1,000 Places to See Before You Die

by Patricia Schultz

  THE IRONMAN TRIATHALON—There are many Ironman competitions around the world, but this is the original—and the world championship. It started in 1978 as a 1-day competition that included Honolulu’s three most difficult races: the 2.4-mile Waikiki Rough Water Swim, the 112-mile Around Oahu Bike Race, and the 26.2-mile Honolulu Marathon. The winner would be called “Iron Man.” That first year, just 15 people showed up. Today it’s held on Hawaii Island the second Saturday in October, with some 100,000 athletes from around the world competing in qualifying races for 1,700 starting positions.

  After swimming and biking to the town of Hawi and back, the participants wind up at the finish line, the seawall along Ali‘i Drive, where the winners come in around three o’clock. WHERE: The best view of the start is on the Kailua Bay Seawall, Kailua-Kona. Tel 808-329-0063; www.ironman.com.

  KONA COFFEE CULTURAL FESTIVAL—The Kona Coffee Belt is a 20-mile stretch from Holualoa to Kealakekua, where the sunny mornings, humid afternoons, and daily rain showers create the perfect growing conditions for some of the world’s most prized coffee beans.

  First planted by a missionary in 1828, the Kona bean grows on 700 farms today, making its cultivation one of the few nontourism industries in Hawaii. Die-hards will want to explore the region in early November during the 10-day Kona Coffee Cultural Festival. Besides the all-important cupping competition (blind tasting judged by experts), which determines the best Kona coffee in the state, there’s a coffee bean–picking contest, art exhibits, farm tours, and even a Miss Kona Coffee pageant. WHERE: Kailua-Kona and environs. Tel 808-326-7820; www.konacoffeefest.com.

  THE HAWAII INTERNATIONAL BILLFISH TOURNAMENT—With warm, deep waters and sunny skies, the Kona coast is renowned for its big-game fishing. Most coveted of all are the “granders” (Pacific blue marlin weighing more than 1,000 pounds) reeled in every year from the fleet of high-tech sportfishing boats based in Honokohau Harbor. The action is at its most competitive in late July or early August, when teams of anglers from all over the world converge in search of marlin and other prized fish. The team with the most pounds (and points) wins the coveted and prestigious Governor’s Trophy. WHERE: Kailua Pier, Kona Coast. Tel 808-836-3422; www.hibtfishing.com.

  WHERE TO STAY

  THE FAIRMONT ORCHID—Set on 32 oceanfront acres with a sugar-white sand lagoon, this luxury resort with its grand staircases and endless marble is the perfect old-school hotel. Its excellent dining options include Brown’s Beach House and Norio’s Japanese Sushi Bar & Restaurant. And every Saturday it’s Broadway meets Hawaii at “The Gathering of the Kings,” a theatrical luau. WHERE: Kohala Coast. Tel 800-845-9905 or 808-885-2000; www.fairmont.com/orchid. Cost: from $325 (off-peak), from $350 (peak); dinner at Brown’s $65, dinner at Norio’s $65, luau $99.

  FOUR SEASONS RESORT HUALALAI—The Four Seasons Resort Hualalai on the Kohala Coast is a plantation-chic oasis of low-rise town houses clustered around four oceanside swimming pools. Its 18-hole Jack Nicklaus–designed Hualalai Golf Course is a big draw; open only to guests, it lies atop an 1801 lava flow from the currently dormant volcano that rises dramatically in the background and that gives the resort its name. The sunsets here are considered the most thrilling in Hawaii, and there’s no better place to view them than from the casually elegant, oceanfront Pahu i‘a (“aquarium”) restaurant, known for its seafood and use of island ingredients. Treatments that use Hawaiian sea salt, macadamia nuts, and volcanic pumice lure guests to the Hualalai Spa, which mingles tropical gardens with cool interior spaces. WHERE: Kailua-Kona. Tel 888-340-5662 or 808-325-8000; www.fourseasons.com/hualalai. Cost: from $625; greens fees $250 (guests only); dinner at Pahu i‘a $56.

  KING KAMEHAMEHA’S KONA BEACH HOTEL—Located right on the beach in the village of Kailua-Kona, this updated ’60s hotel has a contemporary, nature-inspired aesthetic. It has a legitimate claim to the King Kamehameha name: This is the sacred spot where he restored the centuries-old temple Ahu‘ena Heiau and dedicated it to Lono, the god of peace and prosperity. Four nights a week (weather permitting), outrigger canoes carrying actors playing the king’s royal court glide past the temple to begin the hotel’s popular luau. WHERE: Kailua-Kona. Tel 800-367-2111 or 808-329-2911; www.konabeachhotel.com. Cost: from $130, luau from $70.

