Hawai'i

Turtle Beach, North Shore, Hawai'i

People say Hawai’i is paradise and we all sort of roll our eyes. It’s a tourist trap in the middle of the Pacific, more like. Until you get there. And then you realise that it really is paradise. Here’s the thing about Hawai’i: it’s perfect. The weather rarely strays from the 19°C-25°C range, with a light breeze that blows almost non-stop; the people, who embrace their reliance on tourism and yet who are first-world citizens as Americans, are friendly and customer-service specialists; and the scenery … well, it’s spectacular. From lazy turtle-strewn beaches to seething volcanoes, from peaceful sunrise to striking sunset, from crazy Waikiki to the sedate North Shore… O'ahu feels like a peaceful dream, from which you never wish to wake. Few places merit a second visit. This is is one of them.

AnCe and I spent a week on the Hawaiian Islands. Our first full day was spent on the North Shore, swimming with sand sharks (and one very intimidating barracuda). It was a lovely day, spent driving about the island with the top down in our red Mustang convertible, wearing bathing suits and sunglasses. Typical. That sunset was so surreal, it felt like a movie. We spent the next three days on various tours, exploring O'ahu and spending a day on the Big Island, walking about Volcano National Park. That was amazing (note to self: buy book on Hawaiian legends). If I do go back, I think I’ll spend some time hiking the volcanic floor. On Thursday, we rented another car and drove the circumference of the Oahu, even venturing Farrington highway until it ended, enjoying the crash of the surf that was oh, so close. Friday we boarded our flight and said aloha.

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A note about Customer Service.
Hawaiians clearly pride themselves on their welcome and the idea that, when you are there, you become part of their extended Ohana. We had excellent service at our “budget” hotel and the people who took care of us during our excursions were just great. Our tour bus operators had entertaining stories, allowed us to explore on our own and did quirky things like pull berries from trees as 'dessert' at lunch. While we waited for our tour bus to arrive (at a ghastly 0530), our concierge spotted us across the street. He crossed just to ask if we were okay and if needed anything. Honestly, I barely even recognised him, but he remembered us (out of the dozens of people he must have helped). We were pampered.

With one glaring exception: Hertz.

I have never used a car rental agency so badly run in my life. For Car #1: we waited in line for almost an HOUR, despite having made reservations for a 0730 pickup. We were running so late, we thought we’d miss our 10am shark dive. Lucky for us that the roads are easy to navigate and Google assumes you drive the speed limit made it with 5 minutes to spare. Car #2 was even worse. When we tried to return the car, we discovered the “lock box” in the garage that we’re supposed to drop our keys in were unlocked and completely open to the public. And even though we had returned at a reasonable 1830. The rental was closed. And had been since 1pm. There was no alternate drop box (say, where you pick the keys) and no staff to contact. Calling their hotline was just as useless, with the operator transferring me to roadside assistance. In Chicago. After wasting a hour of our lives, we finally just left the keys with the manager at the hotel (in which the parking garage resides). Hertz = awful. If can help it, I will never rent from them again.