Hawaii Volcano Videos 2008

I guess today's post about the dramatic lava flow in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park 2008 is overdue. We wrote a number of articles about a visit to Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island, like 'When is the best time time to visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park'? Basically, we told Big Island visitors then that there is no guaranty to see red lava flow, as the conditions always change. So believe me in the past there have been a number of disappointed visitors who were just not lucky to see real lava. OK Kilauea Visitor Center offers visitor information and exhibits, including films and videos throughout the day. And steam vents and the Thurston Lava Tubes are exciting to some point but what about the real thing? Red glowing hot lava...


Well, most Big Island visitors know by now that things are different this year at the park. Anybody who plans a visit to the volcano can be sure that Madame Pele, the Goddess of the Volcano, will put on a fascinating show of her powers. This is a short update for our Big Island visitors who are planning a visit to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in these fall months of 2008.

The number of visitors to the Park has increased over the past few months significantly ever since the eruption in Halemaumau crater on March 11th, the first eruption at that location since 1982. The colors of the plume are constantly changing from white to gray and even pink. At night, the dramatic glow from the vent keeps visitors at awe. There are not many places on earth where visitors can watch safely an active volcano.

Visit our site for more information about lava flow update and viewing areas at Hawaii Volcanoes Park. In addition, you want to visit the County of Hawaii Kilauea Eruption Update Website plus in the FAQ you might just find the answer to your question about visiting the Park and Kilauea Volcano. Check our Big Island map for Park location and more.

It was really fun to put this post together for all our Hawaii visitors and especially those who do some Hawaii Island hopping over from Oahu, Maui or Kauai. I tried to not only find the most spectacular Hawaii volcano video but also those videos which provide Big Island visitors with some scientific information behind this amazing display by mother nature. I arranged the videos in a somewhat time order.

So enjoy and have fun with our Hawaii Volcano videos. Share your 2008 visit to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park with our Best Hawaii Vacation blog visitors. You did not never visit the Big Island? The 2008 year is not over yet. Volcano vacation rental hosts welcome you with special rates for November in Volcano. Mahalo and aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations

Hawaii Volcano Video April 2008 by Written directed and produced by Donald B. MacGowan; Narrated by Frank Burgess; Original Musical Score by Donald B. MacGowan.



Hawaii Volcano Video by KITV March 25, 2008. Scientists on the Big Island are stunned by the mile high plume of ash that is erupting from the Halema'uma'u caldera of the Kilauea Volcano



Hawaii Vocano Video by SkyNews from July 10th 2008

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Sailing the Hawaiian Islands

Aloha to all our Best Hawaii Vacation visitors,
When we noticed that there is quite a number of visitors who want to get away to sunny Hawaii from rainy November weather on the Mainland, we decided to give these guys some help with our post 'Fly to Hawaii in November'. A few of our 'Best Places Hawaii Thanksgiving 2008' are still available. But remember restaurants and beaches are really busy during Thanksgiving week in Hawaii. But hey choose the other November weeks, and you will be king on the beach and other Hawaiian activities which book fast in advance like Whale watch or snorkel tours!

Today we welcome a new author to our Hawaii blog writers' guild of Hawaii lovers. It's Captain Howard from Kona 'Sail Holy Grail'. Everybody who loves sailing, whether himself being the sailing captain or going on a sailing cruise, might want to book a sailing charter boat after reading his 'Sailing the Hawaiian Islands' article.


Just a few words about Howard before going sailing with him. Sailing has been Captain Howard's passion since he was a teenager. Reading all the classic stories about crossing oceans in small boats inflamed his desire to do the same thing. Over the years, Howard has crossed the oceans a number of times. He holds a U.S. Merchant Marine Officer Master license for 50 tons, sail and power. I guess we've found us the expert about sailing in Hawaii:

"Ahoy Best Hawaii Vacation blog visitors,
It has happened! The first humpback whales of the season were spotted a little earlier than normal on October 9. The excitement took place in the afternoon offshore of Honokohau Harbor when sailing aboard Holy Grail, on our gentle and steady Kona breezes gliding through our calm waters.