  KONA TIKI HOTEL—This classic 1950s motel is so close to the ocean, the surf crashes right outside your window—bring earplugs! A mile south of the restaurants and shopping of Kailua Village, Kona Tiki is a no-frills option with simple but clean rooms (there are no TVs or air-conditioning). The beaches are just a short drive to the north and the south. WHERE: Kailua-Kona. Tel 808-329-1425; www.konatikihotel.com. Cost: from $80.

  Off the Kona coast, snorkelers can see fish clean the shell of a sea turtle by feeding on the algae that covers it.

  MAUNA KEA BEACH HOTEL—Laurance S. Rockefeller, grandson of industrialist John D. Rockefeller, was touring the island when he spotted a long, crescent-shaped white sand beach called Kauna‘oa. By 1965, he had built a luxury hotel on the spot for the then unheard-of sum of $15 million. Now the cornerstone of the Mauna Kea Resort in Kohala, the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel is a showcase of classic 1960s architecture with a world-class Pacific Islands art collection throughout, a new spa, and a legendary golf course. WHERE: Kohala Coast. Tel 866-977-4589 or 808-882-7222; www.princeresortshawaii.com Cost: from $350.

  MAUNA LANI BAY HOTEL & BUNGALOWS—Twilight at Kalahuipua‘a, a monthly Hawaiian cultural celebration, is reason enough to stay at this oceanfront resort on the Kohala Coast. Once a month, on the Saturday closest to the full moon, Hawaii’s most skilled performers share their songs and lore on a grassy lawn. Guests bring blankets and settle in for the evening, which recalls the time when neighbors would gather to sing, dance, and “talk story.” For more contemporary pleasures, there’s a sophisticated seaside restaurant, two 18-hole golf courses (see below), and a spa resembling a Hawaiian village. WHERE: Kohala Coast. Tel 800-367-2323 or 808-885-6622; www.maunalani.com. Cost: from $395.

  GOLF

  MAUNA KEA RESORT—The sunny Kohala Coast is the golf capital of Hawaii, and most duffers aspire to make the pilgrimage. The one course they never miss is the stunning Mauna Kea, challenging guests since 1964, when Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed it around an ancient oceanfront lava flow. The Mauna Kea Resort, spread over 1,800 acres, is also home to the newer, environmentally friendly Hapuna Beach course, designed by Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay in the ’90s. It has spectacular views of the Kohala Coast and snow-capped Mauna Kea volcano. MAUNA KEA: Tel 808-882-5400; www.maunakeagolf.com. Cost: greens fees $225 (resort guests), $250 (nonguests). HAPUNA: 808-880-3000. Cost: greens fees $125 (resort guests), $165 (nonguests).

  MAUNA LANI RESORT—Another Kohala Coast golf mecca, the course at Mauna Lani (“mountain reaching heaven”) Resort offers a visual feast of pitch-black lava flows, white sand traps, manicured fairways, and turquoise ocean as you play its 36 holes. The South Course’s dramatic over-the-water 15th hole is among the most photographed in the world. Built over lava beds, the North Course is slightly tougher, its rolling terrain punctuated by mesquite forests and roaming herds of feral goats. INFO: Tel 808-885-6655; www.maunalani.com. Cost: greens fees $160 (resort guests), $260 (nonguests).

  WAIKOLOA BEACH RESORT—While it encompasses the island’s most lavish shopping and interesting archaeological sites (including fields of petroglyphs), this south Kohala resort on Anaeho‘omalu Bay is best known for 36 holes of great golfing. The original Waikoloa Beach Golf Course, designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., wends its way along oceanfront lava flows shaded by swaying coconut palms. Humpback whales can sometimes be spotted from its challenging seventh hole. The Kings Golf Club, a Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish creation, offers a Scottish links–style course. INFO: Tel 877-924-5656 or 808-886-7888; www.waikoloabeachgolf.com. Cost: greens fees $130 (resort guests), $195 (nonguests).

  EATING & DRINKING

  BAMBOO—Housed in a handsomely restored plantation-era building decorated with retro tropical print
s, this bastion of “real Hawaii” is famous for its chicken satay pot stickers, hand-wrapped by a local auntie. Sip on a passion fruit margarita (invented here) while you browse through the gallery of Pacific art and handicrafts. If you’re in the market for an aloha shirt, they have one of the largest collections on the island. WHERE: Hawi. Tel 808-889-5555; www.bamboorestaurant.info. Cost: dinner $30.

  MANAGO—When you’ve tired of the swank resort eateries, step back in time at this classic hole-in-the-wall at Hotel Manago, owned by the same Japanese American family since 1917. There are only a dozen or so daily entrées, all fried, including the celebrated pork chops served with a bowl of rice and three sides. Just don’t expect dessert and don’t be late: Last orders are taken at 7:30 P.M. WHERE: Captain Cook. Tel 808-323-2642; www.managohotel.com. Cost: dinner $10.

