SPORTS IN HAWAII: HOW, WHERE, HOW MUCH
TRANSPORTATION. The Hawaiian Islands are seven hours from the mainland by plane, will be only four hours when jets go into service (probably in 1959). Pan American flies from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle; United from San Francisco and Los Angeles; and Northwest from Portland and Seattle. Canadian Pacific flies out of Vancouver. Fares are almost identical on all airlines, ranging from $266 (tourist) to $359 (first class), round trip.
For the traveler who prefers to go by boat (4½ days), Matson and Hawaiian Textron have regular sailings from Los Angeles and San Francisco, and the Orient Line operates out of Vancouver. American President Lines also stop in Hawaii en route to the Far East. All are good, but Matson's famed S.S. Lurline is still queen of the Pacific, with superb cuisine and an unobtrusive cruise director who respects the inclinations of passengers who just want to loaf. Both the Lurline and its sister ship, the Matsonia, conduct "Keiki Corner," a daylong children's program that keeps the kids delighted—and occupied. The Lurline is dressy (dinner jackets welcomed but not required). The Matsonia is less so. Both have the same fare schedule, from $260 for a shared, inside accommodation to $2,295 for a luxurious lanai suite. Hawaiian Textron's Leilani is priced at $235 to $720, while the Orient liners Oraova, Oronsay, Orcades and Himalaya have rooms priced from $208 to $1,210.
Honolulu is the port of call for all ships and planes from the mainland. To reach the other islands the sportsman and his family have a choice of two airlines—Hawaiian and Aloha. Hawaiian has flown the interisland routes for 29 years without a single accident. Aloha, a postwar concern, has been equally trouble-free. Fares are reasonable ($38.72 round trip for the longest flight—Oahu to the island of Hawaii). The only scheduled surface transportation in the islands is between Oahu and Hawaii—a 65-foot converted "crash boat" ferry that departs Honolulu Tuesday and Saturday (fare $10.73 one way). All of the islands have car rental agencies at standard prices.
HOTELS. You probably will spend your first few days in Hawaii in a Waikiki hotel. There are some 60 hotels and apartments in Waikiki, with single occupancy rates ranging from $5 to $32 (European plan) a day, depending on elegance and proximity to the beach. For the traveler accustomed to the gaudy Miami Beach way of life, the best bet may be Henry J. Kaiser's elaborate, self-sufficient Hawaiian Village (rates: $5 to $20), which has two main buildings, clusters of cottages, good food in several dining rooms and a nightclub (The Tapa Room) that stars Alfred Apaka and welcomes guests in aloha (sports) shirts.
The sportsman who likes to balance active days in the field with formal elegance in the evenings is likely to choose the Royal Hawaiian, Waikiki's traditional fortress of hospitality (rates: $14 to $32). This pink Moorish castle requires neckties and long pants in its public bars at cocktail time, and at night its Monarch Room is snowy with white dinner jackets. The Monarch, by the way, is the El Morocco of Honolulu—the place where local residents go to entertain visitors or each other.
As tradition-steeped as the Royal, but somewhat less formal, is the Halekulani ($6 to $14). The old Moana and the new-Surf Rider, Waikikian and Reef ($5 to $12), also all beachfront hotels, have a more casual live-and-let-live attitude. The Hawaii Visitors Bureau (2051 Kalakaua Avenue) will mail on request a directory and map of all the Waikiki hotels, showing their location and accurate rental figures.
On the outlying islands the general quality of hotels and motels is good. On the Kona coast of the big island of Hawaii the sportsfisherman can choose from seven hotels or motels: Kona Palms, Lei Aloha Apartment Hotel, Kona Hukilau, Kona Waves, Kona Inn, Waiaka Lodge or the Lihikai Hotel (rates range from $5 to $18). For the visiting hunter, the town of Hilo is, generally speaking, the better base. He can select the Hilo Hotel, Naniloa Hotel, Lanai Motel, Palm Terrace or Hotel Hukilau ($5 to $17). On Maui, the traveler who wants offshore fishing, skin-diving and dabbling in the surf goes to the leeward side of the island and enjoys the informality of the old Pioneer Inn ($6.50 to $9.50). The hunter or the visitor intent on exploring the crater of Haleakala is better located at the Maui Palms in Kahului or up on the flank of the volcano at the Silversword Inn ($6 up). On the windward side of Maui the Hotel Hana-Maui provides a retreat for rich mainlanders (rates: $22 to $50, American plan) who can no longer stand the gloss and the frenetic tempo that are spoiling so many of the island's vacation spots today.
On Kauai any visitor will be conveniently located to sample the island's pleasures at either Kauai Inn or Hotel Coral Reef near Lihue or at the Coco Palms to the north ($5 to $22). The visitor who wants trail riding in a spectacular setting to equal that of the crater of Haleakala on Maui should go to Kokee Inn at the head of the Waimea Canyon, where rooms range from $2 up.
Where to stay on the islands of Molokai and Lanai is no problem. Each island has only one hotel. On Molokai it is the Seaside Inn in Kaunakakai ($3.50 up); on Lanai, the Lanai Inn ($11 up), which is in Lanai City.
FOOD. If there is one fault with food that the curious visitor finds it is that island chefs lack courage and are inclined to play it safe, loading the menu with Continental standbys and presenting island favorites in modified style. The visitor who wants something different should start with a good commercial luau (once a week at Queen's Surf or Don the Beachcomber's on Waikiki, about $8.50). The diner who wants traditional Polynesian food à la carte will find poi, lomilomi salmon and mahimahi at the Waikiki Sands or at Leilani's on windward Oahu (53-362 Kamehameha Highway). For a more complete and exotic menu, he might try Helena's (1346 North King Street in Honolulu), where he has his pick of raw o'io, squid, limpets, and, in the exotic extreme, pig entrails, cooked or raw.
EQUIPMENT. Hunters will find that the islands are not yet fully geared to equip them. Strict quarantine laws make it necessary for the hunter to borrow or rent dogs. Inquiries should be made before departure to the Hawaii Visitors Bureau or the Territorial Division of Fish and Game in Honolulu. On Lanai, in Lanai City, John Maile and Lloyd Cockett are in the guiding business and have dogs. On the big island of Hawaii, the mainlander should contact Slim Holt at the Hilo airport (phone 3185) or Sonny Henderson at 645 Punahoa Street in Hilo (phone 4373) about the availability of guides, dogs and gear. Before leaving Oahu, the hunter can fill his last-minute needs at Honolulu Sporting Goods. While the Kona coast is foremost for offshore fishing, the mainlander who cannot make it to Kona will find a dozen charter boats in Honolulu working the good grounds of Oahu. On the leeward coast of Maui, out of Lahaina, Skipper Gordon Wilkinson works the grounds south to Kahoolawe.
HAWAIIAN FASHIONS. The clothes shown on pages 42 and 43 are designed and made in Hawaii. All can be ordered by mail from Honolulu stores. Page 42: two-piece bathing suit, Liberty House; cotton muu-muus, Elsie Das, $20 to $35. Page 43: "pagoda lounger" by Howard Hope of Sun Fashions, Carol and Mary, $35 (on the mainland, I. Magnin, Los Angeles; Woolf Bros., Kansas City; B. Alt-man & Co., New York; Allyn Jababy, Miami); cotton kimono, Musashiya, $6.