Are you and your family interested in taking a Hawaiian family vacation? If you are, you should know that you have an unlimited number of options. One of those options involves where you and your family would like to stay when visiting Hawaii. For information on popular Hawaii family vacation accommodations, you may want to continue reading on.
Vacation resorts are one of the best choices for families looking to vacation in Hawaii. One of the many reasons why vacation resorts are nice for family vacations is because they often have a number of onsite activities. These activities may include golfing, access to a children's game room, swimming, and so forth. Many Hawaii resorts are designed for parents traveling with children.
Another one of the many reasons why Hawaii resorts may be the best option for you and your family is because of the onsite services that you may gain access to. It is not uncommon for Hawaii resorts, especially those luxury in nature, to extend a number of services to their guests. These services may include room service delivery of foods, a laundry service, as well as a childcare service. If you are traveling with young children or if you just want a break, a childcare service may be ideal for you.
Although there are a number of reasons as to why you should book a stay at a Hawaii resort, for your next family vacation, you should also know that there are a number of downsides to doing so as well. One of those downsides is the potential for crowding. Vacation resorts often have a number of guests, especially during popular vacations months. With that in mind, a large number of guests may also have its benefits. For instance, you and your family could make new friends. This is something that your children may love.
In addition Hawaii vacation resorts, you also may want to book at stay at a Hawaii vacation home. Hawaii vacation homes are nice for family vacations, as they give you the ultimate level of privacy. They also tend to resemble traditional homes, giving off a home-like feel. This is good for parents who are traveling with young children or first time travelers.
Another one of the many reasons why you should examine vacation home rentals, for your next Hawaii family vacation is because of freedom. When renting a Hawaii vacation home, you may have a backyard or even easy access to a beach. This enables you and your family to come and go as you please. You also can enjoy an unlimited number of activities, without having to worry about the noise level or how the person in the next room is feeling. This, alone, gives many parents comfort and peace of mind.
As with Hawaii resorts, you will also find that Hawaii vacation rentals have a few downsides as well. One of those downsides is the cost. Hawaii vacation rentals can be costly. With that in mind, it is important to remember that cost depends on a number of different factors, including size and location. If you are looking to take a Hawaii family vacation on a budget, you may want to examine smaller vacation homes or those that are located inland, as they are often cheaper in price.
You also have the option of staying at a Hawaii hotel. Hawaii hotels resemble Hawaii resorts; however, they don't always have as many onsite activities or services. They are, however, ideal for those who are vacationing on a budget. If you are interested in getting out and seeing Hawaii, as opposed to staying at your hotel, this may be a nice option for you.
Hawaii condo rentals are another popular choice for vacationers in Hawaii. Although you may want to take time to examine them, you may find Hawaii resorts or vacation homes a better choice. This is because many condo complexes are designed with adults in mind. You may still want to take the time to examine condo rentals, as you may be surprised with what you are able to find available.
Of course, the decision as to where you want to stay for your next Hawaii family vacation is your decision to make. When making that decision though, you may want to keep the above mentioned points in mind.
Best Accommodations For Hawaii Family Vacations
Hawaii Vacation Rentals Bring You a World of Adventure
With 4,028 square miles of land and still growing, there's no shortage of adventure on Hawaii's Big Island. Hiking, biking, and horseback riding seem even more thrilling set amongst the island's diverse environments and volcanic formations. Spend your morning snorkelling in Kealakekua Bay, then spend the afternoon horseback riding in Parker Ranch. Visit Volcanoes National Park one day, then stargaze atop Mauna Kea the next. Learn about ancient Hawaiian culture at a temple (Puukohala Heiau), a palace (Hulihee Palace), or a city of refuge (Puuhonua o Honaunau National Historic Park). The itineraries are endless on Hawaii's Big Island, and Hawaii vacation rentals open a world of adventure!
