Written By Rory Shaffer
Hawaii The Big Island
Set on the sloping flanks of the world’s most active volcano – whose latest eruption ended in 2021 – this extraordinary park is a dramatic reminder that nature remains very much alive and in perpetual motion. Incredible hiking trails take in lava flows and tubes, steam vents and wild beaches, while a long, winding downhill drive leads past several major sights.
The Road To HANA
A white-knuckle roller-coaster of a ride, the Hana Highway in Maui twists through dense jungly valleys and skirts beneath mighty cliffs, curling around 600 twists and turns along the way. There are fifty-four one-lane bridges cross nearly as many waterfalls . This road is more like playing chicken up it and down. I drove it in 2012 and I best advice I can give is to get up and early and go. This road can be nightmare with a lot of traffic because there is no room to pass, but once you reach the top the views are to die for.
Haleakala National Park Maui
As you hike into Haleakalā, the first thing you notice is the crumbly lunar landscape. Then comes the eerie quiet – the only sound is the crunching of volcanic rock under your feet. The trail continues through a tableau lava path, rainbow-colored cinder cones and ever-changing clouds. In the park’s coastal section, waterfalls tumble into brilliant pools flanked by trails, viewpoints and a bamboo forest. I really loved this hike.
Pearl Harbor O’ahu
Pearl Harbor is best known for the 1941 attack on the USS Arizona, now a sobering memorial that still draws many veterans, tourists and military historians. But the history of this place, and many of Hawaii's active US military bases, goes back much further, even before the colonization and annexation of the islands. Vitors have the opportunity to view the remains of the USS Arizona, one of the ships sunk during the attack. Feel the weight of history as you read the names of the men lost that day and understand that you are standing over their final resting site. Be sure to visit the Battleship Missouri, the ship on which the Japanese signed the Instrument of Surrender that ended World War II.
Molokini
Hawaiian legend says that Molokini was a beautiful woman turned to stone by a jealous Pele, goddess of fire and volcanoes. Today Molokini is the stuff of legends among scuba divers and snorkelers. The crescent-shaped rock, only a few miles off the South Maui coast, is the rim of an ancient volcanic crater that has eroded over eons and sunk back beneath the ocean's surface. The shallow waters cradled within are a more than hospitable spot for coral and a calling card for more than 250 species of tropical fish.
Honolulu
In Hawaii's cosmopolitan capital on O‘ahu's southern shoreline, you can eat your way through the pan-Asian alleys of Chinatown, gaze out to sea from the landmark Aloha Tower and explore the USA’s only royal palace, where Hawaii’s last monarch languished under house arrest. Browse at the world's largest open-air shopping center, then your respects at Pearl Harbor. Make sure you visit pineapple mountain while in Honolulu.
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