Spotlight :: Hawaii (The Big Island)

[trip style = beach + sun]

As my flight descends towards the Kona Airport over an 1890s lava flow, I'm welcomed by Hawaii Island's bubbling beginnings. This is not your average sandy beach vacation; it's so much more.

At 11:50am I settle into my sweat box of a rental car and open my TomTom GPS app---my travel BFF---ready to tackle the island on two wheels. Problem: trusty Tom does not include Hawaii's Big Island {note to self: download Tom's newest version, doh!}. Before I have a molten meltdown, I realize that while the Island is big, it only has a few major roads. Old-school exploration it is; map in hand, we start the car.

Pulling out of the open-air airport with the air con blasting at arctic levels, my eyes are glued to the window instead of the map. Wispy grasses sprout between the shiny, course lava---indicating different flow generations---as we motor to our first of five hotels on the youngest Hawaiian Isle.

En route I notice a bunch of highway-side parked cars and lava ash roads leading to what seem like secret spots. Out yonder, oceanfront palm oases brighten the inky landscape. The trusty map shows no evidence of such places, and I quickly learn Hawaii 101: have a guidebook, and Hawaii 102: go off-book and explore like Captain Cook.

At first I skip Kona and do what ANY sun-starved winterite would do: beeline to the Kohala Coast Resort, don my bathing suit and dine while watching the sunset. P-r-i-o-r-i-t-i-e-s. Over the next 10 days, I make my way around the island, descending into sacred valleys and going on DIY turtle safaris along the way.

The Big Island has four of the world's five major climates zones, and it shows; the landscape changes by the minute. Look left and find cow pastures, look right and find a Tarzan-thick tropical forest, look ahead and there's flowing lava, look back and there's a frosty fern gully.

Between frequent roadside stops for everyday sights like breaching whales and cascading waterfalls, my eyes stay glued to the window the entire journey. While this results in what most would call a series of wrong turns, I come to realize that the far reaches of this world were discovered by wrong turns. In Hawaii, wrong turns are right.

Here's your trusty Trip Styler guide to Hawaii Island:

Eat

Da Poke Shack - Reeling in a boatload of freshness, Da Poke Shack chops the Pacific's bounty seven days a week in a standing room-only lunch market visible only by a neon sign and two picnic tables. Try the $10 dynamite poke bowl with island avocados. I could eat it every day for the rest of my life.

Punalu'u Bake Shop - If you're in the area {and you will be if you visit the Punalu'u black sand beach}, stop by the southernmost bakery in the USA to taste some of Hawaii's famed malasadas---Portuguese sugar buns that often come with pudding or guava jam in the center. Heaven help me! I bought way too many.

Other faves: Merriman's for homegrown Hawaiian food and Brown's Beach House for seaside dining and locally sourced delicacies.

Do

Beaches - Almost side by side, the Kohala Coast's Hapuna Beach {or Mauna Kea Beach} are some of the island's nicest white sand stretches. On the south side, check out Punalu'u black sand beach.

Hikes - Trek down Pololu Valley's steep and palm-packed cliffs to the rocky {and rolling} beach below or head to the Waipio Valley Lookout to shimmy down a 25% grade paved path to a black sand beach, a bevy of waterfalls and the boyhood home of famed Hawaiian King Kamehameha I. Note: do not drive, the steep decline is not covered in many rental car agreements!

Spa - My job affords me a bounty of spa treatments, and while I don't mention most of them---I only mention the best---I must tell you about one of my best ever at the Fairmont Orchid's Spa Without Walls. I had the Ali'i Experience, which started with a lomi lomi hot stone massage in a beachfront cabana and ended with warm coconut oil slowly trickling down my head for what seemed like 20 minutes. It felt so Hawaiian it was as if I was dancing the hula at Mauna Kea's summit. Note: most massages take place in spa huts that sit beside the ocean or babbling brooks.

