.
The ubiquitous fire knife dance, my kids' favorite.
The desert-like Waimea Canyon.
North of the canyon, the lush Kalalau Valley.
Muddy roads require an SUV to be sure you can get home.
Crossing a stream to get to hiking off Kuamo'o Rd. No going without an SUV, though cars often try.
My family hiking in Koke'e State Park on the trail to the Alaka'i Swamp. The guidebook said it was a moderate hike. We turned around.
My kids thought this spider was cool.
Jesse Tinsley
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Auntie Maria
Ha`aha`a
USA
1918 Posts |
Posted - 07/02/2007 : 07:00:07 AM
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For future visitors to our island, here are some other ideas:
Free hula shows weekly at Po`ipu Village Shopping Center, Coconut Plantation Marketplace (Kapa`a), and at noon every Wednesday Aunty Bev Muraoka and her kupuna at Harbor Mall in Nawiliwili (my favorite show, because the kupuna are sooooo enthusiastic). And Aunty Bev will insist that everyone learn at least one hula -- great fun for the whole family!
Local lu`au possibilities abound -- the kind of events that are staged for locals, as fundraisers for canoe clubs/halau hula/churches/schools. Check the events calendar of our daily paper (Garden Island News).
And in summer, every Friday & Saturday night is bon dance time here on Kaua`i. Free and definitely a family event. Don't know how to dance? No worries -- you'll learn! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_traditional_dance
Wanna take a free _guided_ hike? Both the Sierra Club and the folks at Koke`e Park host weekend group hikes -- from moderate to strenuous; from an hour or so, to all-day:
http://www.kokee.org/wonderwalks.html
http://www.hi.sierraclub.org/Kauai/kauai-hikes.html
And have a GREAT visit! 
--auntie maria www.mele.com |
Auntie Maria
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My "Aloha Kaua`i" radio show streams FREE online every Thu & Fri 7-9am (HST)
www.kkcr.org - Kaua`i Community Radio
"Like" Aloha Kauai on Facebook, for playlists and news/info about island music and musicians!
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RWD
`Olu`olu
USA
850 Posts |
Posted - 07/02/2007 : 09:44:38 AM
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| Good photographs Jesse. I like the angles and focal lenghts you chose. It looks like you've done it before. |
Bob |
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rendesvous1840
Ha`aha`a
USA
1055 Posts |
Posted - 07/02/2007 : 2:11:39 PM
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One other idea for the future: For about 10 weeks in the spring, the Garden Island Arts Council hosts E Kani Kapila Kakou. Many of Hawaii's finest entertainers have been featured on Kaua'i for a monday night music lesson/ concert. We weren't on Kaua'i at the right time last year,but plan to make it back and spend enough time to get to one show, at least. www.gardenislandarts.org
Paul |
"A master banjo player isn't the person who can pick the most notes.It's the person who can touch the most hearts." Patrick Costello |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 07/02/2007 : 2:30:29 PM
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Haole boy - My day job is as a photojournalist for the Spokane newspaper but on vacation I don't want to carry the big cameras. The little Nikon S5 was a good little tourist camera and I took it as a challenge to try and make it work in various situation, such as at night.
The spider photo I shot with my other whizbang $100 Ebay camera, a Minolta Z3, using the macro mode and the 12X zoom. The Z3 has very poor lowlight capabilities, but worked well in daylight.
Wanda, the periodic local farmers markets are well-publicized, but we often opted to go to the beaches early in the day for the best underwater visibility. There are lots of little stands around for produce, but you don't always save money there. My kids got to try lychee, mango and papaya, which was a great experience for them. If you take a long stick with a hook on it, you can usually get all the mango you can reach off roadside trees.
Auntie Maria, those are all good suggestions. I wished I could have heard your show, but I enjoy sleeping in!!
Jesse Tinsley
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Edited by - hapakid on 07/02/2007 2:32:13 PM |
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 07/02/2007 : 4:13:56 PM
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| Jesse - the fire knife dance picture is spectacular. What kine exposure you use? All mine, can only see the fire. All blurry. |
Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
Posted - 07/02/2007 : 5:14:31 PM
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| Next time we go, wanna come along as official photo man? |
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noeau
Ha`aha`a
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 07/02/2007 : 5:50:56 PM
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| E Kalalau pic is great. You must be blessed. Usually only get clouds. |
No'eau, eia au he mea pa'ani wale nō. |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 07/02/2007 : 7:11:44 PM
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The key to shooting good vacation pix is an old photographer's trick: Take 3000 frames and only show 10. Voila! You're an artist.
The Kalalau Valey was clouded in when we got there, but it cleared out a few times to let us have a glimpse of the Na Pali coast.
The Nikon S5 has pretty good low light capability, so the night shots were shot at around f/4 at 1/15th of a second. To get the exposure right, I turned off the flash and kept the subject, which was lit strongly, in the center, then walked my exposure closer and closer to the correct one by using the exposure compensation setting. Then I deleted a bunch of bad blurry photos.
On the spider I forced a little flash in there to bring out some detail because otherwise it would have been a silhouette.
Jesse Tinsley
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Edited by - hapakid on 07/02/2007 7:12:14 PM |
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Retro
Ahonui
USA
2368 Posts |
Posted - 07/03/2007 : 07:42:00 AM
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| Oh, you've done it now, Jesse. Momi has been warned to avoid this thread - she's arachnophobic! |
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chunky monkey
Ha`aha`a
USA
1025 Posts |
Posted - 07/03/2007 : 08:07:04 AM
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Jesse,
How were the accommodations? |
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 07/03/2007 : 08:38:12 AM
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| PS: Jesse - great looking keiki. Ooooh, they are going to be heart breakers when they grow up. |
Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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