The Big Island archive
Hawaii Hotels: Kona Village Resort -- Family Heaven
For the most part, Hawaii hotels are booked up for the holidays. Yes, its kinda crazy out there. But should you get the urge for a post Xmas vacation with the little ones, the Kona Village Resort might be one…
Big Island Candies: Home of the Best Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies
If you’re like me and you want to get a headstart on your holiday shopping (because the malls are going to be crazy this year, my friends), you’ve probably done a lot of browsing on the Internet. Shopping online…
Poolhound: Hilton Waikoloa Village Kiddie Pool
Travel & Leisure readers love the 62-acre Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island. They've given the resort top marks among family resorts in Hawaii for several years now. Am sure the canal boats and the mini-tram used to ferry…
Big Island Restaurants: Manago Bay Hotel
This is an excerpt from a book by Jessica Ferracane, "50 Thrifty Big Island Restaurants". Foodies trolling for blue collar grubs should dig in. And a hat tip to the folks at Watermark Publishing who agreed to the excerpts.…
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Ask Hawaiirama: Earthquake Damage Helpline
Often, being in Hawaii means getting better information. After the quake, I was able to talk to people on the ground that I trusted and get a much better read on damage than MSM. That's part of the reason for…
More Earthquake Aftermath: Little Makena Closed
The state Deparment of Land and Natural Resources has closed Little Beach in the Makena district of Maui, Maui News reports., after a landslide hit the beach area. Cinder cones that form the hill between Little and Big Beaches are…
Big Island Gem: Mahai‘ula Beach
One simple pleasure of exploring Hawai‘i Island’s sunny, lava-drenched west side is discovering a precious nugget like Mahai‘ula Beach, also known as Kekaha Kai State Park. Make it past the bumpy – but negotiable – semi-paved lava road and you’ll…
Hawaiian Culture: Ancient Ponds, Restored
Here's a fascinating article about the history of the anchialine pond's on the Big Island's Kona-Kohala Coast and one man's quest to revive them. These landlocked brackish ponds are linked to the ocean through volcanic tubes. Such natural ponds were…
Hawaii Hotel News: Jean-Michel says "Oui"! Jacques' Widow says "Non!" to Big Island mega-project
The claws have come out again in a long-simmering family dispute over the Cousteau name, this time over a massive 1,500 unit condominium eco-project proposed by Jean-Michel Cousteau for the lush but lonely Punaluu District of the Big Island. Jean-Michel's…
Big Island Restaurants: Punalu'u Bake Shop
This is part of a series of five excerpts from a book by Jessica Ferracane, "50 Thrifty Big Island Restaurants". Foodies trolling for blue collar grubs should dig in. And a hat tip to the folks at Watermark Publishing…
Hawaii Hotels: Mauna Lani Post-Quake Deal
Someone had to do it. The Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows resort just whipped out a "Shaken, Not Stirred" promo deal,with tongue squarely in cheek. The posh resort, which suffered some minor damage from the Big Island quakes on…
Earthquake spares Hilo
For the most part, Sunday morning's earthquake spared the Hilo and Puna districts of the Big Island. Still, we all felt the earth move. It moved a lot. It's still the topic of conversation, from Hilo to Pahoa, Kalapana to…
Earthquake Update: Mostly Back to Normal, Trail Closures
Almost all the hotels impacted are completely back to normal now. The Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows reopened its top floor and now all its room are back in business. I am not certain about the ocean wing of…
Quake Update: Hotels are All Open, Running But...