  MERRIMAN’S RESTAURANT—Considered the founding father of Hawaiian regional cuisine, Peter Merriman is still serving up kalua pig quesadillas and his signature wok-charred ahi at his restaurant in Waimea, near Parker Ranch. The secret to its longevity is perfect ingredients—Waimea-raised beef and lamb, fish from Kawaihae Harbor, and organic vegetables from nearby farms, many of which are grown only for him. Merriman’s commitment to local products carries over to his new restaurants, including the more casual Merriman’s Market Café and Merriman’s Kapalua in Maui. RESTAURANT: Waimea. Tel 808-885-6822; www.merrimanshawaii.com. Cost: dinner $60. MARKET CAFÉ: Waikoloa. Tel 808-886-1700. Cost: dinner $35.

  “Here am I, your special island!”—RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN, SOUTH PACIFIC

  KAUAI

  Hawaii, U.S.A.

  The greenest and oldest of the main Hawaiian islands, Kauai is essentially a single massive volcano rising 3 miles from the ocean floor. Two-thirds impenetrable, it has provided a scene-stealing vision of tropical paradise for many Hollywood movies and TV shows, including South Pacific, Blue Hawaii, and Fantasy Island. More rain falls here than in the rest of Hawaii—Kauai is known in Hawaiian lore as the birthplace of the rainbow—and it’s so extravagantly covered with flowers and dense vegetation that it effortlessly earns its nickname “The Garden Isle.”

  TOP ATTRACTIONS

  NA PALI CLIFFS—The Na Pali Coast is the Hawaii of your dreams: 22 miles of vibrant green valleys and thundering waterfalls plunging into the sea from cliffs as high as 4,000 feet. Hawaii’s last true wilderness that no road will ever cross, this 6,500-acre area is protected as the Na Pali Coast State Park. You can view this piece of Eden by helicopter or boat, though a few diehards attempt the thickly jungled shore on foot.

  Even seasoned hikers find a challenge in the narrow and often grueling Kalalau Trail, an ancient 11-mile footpath that unfurls along imposing cliffs and winds up at Kalalau Beach. WHERE: 40 miles northwest of Lihu‘e. VISITOR INFO: www.hawaiistateparks.org.

  WAIMEA CANYON & WAIMEA TOWN—Ten miles long, more than a mile across, and 3,657 feet deep, Waimea Canyon is one of Kauai’s most awe-inspiring sights. Dubbed “The Grand Canyon of the Pacific,” the cavernous gorge was carved by the Waimea River, which channels heavy rainfall from Mount Waialeale, so expect vivid green vegetation and the occasional white stripe of a waterfall. In Koke‘e State Park, a vast network of hiking trails snakes through some 6,200 acres of rain forest. Low-key Waimea (population 1,787), the original capital of Kauai, is the settlement closest to the canyon. Seemingly the town that time forgot, it’s a great place to relax and wander. Stop by Jo-Jo’s for a shave ice. WHERE: 32 miles west of Lihu‘e. WAIMEA CANYON AND KOKE’E STATE PARKS VISITOR INFO: www.hawaiistateparks.org.

  Colorful and full of traces of lava, Waimea Canyon is Hawaii’s answer to the Grand Canyon.

  HELICOPTER SIGHTSEEING—You can drive around the accessible parts of Kauai in a half day or so—it’s only about 30 miles across at its widest—but the only way to take in the whole island is via helicopter. Over the course of about an hour, you’ll swoop past some of Kauai’s most beautiful sights: Manawaiopuna Falls (also known as “Jurassic Park Falls”); Hanapepe Valley; Waimea Canyon; the cliffs of the Na Pali Coast; Makana Mountain, also known as Bali Ha’i from its role in South Pacific; the azure waters of Hanalei Bay; and the Hanalei River Valley. Weather permitting, you can even fly into the crater of the 5,148-foot Mount Waialeale, where waterfalls plunge down walls nearly a mile high. HOW: Jack Harter Helicopters. Tel 888-245-2001 or 808-245-3774; www.helicopters-kauai.com. Cost: $230 per person for 1-hour tour.

  NATIONAL TROPICAL BOTANICAL GARDEN—Two world-class horticultural attractions that are run by the National Tropical Botanical Garden can be found in the Lawa‘i Valley west of Poipu Beach. The 252-acre McBryde Garden claims the world’s largest ex-situ collection of native Hawaiian plants, plus a raft of specimens from elsewhere in the tropics. The exquisite Allerton Garden occupies more than 80 adjacent acres, where Hawaii’s Queen Emma lived in the 1860s.

  On the island’s north shore, the National Garden’s Limahuli Garden and Preserve sits at the foot of Makana Mountain. Spread over 1,000 acres of tropical valley and built on lava rock terraces, the site was selected by the American Horticultural Society as the best natural botanical garden in the U.S. INFO: Tel 808-742-2623 (McBryde and Allerton); 808-826-1053 (Limahuli); www.ntbg.org.