See - Finally, the hot-ticket items: volcanoes and lava. An hour from Hilo, Kilauea continues to broil below the earth. An active cauldron of lava bubbles at the peak, while at its base the Pu'u 'O'o vent slowly flows, adding more mass---500+ acres since 1983---to the biggest Hawaiian isle.

Stay

Lava Lava Beach Club - A four-cottage beach retreat we profiled in our most recent Roam+Board. Love!

Fairmont Orchid - A 540-room, bang-on beach resort with all the fixings.

Holualoa Inn - A six-room inn hidden in a 30-acre coffee estate perched high above the ocean's spray in Kona coffee country.

Puakea Ranch - While we didn't stay here, this five-house property comes highly recommended by many publications we trust! It's on our list for our next visit.

Wear Hawaii is casual---even more so than Maui. When I wasn't hiking, I spent my entire trip in a bathing suit and sarong, jean cut-offs or a simple dress. Guys and gals, here's what we recommend you wear.

Know This - Parts of the island are uber lush for a reason; it often rains {in pockets, so don't assume it's raining on the whole island just because it's raining where you are}. - Don't touch the turtles; they're endangered and you could be fined $10,000. Would you want people touching you while you're sleeping on the beach? - You can do Hawaii one of two ways: use one hotel as your home base/jumping-off point, or hop around the island. The hotels I mentioned above provide that opportunity. - Renting a car is a must. - To get a lay of the land, check out my Fodor's article on How to Tackle The Big Island.

[photos by @tripstyler taken while a partial guest of Hawaii Tourism]

Roam+Board :: Lava Lava Beach Club

[trip style = beach + sun]

{Editor's Note: I'm in Hawaii (the Big Island) right now enjoying the black sand beaches and frothy surf, so I'll be taking a small break from TS and microblogging on my Editor's Diary instead. We'll be resuming our regular flight schedule next Wednesday. Mahalo!}

What I had a hunch I'd love the Lava Lava Beach Club before I even arrived, based on the name and logo alone! Having just spent the past few days at this recently opened, four-cottage Hawaiian retreat, my suspicions were correct---and then some.

Hanging out at the south end of a bevy of beach hotels beside the miles-long Anaeho'omalu Bay, this cabin quartet on a 10-acre, beachfront plot is a distinct departure from the typical Hawaii resort set.

Though the essence of a Hawaiian vacation is to spend the majority of your time outdoors, the cottages' contempo-aloha interiors make you want to split your day between beach, bed and shower. In a nod to its tropical terrain, each cottage has a personal lava wall-enclosed outdoor shower that spews water out of a bamboo spout! The cottages are open-concept and comfy with original art from artists like Mike Field hung throughout, making the orchid-adorned space feel like your own personal beach retreat.

The kind of place where you start and end your day in a bathing suit---not much else is required, so pack light---the only other must-have is the lava lava, a traditional Polynesian article of clothing {aka. a sarong}, but that's provided for you to keep. Mark my words, the nine-month-young Lava Lava Beach Club cottages will soon start to grace best-of lists, starting here. Trip Styler approved!

Trip Styler Tip :: If you like being right near the action, book cottage one, beside the Lava Lava Beach Club restaurant. If you'd rather go sight unseen, book cottage four.

Where Twenty minutes north of the Kona Airport {KOA}, between an 1859 lava flow and a white sand beach in the Waikoloa resort area along the Kohala Coast.

When December through March is Lava Lava's high season. Whale season is January to April. Sunset season is every.single.day.

Who/Why You like the idea of being near the action, but a little removed. Seven-pool resorts with swinging bridges and 15 restaurants are your nemesis. You'd rather sip Kona coffee in the AM and Longboard Lager in the PM while turtle and whale watching from your lanai.

Cost Rates hover around $450 per night year-round and include WiFi, parking, use of a SUP, a bottle of red wine {best sipped at sunset}, and nightly bevies and appies delivered to your cottage at 5PM. Each cottage is outfitted with a king bed, a double day-bed-come-couch and a kitchen.

