4th of July 2008 on Hawaii Big Island

This Best Hawaii Vacation blog post is for all the lucky ones who spend 4th of July on vacation in Hawaii. Be assured that all the Hawaii hotels and resorts bring on some special celebration dinners, hula shows and the not to be missed fireworks. What I like best best with the 4th of July fireworks is that there is not such a long wait till midnight like at New Years. This also accommodates the families with kids in Hawaii. The entire family can watch the fireworks at 8:30pm. Make sure to get your dinner reservation for 4th of July dinner. The hotels will be packed for dinners and 4th of July fireworks.

Wherever you are on Hawaii the Big Island, the island puts on a big 4th of July extravaganza, even at remote Volcano Village, near Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. There won't be any any fireworks but a parade with Hawaii County Band, floats, horses and animals in costumes! Music, games, food booths and a craft fair will follow. So, when you happen to be visiting Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the parade will start at 9am in Volcano Village. On your drive back home to the Kohala Coast hotels through Hilo town, you can choose from three 4th of July firework locations starting at 8:30pm: On and along the Bayfront Highway and beach area; the soccer fields along Kamehameha Avenue and Queen Liliuokalani Park.

One of my favorite events on 4th of July on Hawaii's Big Island is 'Turtle Independence Day' at Mauna Lani Beach Hotel & Bungalows. If you vacation with kids on the Kona or Kohala Coast, you don't want to miss this big day when three and four year old turtles are released in the ocean after growing up in the Mauna Lani ponds! Whether it's little turtles or big ones, I don't know what it is with our fascination with turtles. It's not just the kids who get attracted. We do so too. Also read our Tips for watching Green Sea turtles!

Fun for the entire family is programmed at Waikoloa Beach Resort with free entertainment all day long for 4th of July, from 10 am to 8:30 pm. The highlights will be the Waikoloa Rubber Duckie Race and of course, fireworks and laser light show at 8:30 pm. You can get forms for "Duckie adoption" at all Kings' Shops merchants. Best part of this 4th of July event - the benefits will go to United Cerebral Palsy Association. of Hawaii!

The new Shopping Center at Mauna Lani Beach Resort 'The Shops at Mauna Lani' offers some great entertainment for their 4th of July celebration, in addition to their free breathtaking Hawaiian shows Mon, Wed, Thur + Fri at 7pm and 8pm! Enjoy enjoy free pupus on Thursday, July 3rd, from 6:00-8:00 pm and listen to the Bill Noble Jazz Band from 6:30-8:30pm. Celebrate the 4th with free balloon animals and continue the fun on the 5th with free face painting from 1:00-3:00 pm. There will be free giveaways every day, including hats, pens and coolers. In addition to all those fun activities, there are lots of prizes to win. Stop at the Shops at Mauna Lani for 4th of July. Maybe you will be the winner of the $500 shopping Spree!

Let's not forget to mention the 4th of July Independence Parade in Kailua-Kona starting at 5:30pm. Kona will highlight their 4th of July celebration with fireworks at Old Kona Airport Park. Fourth of July fireworks will start at 8:30 p.m. at Old Airport State Park. The Park will close at 6 p.m. You can watch the fireworks from Kailua-Kona after the parade, or watch from Makalapua Center (Macy's, movie theaters, KMart).

For those who want to see some more action, the Annual Parker Ranch 4th of July Rodeo is celebrating the Year of the Paniolo. There will be action-packed rodeo events, keiki (children) activities and ono (delicious) food. Parker Ranch paniolo (Hawaiian cowboys) are joined by other Big Island paniolo for a corral of traditional rodeo events from 9:00 a.m. until noon at Parker Ranch Arena, Waimea.

Enjoy your special 4th of July celebration in Hawaii. There will be many friends on the Mainland who envy you for it. Let us know on what Hawaiian island you spent your 4th of July and what you did. Mahalo and aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations

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Tags: Hawaii, vacation, travel, Hawaii vacation, 4th of July in Hawaii

Hiking in Hawaii

Welcome back to our Best Hawaii Vacation blog,

If you have not voted yet for your favorite Hawaii story on our blog, be invited to do so. You may leave a comment on that birthday invitation post or if you have a hard time to do so, just email us the title of the Hawaii article you liked best. Everybody who votes, will get a link to his blog or site on our Hawaii birthday celebration blog post 7/27/08.

Recently, the question came up on Yahoo questions what to do in Hawaii when on a summer vacation. Interestingly, the Hawaii visitors also wanted to know whether 'Hiking' is a good option for things to do on a summer vacation in Hawaii. To be honest, I did not win the credits for best answer this time but decided to share what I wrote about hiking on the Hawaiian Islands.