Sailing is ideal for Whale Watching as the gentle giants are not frightened by our approach. Kona is especially well suited for sailing as the waters are so protected from Hawaii’s sometimes boisterous trade winds, which generally blow from the northeast. Kona and Kohala are on the West side of the Big Island, so you can see that the fetch of ocean swells that roll across the pacific onto Hawaii’s shores break mainly onto the Hamakua (east) Coast, creating spectacular shoreline views.

During Whale season, which varies from as early as October to as late as April a whale encounter might occur at any time of the day. It is calmer in the mornings, though, which makes it a little easier to see whales in the water. They have a characteristic "footprint" on the water, as their great mass causes sort of a slick when they rest just below the surface. They may "breach," or hurtle nearly out of the water, or slap their tails one or more times, or you may just see the hump or a pectoral fin come up. Whatever you see, it is a great thrill as they are 50 feet or longer, about the length of our sailing boat.

We are often asked, “what if there are no whales that day. What will we see?” Kona has quite a bit of nature on view. Today, I dove right in the harbor to check our mooring chain and was greeted by a huge green sea "Honu," Hawaiian for turtle, visible right from the deck. You might see any of several varieties of dolphin, or pilot whales, or jumping schools of "Aku," skipjack tuna feeding on schools of small fish. You can be certain that the view of our island from just offshore will inspire and delight. Aloha and good sailing in Hawaii, Captain Howard and Admiral Stephanie, Sail Holy Grail"

Much mahalo Howard and Stephanie for sharing the fun of Hawaii whale watch from a sailing ship. A sailing charter seems like a great idea for a private family outing on a unique vacation in Hawaii. As usually we'd love to hear from visitors who sailed the Hawaiian Islands. Have you ever booked a Hawaiian sailing charter and how was it? Mahalo and aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations

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Fly to Hawaii in November

Today, the 'Moku O Keawe' Hula Festival, one of Hawaii Big Island's big events to keep Hawaiian traditions like hula dance and slackkey guitar alive on the islands, has started at Waikoloa Beach Resort. We were happy to hear that Big Island vacation rental owners shared this information with their guests. As the hula festival lasts till November the 9th, we expect many Big Island visitors and residents to visit one of the festival events and feel the aloha spirit first hand.

If you are not on the Hawaiian Islands yet, but plan a last minute visit to Hawaii for November, remember Thanksgiving is a very busy week on all the islands and our highest season in Hawaii starts Christmas week on 12/20, including New Year's 2008 and ends January 3rd 2009. January and February are high season months generally.

Hotels and private vacation homes in Hawaii are quite booked for Christmas 2008. So, if you are looking for a bargain, then it's November to catch offers for special room rates (exception of Thanksgiving!) and believe it or not, Hawaii hotels and vacation rentals are normally slow at the beginning of December till 12/19. After that, things turn a little crazy. I personally love the peaceful time before Christmas. Hawaii visitors may enjoy still empty beaches and restaurants and the already set up Christmas decorations.

Well, if we got you hooked to check Hawaii flights and hotels for November 2008, our friends, Jeff and Rob, from Beat of Hawaii might have the flight information available you are looking for. They list flight specials from LAX to Honolulu for $242 RT, Denver to Honolulu for $111 one way, Chicago to Maui for $412 RT, Sacramento to Honolulu for $350 RT and more. Jeff wrote in his blog post from November 1st:

"This past week has been the very best we’ve seen in about a year for mainland to Hawaii airfares. In fact, when you consider inflation-adjusted price, some are the lowest ever offered historically.

To and from Los Angeles, the price has dropped an additional $20, since we posted it earlier in the week. American is now joined by Delta and Northwest, who are all battling in this heavily traveled and prized market. This is the best price imaginable. You can also choose to fly Hawaiian Air for just $25 more.

Check out the other fabulous Hawaii airfare offers as well. When I looked this morning, many are still available, in some cases with more availability and additional carriers joining, than earlier. I’ve updated each offer with today’s changes."

