So who has been to Hawaii?

[Waltstasz]

I always have wanted to go. Hawaii seems like it would be amazing, but I never have been.

So if you have been there tell me what was it like!! Did you get to see any places where the show was filmed? Was it better or worse than you expected?

[Doc Ibold]

I actually just got back from Hawaii about 2 weeks ago, and let me tell you, it is AWESOME.

Its like 80 degrees and sunny every day, there's always a breeze coming off the ocean. It truly is paradise.

Unfortunately (well, not really considering I was in Hawaii), I was on Maui, so I didn't have a chance to hit up any of the Magum sites on Oahu (I did pick up the Red Bird Magnum Aloha shirt, though-exact replica of whats in the Smithsonian!).

Honestly, Waltstasz, you should try and go there at least once in your life. It will be soooo relaxing.

Breakdown of Islands (from experience, and from what I heard from others who have been)

Oahu: Nice, but its like any other big city (assuming you'd be staying in Honolulu). You don't seem to feel like you're in the Islands (hearsay)

Kauai: VERY beautiful, nice place to relax. Not very "touristy" Lots of honeymooners go there (hearsay)

Molokai: Most traditional of the islands, doesn't pander to the outside world at all. Said to be the most "Hawaiian" of the islands, as it has the largest population of native Hawaiians living there. (hearsay, but supported by locals).

Lanai: Nice Island, great golfing. You can pretty much get there by taking a day trip. They have 3 really big resorts there. Apparantly Bill Gates rented out the ENTIRE island to have his wedding there (paid everyone $1500 to take a hike for the day, and rented out EVERY hotel room on the island). (Experience).

Hawaii: I was only there for 3 hours on a layover in Kona. The surface there looks like you were on the moon!

Kahoolawe: I don't think you can even go there. It was supposed to have been the most revered of the islands, until the US Navy bombed the heck out of it. Apparantly the water table was destroyed when they blew up 500 tons of TNT to simulate a nuclear bomb. Right now its in a reclamation movement for future generations. I think its going to be the new Molokai.

Nihau: Private island, can't get there

Maui: Simply beautiful. The right mix of Island/urban. Pretty much anything you want to do, you can do there. I'd highly recommend going there (but I'm a wee bit biased)

[SelleckLover]

I have been to Hawaii only once in 1988. I still remember it vivdly, because I have wanted to keep the experience alive in my mind. It is truly "Paradise"! I visited Oahu and stayed on the side of the island opposite of Honolulu. (Kaneohe) The beaches in the vicinity I stayed were virtually deserted and you had them to yourself for the most part. I remember the first day I was there. It was dusk and the sunset looked like it was going to be a gorgeous one, and thinking that it would probably the only pretty one I might see, I rushed to get my camera so I could capture it. It truly was one of the most breathtaking sunsets I've seen. Little did I know that every sunset from then on, would be prettier than the next!
The atmosphere is really laid back and you can see how the expression "no worries" was coined there. The people are some of the most friendly I've encountered and I made some friends there in just a week! I still correspond with them to this day.
The breathtaking beauty of Hawaii is the reason to go there more than once in my opinion. I would go back in a heartbeat! I did go to some of the places where they filmed Magnum. The Honolulu Zoo, Punchbowl, Valley of the Temples, Arizona Memorial etc., which are tourist attractions.
And if I knew how to post photographs here, I'd post the pic of TS and myself.
I would highly recommend going there. The beauty of the islands should not be missed!

[IslandHopper]

In July 2001, I was in Oahu for about 10 days. Let me tell you, it was awesome. I would live there if I could. I am from Florida (born & raised) and have been around water all of my life, so I could certainly live in Hawaii. However, unlike Florida, Hawaii has spectacular mountains, which was a bonus.

The great thing about Oahu, is that it has something for everyone. Oahu has (1) Honolulu, a major city; (2) endless beaches, (3) great weather; and (4) mountains. The mountains are what surprised me the most. Of course, I had seen pictures, TV shows, and movies of Hawaii, but I never really had an appreciation of how many mountains are on Oahu. When I first arrived on Oahu, I was in awe of the mountains.

When we landed at Honolulu Int'l the pilot announced that the weather was 92 degrees and sunny. I was thinking to my self, oh no, this is going to be as hot and muggy as Florida. When I got off the plane I was expecting to walk into a steam bath (like Florida in July), but to my surprise, it felt like it was about 70 degrees, not 92 degrees. There was virtually no humidity and a very pleasant breeze (trade winds). The weather was absolutely beautiful the entire time I was there. There are many sites to see on Oahu. It only takes about 2.5 hours to drive around Oahu. Now, it took me a little longer because I would stop and take pictures, and do the tourist thing.

While I was in Oahu, I saw only a few Magnum sites, such as the pier where TC kept his chopper and office. While I was there I visited with friends and one of them worked at the Ilikai Hotel where the "Hotel Dick" was filmed.

I also visited "Little Round Top" which over looks Honolulu and Diamond Head. I believe Little Round Top was used in the filming of "Tran Quoc Jones" (when Magnum and TC were making the swap of the personal documents for Tran Quoc Jones with the Goons). You definitely want to go there, the view is spectacular.