Hiking adventures near Hawaiian vacation rentals abound in Volcanoes National Park. Hike through the Thurston Lava Tube, Devastation Trail, or the challenging Crater Rim trail, which encircles the summit of Kilauea Volcano's caldera. Be sure to pack comfortable shoes when you visit Hawaii's Big Island. Take a day hike on Chain of Craters Road. Or for well-equipped and experienced backpackers, hike overnight in the park's backcountry. See a ranger at the Kilauea Visitor Center to get trail information, maps, and permits. Or you can discover Hawaii by taking a guided tour with a renowned naturalist guide who will share with you a world of rainforests, waterfalls, cliffside trails, rare birds, sunsets atop Mauna Kea and other active volcanoes. Guided biking tours are also available at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, followed by wine tasting at the Volcano Winery. Many stables provide guided horseback tours in Waipio Valley and Kahua Ranch. Waipio Valley provides spectacular waterfalls and lush jungle trails, while Kohala boasts panoramic views of the coastline. One of Hawaii's great area kayaking adventures is the sea caves and lava tubes out of Keauhou Bay. There are also many great kayaking and snorkeling sites like Kiholo, A bay, Puako, Kona bay, and Hookena beach that are both fun and rewarding. If you take a swim at Ho'okena Beach, the green sea turtles may come right up to you in the surf!
Big island vacation rentals put you in the center of the action. The Big Island is also the birthplace of King Kamehameha I, and home to the annual Merrie Monarch Festival, Hawaii's Big Island has a strong connection to its Hawaiian heritage. The arts community is also flourishing in places like Holualoa near Kailua-Kona, Hawi in North Kohala, and Hilo. Performing arts, exhibits, and festivals occur year-round so check local papers for events and times. While in Kona, have a cup of coffee! 100% pure Kona coffee is a rare commodity exclusively grown in north and south Kona. The high elevation, constant cloud coverage, and rich volcanic soil in the upland slopes of Kona and the small town of Holualoa create an ideal environment for harvesting this unique Hawaiian coffee bean. There are roughly 600 coffee farms in Kona and many offer tours to the public. Visit thriving coffee orchards and learn about the meticulous harvesting process. Then explore the coffee mill and see how the beans are processed. As you finish your tour, sip a freshly brewed cup for yourself and experience the rich aroma and flavorful taste that makes 100% Kona coffee so highly valued.
Hawaiian vacation rentals are the best way to spend your time on the islands. HawaiianBeachRentals.com specializes in finding the perfect accommodations for clients. On their site they have numerous hawaii vacation rentals to choose from including big island vacation rentals which are not as easy to find compared to the other islands. Check it out as it costs you nothing to browse the properties.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alice_Lane
Big Island, Hawaii Promotes Health & Wellness Travel
Because of the rise in wellness tourism business owners on the Big Island of Hawaii have got together to promote a travel initiative that they collectively hope will prove so successful that it will eventually be adopted by the rest of the state.
The Hawaii Island Wellness Travel Association, composed of 120 business owners and holistic professionals, has set up a meeting with both the Big Island Visitors Bureau and Hawaii County officials to take the initiative further at which they hope to agree marketing strategies, develop effective packaging and adopt a set of rules for health and wellness travel to Hawaii, which they regard as a booming business.
As recently as 2005 almost $50,000 was set aside by Hawaii Tourism Authority to be used to quantify how well wellness tourism could be developed in the archipelago. A leading research company was approached to produce a comprehensive study of the health and wellness tourism market for the state of Hawaii. However, significant progress stalled once the report had been produced, and only now, some two years later, is the idea being re-launched.
One of the most vociferous proponents and advocates of wellness tourism Lew Whitney, co-founder of the Kokolulu Farm and Qigong Center based in North Kohala said: "We've been trying for years to persuade the Hawaii Tourism Authority that this (wellness) offers a great opportunity for the whole state of Hawaii and not just the Big Island." Over the last nine years the Center has offered a range of cancer retreats and meditative healing programs and Whitney admits that it has been a struggle getting the message across to tourism chiefs. However, Whitney highlights that the Center, located on the northern tip of the Big Island, has been successfully trading for almost 10 years, and with little promotional help from the Hawaii Tourism Authority has managed to remain in business, albeit with the help of some charitable contributions.
