Tag: Hilo

Hilo, Hawaii

Friday, April 11, 2025

We were not in a hurry this morning. We have been to the Volcanic National Park, Rainbow Falls, the Macadamia Nut Factory, and the Orchid Farm so our plan today was just to explore closer to the ship.

We were greeted as we came into port with a beautiful full rainbow. It lasted quite a while. Once we finished admiring the colors, we made our way to the main dining room for breakfast.

After breakfast, we walked out to the port area to ask about the pick-up point for an Uber. We just had to walk past the security area and go to a building up the street. Very short walk.

Our destination was the Lili’uokalani Garden, a 24.5-acre park that is named for Hawaii’s last reigning monarch, Queen Lili’uokalani. It was a mile and a half from the port.

Despite the high humidity, we had a pleasant 2-hour stroll through the park. One of the most interesting moments was when we met a young man with a dog. The dog’s name was Ula’ula which is a Hawaiian word for Red.

The dog was frantically searching the rocks for a mongoose. You could hear the mongoose chittering, and it was making the dog crazy. The young man said the dog always searches but can never catch one.

If the dog had been with us, he might have been successful as we spotted a mongoose running among the roots of the Banyan tree. But it did manage to elude two toddlers who tried their best to catch it.

We just strolled the paths looking at the plants and birds.

Zebra Dove
Finch
Pacific Golden Plover
Pacific Golden Plover
Nenes

Our next stop was Coconut Island which was just over a walking bridge from the park. There was very little beach, but the people were enjoying it. We walked the path that circled the small island.

We walked over to the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel and was able to summon an Uber back to the port. Coming back, the Uber driver was able to go through security and take us right to the pier entrance. We just had to show our ID’s and ship card to security.

We had lunch on the ship at the New York Deli and then spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing by the pool.

Our evening was spent eating dinner in the Lido and then we went to the Rolling Stone Lounge to finish out the evening.

It was a very nice day for our first port in Hawaii.

Tomorrow – Maui

Hawaii/South Pacific: Hilo

Wednesday, March 9, 2022

Our sail-away from Maui was at 5:30. The DJ played music from the 80’s with drinks and appetizers being served. We even had some whales flapping their tails. Great sail-away.

We stayed there until time for dinner. We had a table for two in a different section again. I had the Hawaiian shrimp appetizer, roasted beet and pineapple salad, and Blue Marlin. I thought it tasted like the swordfish from the other night.

Chuck had the Polynesian short ribs. They were sliced very thin and had a nice soy and ginger flavor. We were surprised to see our favorite dessert on the menu – carrot cake – so we each got a slice. Glad they were small ones.

We went to the second set of the BB King Band. We now have a male and female singer like we did on the Rotterdam. They take turns with songs and sometimes will sing duets. Their back-up band is always good, especially the drummer.

I set the alarm today for 6:15 as I wanted to see the scenic sail-in to Hilo. Sun was rising as we were getting close. You could even seen a smoking volcano in the distance.

Looked to be a gorgeous day. Of course, a scenic sail-in is not complete without coffee and a HAL special powdered-sugar puff pastry. I was able to control myself long enough to get a picture and also remember to bring one back for Chuck.

Hilo has rain approximately 238 days a year. We were told to expect rain. It rained most of the day when we were here in 2018. Not today. Gorgeous, sunny day and very hot.

In 2018, we took an all-day tour to a waterfall, the volcano national park, a lava tube, an orchid farm, and a macadamia nut processing facility. Those are the most popular places in Hilo.

With the quiet ship and sunny humid weather, we decided to enjoy the hot tubs and sunshine while it lasted.

Travel Trivia

Hilo, (Island of Hawaii) Hawaii

Pronounced “Hee-low”

Hawaii Island, commonly referred to as the “Big Island,” is the largest island in the Hawaiian chain of islands of the state of Hawaii.

Hilo is one of the seven regions that make up “The Big Island“, along with the other six regions of Kona, Kohala Coast, North Kohala, Puna, Kauai, and the Hamakua Coast.

The Hilo region is known for its dramatic waterfalls, fertile rainforests and blooming gardens.

The world’s largest processor of macadamia seeds, the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation is headquartered just south of Hilo.  The company was named after the Mauna Loa volcano and is a subsidiary of The Hershey Company. (Dark Chocolate covered macadamia nuts are so very very good! – just saying!)

The first inhabitants arrived in Hilo around 1100 A.D, coming from the Marquesas Islands.  They brought Polynesian traditions and knowledge.  It was on Captain Cook’s third voyage that he landed in Hawaii in 1778 (on Kaui), paving the way for an influx of westerners to the islands.

Hilo means “twist” in Hawaiian.

The town of Hilo overlooks Hilo Bay, situated between two shield volcanoes; Mauna Loa, an active volcano which last erupted in 1984. And Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano and the site of some of the world’s most important ground-based astronomical observatories.

Being the oldest city in the Hawaiian archipelago, Hilo has a significant tourism section. Hilo is home to Hawaii’s only tsunami museum, mostly dedicated to the understanding of the 1946 Pacific tsunami and is notable for all the banyan trees planted by Babe Ruth, Amelia Earhart, and many other famous celebrities.

*Trivia provided by Wikipedia and Holland America documents.