Chef Jojo Vasquez who kicked the kitchen of the Banyan Tree on Maui in Kapalua Resort up several notches left over a month ago to open a new resto on Oahu with a famous Iron Chef competition winner. Sayonara, Jojo.…

Here's the caveat. I eat at a lot of places around Hawaii and had not eaten at the Pineapple Grill so last time I was on Maui I jumped at the chance. ate at the Pineapple Grill for lunch and…

This is a pretty good slide. I wouldn't recommend for kids -- kinda dark. But the Hyatts all have great pools in Hawaii. Enjoy the lad behavior, as well..…

I love Napili Beach. It's not a secret but its not totally blown, either. There are no major hotels on this gem of a bay, just south of Kapalua Resort. It's ringed by condos but none are taller than…

This place looks a lot like Pipeline but its actually a locally famous break in Northwest Maui called Windmills. It's pretty hairy. Check it out.…

The good folks over at Maui Time Weekly lay out the top 5 plate lunch palaces on the Valley Isle. I have been to Hana Hou in Haiku and can tell you its a superb plate. For the uninitiated, plate…

So some people know that Maui onions rival Vidalias from Georgia fot the crown of sweetest on Earth. So sweet you can eat them raw and kiss your sweetheart. Witness the Maui Onion Festival raw onion contest, pictured here. This…

Curator Julie Cline has turned the Four Seasons in Wailea into perhaps the leading showspace for contemporary art in Maui and possibly in Hawaii overall. She has a beautiful whitewashed canvas. What's more, she regularly runs tours of the…

Hulopoe Beach on Lanai is one of the best places in the islands to swim with spinner dolphins. It's also got a fun surf break, excellent snorkeling, and you can camp there if you don't feel like paying Four…

This is the best hotel pool in Hawaii and among the best in the world. It's almost a water park. Kids force their parents to spend exorbitant sums to stay at this hotel primarily to have easy access to…

Aloha again from the Valley Isle. This trip, as by now you realized, is underwritten by Steve Balmer and the folks at Microsoft. Thanks! So, an easy walk from the center of Lahaina town, the whaling village turned charming…

This is one of the last Microsoft Mobile Posts. You see this logo and it means I'm posting on the go. Again, thanks to Microsoft for underwriting this Maui trip (indirectly, of course). So here we have a picture…

A post on the go from Iao Valley on Maui. We stopped at the phenomenal little cafe in the back of the Hawaii Nature Center in the valley and sucked down an insanely delish mango smoothie (I also wolfed…

Like most big kids, I dig aquariums. I spend a lot of my spare time in the water so any chance I get to learn about or see up close the sea life native to my nautical haunts is…

This post is brought to you by Microsoft, which generously sponsored my trip to Maui (indirectly, of course). When you see the Mobile Post icon, you know I'm posting somewhere in Hawaii. Look closely. Here's a picture of Wailea…

Aloha from Maui. Here's another Microsoft Mobile Post, on the go from the most beautiful island in the world and underwritten by Microsoft (literally). Thanks, Steve! Three years ago our neighbor's son Sage Spalding moved to Maui with a…

Microsoft is sponsoring this blog which, in turn, underwrote my recent trip to Maui with my son. Thank's, Microsoft and when you see this icon, you are seeing a post on the go. I am on Maui for three…

The Valley Isle has the dubious distinction of the highest gas prices in the country and the first place regularly eclipsing the $4 mark. Kauai is following right there behind them. Gas in Hawaii has always been pricey and its…

The Maui News brings good tidings of the spectacular Kula Forest Preserve, a pristine swatch of land in Upcountry Maui on the slopes of Haleakala. The Preserve has been closed after horrific fires destroyed trees and trails and floods ravaged…

After my post earlier this week, these nice folks dropped me a line to say, hey, come stay on the Friendly Isle -- we got your back. Not endorsing this service but good to know. One question to ask them,…

After losing money for several decades, the Molokai Ranch announced it would close, laying off 120 workers and effectively boosting the Friendly Isle's unemployment rate to 12%. The Ranch was one of the largest employers on the island. It also…

Word in the blogosphere is that Alan Wong is in the running for Outstanding Chef (we had already reported as Best Chef in the Northwest -- We were wrong).. He won it in 1996. Would be nice to get a…

John Fischer from About.com gives a nice write up of a hike he took to the Lower Makamaka'ole Valley with Hike Maui. Nice waterfalls, interesting native plants, archaeological ruins -- sounds all good to me. Only bummer is the…

This is an intriguing article on restoration efforts in Honokowai Valley on Maui, from Maui No Ka Oi Magazine. A number of projects like this have cropped up over the past two decades as the Hawaiian Renaissance continues to slowly…

After a spate of serious accidents and casualties on downhill bike rides run by activity companies taking tourists down the steep and serpentine road from the Haleakala Summit, the National Park Service banned the popular rides last year. Now, after…

Aside from that lame reference to the global chain that has convinced sweets hounds that its ok to roll out your ice cream on a slab before wolfing down enough to sink a battleship, this Maui Time Weekly article points…