If you are interested in reading all the special flight details, keep reading Jeff's post LAX to Honolulu $233 RT all-inclusive You will find Hawaii flight specials by American Airlines, Delta and United, and a special Hotel - Flight vacation code by Orbitz. It doesn't hurt to check it out, when you are determined to fly to Hawaii in November.

Last but not least, we mentionend before that Hawaiian island hopping had become quite expensive with Hawaiian Airline's high prices for flying between the islands. Here is the good news. I just checked Hawaiian for Interisland flights and noticed their brand-new interisland special for Honolulu - Kona, Honolulu - Kahului, Honolulu - Lihue, Honolulu - Hilo is $61 starting 11/19/08. Looks like Mokulele's lower Interisland rates made its competitor to go lower as well.

Great news for Hawaii visitors who love island hopping on their Hawaii vacation. So fly to Hawaii in November and let's hop, island hop, again! Aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations
p.s.
Our today's Hawaiian post girl, who makes dreaming of a Hawaii vacation very real, is Shannon from WahineStyle. If you like her and all our other beautiful Hawaiian girls, the 2009 WahineStyle calendar is now available.

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Hawaiian Traditions

Dear Best Hawaii Vacation blog visitors,
The ones of you who visit our Hawaii blog frequently know that we, Pua and Keoki, are not just dedicating this blog to providing you with the best Hawaii vacation tips for travel to the Hawaiian Islands. We love to go beyond that by introducing Hawaiian culture, traditions and heritage to all of you you want to know more about Hawaii, the land and the people. Today we warmly welcome another guest author who will be assisting us to accomplish this mission.

Catherine Tarleton, the blog author of today's post had worked at Mauna Kea Beach Hotel for 18 years. When the hotel closed for renovation in 2006, she looked for new ways to get actively engaged in keeping the Hawaiian heritage alive and thriving. Cathey is a free lance writer on the Big Island of Hawaii who had become involved with promoting the rich and beautiful Hawaiian tradition and culture through the 'Moku O Keawe' International International Festival, which is coming up at the beginning of November 2008.

Here is what Cathey has to share with Big Island visitors about the Festival which features an amazing hula competition by dancers from Hawaii and Japan and several cultural workshops led by some amazing kumu in the arts of chant, hula, lei-making, language and more:

"Experience the rich Hawaiian culture during Moku O Keawe International Festival, November 5-9 at Waikoloa Beach Resort. Top hula troupes from Hawaii and Japan take the stage for exciting kupuna, kahiko and auana competition under the stars in the Waikoloa Bowl at the Queens' Gardens.

And during the day, cultural workshops offer an in-depth excursion to practice protocols, gather materials and make authentic lei, a look at the intricacies of lauhala weaving, a visit to the Makali'i to learn story and song about the fabled voyaging canoe--and much more. Kickoff concert starring Na Hokuhanohano Female Vocalist of the Year Napua Greig, fabulous made-in-Hawaii Marketplace and final night Ho'ike starring workshop students and special guest halau complete the third annual event.

Through what is learned in the cultural workshops, hula competition, exhibits of Hawaii-related arts and crafts and other extraordinary events, the Hawaii traveler from near or far can take the Moku O Keawe experience home and share it with their community.

For information visit www.MokuOKeawe.org or call Margo at 808-886-8822."

Much mahalo, Cathey, for your nice invitation to this amazing festival of celebrating Hawaiian traditions and sharing them with our Hawaii Big Island visitors. If you don't know where Waikoloa Beach Resort is, check our Kohala Coast map. It's at a great central location between Kona and the Kohala Coast and Waimea area.

A visit to the Moku O Keawe Festival will be a unique Hawaii experience on your Big Island vacation. Aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations and Big Island Vacation

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Hawaii Blogs

With holiday season of Thanksgiving and Christmas 2008 approaching fast, our highest season for Hawaii vacation and travel is coming up. No wonder that most Hawaii blogs are writing posts about the fun of celebrating holidays in warm, sunny Hawaii. A Christmas vacation in Hawaii is on many travelers' wish list for Christmas.