There is definitely great hiking on all the Hawaiian islands - to hidden waterfalls and spectacular valleys! Maybe it sounds odd but you can even get lost when hiking in Hawaii. So definitely tell your friends or hosts where you intend to go for your hike. For challenging hikes, make sure you don't go by yourself but with a hiking companion.

There are great hiking books available plus the Hawaii Island Revealed books, there is one for each island, also make hiking suggestions!

Hiking the Na Pali Coast on Kauai is one of those challenging hiking adventures. You want to have the right outfit and have somebody with you who has done it before. We didn't do that one but we had a wonderful hike to the Fern Grotto on Kauai after Kayaking the Wailua River. No guide needed for kayaking or hiking!

Maui has a lot of trails around Haleakala. If interested in hiking on Mauai, visit Maui Island Hiking Trails which offers a map with Maui hiking trails, hiking destinations and hike description with length of hike and level of hike.

I am not too familiar with hiking on Oahu but Frommer's - Frommer's Hawaii 2008 is a perfect book to have for your trip to Hawaii anyways - lists a lot of great Oahu hiking trails and resources.


The Big Island offers exciting hikes, around and into Waipio Valley on the Hamakua Coast and Pololu Valley in North Kohala. When hiking into the valleys (Pololu is much easier than Waipio), it's an experience of a life time you won't forget. Just one suggestion: better don't go swimming in the ocean there, as you are not familiar with undercurrents in the area.

You will find a lot of hiking on the Big Island in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Our favorite trail is the Kilauea Iki Trail. When you follow the signs of the Park Rangers, it is very safe. And which of your friends can say they have seen a live volcano and real red glowing lava on their vacation?!

Hiking should be something different and exciting on your summer vacation in Hawaii. Have fun. What's your favorite hike in Hawaii? Aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations
p.s.
Summer in Hawaii can be very hot but as hikes are mostly leading into higher elevation hillside and mountain territory, it will be a nice change to lying on the beach all day long. Don't forget: hat + plenty of water + sunscreen when hiking in Hawaii!

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Easy and Cheap Wall Decorating

Don't just decorate your walls with only a goal of filling up space in mind, instead map out a plan. Consider which wall in a room is the focal point, and focus on hanging related art in that area. There are many options as far at what you can hang, such as prints, plates, clocks, rugs, quilts or items that you make. It is best to focus on maintaining a theme.

For those who aren't sure how to arrange the pictures and don't want to have to use trial and error to decide, there is an easy way to save your walls the extra holes. Try tracing the pictures you want to hang onto pieces of construction paper and cutting the paper to size. Then, you can hang these pieces of paper on your walls using painter's tape until you are happy with the arrangement. Then, you can install the necessary hardware directly over the paper, and rip the paper off after you're ready to hang the actual picture. If you have several pictures that are the same size and you either don't have a frame, or you just want to dress up the picture even more, you can create a background frame. This is done by taping off an area on the wall where you are going to hang the picture, and painting the area a darker shade of your wall color. Make sure the area you paint is at least a few inches larger than your art on all sides. You can make this fake frame more detailed by making it two dimensional with other fake frames within your frame in different shades of the color scheme you're using.

If you have frames for all of your pictures, but they are different colors and sizes, you can paint them all the same color to tie them all together.

Stencils can be used to design your walls, usually these are used around windows or doors. Simple wooden blocks can be attached to walls to be used as picture, pottery, or candle holders. You can also paint wooden blocks with words or quotes to hang on the walls.

Find a nursing job.

Time to Decorate Your Porch

Now that Summer is underway it is a perfect time to decorate outside, if you haven't already. If you have a porch by your home entrance, it is the first thing visitors see. Since visitors often wait a few moments for you to answer the door, they really have a chance to look around. It is fun and easy to make your porch more attractive and add a personal touch.

First of all it is best to clean your patio completely so you have a blank slate to work with. Make sure you get your windows and even shine your doorknob. Then, remove everything you had on your porch before. This way, it will be easier to see what space you have available and come up with a vision.

Next, you get to pick the style you want to go for. This should be a style that you feel comfortable with, that really makes your porch feel like yours. It is best to choose a theme and stick with it in all of the decorations you choose.

The doormat that you pick is more important than you may think! I know I always look at the doormat while I wait to enter a person's home, so, make sure you clean or buy a new mat if yours starts to look old. You could even choose a rug to use as a doormat if you have a larger porch. Make sure your rug fits with the theme you have selected for your porch.

