Some final comments I thought I would like to make about Hawaii overall:

Climate: As we mentioned in our blogs, the climate here is so interesting. First of all, there is no bad time to come here as the temperature always remains relatively the same all year-round. The main thing that changes is the waves - if you want to experience bigger, surf-ready waves, the winter's your best bet. Otherwise, if you're like us and prefer calmer waters, come in the summer, although there are some beaches that are calm all year-round. For instance, Waikiki beach is pretty tame, and they even created a rockwall at one part of the beach to prevent any breaks from coming in which creates a really nice wading pool. You can also experience different kind of weather depending on where you travel - in Maui, for instance, it was super hot, dry and deserty (but still humid) in the southern parts, but as soon as we headed to Hana in the east, it was super rainy and a rainforest in there. All in all, if you're worried about rain ruining your holiday, Hawaii is wonderful because certain parts, such as Waikiki and Lahaina, only get rain a few times a year.

Culture: The Hawaiian culture is wonderful and I fell in love with it. They are so friendly and the dances and costumes are beautiful. I feel bad for the native Hawaiians as I am sure they must get tired of all the tourists - they literally have thousands of tourists all year-long so they never get a break, and tourists must be respectful of their land. The locals have names that they call "white people" or "tourists," and though the movie 50 First Days is a little ridiculous, it really pointed out some of the lingo that the locals use and how they feel about having to cater to tourists all the time. We also noticed that the average annual income in Hawaii is pretty low ($40K/year for the average household) - you can definitely see a disparity between the poor, and the rich (who are by majority rich families moving here from places like California). It's nice here because there aren't any salespeople hassling you on the beaches, like in Mexico, however you certainly get hassled while walking down the streets of Waikiki to attend timeshare tours, etc. Overall, I love the Hawaiian language, food, and people.

Favourite Island: If you're seeking nighlife, tourists, and a busy city feel, stay in Waikiki, which is the most expensive place you can stay in Hawaii, you almost don't feel like you're in Hawaii if you're here (it actually feels more like Japan!). You see more tourists than Hawaiians here actually. If you want to truly experience Hawaii, I would recommend Maui, as do many others - Maui has a rural feel and is much more relaxed, and we felt like we were able to experience the Hawaiian locals and their culture much more on this island. All in all, we only visited two islands, and we were told that each island is very unique to each other - if you come here, it is super cheap to fly/take the new ferry (which is opening in July) to travel between islands, which would be the best way to experience each island's beauty. And if you are planning a trip to Hawaii, feel free to contact us and we can let you know more.

We greatly enjoyed our experience in Hawaii and would love to return again. This was definitely one of our favourite places in the world. We will definitely be visiting other islands in the South Pacific in the near future, especially Tahiti and Bora Bora!

Bon voyages!

-Sheenah