John's Hawaii / South Pacific Travel Blog

If, like me you've always wanted to feel like it is to hang from a parachute but had no desire to jump from a plane or soar off a mountain top, there's a way that you can experience all the thrill but feel totally safe in doing so. That way is to parasail. One company that does a superb job is UFO Parasail at Ka'anapali Beach on Maui.

Find out how you can have this once in a lifetime experince with UFO Parasail on Maui.

Parasail Photo by John Fischer

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video of Hawaii is worth much more. Check out our videos of Hawaii which will help you plan your next Hawaii vacation.

• Tour Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
  See the best vantage points, sites, and stops in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island in Hawaii.
• Tour of the Hamakua Coast on Hawaii's Big Island
  Tucked off the beaten path, the Hamakua Coast is a hidden treasure on the Big Island of Hawaii.
• Tour Historic Downtown Honolulu and Waikiki Beach
  Join me on a tour of historic downtown Honolulu, Hawaii and nearby Waikiki Beach where hundreds of thousands come to play each year.
• Tour of Chinatown in Honolulu
  Take a tour of Chinatown and taste Honolulu, Hawaii's urban nightlife.
• Vist Oahu's Hale'iwa
  Hale'iwa, a small, quaint town on the North Shore of Oahu, welcomes visitors with spectacular beaches, great surfing, fragrant pineapple fields, and Hawaii's ubiquitous delicacy, shave ice.
• Hawaii's West Maui
  Snorkeling, surfing, sailing, and sun - see what makes Hawaii's West Maui shine.
• Ensure your Maui, Hawaii Trip is Your Best Vacation Ever
  Tour Maui's best beach and ocean activities and ensure that your trip to Hawaii is your best vacation ever.
• Celebrate May Day as Lei Day in Hawaii
  Experience Hawaii's annual celebration of the lei, Lei Day, held on May 1st when much of the rest of the world celebrates May Day.

The nine Marriott Resorts in Hawaii are the perfect hosts for the ultimate family vacation. Located on O'ahu, Kaua'i, Maui and the Big Island, the oceanfront hotels and vacation resorts offer entertaining programs and activities designed for the young and young-at-heart.

What better way to enjoy the beautiful Hawaiian Islands than with your loved ones?

Read more details of what's available for families at the Marriott Resorts of Hawaii as well as our reviews of several properties.

_{Signature Circular Pool and Pool Deck at the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa - Photo by John Fischer}

Visiting Kalaupapa you here the voices of thousands of Hawaiians, now silent, who were taken from their homes and brought to this desolate place. Their crime was that they suffered from leprosy, now called Hansen's Disease.

Ignored and abandoned for many years, they found hope in a Catholic Priest and Nun who showed them compassion and kindness. Reminders of Father Damien and Mother Marianne, both on the path to sainthood, are everywhere on Kalaupapa.

We hope you enjoy our 127 photos taken on Molokai's Kalaupapa Peninsula. View the photos...

May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii. It's a day of color, celebration, flowers and aloha. In this feature we take a look at the origins of Lei Day and how the holiday is celebrated throughout the islands. Read more about the history of Lei Day and how it is celebrated on each of the Hawaiian Islands in our feature Lei Day in Hawaii

View our gallery of Photos of O'ahu's Lei Day Celebration.

View our new travel video Celebrate May Day as Lei Day in Hawaii.

It is, unfortunately, rare today to find a restaurant that has been in business for 40 years and still thriving. I'm sure we all have had a favorite restaurant close their doors when a new, snazzier competitor opens up just down the street.

Set back from the road and easy to miss as you drive down Alii Drive in Kailua-Kona on Hawaii's Big Island, you'll find Huggo's restaurant and its casual sidekick eatery, Huggo's on the Rocks. It was 40 years ago this week that Hugo and Shirley von Platen Luder opened a "casual gathering spot where you could get a good steak, a slab of fresh fish and pile it on at the salad bar."

Find our more about Huggo's restaurant in Kailua-Kona and check out the recently retired Executive Chef Cliften "Loetree" Berry's recipe for Maui Onion Crusted Ahi Steak with Mushroom Ragout.

Tahiti and Her Islands are unlike any set of islands in the world. Here are 21 interesting facts about Tahiti and Her Islands.

• Hawaii gets more visitors in 10 days than Tahiti does in an entire year.
  
  
• In ancient Tahiti, archery was a sacred sport, practiced only by people of high rank. And while they were expert marksmen, bows and arrows were never used as weapons of war.
  
  
• It’s common to put a tiare (Tahiti’s national flower, a fragrant white blossom) behind one’s ear -- left side you’re taken, right if you’re looking.
  
  
• James Michener’s mythical island of Bali Hai is likened to Moorea.

Read more interesting facts about Tahiti and Her Islands.

There's a lot going on this spring and summer on Oahu. The Island of Oahu, known as the Heart of Hawaii, sets the rhythm of the islands and leads by example with new improvements, changes and additions on an ongoing basis.

See what's new on Oahu this spring and summer:

• What's New With Oahu's Hotels and Resorts
  
  
• What's New With Oahu's Restaurants, Cuisine and Nightlife
  
  
• What's New With Oahu's Activities, Attractions and Festivals
  
  
• What's New With Oahu Shopping

The highly anticipated Pacific Aviation Museum - Pearl Harbor (PAM) opened to the public on Dec. 7, 2006, the 65th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Hawaii.

Located at Pearl Harbor’s Ford Island, a National Historic Landmark and the site of our nation’s first aviation battlefield, the PAM tells the story of military aviation in the Pacific during World War II.

The first phase of the Museum is 42,442 square feet and located within Hanger 37 -- future phases will be built at Hanger 79 and Hangar 54 and tell additional stories of the Korean War, Vietnam War and Cold War.

Read our Review of the Pacific Aviation Museum and then view our Gallery of 24 Photos of the Pacific Aviation Museum.

_{Photo - B-25 Mitchell Bomber by John Fischer}

I fly United Airlines more than any other carrier to Hawaii. That does not mean that I'm happy with the service. It's gotten progressively worse over the years and there's no real prospect of things getting better.

Nine hour flights with no meals, poor beverage service, broken film projectors and monitors, charges for a second bag even to Hawaii and no rule 240 adherence. What ever happened to the "friendly skies of United?"

With the loss of ATA and Aloha Airlines and the merger of Delta and Northwest, rates are soon to rise. Things are looking pretty dim. Find out more details in our feature United Airlines to Hawaii - The Skies Aren't So Friendly Anymore.