If you have the space on your patio for furniture there are lots of options. You can choose cozy wicker furniture with cushions for relaxing a reading or talking. Or, if you think you might use your porch to entertain, you may want to choose a table with extra seating.

The last thing to consider are fun extra touches like pillows, plants, wind chimes, candles, vases and more. Beware of creating a cluttered look. Stick to the decorations that enhance the theme you chose, instead of detracting from it.
Find a job in the travel nursing field.

www.BetterHomeInteriors.com is here!

We are so excited that you stopped by! Better Home Interiors is in it's 6th year of business and we are going strong thanks to so many of you loyal customers! We offer a great selection of traditional and country furniture, shelves, clocks, vinyl lettering, decorative metal, picture frames and so many home accessories to help you make your house a home. We want you to feel the warmth and comfort that comes when your surroundings compliment your style and your families unique personlity.

We are working hard to get our website loaded with all of our products and furniture and appreciate you checking back and also the feedback that we get from you on the things that you love for your home or things you are looking for. We work with so many talented craftsman and vendors that enable us to offer you such wonderful high quality products!

Remember, we offer a vast array of projects and craft kits for your Girl's Night Out activity or Super Saturday Enrichment. We will be adding a large amount of projects to our craft kit section over the next couple of weeks. We are so excited about what we have to offer and the value that we are able to provide. Please remember that our dates for fall activities fill up fast, so remember to book your activity early!

Don't forget to let us know you stopped by. Give us a hello in the comments!

Vote for your favorite Hawaii Story!

Can anybody believe that another year has passed since our 1st Hawaii Blog Anniversary in July 2007! Well, time flies by when you are having fun, Keoki likes to say. Well, the full year is not over yet but it's time to reflect and prepare our blog birthday celebration. In this post, we are taking a few moments to recount what we have achieved during the past year of blogging about Hawaii and what we intend to do for celebration.

First of all, we'd like to say 'Mahalo' to all our Best Hawaii Vacation Blog visitors, to those who were dropping in to read up on a certain post, but more so to those who visited our blog regularly and even left comments when they felt they had something to contribute to our article. We are happy to name a few right here: Bobbie from The Right Blue, Charles from WaveShoppe and Evelyn from HomespunHonolulu. Thanks for having your steady support in our Hawaii MyBloglog family.

We also owe big thanks to our Best Hawaii Vacation guest authors, Hawaii bloggers or visitors, who shared their Hawaii stories. With their article contributions, our Hawaii blog became more entertaining by talking about Hawaii from a different perspective and with a different style. We definitely encourage everybody who is in love with Hawaii to join our guest authors. If you have a nice Hawaii story to tell - no specials skills required! - please, let us know. We will publish it with a short bio and link to your website.

OK let's get to the point celebrating our Hawaii blog birthday with all of you. Last time when celebrating our 1st Blog Birthday we did not ask for presents. On the opposite, we gave everybody, who left a comment, a link to their site with a short description what their Hawaii blog is all about. This time we decided to write our birthday invitation early, so all those busy bloggers or Hawaii site owners or Hawaii visitors have enough time to join the fun.

How can you join our 2nd Best Hawaii Vacation Blog Birthday Bash?

It's very easy. You simply tell us which one of our Hawaii blog articles you like best. Finish the following sentence "My favorite article at Best Hawaii Vacation blog is ..."

What will you get?

Everybody who leaves a comment on this post or provides his vote for best article by email, will get a link on our Birthday Bash Post on July 27, 2008 (sorry no adult sites).

What will we get?

Hopefully we will get some good feedback which Hawaii stories our blog visitors liked best and want to hear more about in future blog posts.

Best way to find an interesting Hawaii blog story

With 165 posts and steadily growing, the best way to find an article you want to vote for, is by cruising the Best Hawaii Vacation Categories towards the bottom of right side bar. Find what Hawaii category is your favorite, click it and choose from a number of choices there. Our Best Hawaii Articles in the top is an option as well.

Vote for your favorite Hawaii Article by leaving a comment

Easiest way to submit your vote is to leave a comment right here on this post. Make sure not to sign in with Google but with name/URL (don't forget http://). With that method you actually double your chances to increase traffic to your blog or site. However, if you don't know how to leave a comment, send us an email and we will add your vote for you. Make sure to include your site or blog URL.

Let the fun begin and choose your favorite Hawaii story at Best Hawaii Vacation blog today. Don't forget to check your link on our Birthday Blog Post 7/27/08!