Kawaihae Boat Harbor, the primary freight harbor for the Kona Coast of the Big Island, suffered significant damage to its piers, according to West Hawaii Today. That could impact supplies flowing into the Big Island, although it would be possible…
Big Island Restaurants: 50 Thrifty Eats on Big Island
Note: Sorry for busted links in the image and the text yesterday. Fixed. This is part of a series of five excerpts from a book by Jessica Ferracane, "50 Thrifty Big Island Restaurants". Foodies trolling for blue collar grubs…
It's Official: HVCB Says The Earthquake Barely Happened
Update: So this post got me a call from David Wilson, head of McNeil Wilson and the top spinmeister for HVCB. Apparently, the damage to the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel was so minimal that county inspectors already passed the structure…
More Info On Earthquake Damage
This from Sharon Sakai at Kohala Coast Resort Association. More later. "...every hotel property is open for business (Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, The Fairmont Orchid, Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows, Hilton Waikoloa Village, Waikoloa Beach…
More Information Coming: Hawaii Earthquake
The office of Governor Linda Lingle will be releasing more information later this afternoon. I'm hoping for a list from someone. What I'm hearing is that damage on Big Island is perhaps more serious than people initially let one. A…
Big Island Earthquake Update: Part 3
Here's a tenative list of damaged hotels. Some may prove to be very minor but definitely check before you check in. One other consideration. One of the two hospitals in West Hawaii has suffered some fairly serious damage. I'll keep…
Earthquake Update
I've been trying to reach the Big Island Visitor Bureau and the Kona Kohala Coast Resort Assocation to get updates on the hotels. Have not been able to get calls through. Apparently, all flights are on schedule. But am starting…
Big Island Earthquake Update
Most of you have probably read about the quake that hit Hawaii yesterday. It was relatively minor for most of the islands but has had some serious impact on the Big Island and on the Kona (western) side of the…
Cool Shops: Dragon Mama
Wandering around Hilo a decade ago, I walked into this hippy-dippy, cozy little shop right on the main shopping drag fronting Hilo Bay. I was entranced by the bright bolts of colorful Japanese and Chinese fabrics and the exqisitely basic…
Taste of the Range: Love Family Farms
One of the real crowd pleasers at the event was the maracuya cheese cake whipped up by Love Family Farms. Ken and Margy Love run this small coffee farm in Kona with a kitschy twist. Visitors can pay to adopt…
Taste of the Range 2006: Stampede!
Truth be told, we got to this big foodie event on the Big Island a full hour late. A strange confluence (conflagration?) of events transpired to contribute to our tardy arrival, from a late depature from Honolulu due to a…
Cool Shops: The Gallery at Hilton Waikoloa Village
I stumbled upon this gallery in the massive resort in Waikoloa on the Kona-Kohala Coast of the Big Island when I was visiting this past weekend. It's packed with art, some of it cheesy but a lot of it…
Hawaii Beach Guides: Three Best Walking Beaches on the Big Island
Here's the latests in our series of beach lists from John Clark, the noted Hawaii beach expert and all around beach nut, will be feeding us his extremely informed take on best beaches around the Aloha State. At any…
Modern Minimalist Vacation Chic: Hale Balleja
This vacation rental is not your average floral-patterned, rattan furnished beach pad. Hale Balleja is located in the Puna District, which is about as far off the tourist track as you can get. It's a great place with nearby…
Sunset : Kona Coast of the Big Island
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It's Not Easy Being Green: Correction
A few weeks back, as the blog launched, I posted a note about the Fairmont Orchid in the Mauna Lani Resort on the Big Island. The Orchid has been in the forefront of efforts to reduce energy usage and reliance…
Please Fill Out Hawaiirama Survey -- Support This Site!