Aloha, Bruce here from Hawaii-Aloha.Com. I am a travel agent who specializes in helping folks plan their Hawaii Vacations. I contribute to Hawaiirama by doing hotel reviews and this week I am reviewing the Wailea Marriott Resort and Spa on…

Aloha, Bruce here from Hawaii Aloha Travel. I am a travel agent who specializes in helping folks plan their Hawaii Vacations. Have you ever been bitten by an elephant? What about hippopotamus? How about a mosquito? Of course you have,…

Gotta love this one. Destination Resorts Hawaii, which has a collection of condos and vacation rentals in Maui, is offering a low-low rate of $90 per person per night for a mystery accommodation on Maui. As in, they won't tell…

One of my favorite Maui memories involved a supreme chocolate desert and a snifter of port at the old Bay Club in Kapalua, Maui. The restaurant is perhaps the most romantic setting in all of the islands, with an open-air…

Adding to the "Maui is becoming the new Aspen" theme (which is both and good and bad, depending on your income level), a new resort on the royally crowded Kaanapali Coast is hoping to snag buyers of super-luxe vacation properties…

This pub serves as the hip city mag for the whole Valley Island (for the over 40s crowd, that is -- who else can afford Maui?). But I found its annual reader restaurant awards to be kinda off key. Not…

When I last ate at Charley's in Paia, the food pretty much sucked. It was drab, boring, and definitely not befitting this noted biker-hangout and secret celebrity gig spot. Maui Time Weekly revisits and sez food better. Duly noted. Next…

This Maui News article put me back on my heels. Apparently a family of local toughs was shaking down visitors and even local residents for "donations" in order to access a public beach path. Carrying bodyboards and a video camera…

Pat Caldwell calling for Northwest Swell to push North-facing shores of Hawaiian Islands to 15-20 foot range this week. Here's what you might catch at Waimea if the swell is not too ugly. Kids, don't try this at home.…

I blogged earlier about how some civic and native Hawaiian groups on Maui were looking askance at the risque activities which tend to transpire in Old Lahaina on All Hallows Eve. Meaning, chicks with scanty costumes, public drunkeness, and…

I am reviving the long dormant "Ask Hawaiirama" feature on this blog. Send me questions. I'll tell you no lies. The latest comes from Cindi. "Hi, Hawaiirama: My husband and I will be on Maui the first week of March…

Kill me once, kill me twice, kill me thrice -- shut it all down. Haleakala National Park on Maui announced it would suspend the popular and apparently dangerous downhill bike tours after a 65-year old woman lost control of her…

Sigh. Yet another piece of writing about Hawaii from a Mainland journalist that, to be fair, hits many notes but also falls totally flat on others. For someone purportedly writing about the cultural side of Hana on Maui, you'd think…

The kind folks at U.S. Airways put my homage to slumming across Maui on the cover of their esteemed publication. The art looks great. It's a tough life being a travel writer. Here' s a taste.…

Local drivers and Maui residents have long complained about the bike tours sending hundreds of thousands of newbie cyclists down the serpentine road descending Haleakala Volcano, Maui's 10,000 dormant volcano. The tours clogged up traffic with endless trails of slow-moving…

Gourmet Magazine has named Pacific'o and I'o, two highly regarded Lahaina, Maui eateries helmed by popular award-winning Chef James McDonald, to its list of top restaurants with farm connections. There were only nine restaurants named so major congrats to the…

Upate on the Maui County B&B and vacation rental crackdown. Most of the rentals and B&Bs operating on the three islands in Maui County (Maui, Molokai, Lanai) have shut down under threat of $1,000 per day fines. No word on…

I have not really been loving the travel deals for Hawaii posted on Travel Zoo of late. They've been pretty much same old, second-tier properties, or, worse, not really great deals. Here's an example. Pay $148 per night for a…

Here's the latest tidbits. Over at Planet Kauai, Charley Foster is doing an admirable job of eating his way around the Garden Isle. He opines on the Kilauea Farmer's Market -- no, t he store, not the weekly event --…

Kapalua Resort has been pummeled on Maui of late for their push to build luxe vacation palaces priced out of reach of mere Valley Isle mortals. Those plans are on hold and the West Maui company did a really…

That didn't take very long. A Maui court ordered the Hawaii Superferry to cease voyages in and out of Kahului at least until Wednesday when the court will hear arguments on whether the big boat can continue plying Hawaii waters…

The deeper I dig into this Maui vacation rentals stuff, the more confusing it gets. First, there is the problem of even figuring out which of the handful of vacation rentals that claim to be permitted truly are. Maui County…

I mentioned this briefly in a recent food news posting. Here's a bit more about the Best of Maui issue for 2007. Best Mai Tai goes to Mama's Fish House in Paia on the lovely, lush North Shore. I can…

The Polipoli State Recreation Area was closed after a brushfire devastated the old growth, but alien, forests on the hills. Fortunately, the area should be opening again soon. And it is one of the best places to ride mountain bikes…