I also played golf at the Ko'olau Golf Course. I believe this course may have been used in the filming of "All Roads Lead To Floyd."

I also went to Pearl Harbor and the Arizona memorial, where "Lest We Forget" and "Almost Home" were filmed.

I also spent a lot of time at the various beaches, such as Pipeline, Sandy Beach and Waikiki.

While there, I spent a lot of time driving around to various places, so I recognize many of the places by watching various MPI episodes. My friends lived in 'Hawaii Kai' and that area is used fairly often in various episodes.

I haven't been to any of the other islands, but I plan to as soon as possible. If you get the opportunity to go to Hawaii, you must go, you won't regret it. You can get various travel information by logging on to "gohawaii.com."

[Waltstasz]

Thanks for the detailed responses. This makes me want to go more than ever.

[J.J. Walters]

Hey, great stories! Loved reading them.

Only once for me. Late spring of '87, family trip when I was a teenager. Fleetwood Mac's Big Love was all over the radio. Fantastic trip and one I'll never forget. Stayed in Waikiki, rode scooters all over the place, surfed (south shore only), boogie boarded (north shore!), snorkeled (Hanauma Bay), went to Pearl Harbor, ate good food and generally just had a helluva good time!

Didn't see any "Magnum Sites". At the time, although I was a big fan, I didn't know where they were! We apparently drove right past the estate several times, but didn't know it. Doh! I do remember that I was always on the lookout for the "Magnum Crew" filming on location. Never saw anyone, unfortunately.

Would love to go back someday and take my wife and kids.

[golfmobile]

We have gone five times since 2002 -- Kauai twice, Maui once, Big Island twice. Our most recent travel blog for our trip just six weeks ago can be found at:

Big Island April 2007

Since we spent virtually no time on Oahu on any trip, we didn't see any Magnum sites. If anyone wants any details, I can give more information, but I fear this is something I could talk about almost forever. We totally and completely fell in love with the place and would move there in a heartbeat if we could afford it. Well, at least you'll know where we'll be when we win Mega-Millions.

Since our experience is with everything BUT Oahu, I won't go into great detail here, but if anyone wants to know, I can certainly provide opinions about which sides of which island. e.g., I liked best, etc.

We explored about as much as possible, golfed, snorkeled, and didn't do the real "tourist" stuff like the luau and the submarine trip until the most recent trip.

golf

[Waltstasz]

Thanks, golf. Great pictures and interesting read. The knee injury looked painful!

[eegorr]

I was on Maui for a week in August of 1985. At the time, we had to fly into Honolulu and hop to Maui on another plane because you couldn't fly to any other island directly from the mainland.

I know it has changed a lot since then. The island of Kaua'i was barely developed at the time, and Maui was not much ahead of it!

I would really like to go back, but there are plenty of places I haven't been yet. Then again, it would be a spectacular place to live, full-time!

[Frodoleader]

I have never been to the islands myself, but a co-worker of mine did, back in '86 I believe.
Back then I worked at a photo lab. This co-worker also taught photography at a large midwestern university. On her trip to Hawaii, she was able to "bluff" her way on to the Magnum PI set, with the story she was a film professor. Well it worked! While there she was able to watch some of the filming of the episode "Photo Play", from season 6. She also took a couple of snapshots of Tom Selleck too! I actually have copies of those photos somewhere. The interesting thing was when she went to take the photos, people there on the set tried to stop here, but TS said to let her be. You can actually see the fingertips of someone trying to block the camera. These are really cool photos. The setting was a shopping mall where they were shooting.
One other point I recall her telling me was when they visited the set of Higgin's study at Robins Nest, there was a photo of Charles & Diana on Higgin's desk.
If I ever find those photos, I'll see if I can post them.

[Waltstasz]

That would be cool. Everybody would love to see those pics.

Welcome to the boards, btw.

[J.J. Walters]

Welcome Frodoleader! Great to have you here. Wonderful story there about you friend!

If I ever find those photos, I'll see if I can post them.

I think I speak for everybody when I say....

Must ... Scan ... Must ... Post!

I'd be happy to host them for you, if you like. [wink, nudge]

[Apollo]

My wife and I went to the Big Island in 2004 it was a great trip. One of our highlights was the helicopter ride along the coastline and through the mountain valleys of the island. If you get a chance go.

[Higgy Baby]

Don't know if any of you caught this, or if it's already been posted somewhere on the site, but below is a link from the New York Times travel section a few weeks back. If you're interested in seeing Hawaii on the cheap, this guy did a pretty impressive job of keeping costs down. From NY to Hawaii, the guy spent $956.84 (with car rental $1,210.93) over a week, which (as a New Yorker who has made the trip twice to Oahu) I didn't think was even remotely possible. Included are plenty of details on how he kept costs down. The methods might not be appealing to everyone, but it's an interesting article either way. There's video and a slide show as well.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/tr ... awaii.html

[golfmobile]

This is just my opinion, and we have been to Hawaii five times in the last five years, but I think that can be a highly deceptive article, because the most expensive thing about visiting Hawaii is GETTING there. From anywhere other than the West Coast, you can expect to pay a MINIMUM of $600 per person for airfare. Add that initial $1,200 for just two of you on top of his trip, and suddenly it's hardly visiting Hawaii on a "dime."

