Posts Tagged ‘Kauai’

Hawaii Cruises

Tuesday, May 13th, 2008

A great way to see the Hawaii is to take a cruise. Cruise ships can be relaxing as you want or as adventurous as you want. With the Hawaiian islands so close together, you don’t always have to be on the ship. You can go ashore and enjoy what each island has to offer while still having those great all you can eat meals to go back to when you need a break.

NCL America

The Norwegian Cruise Lines runs a 7 day Hawaii only cruise that is one of the best ways to see all 4 majoy Hawaiian islands in such a short amount of time. The trip goes from Honolulu on the island of Oahu and travels to Kauai, The Big Island and Maui with shore excursions on each island.

A great thing about the shore excursions is that you have a chance to choose from any tour or activity the islands offer, not just offered through NCL, and NCL will help coordinate. Or you can rent a car, or a bike, or just walk around, and see the islands on your own. This Hawaii cruise is definitely tops on the list of cruises to take in the world. You travel at night and enjoy the Hawaii during the day.

You can find out more about this cruise at theNCL Hawaii site.

Princess Cruises

Princess cruises is another way to get to Hawaii and enjoy a Hawaii cruise. This cruise company offers cruises all around the Pacific. You can go from the west coast of the United States and Canada to Hawaii, from Hawaii and Honolulu to Tahiti, or back and forth between any of these places.

Although this cruise isn’t specific to Hawaii, Being able to cruise to multiple destinations like this can be a great thing and not bog you down with just the Hawaiian Islands. Although, who can really get bogged down with a cruise in Hawaii.

You can read more about all the itineraries, currently 62 as we write this, that Princess cruises offers over at the Hawaii section of Princess Cruises.

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Kiteboarding in Hawaii

Saturday, May 3rd, 2008

Lots of Kiteboarders in Kailua

WARNING: TAKE LESSONS

Kiteboarding has taken off in Hawaii, especially in Kailua where windsurfing used to be king of the bay. Now, you’re more likely to see more kites flying around the bay than windsurfers. Kiteboarding, as the warning alludes to, is very very difficult. You’ll definitely need to takes lessons if you’ve never done it before.

Lessons

First off you need to take lessons in order to start kiteboarding. The best place in Hawaii to do so is in Kailua on the island of Oahu. There are plenty of shops in town that offer kiteboarding lessons and all the rental gear you can handle. You can also just head down to the beach and should be able to find someone who gives or knows a friend who gives lessons. Right behind Kalapawai Market, in the parking lot there at the beach you’ll also be able to find trucks full of kites and windsurfing boards. Just ask them.

You can also take lessons on the other islands. Both Kauai and Maui have some really good spots to go kiteboarding as well and those places offer lessons just the same as Oahu.

People who’ve done it before claim that you need about 4 lessons to get good at kiteboarding. The cost for lessons ranges from $100 - $200 per 2 hour lesson. Some of the better lessons have teachers that use helmets with 2 way radios. They’ll run up and down the shore as you try and get the hang of it.

Gear

Kiteboarding gear can get expensive. You can spend thousands on a top notch kite. Or you can search around town for someone selling older gear. Just be careful of how used it is. Kites have bladders that inflate to keep their shape. Make sure there’s no holes in the bladder before you buy a used one.

You’ll need the following.

  • Kite
  • Lines
  • Bar
  • Harness
  • Board

These all come in different shapes and sizes like 9m kites or 14m kites, 2 lines, 4 lines, 5 lines, wide bars, two direction boards, no strap boards, bootstrap boards, and more. We suggest talking to someone who knows what they’re doing, at one of the shops where they sell or rent, and get their opinion on what you should purchase.

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