paging churchofone

Hi, are you back from your trip? I booked the Ahuimanu studio for my parents based on seeing your post. They are going to be househunting and golfing at Pali and Ko%26#39;olau, so they wanted the cooler weather and access to the Kaneohe/Kailua area. Could you please share your experience staying there, and do you have any pics? Was it conveniently located? Thank you!

paging churchofone

Hi there!

If your parents are spending time on the southern half of the island, I think the Ahuimanu place will be a nice location. It is definitely cooler as it is about 1500%26#39; elevation climb in 2-4 miles and is actually tucked into the forest reserve. I chose the location so we could explore a little easier than driving from Laie.

It is in a totally residential area, at the end of the dead end street. I think it is 47-047 Malumalu, Kaneohe if you want to mapquest it. Very quiet EXCEPT for the roosters! But I swear we saw roosters all over Oahu. The view of the Koolaus is magnificent and we were fortunate to have had just enough rain to get a brief glimpse of some of the waterfalls. You have to drive into Kaneohe for just about everything.

It felt safe and was very well appointed and clean. The owner%26#39;s son and wife live on the main property. The bed was pretty good, but not as comfortable as the Laie studio. Kaneohe and Kailua were maybe 10-20 minutes, traffic depending. Same type of electronic door lock and screen security door with deadbolt.

Based on your description of their activities, I%26#39;d think it is a good choice - clean, quiet, comfortable and affordable, too. I don%26#39;t have any pics of the house and unit, but have a few of the pali behind the house that I haven%26#39;t posted yet to my flickr page.

We liked the beach studio better, but mostly for the fact that if we wanted to just hang at home for the day, we had the beach to swim, walk, etc. Plus, we preferred the lower density vacation of the north shore - living in the %26#39;burbs does that to you!

Either way, the Martins do a great job with their properties, while making their guests welcome without being intrusive.

Hope this helps!

paging churchofone

Thank you so much! That is exactly what I needed for peace of mind. I%26#39;m so glad you had a nice trip, and we appreciate the information and advice you shared. If you had any memorable meals or good shopping experiences in that area (grocery or otherwise) I%26#39;d love to hear about those too! They will also be golfing in Kahuku, did you have a good shrimp truck meal? Thanks!

I loved the shrimp trucks! I learned about them in an issue of Budget Travel and we ate at Giovanni%26#39;s a couple of times. We had a couple of breakfasts at Koa Pancake House and another dinner at El Mariachi in Kaneohe. Overall, I%26#39;d say food is good, not great, but I didn%26#39;t go to Hawaii for food - I went to New Orleans instead! We didn%26#39;t do a whole lot of shopping, except a grocery store run and a visit to the resale shop for Hawaiian shirts (another budget tip I%26#39;d read somewhere!).

I am definitely a budget traveller; it allows me to do a lot more travelling! I totalled everything for this trip, including air, accommodations, car, food, admissions, stuff we bought and we spent about $2900 for a 10 day trip from Michigan for 2 - not too bad!

Now... where are we going NEXT??!!?

Thank you again. I am very impressed with your budget traveling. I thought I was a good bargain hunter but I don%26#39;t know if I could top that. I managed to spend less than $3000 on a 14 day trip to Kauai for 2, but that was 10 years ago and from California. Go to Amsterdam next! So you can get back and tell me all the budget places you found :)

Amsterdam! Why haven%26#39;t I thought of that yet??

I%26#39;m going to start looking.... LOL