  BEST BEACHES

  POIPU BEACH—At the center of Kauai’s sunny southern coast is Poipu Beach, a spot legendary for its gardens and glamorous resorts as well as for its water sports and green picnic lawn. On the east side, a rocky outcrop protects Poipu Beach Park, fronted by a sandy-bottomed pool that’s perfect for children, while the west side has open ocean for swimmers, snorkelers, and surfers. WHERE: 12 miles west of Lihue.

  Waves crash against cliffs in Poipu, a popular beach and park on Kauai’s southern coast.

  HANALEI BAY—The most dazzling beaches in Hawaii are strung out like jewels in a necklace along 7 miles of Kauai’s north shore. One of the finest and most famous is Hanalei Beach, where Puff the Magic Dragon frolicked in the 1962 hit by Peter, Paul, and Mary. You’ve seen it in travel posters: Cliffs laced with waterfalls tower some 4,000 feet in the background as gentle waves roll onto the golden sands of half-moon Hanalei Bay. Protected from the strong currents that make waters dangerous elsewhere on the north shore, Kauai is surfing central in the winter and spring, with a wide variety of breaks that attract beginners to experts. Just west of here is Lumahai Beach, an idyllic crescent framed by lava-rock cliffs. It’s where Mitzi Gaynor washed Rossano Brazzi right out of her hair in South Pacific. WHERE: 18 miles southeast of Lihue.

  Surfers, swimmers, and divers prize picture-perfect Hanalei Bay.

  KALIHI WAI BEACH—Set in a cove, Kalihi Wai is a perfect family beach, with soft, honey-hued sand, easy waves, and a stream (with rope swings dangling above) that empties into the ocean. During the summer months, the ocean is usually calm and swimming is good; in winter it’s popular with surfers and boogie boarders. Kalihi Wai is a bit off the beaten path—there are no facilities or lifeguard—but the shade of the ironwood trees provides a great spot for a picnic. WHERE: 2 miles south of Princeville.

  MAKUA BEACH—Nicknamed “Tunnels,” for the underwater lava tubes that draw scuba divers, this is a picture-perfect beach on the North Shore. Two large offshore reefs border the wide bay, making Makua the premier snorkeling site on Kauai in the summer, when waters are calmest. But no reef protects the beach itself, so waves funnel directly onto the shore, creating thrilling but dangerous conditions for the surfers who flock here in winter. WHERE: 9 miles west of Princeville.

  WHERE TO STAY

  GRAND HYATT KAUAI RESORT & SPA—Set on 50 oceanfront acres hugging the southern coast of Poipu, this classic Hawaiian low-rise is a handsome resort with lavishly landscaped grounds. Its Anara Spa has a tiki torch–lit wing where each teak and thatch-roofed hale (pronounced HAH-lay) features a garden, private lava-rock shower, and wild-ginger steam grotto. Other draws include Camp Hyatt for kids and a championship golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. Of its numerous restaurants and cafés, Do
ndero’s is widely regarded as the best Italian restaurant on the island. WHERE: Koloa. Tel 800-554-9288 or 808-742-1234; www.kauai.hyatt.com (golf, tel 808-742-8711; www.poipubaygolf.com). Cost: from $290 (off-peak), from $460 (peak); greens fees $150 (guests), $220 (nonguests); dinner at Dondero’s $50.

  ST. REGIS PRINCEVILLE RESORT—On the lush, wild northern coast, the luxurious St. Regis Princeville is worthy of its royal name. Set into the side of a cliff overlooking Hanalei Bay, the hotel is built in tiers, with the lobby on the ninth floor offering dramatic views of Makana Mountain and the beach below. Haleale‘a Spa customizes treatments while Kauai Grill offers a menu created by chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Two of the state’s most challenging golf courses are here, the 18-hole Prince Golf Course and the 27-hole Makai Course, both originally designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. The tiny, appealing hamlet of Hanalei is just 5 minutes away. WHERE: Princeville. Tel 808-826-9644; www.princeville.com (golf, tel 800-826-1105 or 808-826-5001). Cost: from $500; greens fees from $125.

  WAIMEA PLANTATION COTTAGES—Once the modest homes of sugar plantation workers, these 50 restored century-old cottages have been relocated to a breezy beachside coconut grove. From the one-bedroom option to the sprawling five-bedroom manager’s house, every structure has been remodeled with a modern kitchen and bath. The mahogany, rattan, and wicker furniture, inspired by styles from the 1930s, creates an old-time plantation atmosphere. WHERE: Waimea. Tel 800-992-4663 or 808-338-1625; www.waimea-plantation.com. Cost: from $225.