Well, Christmas is about giving and receiving gifts. Recently, our Best Hawaii Vacation blog received an early Christmas gift. Alene from True Aloha Blog nominated our 'Hawaii blog' for the 'I Love Your Blog award! What a nice surprise. We are truly honored! We thought this is the most wonderful idea to say mahalo to our Hawaii blog ohana for staying in touch through blog visits and comments. Last time we did that, it was at our 1st Hawaii Blog Carnival over a year ago.

So, here are our nominees of favorite Hawaii blogs, in alphabetical order to be fair to everybody:

Beat of Hawaii and Beyond: A travel Chronicle from Hawaii http://beatofhawaii.com/

Da Kine Hawaiian Aloha http://hawaiianalohashirts.blogspot.com/

Hawaiirama http://hawaiirama.com/

Hawaii Vacation Blog http://www.hawaii-aloha.com/blog/

Homespun Honolulu - A Honolulu Blog http://homespunhonolulu.com/

The Right Blue - Recounting a Lifetime of Ocean Devotion http://therightblue.com/

True Aloha - Everything about Hawaii and Aloha http://truealoha.com/blog/

Remember what goes around, comes around. Here are the 'rules' for the recipient:

* Display your award.
* Link back to the person who gave you the award.
* Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
* Put links to those blogs on yours.
* Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated.
* Enjoy your award!

We decided for Hawaii blogs on our blog award. Now, we are curious about your blog choices for 'I love your blog' award! Let us know in a comment when your blog award is live. Mahalo, Pua and Keoki Hawaii Vacations and Affordable Hawaii

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Have fun in Hawaii at Christmas 2008

Our recent little excursion to Upcountry Maui at Best Hawaii vacation blog got attention by Hawaii travelers who look for the Hawaii paths less traveled away from the tourist crowds. Well, we are sure that today's blog post will get everybody's attention who has a Christmas vacation in Hawaii in mind for this year.

There is no doubt that Vacation in Hawaii is special at any time of the year. Hawaii still holds its position as a top destination for visitors from the Mainland and from around the world, whether it's for a special Hawaii honeymoon, a family beach vacation with kids or celebrities taking a break from their Mainland lifestyles. From our experience as longtime vacation hosts in Hawaii, we can say that the most desired time for a Hawaii vacation is Christmas together with New Year's (this is how most people book it), followed by Thanksgiving and the snowbird months January and February.

We always considered it our most special Christmas gift to go on Christmas Day or the afternoon of Christmas Eve to white sand Mauna Kea Beach, lie in the sun and have a swim in the ocean! Hawaii spoils its visitors with its warm sunny days and warm ocean waters even in December when most Mainland states are in the tight grip of frost, ice and snow. Admittedly, the fun of a Hawaii Christmas vacation does not come cheap to Hawaii visitors. Hawaii hotels charge higher holiday room rates and hotels, 5-star or budget, but they book very fast in advance. We noticed that even this year, after lower Hawaii visitor numbers during the summer and fall months, Christmas holidays don't make an exception.

Here are a few Hawaii Vacation tips for the average Hawaii traveler to save money and have fun at Christmas Vacation 2008:

1. Rent a Hawaii vacation home or condo instead of staying at a hotel

First of all, privately owned Hawaii vacation rentals don't book as fast as hotels, if they are not right on the beach. There are lovely places with short 10 - 15 minute drive to best beaches in your vacation area. They are fully equipped with complete kitchens, which can save you tons of money on all your meals. With this extra money, you can take the whole family to a whale watch tour. Remember the humpback whales are back in December. Vacation rentals by owner come all inclusive with beach equipment, snorkel gear and even Internet access, even saunas or jaccuzis. Remember that's what you pay those Hawaii resort fees for.

