Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [474]
This book includes B&Bs that can be booked directly, but there are others that can be booked only through B&B reservation services. Some islands have B&B associations, such as the Hawaii Island B&B Association (www.stayhawaii.com) on the Big Island. Some island-wide B&B agencies:
Affordable Paradise Bed & Breakfast (261-1693; www.affordable-paradise.com) Books reasonably priced B&Bs and cottages.
All Islands Bed & Breakfast (753-3445; www.all-islands.com) Books scores of host homes.
Bed & Breakfast Hawaii (822-7771, 800-733-1632; www.bandb-hawaii.com) A larger statewide service.
Vacation Rental by Owner (www.vrbo.com) Facilitates renting vacation homes directly from the owners.
Note that some B&Bs, to preserve a romantic atmosphere, have minimum ages for, or don’t allow, children. Be sure to ask about any restrictions before making reservations.
Camping & Cabins
While Hawaii has, unsurprisingly, some stellar public campgrounds, the overall quality of facilities ranges from great to terrible. It has almost no full-service private camp- grounds (though hostels sometimes provide camping). The best public facilities are in national parks, next best are state parks and typically the least well cared-for are county parks. Sites are less busy during the week than on weekends.
For safety reasons, a few county and state parks are expressly not recommended because they are either very isolated or they are regular late-night carousing spots. Theft and violence aimed at campers is rare, but you should still choose your campgrounds carefully. See the recommendations in this guide, and also get advice from local county and state parks departments; they are usually very upfront about campground conditions and safety.
Hawaii’s two national parks – Maui’s Haleakalā National Park (Click here) and the Big Island’s Hawai′i Volcanoes National Park (Click here) – have excellent camping. Both have free drive-up campgrounds, cabins for rent and backcountry campsites; campgrounds are rarely full.
The five largest islands offer camping at state parks. These usually have picnic tables, BBQ grills, drinking water, toilets and showers. You may obtain permits ($5 per night per site) from any Division of State Parks office. The Department of Land & Natural Resources’ Division of State Parks main office (Map; 587-0300; www.hawaiistateparks.org; Room 131, 1151 Punchbowl St, Honolulu; 8am-3:30pm Mon-Fri) handles reservations for all islands.
Some county parks are in fact quite wonderful, with white-sand beaches and good facilities. The key thing to keep in mind is that just because you can camp somewhere doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll want to. Check out the campground before committing yourself.
The state and counties also oversee some basic housekeeping cabins. For more specifics, see the O′ahu (Click here), Big Island (Click here), Maui (Click here), Moloka′i (Click here) and Kaua′i (Click here) chapters.
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SMOKE-FREE HAWAII
On November 16, 2006, Hawaii became the 14th state in the US to pass comprehensive antismoking legislation. It is now illegal to light up a cigarette in any public building, or within 20ft of a building’s entrance. This includes restaurants, bars, offices, hotel lobbies and many other places – though you can still smoke in your car and outside in the park. Because smoking is now largely banned, this guide does not use a nonsmoking icon (). Note that if you break the law, you can be fined $50, plus a $25 court fee. (For complete information on Hawaii’s nonsmoking regulations, visit www.hawaiismokefree.com.)
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Condominiums
More spacious than hotel rooms, condos are individually owned apartments furnished with everything a visitor needs – from a full kitchen to washer and dryer (usually) to lanai (porch, balcony or veranda). They’re almost always cheaper than all but the budget hotel rooms, especially if you’re traveling with a group. Most units have a three- to seven-day minimum stay. The weekly rate is often six times the daily rate and the monthly is three times the weekly.
Most condos are