Mahalo and aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations Summer Deals
p.s.
It was a tough decision this time which of the beautiful Hawaiian girls from WahineStyle
we wanted to have as our special Hawaii birthday girl. We chose Kahiau on the beach. What do you think?

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Hawaii Vacation Deals Book NOW!

Aloha Hawaii lovers,

There is not much money to save on airfares to Hawaii this summer. Good for those who booked their Hawaii vacation early. But here comes the good news for those who are still looking for cheap places to stay in Hawaii this summer. Hawaii vacation rental owners are willing to offer you 'Hawaii Vacation Deals Book Now!'

If you have not booked your hotel or vacation rental for July or August yet, this is your chance to save on your Hawaiian Vacation this Summer! Vacation for less on Hawaii Big Island. Vacation Homes listed are all in close distance to best beaches. Here are big discounts offered by oceanview vacation rental homes on the Kona and the prestigious Kohala Coast. Let's start with Kohala Coast Hawaii Vacation Deals:

BIGGEST DISCOUNT Ocean View Vacation Home 2Bd/2Ba Kohala Coast Ocean View
Next Vacancy July + August at 40% off! Book this Home today for lowest rate this Summer $150/nt.!

New Beach listing on Kohala Coast! Puako Oceanfront 4Bd/5Ba from $735/nt. (sleeps 8)
Next vacancy 7/5 - 7/10, 7/18 - 7/31 + 8/8 - 8/31/08
Best price for your family beach vacation! Puako beach homes normally rent for $2500/nt.

BEST RATE Kohala Coast 2Bd/2Ba Waikoloa Beach Resort Condo from $145/nt. (dbl.)
Next Vacancy 7/7 - 7/31 + 8/13 - 8/31/08. BOOK it while you can!!!

Kohala Coast vacation home Gated Community 3BR/3.5BA, $435/nt. (dbl.) w/pool & tennis court
Next vacancy 7/1 - 7/15, 8/1 - 8/7, 8/16 - 8/31/08


Kona 4Bd/5Ba Vacation Home with pool/jacuzzi Amazing 180-degree ocean views
Next vacancies 7/12 - 19, 7/27 - 8/31/08. Kona Hawaii vacation deal starts at amazing $299/nt. (6 people). Best Hawaii vacation deal this SUMMER!
Perfect for Kona vacations with friends, for Hawaii family reunion and Kona wedding!

Kona Vacation Home, gorgeous ocean views 2Bd/2Ba Kona Home with Pool
Next Vacancy 7/11- 7/31, 8/1 - 8/12, 8/18 -31/08. From $200 (6 people)

That's it for today. Lot's of stuff to contemplate about. We hope our little tricks 'How to save money on gas in Hawaii' and our today's post 'Save on Hawaii Vacation Deals', helps you putting your Hawaii summer vacation together. Aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacation Specials
p.s.
When you contact us, please, tell us that you found these Hawaii Vacation Deals on Best Hawaii Vacation blog.

Tags: Hawaii, Travel, Vacation, Big Island, Hawaii Vacation Deals

How to Save Money on Gas in Hawaii?

Aloha Hawaii travelers,

It's time to tackle something more important than shopping for a bikini or Aloha shirt in Hawaii. When dealing with Hawaii vacation on a daily basis, the last few months have shown that travel priorities shifted and questions like "Where can I get the lowest airfares to Hawaii?", "When is the cheapest month to travel to Hawaii", "Which car rental company in Hawaii offers the cheapest rental rates?" are dominating Hawaii travel forums and Hawaii blogs." Well, you get the picture!

We are all well aware that a Hawaii vacation was always kind of exclusive and special. Now it seems with more and more tourists shopping for the lowest and cheapest rates and fares, we feel like we need to jump start the Hawaii vacation 'engine' and come up with some money saving ideas especially when facing the rising gas prices on the Mainland and in Hawaii.

Before pulling some tricks from my hat, I'd still like to say this: To my mind, it's a misconception, that Hawaii gas prices are generally quoted as the highest in the nation. It all depends where you are on the island and where you fill your tank! However, what is a fact gas prices are higher this year than they were on your last Hawaii vacation. A few driving and strategic adjustments might be necessary to help you to save gas in Hawaii:

Of course, just as in the past the further the gas station is away from the harbor where the gas actually arrives on the Hawaii island, where you are vacationing on, the more money you pay.