2. Share a Hawaii vacation home or condo with family or friends

So many guests would love to have a private pool for their Hawaii Christmas vacation, but cannot afford the place, unless they make a small sacrifice and share the home + the rate (!) with family or friends which you hang out with anyway on a daily basis. Look for vacation rentals which have short driving distances to beaches, shopping and fun entertainment.

3. Share a rental car with family or friends for Christmas

It does not take big planning to share a car with friends for going to the beach, going shopping or do a special Hawaiian island adventure. With a few easy adjustments and planning, you can save a lot of money with a shared car. With higher gas prices in Hawaii, this makes perfectly sense. Remember your last Hawaii vacation when you afterwards wondered why you rented the car in the first place. Book your Hawaii rental car for Christmas as early as possible. Guys these are the Hawaiian Islands and rental cars are not unlimited.

4. Free Christmas entertainment in Hawaii

Yes, there are still things in Hawaii for Christmas which are free. You just have to find them. Hotels have beautifully decorated Christmas tree exhibitions, electric toy railroads in winter wonderland scenery or even ginger bread houses as tall as people (hmm, that smell!). Shopping centers do nightly Christmas entertainment with hula dancers and carol singing. It's a wonderful experience to join those Hawaiian Christmas traditions, more so when you can show up in shorts and Aloha shirts! Welcome to Christmas in Hawaii! Aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations
p.s.
If you are still looking for a Last Minute Thanksgiving Hawaii rental, visit our 'Best Places Hawaii Thanksgiving 2008'.

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Maui Upcountry

When talking about Maui Vacation on Best Hawaii Vacation blog, a lot is said about the Maui resorts in Hawaii Kapalua (read our recent post Hawaii Kapalua Maui, Kaanapali and Kihei with their famous white sand beaches and ocean front and ocean view Maui condos. It makes perfectly sense that Hawaii tourists focus on sunny, white sand beaches when getting away from rainy Mainland. It comes with a sacrifice. Most of our beloved Hawaii beach areas are overflowing with tourists and thus become 'touristy'.

For all those who want to explore the islands, get to know the real Hawaii and get away from the touristy resorts, Upcountry Maui is the place to go on your Maui vacation. Upcountry Maui begins at Pukalani and climbs the slopes of magnificent Haleakala to the ranchland communities of Makawao, Kula, Keokea and Ulupalakua. These are the areas where you can find the oldest ranches, like Ulupakalua Ranch on the slopes of Haleakala at an elevation of under 2,000 feet.

You can reach the ranch via a scenic drive past horses, cattle and purple blooming jacarandas. Enjoy the panoramic views of Lanai, Molokini and Kahoolawe. The Hawaiian cowboys, knowns as paniolos, are still riding the ranges!

When you decide to stay at one of the lovely upcountry B&Bs, inns or vacation rentals in the coming winter months, be aware that the higher elevation brings colder temperatures to those upcountry areas, especially during the nights. Make sure that there is some heating at your accommodation and have a sweater and long pants available for going out at night. Driving a convertible might not be the right thing, as rain can suddenly surprise you.

Well, one cannot leave Hawaii tourism totally behind when visiting Upcountry Maui. The green rolling pastures of rural Makawao with the blue ocean in the distance is home to beautiful boutiques, restaurants and art galleries. But one got to eat on a day trip outing and a little shopping can be fun too. If you are not into it, drive further up the road to Kula where Maui visitors can find flower farms with beautiful tropical flowers like protea, orchids and bird of paradise.

Kula Botanical Garden is another alternative to visiting boutiques and galleries. The 8-acre garden is located on the slopes of Haleakala and displays colorful and unique plants, amazing rock formations, a covered bridge, waterfalls, koi pond and aviary. Visitors will find hundreds of varieties of plants to enjoy and photograph.

We have hundreds of varieties of plants for you to enjoy and photograph.

There is much more to Upcountry Maui. If you have stayed at one of the wonderful upcountry vacation places or would like to share your upcountry Maui experience with our Hawaii blog visitors, we would love to hear from you. Mahalo and aloha, Pua Hawaii Vacations

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