ABSTRACT
Although Hawai‧i is primarily a traditional sun, sea and sand vacation paradise, the high rise beach front hotel developments are concentrated in a few areas, in particular in Honolulu on Oahu island, and the west coast of Maui. Away from those concentrations are empty landscapes where visitors can go hiking in forests, among volcanic mountains and waterfalls. There are near-deserted beaches on The Big Island, where the rainy climate deters most ‘3-S‧ vacationers. As well as youth hostels and budget hotels, there are many private homes offering B&B, which generally have excellent facilities. Public transportation is almost non-existent apart from on Oahu, but bicycles can be rented easily and fairly inexpensively elsewhere. However, for all but the fittest cyclists, many of the steep mountainous coastal roads are inaccessible except by car. Fortunately, here as elsewhere in the US, car rental is relatively inexpensive. (NB: under-25s cannot hire cars anywhere in the USA.) Hawai‧i is where East meets West, and many independent travellers visit Hawai‧i to take courses in various New Age therapies and spiritualities, and to experience the native Kahuna culture. As elsewhere in the USA, this selling of native culture to visitors is controversial.
