Think you've seen every fish there is that lives in the sea? You haven't not if you haven't been to Hawaii. More than 1,000 species of marine life are endemic and unique to Hawaii. And scientists are discovering new species here on a regular basis. What's more, there are creatures here that want to see you as much as you want to see them. On the Kona Manta Night Dive, held off the Big Island, mantas come in to somersault and feed in the light of search lamps placed on the seafloor. And on many dives in Hawaii, you are apt to look up and see that you've gained a companion a honu (sea turtle) coming in close to give you the once-over. And topside where do we start? There are blacksand beaches, verdant cliffs that look like gigantic green draperies, waterfalls that appear to have been lifted straight from an ancient Japanese painting, and tropical flowers that mesmerize with their unearthly beauty and their scent.
When you take a midweek break from diving, you can play golf on courses where the beauty vies with the technical challenges, pay silent homage at an onwater memorial at Pearl Harbor, get happily sated at an authentic outdoor luau or go shopping for an island original "aloha" shirt, with its fabric authentically turned inside-out. You are far from the maddening crowd here. The nearest mainland is some 2,300 miles distant; the nearest non-Hawaiian island is a thousand miles away. Yet you don't need a passport, because you haven't left the United States. It gives a whole new meaning to "home away from home." And like home, once you've been here, you will definitely want to come back.
MUST KNOW AIRPORT /EXIT FEES: $7 for international flights KEY GIFT: Kona coffee DON'T FORGET: You're still in the USA, but it's a different culture respect and enjoy it
THE VIBE: The original Polynesian paradise TOPSIDE: Greenery-draped cliffs, active volcanoes, one major city, many quaint towns and lots of World War II history
MUST DO Drive the Road to Hana. View the sunrise from atop a volcano. Visit the Arizona Memorial. Kayak the peaceful Hanalei River and then watch the surfers in Hanalei Bay. Experience a luau. Learn to surf. Make an after-sunset visit to Volcanoes National Park and watch the nighttime lava flow.
FOR MORE INFORMATION Sportdiver.com/hawaii