7 Best tips for saving money on gas in Hawaii:

1.
Get gas right in downtown in Hawaii cities (Honolulu, Kahalui, Lihue, Kona, Hilo).

2.
Get gas at the cheapest gas stations, which are Costco gas stations and Aloha Gas Stations in Hawaii.

3.
If you see cheaper gas, buy it now. The price of gas seems to go up daily. Buying often can save you money.

4.
Plan your trips carefully. Combine your shopping for Hawaiian gifts, visiting galleries with grocery shopping and even nightly entertainment like watching hula dancers.

5.
If you want to explore the entire Big Island of Hawaii, you might want to stay at more than one vacation rental to save gas on going back and forth long distances. Explore one area at a time!

6.
When you stay at a Hawaii hotel, use free hotel shuttle service as often as you can, to shopping, to golf, spas etc.

7.
Last but not least, use the Internet and research where to find the lowest gas prices on the Hawaii island where you stay. The following sites will hopefully help you locating the lowest gas prices for your vacation area:

Find lowest and highest gas prices at different Honolulu locations and from different gas companies at Honolulu Gas Prices.

Hawaii Gas Prices lists the lowest regular gas prices for all Hawaii between $4.04 and $4.23 over the last 72 hrs. (as of 6/12/08) with Aloha, Costco and Chevron having the cheapest offers. Highest gas prices for Hawaii over the last 72 hrs. (as of 16/12/08) are $4.53. These record gas prices are offered mostly by Shell gas stations and a few Chevron.

In addition, you may check the MotorTrend site where you can find the lowest gas prices in Hawaii according to island and county where you spend your Hawaii vacation:

Lowest Gas Prices Hawaii Big Island

Lowest Gas Prices Kauai County

Lowest Gas Prices Maui County

Lowest Gas Prices Honolulu County

Great to see that there a lot of useful resources available on the Internet for all Hawaii vacation issues, even 'where to find the lowest gas prices in Hawaii'. We are grateful! Feel free to leave a comment. Aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations
p.s.
Our Hawaii post girl is Korri again. Much mahalo Kawika from WahineStyle. Your Hawaiian calendar girls are really beautiful and you did a great job photographing them!

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Best Big Island Shopping

Aloha everybody,

You did some fun Hawaii shopping with us across the Hawaiian island chain, from Maui, to Kauai and Honolulu. We hope you found what you were looking for...that special Hawaiian Aloha Shirt, a fancy bikini with matching sexy body wrap, a nice Hawaii beach bag or that special Hawaiian gift of Kona coffee or a Hawaii T-shirt.

Today we get some exciting shopping done on the Big Island, as promised last time. When on a Hawaii vacation, there is nothing more fun to the ladies than going on a Hawaii shopping spree just as the guys get magnetically drawn to our Hawaii golf courses. Let's admit, shopping in Hawaii can fill a lady's day - she won't ever get tired and even if, a cup of fresh Kona coffee gets her going again! - and can bring that special glow on her face when she found that unique piece of Hawaiian clothes, which she firmly believes will turn heads when she's walking the beach!

So, where is that special shopping place on the Big Island to find such treasures for the ladies, and the guys? Let's jump right into it. Come join us for some shopping on the Big Island!

Our biggest towns, Hilo on the East Coast and Kona on the West Coast, are naturally great shopping areas. If you want to buy cheap and average, all local markets, including WalMart, offer Hawaii beach apparel, Hawaiian beach towels, bathing suits and body wraps, Hawaiian dresses and Hawaii T-shirts.


However, if you also want to have some outdoor shopping fun in Hawaii and find something unique, plan leisurely shopping on Kona's oceanfront Alii Drive - remember that's there where the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon starts in October each year. You will find lots of small boutiques with quite a variety of different stuff. Not as cheap as WalMart but still affordable. When you got tired, get a Kona coffee at one of those ocean view cafes and take in the blue ocean and relax to the soothing sound of the ocean waves. Definitely a one-of-a-kind shopping experience in Hawaii!

However, the best is still to come. You will find best Big Island shopping north of Kona on the exclusive Kohala Coast resorts. No worries just as Ala Moana in Honolulu caters to the extravagant shopping tastes and at the same time to the average shopper, popular Kohala Coast shopping markets, like the Kings Shops at Waikoloa Beach Resort, do just that.

You will find exclusive brand names almost next to retail stores with nice, yet affordable clothes and apparel for the average shopper. A Food Mall and many restaurants offering different cuisine make sure you won't go hungry when shopping. The Kings Shops make your Hawaii shopping fun with daily and nightly free entertainment such as hula performances, story telling and the outstanding slack-key guitar playing by John Keawe.

