PETER GREENBERG
Peter Greenberg is the
multiple–Emmy Award–
winning travel editor
for CBS News and host
of The Travel Detective
on public television
( petergreenberg.com).
MORE IN ARCHIVES
At
costcoconnection.com,
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TRAVELCONNECTION
I STARTED GOING to Hawaii when I was a child,
and I’ve been going back ever since. Here are a
few reasons why.
Oahu
Skip the tourist stores of Waikiki and Kalakaua
Avenue, and head to Aloha Stadium. Three times
a week, from ; a.m. to ; p.m., it hosts an amazing
swap meet (
alohastadiumswapmeet.net). The locals
go there to find just about anything. The ;;; stalls
inside the stadium offer everything from antiques
to surplus army gear to Hawaiian handicrafts.
Later, go to the nearby fields in Waimanalo
to watch a game of polo. Most folks don’t think
polo when they think of Hawaii. But the Honolulu
Polo Club (
honolulupolo.com), which started in
;;;;, is a great place to watch a few chukkers.
For a great beach experience, try Mokuleia
Beach. Few tourists venture this far northwest,
but it’s worth it. The beach is long and sandy, and
Ka’ala and the Waianae mountain range are
behind you as you swim in the Pacific; in the
summer months it’s not unusual to see large green
sea turtles basking on the shore.
Maui
I go to Maui to eat. Not just at the popular
restaurants in Lahaina or Wailea, but in the middle of the island. About a ;;-minute ride from the
hotels in Wailea and Ka’anapali, a few miles off
the Hana Highway (State Route ;;), is the
Hali’imaile General Store (
hgsmaui.com), run by
legendary chef Beverly Gannon. Gannon specializes in Pacific Wave cuisine, a great blend of Asian
and Hawaiian dishes using locally sourced ingredients. Reservations are a must.
Afterward, continue east toward Hamoa.
You’ll drive past a lush forest, coastal lava fields
and one or two waterfalls. When you get to Hamoa
you’ll find one of the great, uncrowded beaches
of Hawaii. It’s a thousand feet long, crescent-shaped, and ringed by high cliffs and vegetation.
It’s a little bit of a hike down to the beach, but
worth it.
One of my favorite beaches on Maui is Paako
Cove, called—appropriately—Secret Beach by the
locals. There’s a certain irony about this place. It
might be the most photographed beach in Hawaii,
but it’s visited by very few. It’s just south of the
hugely popular Makena Beach, and it’s about two-
thirds of a mile long, tucked behind two walls of
lava rock in a small residential neighborhood. The
beach is located ;.; miles south of the Shops at
Wailea and about ;;; feet south of Makena State
Park on Makena Road. The beach entrance, a stone
walkway to the beach, is located on Makena Road.;
A caution: One reason it’s called Secret Beach
is that it’s considered clothing optional. Consider
yourself warned.
Kauai
I like to head for Makua Beach (Tunnels
Beach), on the north side, especially in the summer months when the surf is more forgiving and
the snorkeling is amazing. Just ; miles west from
Hanalei Bay, it’s a large protected lagoon ringed
with ironwood and palm trees.
Located in Polihale State Park, Polihale
Beach, which the locals call Barking Sands, is very
secluded. Fringed by the Na Pali cliffs, on the west
side of Kauai, at the end of a long unpaved dirt
road, it features ;;;-foot-high sand dunes.
But my favorite Kauai beach is Glass Beach.
Why the name? The island used to dump discarded beer and soda bottles here. Then the
dumping stopped, and the ocean did the rest. Now
the sand is mixed with millions of tiny pieces of
colored sea glass. It’s between Hanapepe Bay and
Wahiawa Bay, near the Port Allen Fisheries
Management Area.
Hawaii Island
Head for Hapuna Beach, on the Kona-Kohala
Coast. With half a mile of white sands, it’s the
longest beach on the island. There’s another
reason to head here: the ; Frogs Café, known for
its fish tacos. You can also sneak over to the
nearby, secluded Waialea Beach (also white sand).
Then there’s the sleepy town of Hilo and
Carlsmith Beach Park. I like this beach because
it’s protected by a reef and a lava rock breakwater,
which makes it almost a swimming pool. It’s not
a sandy beach, but it does have a sandy ocean floor.
If you’re in the mood for something unusual, head
for Papakolea, aka Green Sand Beach; the sand
gets its color from olivine crystals. This common
mineral component of Hawaiian lavas is
also called Hawaiian diamond. You’ll
need to hike to get down there, but
this is one beautiful beach, sitting under Mauna Loa, considered the biggest
volcano in the
world. C
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My secret Hawaii
Going beyond the guidebooks
COSTCOCONNECTION
Costco Travel offers packages
to the islands of Hawaii, as
well as destinations around
the world. To learn more, click
“Travel” at Costco.com or call
1-877-849-2730.
THE
Rainbow over Na Pali,
Kauai, Hawaii.
©
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