Indeed, leading research group Mintel produced a comprehensive Market Research document which looked at wellness tourism being offered throughout the world in places as far flung as Japan, Hungary, India, Austria and Thailand. It concluded, amongst other things that markets were expanding as more and more people, of all ages, made their vacation choices based on health and wellness travel demonstrating that that the sector had a bright future.
As more people take to using alternative and natural remedies, tying wellness into hotel deals in Hawaii could herald a bold new initiative that in the long run may well add an extra string to the already well developed tourism bow for the state.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adam_Singleton |
Do They Really Have Green and Black Sand Beaches on the Big Island of Hawaii?
Going to the beach is a big thing in Hawaii, because we are blessed with not only weather consistently gorgeous year round, but also with numerous beautiful beaches on which to enjoy our golden days.
Because our Big Island is geologically quite young and the landscape is immature, our beaches tend to be smaller than those on the older islands, and are therefore all the more precious. What the Big Island has that some of the other islands lack, though, are beaches with spectacularly colored sand. White sand, black sand, green sand and even grey sand.
The creamy white sand beaches of picture postcards and hapa haole songs result from the accumulation of small particles of coral reef and crushed shell fish shells. As the reefs grow, wave and storm action break it into small pieces and many fish, such as the parrot fish, munch the coral whole and spit-out sand sized particles. Other fish, such as the humuhumunukunukuapua'a swallow the coral and sand-size pellets of sandy waste come out their other end. In this way, one coral-eating reef fish can produce up to a ton of white sand a year. Because our white sand beaches result from physical degradation of soft, biological material the sand grains tend to have rounded edges. Thus, unlike sands derived from rock and mineral sources, such as the California beaches, they do not stack well and tend to produce poor sand castles.
Beautiful white sand beaches occur all over the Big Island, but are biggest and best developed on the Kona and Kohala coastlines, as coral reefs prosper best on the lee-side of the island. Prime examples of white sand beaches include Anaeho'omalu, Hapuna, Wailea and Makalawena Beaches. Snorkeling at these white sand beaches is a joy-the water is a brilliant turquoise due to the amount of light reflected back into the water by the sandy shore bottom. However, this sandy bottom itself is relatively barren of life, so if seeing fish is your main snorkeling goal, be sure to choose a beach with a nearby reef, such as Wailea Beach, since the fish live in and around reefs and rocky cliffs.
Black sand beaches are strange and spectacular, and, because of their thermal properties, are warm even on a chilly day (Oh, yes, we do have chilly days here in Hawaii--in mid-winter temperatures can dip into the low 70s and even rarely the upper 60s!). In fact, it is the black sand beaches of the Big Island that are the choice among egg-laying female Hawaiian green sea turtles for laying their egg clutches on, precisely because of their warmth.
Black sand beaches result from the fiery, explosive mix of hot liquid lava entering the ocean. The skin of the lava stream is instantly chilled as it flows into the water and then blasted off when the ocean water flashes to steam. Black sand also results from mechanical action during the natural physical erosion of the basalt (the name for the rock our lava becomes once it cools). You'd think that sand forged in the volcano would be tough and enduring, but in truth, it's very, very fragile and black sand beaches do not last long over time. For this reason, although the sand is beautiful and rare, we ask you not to take any home with you.