As more and more condos and townhouses were being built on the Kohala Coast, the need for more shopping facilities was met with another new shopping center, The Queens Marketplace, across the street from the Kings Shops. It offers plenty of parking and a great variety of retail stores in a lovely Hawaiian scenery of hibiscus flowers and waterfalls. It still feels a little new there but tourists and residents seem to like it just as they do the Kings Shops.

Last but not least, we need to mention the new upscale shopping center at the Mauna Lani Beach Resorts 'The Shops at Mauna Lani' with Tommy Bahamas clothing store downstairs and restaurant upstairs as the central point of attention. Currently, this brand-new shopping center seems to be more frequented for its two restaurants, Tommy Bahamas and Ruth's Steakhouse, than for the many different retail stores. I doubt that too many locals will make dinner reservations there with both places charging entree prices around $40.

However, we are certain that the shops will pick up business as soon as more people moved into the surrounding townhouses and condos plus busy summer Hawaii vacation season is coming up.

To all those who have done some shopping on their Big Island vacation, please, let our Hawaii blog visitors know which Big Island shops you liked. We would love to hear from you about your shopping experience on the Big Island. Mahalo and aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations
p.s.
For all the guys who were more interested in the beautiful Hawaiian girl than the bikini, it's Korri from WahineStyle!

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Shopping in Hawaii

Welcome back to Best Hawaii Vacation blog,

Before reading our today's post, make sure you read our Hawaii Travel Insurance article. So, what's up for today? How about shop till you drop? Believe me, shopping in Hawaii is exciting, entertaining and the ultimate fun!


Finally, you are in Hawaii and on vacation! You can leisurely enjoy going shopping whether it's for some Hawaiian gifts for your friends or family at home or for that special piece of clothes for yourself. Hawaii shopping offers a delightful variety of independent, locally owned markets and stores to national retail chains and upscale boutiques from around the world. Meaning there is a store in Hawaii for each wallet. We want to help you find it.

Why is it so much fun to shop in Hawaii? Hey, no work or chores are awaiting you after shopping. On the opposite, the tropical setting of open air markets in Hawaii, luxury resort shops at your Hawaii hotel or the abundance of Hawaiian retail stores makes shopping a popular activity on Hawaii vacation. No wonder that shopping areas like Waikiki Beach on Oahu, Alii Drive in Kona on the Big Island or Lahaina Front Street on Maui are busy tourist attractions when shopping in Hawaii.

If the upscale scale shopping boutiques and stores at 5-star luxury Hawaii Beach Resorts are not matching your shopping budget - actually, just 'cruising' those shops can be fun - check-out Hawaii ABCStores located at many locations on all Hawaiian Islands. They sell all kinds of Hawaii souvenirs, local apparel, groceries, fine wines & spirits, drugs & cosmetics at affordable prices for the budget traveler.

When we prepared this post, we noticed that with the abundance of shopping centers, markets and boutiques on each Hawaii island, we had to make a shopping selection for each Hawaii island with a glimpse of the shopping features. So, let's go shopping in Hawaii with Pua and Keoki!

Kauai Shopping:

Kukui Grove Shopping Center Kukui Grove is one of the island's largest shopping centers. It features an open courtyard and offers weekly Polynesian entertainments, and live music on weekends.

Coconut Marketplace in Waipouli Coconut Marketplace is the largest open-air shopping venue. It offers a central location for picking up souvenirs, Hawaii vacation and resort apparel from free-standing kiosks. A farmers market is held every Saturday noon - 4pm!

Maui Shopping:

Shops at Wailea Shops at Wailea are considered one of the most beautiful and exquisite shopping centers in Hawaii. Be aware that the shops cater to hotel guests at Wailea's luxurious resorts and not the average Maui traveler. It certainly has some of the best shopping on Maui considering the names they represent like Coach, Dolce & Gabbana, Louis Vuitton, and Tiffany & Co. Maui visitors also find restaurants and specialty shops there. A shuttle runs from Wailea resorts to the shopping center for the convenience of hotel guests. Beautiful landscaping and dramatic water features attract shoppers or lookers.

Queen Ka'ahumanu Center Kahalui Ka'ahumanu Center is Maui’s premiere shopping and entertainment destination for the average Maui visitor. Maui’s only department stores, Sears and Macy's, attract Maui visitors and residents alike. Ka'ahumanu offers more than 100 shops and restaurants.

