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Where’s a great beach on the Big Island of Hawaii?


When a well traveled friend dropped by to chat, she positively drooled over the fabulous beach at the Hapuna Prince Resort in Hawaii.  Since we agree it’s the best beach on the Big Island and the Hapuna Prince is one of our favorite resorts for a family vacation, we asked if she’d like to share her thoughts with the rest of the world.  Here’s her report….  we enjoyed it and think you will too!

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Okay, okay so my doctor didn’t say “Your stress levels will be reduced substantially if you sit on a beach once a month for ten days!” But if I could sit on this beach again for any amount of time, I’d do it. Some of the best snorkeling and swimming any one could want helps melt away that horrid stress at the shoulders. Ahhh…………..!

The middle of June found us on one of the best trips to Hawaii we’ve ever had. We’re very fortunate to have been to Paradise many times and quite honestly when someone asks “so, you’ve been to Hawaii a lot, which island is your favorite?” I always say, “the one I was on last.” I love them all! They’re all so different but we always have a great time no matter which we visit or how long we stay. Being on the West Coast makes it fairly easy to hop over (if you call a 4 1/2 – 5 hour flight a hop?!) even for a few nights, especially if we just stay on Oahu. Haven’t been to Molokai or Lanai yet so I can’t really say anything about them. Once in Hawaii you forget all about the flight anyway.

This is the beach at the Hapuna Beach Prince on the Big Island.  Even though the Big Island isn’t known for great beaches like Maui, I have to say this beach was superb. Long, wide and very few people on it. Hapuna State Park is down from this part of the beach that’s right in front of the hotel. Lots of people walked (or ran) all the way past the park and back….not me, I’d rather watch. Seeing others “workin’ it” helps my stress too!!

The kids (13 & 17) loved having so much space to do their boogie boarding and of course we loved not having to fight for a chair or space. This age is a tad challenging so watching our guys  play together while they’re in this teenage “I’m so cool” time in their lives did a world of good for their dad and me. There weren’t many teen girls when we were there so that probably had a lot to do with them letting their boyhood show versus their “mental manhood” shouting for attention!!

The staff at this hotel was great, the rooms are big and it was nice having a large patio (lanai…sorry, gotta get with the local lingo!) where all four of us could watch the sunset. Do our kids really care about the sunset? Not so much! But when we make them slow down (put the Nintendo DS down!!) sip their juice or soda while we have our wine watching those glorious sunsets, we’re hoping this will be some of their favorite memories. It does promote conversation about beautiful things, not being something material which we definitely try to encourage at every opportunity.

One quick comment on material things…if you haven’t done the Hawaii Forest and Trail Mauna Kea Tour of the Stars, make sure you do it next you visit the Big Island! It’s spendy especially for the 4 of us (yikes!) but worth every penny. We were very lucky, the sky was so clear it was white with so many stars. I’d much rather put my money into an experience like that than any material thing!! (Boys! – Put down the Nintendo DS!!)

The bad thing? We ended up being so relaxed with comfortable beds, great food, long lazy days that we didn’t take as many pictures as we normally do. Now that we’re home we have some regrets about that but on the other hand, the memories made will always be vivid reminders; you just can’t put that in your wallet.

Speaking of wallet – another nice thing about this hotel is you can visit another hotel just up from this one, the MaunaKea. I think they have the same owners because you can eat there, use the Spa (don’t ask me why but I’m not really a spa woman – odd I know) which according to a woman at the pool was wonderful. You can even sit at their beach bar and sign your bill to your room at the Hapuna. We really liked the beach bar, Hau. And even though we were staying at Hapuna, we took the shuttle (free) between the two hotels and used the beach there a couple of times. We didn’t have dinner over there because we ordered room service at the Hapuna a couple of times (in room movies – even in Hawaii…..”boys, put the Nintendo DS down! We’re watching this movie as a family!”) But we ate at their Ocean Grill which was very good. My husband and I love beets and their beet salad is one of the best I’ve ever had. It’s served in a tall glass of sorts, can’t explain it but it really works!

We toured the Volcano which to me, if you visit the Big Island and don’t see the lava flowing……frankly, I think you’re nuts! This is earth growing people! Of course the main reason was to show the boys. Both of them thought it was way cool so we scored on that one. There are lots of things to do on this island but really, this trip was about sitting on the beach. A great stretch of sand with nothing but shades of blue stretching for as far as you can see is just what the Dr. ordered!

We had Totem Travel make our arrangements and I highly recommend them. Sandi knows Hawaii and was the one that suggested this hotel. When we looked at different hotel websites  – the boys had wanted to go to the Hilton Waioloa that was much bigger and offered a dolphin experience. While the hotel seemed like it would be very nice, we just couldn’t see ourselves having to walk too far to the beach. We wanted a great beach close, and the best view we could get for the money. Sandi listened and ended up making the perfect recommendation.

Please call Sandi @425-821-4100 or email sandi@totemtravel.com, to follow your Dr’s orders for that relaxing family vacation!

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