Black sand beaches occur all over the island, two of the largest are on the north end of the island, crossing the mouths of Waipi'o and Pololu Valleys, respectively. These are not visited as often as some of the others as both entail something of a hike down into the canyons. What once must have been a heart-achingly beautiful, large black sand beach fronts Hilo Town right on Hilo bay, but much of it has been eroded, polluted and degraded by industrial encroachment or simply paved over as a result of urbanization. By far the most popular black sand beach is at Punalu'u. Not only is the beach lovely, inviting and easily accessible, it's almost guaranteed that the visitor will see Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles basking on this beach. The newest and most vibrant black sand beach is Kaimu Beach at the end of the Kalapana-Kopoho Road, near where the village of Kalapana was engulfed by the volcano a few years ago. Snorkeling at the black sand beaches can be dark and mysterious, as little light is reflected back into the water from the sandy bottom, but the bouldery nature of the off-beach sea floor assures the prospect of abundant life and many reef fish. Be aware...because black sand beaches mostly occur on the youngest, and therefore most exposed, portions of the island, many are characterized by big waves, strong currents and nasty rip tides. Swim only where you see others swimming, and only when a life guard is present.
Wild, surreal, enchanting, the Big Island's green sand beaches are a rare geologic occurrence that appears in only a few choice spots on our island and almost nowhere else in the world. Although they take a little effort to get to, you should not travel all the way to Hawaii and not see these jewel-like beaches.
The green sand is composed almost entirely of the mineral olivine, or peridot as the gem quality crystals are known. These crystals precipitate out of the molten lava while it sits in the magma chamber reservoir before it erupts onto the surface. The liquid lava is melted from rocks at great depth within the earth; the chemical composition of the melt is at equilibrium at extremely high pressures and temperatures. As the magma migrates upward, many miles, through the Earth's crust, it cools and pressure decreases; this causes crystals to precipitate to form in the melt. In magmas world wide, olivine is almost always observed to precipitate out first. Hawaii lavas migrate up to the surface so quickly, and then are expelled from the magma chamber onto the surface so quickly, that they have little time for many crystals to form. But when lava does sit in the magma chamber awhile, the olivine crystals do precipitate, and they slowly settle to the bottom of the melt. As liquid lava begins to erupt onto the surface, much of the olivine is left behind in the residual liquid. Thus, lavas erupted from the latest stages of these magma chambers sometimes are enriched with crystalline olivine. Since late stage magmas are also relatively cooler and less fluid, their eruptions are more explosive and they tend to form more spatter cones than flows. The green sand beaches of the Big Island result where the ocean has breached one or another of these spatter cones, and the winnowing action of the waves has washed away all the particles except for the relatively denser olivine grains.
There are tiny green sand beaches all along the southern coastline on either side of South Point, but the largest and most accessible is Papkolea Beach at South Point, reached by a moderate hike of about 2 ¼ miles along the wild coastline northeast of South Point, following an old 4WD two-track. Once again, due to its rarity and the irreplaceable nature of this resource, we ask that you enjoy our Green Sand beaches, but don't take any sand home with you.
Warm, comfortable and inviting, grey sand beaches result from mixing of black sand particles with white sand along a stretch of beach and as such, are represented by a continuum of grey hues. In fact, many Big Island beaches probably fit more with a definition of grey sand beach than properly occupy either of the two distinct end member compositions, black sand or white sand beach. Ho'okena, Kahalu'u and Honomalino are three of the largest and most popular grey sand beaches on the Big Island.
Then there are the funny sands that are either exceedingly rare or seasonal. Consider one entirely unique beach, Ke-awa-iki, which today is a dominantly black sand beach, but the black sand has incompletely mixed with the older white sand on the southern portion of the beach, leaving a stretch of strange, but oddly artistic, piebald black and white sand. And then there are the pink sands formed during winter when storm-derived deep waves wash and grind-up more coral turning some otherwise white sand beaches absolutely pink; Wailea Beach and Keakaikua beaches are prime examples of this.
Now picture yourself on the Big Island on vacation...your only assignment, sprawl out every different colored beach you can find and see which is just right for you! Sounds pretty sweet, huh?
http://www.tourguidehawaii.com
http://www.tourguidehawaii.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donald_MacGowan
Hawaii Vacations - Beautiful Beaches And Warm Waters
Hawaii is a perfect destination for people wanting to escape the hassles of city life. The Hawaiian Islands are the 50th state to join the United States and is the only state which is not connected to the continental states by land. Hawaii is an oasis which is completely surrounded by water and is remote enough to still be able to offer visitors the natural, pristine beauty of beaches, waterfalls, forests, and volcanoes.