The first time we went, we were lucky enough to be able to fly via Frequent Flyer miles, which was certainly the best deal going financially, but we flew from Atlanta to Salt Lake City to LA to Honolulu, overnighted there and then paid for the round-trip flights from Honolulu to Lihue, Kauai. On Kauai, we stayed in a luxurious, though not large, condo for $599 for seven nights (if we spent 90 minutes doing the sales spiel -- no big deal, we had the 90 minutes to spare one day when it rained, and we knew we weren't going to buy anyway). We ate in our own kitchen four out of seven nights, eating steaks and seafood from a grocery store (where a lot more is available affordably there than here in the States!), went out to a steakhouse two nights and at another place for our tenth anniversary "splurge" dinner. We played golf every day -- at a VERY nice "muni" course for $36 each, including cart ($45 on the weekends), even played Princeville one day (now that was $125 each after 1 p.m.), explored the island entirely from as far as you can drive on the west coast (Polihale Beach) to as far as you can drive on the north shore (Ke'e Beach)(think of the island as though it were a clock, so we drove from 9 around counterclockwise to 11, or vice versa -- 9-11 has no roads). So we drove a lot so had to buy gas, but not that often. We even splurged and rented a convertible ($335 for the week), and we also took a helicopter ride. We budgeted $2,500 for our trip, since it was our tenth anniversary trip -- and came home with enough for our next trip (i.e., nearly $1,500 left over!). So we weren't even trying to do it as cheaply as possible, and we spent only a few hundred more dollars than he did -- so void our Princeville round of golf, and we had a much more expensive-type trip than the NY Times traveler, for not a lot more money.

The next times we went, we used our timeshare for an exchange and paid, in essence, the exchange fee ($100) for seven nights' accommodation, again at luxurious condos.

So I would certainly concede that, while this would almost ALWAYS be an expensive trip for a family due to the airfare, unless one has FF miles to use, it is possible and still enjoyable to visit Hawaii without spending a lot once you get there. You just need to do your homework and figure out what you DO want to spend your money on. Yes, you're probably going to want to sample the "local cuisine" a couple of times, and grocery store food is more expensive from the get-go, because they DO have to ship everything in ($5 for a bottle of ketchup/catsup raises eyebrows). But if your main desire is to SEE and experience Hawaii, you can fix your own breakfast, grab Burger Kings for lunch on the go, cook steaks or seafood on the grill at night, stay in a luxurious condo (and just grin-and-bear-it with the sales spiel), and not come close to spending $650 (not counting accommodations and airfare) for the week, much less PER DAY. (And kids would probably prefer the Burger Kings or Wendy's anyway!)

We've been to Kauai twice, Maui once, and the Big Island twice. You can literally spend all day every day just exploring and, if necessary, pay the minimal admission fees for things like the national parks. And we never spent ONE MINUTE just sitting or lying on a beach -- we don't "idle" well. And I'm sure a lot of -- probably most -- people WOULD want to spend hours on the beach sunbathing (just not our idea of fun). We do try to go snorkeling for an hour or so almost every day (before our golf rounds in the afternoons), but even renting snorkeling equipment for two of us was under $100 for the week, and that was getting the "better" snorkeling equipment (larger, ergo stronger, fins), though the less expensive works just fine -- Larry just wanted the "prescription" mask for his eyesight and I needed the add-on boogie board cost (I can't swim, so it's a little difficult for me to snorkel unless I can float on the boogie board).

Just do your homework and you CAN afford it. Or ask me for more detail.

The question is: Do you WANT to do it economically and just be there to experience it or do you want to make it the no-holds-barred-financially trip of a lifetime? Personally, I'd rather be there just to SEE the wonderful geography, sunrises, sunsets, and just -- BE there -- than have to do the most expensive things. I'll do those after I win the lottery. But, then I won't have to, I'll be moving there!

And just one more thing: Each trip we rather budgeted for one "special" thing. The first trip is was the helicopter ride, another time a submarine ride, another time the luau. Each of those special things was a disappointment compared to what we found to do and see on our own. I.e., six people jammed in a little helicopter with the pilot, sun on the windows -- the things you see from the helicopter that you can't see "in person" are just as easily viewed in calendar pictures. And I love helicopters! We saw more fish and saw them "better" and "close up" snorkeling than jammed in a little submarine, bent over all the time to look out the portholes -- can you say neck and back aches? The luau was nice, but the food at ours wasn't that good or that plentiful -- it just wasn't like the ones you see in the movies. Now each of these three things, for example, wasn't the MOST expensive version of each (though the submarine is probably a fixed cost -- heli rides and luaus can vary enormously!). So for some things, if you CAN'T afford the best, don't do it because then you'll resent paying a lot (even the economic versions aren't cheap) for something that disappoints you. I'm sure you'll find something else to spend the money on -- maybe more souvenirs!

Again, all this is just my opinion based on my trips there and what we like to do. But you can pick and choose what you like and want to do -- and not break the bank.

golf