When on Maui vacation, don't miss Front Street in Lahaina, which is one of the town's busiest areas with lots of shops, restaurants and art galleries. Maui Swap Meet at Kahului needs to be mentioned for some casual Maui shopping for fresh fruit, tropical flowers, Hawaiian crafts and souvenirs. See photos of Maui swap meet.

Oahu Shopping:

Ala Moana Shopping Center Ala Moana Shopping Center is probably the most well-known and popular shopping center in Hawaii. It is located in the heart of Honolulu with buses getting you there from Waikiki resorts or hotels all day long. Ala Moana is one of the largest open-air shopping centers in the world with more than 200 stores. Another superlative at Ala Moana is its Food Market which caters to over 1500 visitors and residents. We will tell you more about Ala Moana Shopping Center in one of our next posts.

Waikele Premium Outlets with 50 outlet stores Find impressive savings at Waikele Premium Outlets for such brand names like Armani Exchange, Banana Republic, Calvin Klein, Polo Ralph Lauren, Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th, Tommy Hilfiger and more..

When shopping on Oahu don't miss the Aloha Tower Marketplace and Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center for the best selections for of Hawaiiana, clothing, art, and more.

What about Shopping in Hawaii on the Big Island? Guess what, you got to wait. We don't want to overwhelm you with all this Hawaii shopping stuff and decided to give the Big Island, as our home island, a special post for Big Island shopping. If you don't want to miss that post, sign up for our email updates.

Last but not least, please, share your Hawaii shopping experience with our Best Hawaii blog visitors. Let them know which shop or shopping center you liked best on your Hawaii vacation on Oahu, Maui or Kauai. Mahalo and aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations

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Hawaii Vacation Insurance

One of our biggest categories on Best Hawaii Vacations is the one offering Hawaii Vacation Tips, which does not come as a surprise. This is the main reason why we write this blog. We'd like to share everything we know about Hawaii and Hawaii vacations from our many years as hosts of Kohala Coast vacation rentals, whether it's practical tips for parents about Hawaii Activity Books, the best way to start your Hawaii vacation, where to buy fresh fruits or why deciding for a Hawaii vacation rental instead of staying at a resort or hotel. From seemingly little practical questions to big issues, like when is the best time for a Hawaii vacation or which Hawaiian Island to visit, we try to give you our best answers.

One question we have not covered so far is whether you should buy travel or health insurance for your Hawaii vacation. OK here we go. In all those years as vacation rental hosts, we experienced a few cancellations due to personal accidents or sudden health issues of the traveler or a close family member. A person might suddenly lose his or her job and has to cancel his long planned trip to Hawaii. Even when believing in positive thinking, unexpected things can happen to all of us. You want to protect your money by signing up for a travel insurance. Again it's an insurance. It's taking a precaution. In 90% (or higher) of all the Hawaii travels probably things work out perfectly.

We noticed that most of our Hawaii visitors from Europe had travel insurance. One of the reasons probably being the much higher costs for air fares from Europe and much longer planning their Hawaii vacation in advance. We had guests booking their rental cottage even up to one year prior to starting their trip to Hawaii. When one had to cancel their Hawaii vacation, it's bad enough after all that planning plus there was big money at stake. Having travel insurance was at least protected them from the financial loss!

Hawaii Travel Insurance

Here are a few recommendations before you buy a Hawaii Travel Insurance. Check your existing insurance policies and credit card coverage before you buy travel insurance. American Express card members enjoy the exceptional travel benefits, including: Global Assist^® Hotline , Car Rental Insurance, Travel Accident Insurance Visa card holders enjoy special travel services and benefits when owning Visa Premium Rewards cards. We definitely advise to pay with your credit card as much as possible, especially for air fare tickets to Hawaii. Be protected so you won't lose your money when airlines go out of business like Aloha Airlines and ATA.

Despite of all the above travel benefits through your credit card, you might want to consider trip-cancellation insurance. It will help you get your money back if you have to back out of a trip or if you have to go home early. The cost of travel insurance varies widely mostly between 5 - 8% of the total cost of your vacation. Read the fine print what reasons are allowed for cancellation. Be aware that insurers usually won't cover vague fears!

Travel Insurance Companies

Travel insurance policies vary; so make sure you get what you want for your Hawaii travel. Here are a few travel insurance companies, which we found when searching online. We cannot recommend one or the other. Make your choice which one offers the best coverage for your individual needs for your trip to Hawaii: Travel Guard International tel 800-826-4919, Access America tel. 800-284-8300, Travel Insure tel. 800-937-1387, or Travelex Insurance Services tel. 800-228-9792

Hawaii Travel Health Insurance

Most health insurance policies cover you, when you get sick on vacation but check, particularly if you're insured with an HMO. I had my insurance company mail me the form for health care when going on vacation. In most cases, you can also download this doctor's visit form from your health care company's website. I think it's good to have it with me on my travels. Then you know exactly what my health care insurer needs to reimburse my costs. For additional medical insurance, check with MEDEX Assistance tel. 410-453-6300.

