Maui: We heard that Haleakala at sunrise was well worth it, but there was no way we would have gotten the kids up early enough for that, so we headed up just before lunch. It was very interesting, we actually drove up through the clouds (had to stop as the 10 year old wanted to touch the clouds!). Might have been nice to have a bit of a hike around but the altitude knocked the kids and we headed to town.

We then went to the Iao Needle, took some photos and swam in the stream that flowed nearby. The water was refreshing, but I love swimming in freshwater streams. Still a bit jet-lagged, we were back at the car park not long after 4 pm and easily got one of the free parks a short walk back to the ship.

Day 2 we headed to Lahaina – a gorgeous little town with lots of shopping – including factory outlets and more shave ice for the kids. After that we went to Kaanapali – only 5 minutes drive down the road. We parked at the shopping centre and ate lunch – get your parking validated so long as you spend $20 or so (can’t remember the exact amount) and you have 2-3 hours free. Then walk up to the beach infront of the Sheraton – it’s gorgeous, protected, great for snorkelling – we even saw a large turtle and there’s the chance to go cliff jumping off Black Rock. Take care though, the locals say a lot of the Mum’s ban their kids from doing it. We did it and it was fun – even though I did bruise my butt by doing a butt-slap on the water when I landed – not deliberately mind! This was a highlight for the 12 year old. The Dad’s dropped us at the ship and returned the car and took the shuttle back to the ship.

Hilo – whooo hoo – it’s real Volcano time. Having learnt our lesson, we were in the first wave from the ship to the rental car shuttles and were on the road and early at Volcanos National Park. We called in at the Visitor Centre and were told to head down to the Thurston Lava Tube before the cruise ship passengers arrived as it would get very busy. Good advice. We didn’t need the torches we had brought and part of the tube was closed for repair, but neat anyway. Next we decided to hike across the crater. We were advised from 2 sources to hike from the left hand side of the car park – (in reverse order from the guide book sign posts) as the ascent was doing to be easier. Wish one of those sources had have told us that there was a guide book and sign posts so we could have read each relevant point. It was rocky and hot – bring plenty of water and snacks if you are travelling with kids, but a fantastic experience. It took about 2 hours. They don’t have food in the park (lucky for the peanut butter rolls), only a few snacks and sweet drinks – no water can you believe? Next went up to the Jagger Museum and looked over Kilauea which was neat. We couldn’t see the lava and the ranger we spoke to said that apart from a helicopter, there was no current place to see. Not sure if this is right, but we headed back to town to feed the troops. I wanted to go to Rainbow Falls but we decided that that might make our time a bit tight to get back to the ship, so we grabbed a few souvenirs at Walmart (not much cheaper than anywhere else) and dropped the rental car back. A overnight stay might have allowed some lava viewing, but there are only so many days in the week.

We ran out of time to drive the Crater rim road anticlockwise and it was closed clockwise at the Jagger Centre without being able to see the lava across the road as I’d read you could.

Kona – on a friend’s advice, we elected not to get a car in Kona as everything is close to port. I did some research and ended up deciding to do a Wild Dolphin Swim with Jack’s Diving Locker. Their website says they only do this on Tuesday and Thursday but they didn’t know we can disembark form the Pride of America at 7am, so hopefully they will open to more POA cruisers – or just ask them. Most companies would only take 6, so with 7 of us we were limited for choice, but Jack’s Diving Locker was also about $50 per person cheaper than most of the other smaller groups. I’m not sure of their maximum numbers, but there were only 9 of us in total which was fantastic. Snorkelling with the wild dolphins was the highlight of nearly everyone’s holiday. It was fantastic. We saw more than 100 dolphins. Jeff and his son, who was our skipper, would take us ahead of the dolphins and drop us in the water, the dolphins varied from about 20m away to 3-4 m away. The visibility was particularly great this day and we got to swim with them 3 or 4 times – the dolphins were on a mission and just swam by us but that was magnificent. Apparently sometimes they are just hanging about and they get a little closer then. We then went snorkelling at other 2 locations which was great. They fed us sandwiches and chips for lunch and took us back to their shop (or they would have dropped us at the pier) and we wandered back through town having a bit of a shop and we would have time for a swim at one of the neighbouring beaches but the kids were keen to get back to the ship.

The cocktails were much cheaper in town and quite a few places with great decks and that would have made a great option too.

Kauai – Quick disembark and rental car collection again – although we only dock 10 am here. We went to Waimea canyon – only as far as the first main lookout. Pretty neat, but nothing like the Grand Canyon that I’d read it was. It might have gotten better further on, I can’t comment.

Next was Spouting Horn – a natural rock formation where the waves blow up in the air like a whale. Lunch at Puka Dogs in Poipu – really good hot dogs.

Then we had a 2 pm booking at Ziplining with Eco Adventures. Great guides, good fun and the 10 year old’s holiday highlight – even though he’s scared of heights and still holds my hand going down an escalator. They had an online special where kids were half price – that helped.

The Dad’s dropped us off again and parked the car at the nearby shops for $20 – the Dad’s were happy for the security, it was only a 5 minute walk back to the ship although I believe there is also a shuttle.

On the last morning we had booked Kauai Backcountry Adventures Tubing the ditch. I booked this though Discount Hawaii and it was a fraction cheaper than booking direct. We did the 9am trip and it gave us plenty of time to drop the car and get back on board.

I really enjoyed this, floating on rubber tubes down irrigation ditches carved through clay in the fields and hundreds of meters of solid rock tunnels, so a lot is in the dark. The other family are adrenaline junkies and found this a bit tame.