Aloha! Just before I will
share my Qinghai adventure with you, I will take you one more back to Hawaii.
As I was sharing my impressions of the Ritz Carlton Maui in yesterday's
article, I will today take you on back to my island hopping, share some useful
advices and beautiful photos..
I spent a total of 6 nights in
Hawaii which I had to split and balance for two islands. As I first scheduled
to visit Honolulu only 6 nights didn't seemed too bad for me. A drone of mine
convinced me to visit Maui too, so as I did and truly Maui was the highlight
only my travel to Hawaii. I can highly recommend visiting Maui while planning a
travel to Hawaii.
I spent 4 nights in Maui. As I
wanted to travel around the island I was trying to figure out with the public
transport. The best advice I can share is to take an airport shuttle to your
hotel and find a local car rental. There are some public busses but these are
not reliable and often they are coming every two hours only. Also the driving
is very comfortable and easy and car rentals are very cheap. I rented a car for
3 days for only $80 and payed $30 for a full reload of gas.
A slight note that I was also
not aware of is that the car rental age in the USA is 25. People from 21-24 can
rent a car but need to pay at most of the "big" rentals an extra charge
for being under age. This fee is between $25 - $50 per day each. Some local
rentals do not do an extra charge and by renting an older car which has already
a few scratches you are not only paying less but also don't need to be afraid
of filth.
When visiting Maui I can share
the advice to do a road trip. I did the road to Hana back and forth on one day.
It was a 3 hour drive each but it was truly amazing. On the road to Hana one
will discover waterfalls and small independent towns.
Another trip I did was going
to the Ritz Carlton. Treating oneself with a Hawaiian lomi lomi massage,
enjoying the beach and pool side and the delicious food over there will truly
upgrade ones experience.
For me as a runner I also
enjoyed to run around. One day I even did a 13km race and discovered all the
beautiful landscapes and impressions.
The flight from Maui to
Honolulu is only 40 minutes. As Honolulu is more modern I wanted to save money
and ordered an uber. I was staying in an Airbnb with lovely hosts and truly
enjoyed my stay over day.
As I had a flight change from
Maui to Honolulu I only had one day to spend in Honolulu. I found again a cheap
car rental and payed only $50 including taxes and gas.
When I received the car I was
sure to spend the whole day in the car. I truly traveled the whole island that
day and was able to discover all parts and beaches.
In the evening I drove with
the car through Waikiki but I can't recommend this place. It's super packed
with tourists and has just nothing special but pricy restaurants and fast food.
When coming to Hawaii make sure to go where the locals go and make your stay
something special.
In case one is not having a driver license one can still take the bus, which is also running in Honolulu. The fee is $2,50 and there's no change. Make sure to bring coins. It will take very long to use the bus and one won't be able to discover all parts as the bus is not stopping on most of the places.
Visiting Hawaii had always been a dream of mine that I was finally able to gift myself. Next year I'm planning to discover the other islands, so as big island and watch the Vulcan. If you have ever been to Hawaii I would be happy if you could share your impressions and advices with me. I'm so thrilled to go back to Hawaii next year and feeling so lucky already.