Hawaii Flight Luggage Insurance

Make sure whether your credit card covers your lost luggage and upto what value. Same applies with the airlines. Checked baggage is covered by the Airline you are flying to Hawaii. You might want to check with the airline how much your luggage is covered if/when getting lost. If your luggage is lost, immediately file a lost-luggage claim at the airport, listing all the luggage contents.

Remember, you must report delayed, damaged, or lost baggage within 4 hours of arrival! For your peace of mind, in all the cases when luggage to Hawaii did not arrive with our guests, the airline delivered it at the latest the next day. Good idea to have essentials + your bathing suit in your carry-on, so you can start your vacation in Paradise immediately!

Hoping our recommendations will help plan your Hawaii vacation the best way you can. Have a wonderful vacation in Hawaii! Anything we forgot to mention about Hawaii travel insurance, please, share with our blog visitors. Mahalo and aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations

p.s
Our Hawaii post girl is beautiful Amber from WahineStyle.

Tags: Best of Hawaii, Hawaii Travel, Hawaii vacation insurance

Hawaii Coloring Book

Visiting Hawaii with your kids, whether in summer or on an even more special tropical vacation during the cold winter months, is probably one of the best family vacations you can have. Those fun vacations in Hawaii will be in your and your kids' memory for ever! We, Pua and Keoki, at Best Hawaii Vacations, continue including the 'keikis' ('children' in Hawaiian) in our Hawaii Vacation Tips. So, parents be aware what we have to say.

Most of the Hawaii hotels offer kids programs at affordable rates, which are great fun and educational for your kids. They include Hawaiian arts and crafts, sandcastle building, hula dancing, T-shirt painting, pool swims and beach treasure/scavenger hunts. T-shirt painting is a favorite for the older kids.

The Hawaii hotel activity programs are also a great way to slow the kids down and get them out of the sun for a few hours during the heat of the day. This can be sometimes very challenging. Which kid wants to go to their room when the big ocean and the pool are waiting for them?! Here is where we as parents have to be somewhat creative. It's amazing how many Hawaii activity books are available at the Hawaii hotels or any of the general stores. They are written matching all age groups, their skills and their preferences.

Best of all, these are books written for kids on Hawaii vacation. So, when it's time to get the kiddos out of the sun, get your magic Hawaii books out! The Hawaii coloring books are very popular among the keikis - coloring Hawaiian flowers is a favorite of the girls and connect the dots/numbers can be challenging for the boys when the numbers are higher. The boys love to hear about sharks and whales. Girls are more into hula, Hawaiian skirts and leis. Most of the Hawaii activity books include Hawaiian letter puzzles, where mom or dad might want to help a bit. Anyways, there are many Hawaii coloring books to choose from.

Recently, I've come across a new Hawaii activity book which brings Hawaii to the children and is worthwhile for parents, who take their kids on a Hawaii vacation, to have a closer look at. It's 'Sir Newton's Color Me Hawai'i'. This Hawaii travel book by author Samantha Clark gets our kids' attention drawn to Hawaiian animals, culture (hula) and landscape (volcanoes) through easy-to-read-passages and fun Hawaii based coloring and activity pages.

Your kids will fall in love with a shaggy dog named Sir Newton which will be their Hawaii travel guide! Visit the Sir Newton Book website to learn more about this book and find out whether this book is right for your kids. I, myself, recommend it for children starting age 6.

I really like what Samantha has to say about her new book: "The Hawaiian Islands have so much beauty and history, from the wonderful tradition of lei making to the amazing monk seal. I know children will be as enchanted by the Hawaiian Islands as I am." Samantha will share the gift of Aloha with the Hawaii children! 10% of the sale of each book is donated to the children's program of the Rotary International District 5000 Hawai'i. Mahalo, Samantha, for your book and gracious donation to the children of Hawaii.

If you know of Hawaii activity books your kids loved a lot, please, share it here with our Best Hawaii Vacation blog visitors. Mahalo and aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations Books
p.s.
Dear parents, don't miss our post about the best way to start your Hawaii vacation! This is for you and not the keikis.

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Tags: Best of Hawaii, Hawaii activity books