Well, we can't really sell any until we know who our readers are and what they are thinking. Please click on this link and complete the survey from our advertising reps and back-end helpers galore, Federated Media. It's a fairly…
Spotted Eagle Ray Off Kona
The leeward Kona Coast off the Big Island has some of the best diving on Earth. The coral there is not terribly interesting or profuse -- its a relatively new island and so the formations have not gotten a…
Hawaii Hotels: Best Bars -- Sheraton Keauhou Resort
Where: Lobby Bar at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort Why: Do you really need to ask? If you must, the endless blue Pacific pulsing against a black lava landscape and the sea caves of Keahou Bay, kaleidescopic sunsets like…
Drink of the Week: Libation Inspiration
Just a quick mahalo to "Drink of the Week" for linking to our post on the Lewer's Lounge and Dale DeGroff. This is a an excellent site for anyone planning a cocktail party in need of recipes or beverage…
Beaches We Love: Kauna`oa
This Big Island beauty fronts one of Hawaii's classic resorts, the angular, elegant and Frank Lloyd Wright-esque Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. The sand is quite fine and the surf generally mellow. Due to its strong westerly orientation sunsets are…
Carnivore's Dilemma: Taste of the Range
A little known fact -- the Parker Ranch on the Big Island is the largest cattle ranch in the country in terms of total acreage. No surprise, then, that the Big Island is ground zero for high-end beef, lamb…
Solar Powered Golf Carts
On the linx at the Mauna Lani Bay Resort, you can cruise the greens in a green machine. Aptly dubbed the "Sun Caddy", this nifty little machine comes courtesy of Berkeley-based Powerlight. I don't know if any other Hawaii…
Kilauea Night Hike: Part 4
Read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this serial article. Rather than pour freely, the lava oozes along like an amoeba growing in many different directions, like an enormous lava blob. Small breakout pools of shimmering pahoehoe…
Kilauea Night Hike: Part 3
Read Part 1 and Part 2 of this serial article. Kaye, who specializes in building maps and collecting data using images snapped by satellites, has spent his time at the Observatory helping scientists draw some of the most accurate…
Green Hotels in Hawaii: Fairmont Orchid
You've all run into those little pamphlets in a hotel bathroom urging you to hang up your towel and use it another day. That's not enough for the Fairmont Orchid (pictured to the left), a luxe resort on the…
Kilauea Night Hike: Part 1
A bipolar world of dark lava fields and green, dense forests unfolds along the serpentine Chain of Craters Road in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on Hawaii Island. On this evening, Grant Kaye, a geologist near the end of a…
Waimanu Valley: Remote, Rugged, Magical
One of seven amphitheater valleys carved from the extinct Kohala Volcano along the northern shore of the Big Island, Waimanu Valley is something of a Holy Grail to Hawaii hikers. Abandoned in the late 1940s, it's one of the few…
Best Beaches: Kuki'o
This is one of my favorite beaches in the islands. It's not a big beach but its truly stunning. Actually, Kuki'o is more like a peninsula with two pocket beaches and fabulous lawn overlooking crystal clear water. There is…
Big Blue Marlin
At the Hawaii Invitational Bill Fishing Tournament, Team Malibu vaulted into the lead by landing this 399-pound, fighting mad, Pacific blue marlin. Of the 19 fish caught by the 28 teams from the international field, 14 were tagged and…
Hawaiian Chocolate: Da Real Kine
Note: There is at least one other company that claims it is making Hawaiian chocolate.The key question -- ask where the beans are grown and what percentage are actually grown in Hawaii. Ono Farms in Hana, Maui that is…
Big Fish to Fry
Note: Due to the graphic nature of the subject matter, this event may not be for small children or animal rights activists. The 47th annual Hawaii International Billfish Tournament kicked off on July 24 on the Kona Coast of…
Restaurant Review Roundup
* Dave Choo from Hawaii Business reviews Shokudo * Wanda Adams from the Honolulu Advertiser reviews the new menu at Chef Mavro * Cheryl King from Hawaii Diner reviews Fujimamas * John Heckathorn of Honolulu Magazine reviews The Blossoming…
Deal-of-the-Day: Cruising Hawaii, $999 for 7 nights
Hawaii cruise includes oceanview room, 7 nights accomodations plus dining, and airfare from LAX or SFO. Add another $100 to $400 for airfare from other U.S. airports. A very cheap and fun way to see the islands.…
Hawaii Travel Roundup
Our semi-regular compendium of travel, culture, food and sports articles. Cheap hotels get pricier in the islands Midway Island eco-tourism tours to reopen soon. Want blue Hawaii? Bring more bucks Where to eat laksa (Malaysian curry) in Honolulu Kayaking the…
The Surf Report...On Steroids
Information overload. I'm not talking about 24-hour news, bleating cell phones, email chips implanted in your brain. No, I'm talking about surf reports. Yep, in Hawaii one thing you will never find in short supply are forecasts for what…