More Sand-In-Your-Toes, Cottage-y R+B Sorobon Beach Resort – Bonaire Find more R+B hotels featured here, plus our it list of worldwide hotel picks.

[photos by @tripstyler taken while hosted by the Lava Lava Beach Club]

7 (+ then some) Girlfriend Getaways

[trip style = beach + sun + urban]

This week I compiled a list of seven girlfriend getaways for the feature article in Fodor's Travel, calling out how going away with the gals is often talked about and rarely booked (if only Dr. Oz would tell us it's vital to our health.)

Zeroing in on female-friendly map coordinates as "close" as Austin, TX and as far as Dubai, I highlight trip style = beach + urban destinations across the globe. Find out why these hot spots made my list: Montreal, Austin, Oahu, Jamaica, London, Melbourne and Dubai.

If I'd had an unlimited word count, these close-by beauties would have made an appearance: Whistler: Ski or hike, then top it off with a soak at this Finnish outdoor spa. Seattle: Urbanity beside bodies of water = waterfront stunner. Portland: No sales tax + the US's culinary and cocktail frontrunner. Palm Springs: Duh! Boutique, midcentury hotels galore recalling Hollywood's heyday. Phoenix: 330 days of yearly sun, pools and miles of hikable terrain.

What destinations top your "maiden voyage" list?

[photo by @tripstyler]

Spotlight :: North Shore, Oahu

[trip style = beach + budget conscious]

{This Spotlight is written by Fashion Friday writer and fashion blogger Heather.}

I scored the deal of the year this winter: Vancouver to Honolulu for $200 return. Coupled with hotel deals, it was a cheap getaway and my first trip to Hawaii. But I must confess something. Whenever anyone asked me where I was going, I told them "Oh, just Oahu." I had this idea that it was the lamest and most commercial island. But let me tell you what I learned. It's beautiful and if you get away from Waikiki, you can find a true Hawaiian experience.

Just over an hour up island is the lush and scarcely commercialized North Shore, where the bohemian heart of Oahu beats. North Shore culture is surf culture. It's the breeding and stomping ground of some of the world's best surfers. A place where you can find 30-foot swells and fit in a surf before and after work; where you can mingle with pro surfers, colourful characters and barefoot, wet-haired locals in the grocery store (fresh off their boards); and where dressing up literally means throwing a dress over your swimsuit.

Eat

Sample roadside delights :: It's worth pulling over for the food stands along Kamehameha Highway. From Haleiwa to Kahuku, you'll find family fruit stands, acai bowl shacks, shrimp trucks, shave ice and haupia pie. It's not fancy, but it's delicious. Must stops: Ted's Bakery at Sunset Beach for bbq chicken plate lunch and chocolate haupia or banana cream pie, Matsumoto for guava, pineapple and lilikoi shave ice, Fumi's for garlic or coconut shrimp plate and Cholo's for Mexican.

Do

Visit Hawaiian green sea turtles :: A couple miles north of Haleiwa on Kamehameha Highway, pull over at Laniakea Beach and see the basking turtles who crawl up on shore daily. You'll also meet volunteers from Save the Sea Turtles International, who protect the turtles from ... tourists. Stroll along the beach and try to catch sight of a few more turtles, minus the tour bus passengers.

Watch surfers in action :: The best workout on the island has got to be a walk on the beach, where the quicksand-like pebbles not only make your legs burn, but also give you a killer pedicure. My favourite activity was strolling on the beach, flip flops in hand, stopping along the way to watch throngs of surfers paddling out in the late afternoon. Check out Pipeline, Sunset Beach and the break off Turtle Bay. Visit between late November and early December to catch the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing. If you'd prefer to get out there yourself, rent a board in Haleiwa, where you'll also find surf schools and calmer waves.