The serene beauty of Hawaii cannot be described in mere words. Imagine sitting on a beautiful beach, with a cool breeze of air whistling in your ears, and watching that unforgettable moment when the sun becomes an eclectic hue of orange and red color, resembling like a ball, and falling into the lap of the ocean. Well, just a thought of such a heavenly beauty would charm your senses. Isn't it?
A vacation to Hawaii is memorable. There are so many places of natural beauty to visit. There are places in the islands that are nothing like anything else in the world. When you come to Hawaii you'll visit the most beautiful beaches with clear blue water and the pure white sand.
Hawaii vacations are simple to book and not that expensive. You can book a package that includes your room, tours, and airport transfers. You can easily fly to Hawaii from most larger airports.
Do you enjoy resting on warm beaches? Do you like stunning scenery, gorgeous sunrises, exciting adventures? How about more physical activities such as scuba diving or windsurfing? If your answer to any one of those questions is yes, you ought to consider a Maui vacation package. With its wide range of activities and perfect climate, Maui is an ideal vacation spot. Whether you want to stand at the top of a 10,000 foot volcano or swim with dolphins under the sea, there's something for you in Maui.
We'd be making a mistake if we didn't mention Oahu in our article. It's yet another island of Hawaii that you might enjoy. It features fresh, tropical winds and a view of the famous Diamond Head. You might consider an Oahu vacation package, which could include a trip to Pearl Harbor. All of the islands feature luxury hotels and amazing resorts with world class facilities. Think about soaking up the scenic beauty found in Hawaii through a Hawaii Vacation travel package.
Hawaii is an isolated island paradise not connected to the mainland. Hawaii has lovely beaches, soft breezes, and brilliant sunsets which should appeal to travelers anywhere. Hawaii vacations include white sandy beaches unlike anywhere else in the world. Vacations in Hawaii are affordable. Packages offer accommodations and tours as well as airport pick-up and drop-off. A Maui vacation package gives you swimming under waterfalls, hours of fun on beaches, windsurfing, and a chance to watch the sunrise from atop a 10,000 foot high volcano. An Oahu vacation package includes visiting Diamond Head, seeing Pearl Harbor, and sandy beaches and some of the finest hotels and resorts.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ellen_Gentry
Hawaii Timeshares - Make Money and Vacation With Hawaii Timeshares
Are you interested in taking a vacation to Hawaii once a year? Do you want to vacation there with a resort company and you want to do it the right way? There are ways to get the Hawaii vacation you want and make money with Hawaii timeshares. Here is the step by step plan to your timeshare in Hawaii.
First, get yourself a timeshare in Hawaii. This is a bit obvious, but there is a strategy involved. You need to get online and find a resort that will offer you a free stay to check the place out. Then, when you go through the presentation make sure you say no until there is a manager sitting at your table making a final offer and getting a bit irritated.
This is how you get the best deal and they will lower their price at least 3 times before they get to the price that you should settle on. This is what you need to do when purchasing your Hawaii timeshare.
Second, make sure you purchase two weeks or more and get a larger unit, if you can. This will make step three easier on you and that is where you are going to make money. Now you have a timeshare and you are ready to use it once a year for a vacation and once a year as a money makers.
Third, go on vacation once a year and go ahead and enjoy yourself. This is important because Hawaii is great and you need to be able to vacation there once a year to get your full moneys worth.
Last, you need to rent your unit out to someone else for the other week you own it. This is where you make a couple thousand dollars a year and you can do this in the peak season in Hawaii. Hawaii timeshares are great for rentals and there will be plenty of people ready to jump on it. A larger unit will allow the possibility of a couple of families splitting it or a couple of couples sharing it for the week. This will only make it easier to rent out.
Discover all the Secrets to getting Hawaii Timeshares here: Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Benjamin_Robert_Ehinger |  |
RSS Feed (xml)