Located on Maui’s northwest shore is the gorgeous resort area of Kapalua Bay.  I spent a few weekends at the Kapalua Villas for some rest and relaxation.  It takes about 50 minutes to drive from Kahului Airport to Kapalua, depending on traffic.  But once you get there it is a splendid retreat.  These luxury condominiums are conveniently located near the Ritz Carlton and the Kapalua Bay Hotel.  Three world class golf courses are within easy access.  Kapalua is also home to the PGA Mercedes Championship at the Plantation Course.  It was so nice to awaken to the breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and Oneloa Bay.  Nearby Kapalua Bay holds the distinction of Sunset Magazine’s nomination for the world’s nicest beach.  Shuttles are also available to transport you between hotels, villas and golf courses.  The Maui Ocean Center offers a nice option for a fun, educational family outing.

The Hawaiian Islands have always been the premier vacation destination spot of the United States.  With 2007 being the busiest year  of tourism the Hawaiian Islands has ever seen, tourism has steadily decreased since then.  Tourism is down close to ten percent since then.

On the negative side, this has hurt all businesses that rely on tourism.  If you look throughout the major cities you will find many small businesses shut down and many employees looking for work.

On the positive side, vacation rentals have become a better alternative for those people that still want to come to the Hawaiian Islands, but are still on a budget.  With vacation rentals you can cut the cost of your room, you can cook in, as well as still conduct business as though it is your home.

This week many airlines drastically reduced their rates to the Hawaiian Islands and tourism is starting to look fairly strong for May, which is typically a slow season.  Looking forward, the later part of 2009 tourism will probably still struggle, but hopefully by 2010 it will start to pick up to bring us back to the way 2007 was.

The Ko’olau Golf Club is situated in a pristine area of Oahu.  This golf course does not offer the typical ocean frontage of most known golf courses on the Hawaiian Islands, but it does offer many other things the typcial Hawaiian course does not.  With the rugged terrain surrounding you, you will feel as though you are golfing in a jungle.  It is rated as one of the toughest courses in the nation from the back tees with a slope rating of 152.

The Ko’olau Golf Club not only offers great golf, but also has a great restaurant that offers dinner as well as brunch.

I just had the opportunity to spend a weekend on the Big Island of Hawaii.  It is a very unique island and I would recommend staying a week or longer in order to enjoy everything the island has to offer.

We stayed at the Waikoloa Beach Resort.  The resort had really grown since we were last there three years ago.  There were two new condo complexes and the Queens Marketplace.  The Queens Marketplace had a large grocery store, which was very convenient.  We stayed at one of the newer vacation rental complexes, Kolea.  It was right on the sandy beach in the resort and was one of the most luxurious vacation rentals I have ever stayed at.

Since it was a time to relax we spent most of the time at the beach, which was less than a two minute walk from our villa at Kolea.  The other day we went on a whale watch tour.  I have seen them thousands of time driving along the coast, but there is nothing like getting to see them up close.  I would highly recommend this to anyone visiting the Hawaiian Islands in the winter.  The tour took us by some whales on our way to Kealekekua Bay, which is a marine sanctuary on the Big Island of Hawaii.  They took us to an area where you could only get to by boat and we did some snorkeling.  There were tons of fish and they would swim right up to you.  It was some of the best snorkeling I have ever done.  On the way back to the harbor we spotted some spinner dolphins, which was great to cap off the trip.