Stay

There is one hotel on the North Shore: Turtle Bay Resort. Despite this, you'll still see a hand-painted sign on the side of the highway that reads "No more hotels!" The resort sits on the northern tip of Oahu. You may remember it from Forgetting Sarah Marshall. While the property is beautiful, it looks much nicer in the film thanks to the magical wizards of production design. The hotel has multiple restaurants---including one on the beach, golf courses, stables, pools, and a surf school on site. Stay in the beach bungalows if you can, but if you leave the lanai door open, the soothing sound of crashing waves means any room will do. If you'd prefer to stay in a house, try the basic Ke Iki Beach Bungalows or one of the many homes rented out by owners.

Trip Styler Tip: I booked Turtle Bay on Hotwire for a discounted rate. If you see a four-star beachfront hotel on the North Shore, it's Turtle Bay.

Getting There

It only takes an hour to drive from Honolulu to the North Shore, but you'll probably want to stop and ride the Pineapple Express along the way. Not that Pineapple Express ... this is a train at the Dole Plantation. It's a total tourist trap, but worth stopping for a cone of delicious pineapple Dole Whip.

Related Fashion Friday :: Surf Style Modern Honolulu

[all photos taken by @heatherlovesit and @dresseswpockets]

Roam+Board :: The Wickaninnish Inn

[trip style = luxury + beach]

What An iconic, wind-swept inn perched so near the Pacific Ocean that rooms are often splashed in sea spray.

Trip Styler Tip :: Book room 109 in The Pointe building if you want the highest chance of sea foam surging toward your window.

It doesn't really get more wild West Coast than The Wickaninnish Inn, a Relais & Chateaux-member hotel constructed on a rocky outcropping that feels more surf than turf. Straddling the 49th Parallel and the divide between a centuries-old coastal rainforest and the open ocean, the Travel+Leisure hall of famer---the only one of its kind in Canada---delivers low-key luxury on a gold-plated, douglas fir platter.

At once woodsy and radiant, the 75-room retreat is like a billionaire's cabin where highfalutin friends come to unwind for the weekend. Miles from pretence or posh, guests favor jeans and Gore-Tex jackets over leather and Lanvin, while stature and titles are quickly washed away by the multi-meter swells.

Inside, there's not a bad surf-spotting seat in the house. Every room is adorned with a large viewing window, a balcony with Adirondack chairs, a dual soaker tub, a fireplace and a sultry set of Canadian songbirds to sweeten the mood. Wink wink!  {And at the risk of getting too risqué with bedroom talk, the beds are near heavenly---so pillowy-soft you could sleep all day.} Trip Styler approved.

Where Tofino, BC, on Canada's westernmost coast. The best way to reach Tofino is through a combination of car and ferry from Vancouver or Tsawwassen. After taking the 1.5-hour car ferry to Nanaimo, follow the signs for Tofino, a 2.5-hour drive away. Due to the distance, plan to spend at least two nights.

When Tofino's weather is misty, moody and magnificent any time of year. Summer is the destination's high season thanks to warmer temperatures gracing its sprawling beaches, yet people visit year-round to surf {yes, even in winter}, storm-watch and hibernate with a book in front of the fire.

Who/Why You're in the market for a coastal hideaway with all the bells and whistles {from a standout spa to restaurant surrounded by 240 degrees of ocean views}---a place to pen your memoirs, crack open a book or simply rest your mind while aimlessly walking along the multi-kilometer beach.

Cost Rates start at $260 per night and include parking, WiFi and head-to-toe rain gear. Furry fellows can stay with you for $40 per night. There is a $10 fee per guest to use the spa's eucalyptus steam facilities.

More R+B The Burrard – Vancouver Hotel de Glace – Quebec Alcazar Palm Springs – California Jumeirah Zabeel Saray – Dubai Makena Resort – Maui Nita Lake Lodge – Whistler Fairmont Banff Springs – Banff Thompson – Beverly Hills The Sorrento Hotel – Seattle The LIT! Bangkok – Thailand From ice hotels to Anna Wintour’s steal-of-a-deal holiday escape, find all featured R+B properties here.

[photos (except for bedroom shot) courtesy of The Wick Inn, assembled while I was hosted as a guest of the hotel.]