Travel

Lei-ing down the law in Hawaii

Whoever said that you get what you pay for obviously hasn’t spent much time in the Caribbean.

Particularly during the winter months, the entire region can seem like a rip-off. Overpriced flights and hotels; too many gray-weather days; overcrowded beaches; logistically challenged, primitive airports; churlish locals; largely underwhelming and hilariously expensive food.

Intervention time, people! Have you ever thought of going, say, somewhere else?

Like, for instance, Hawaii?

You bet it’s far — 10 or 11 hours far. But that daily nonstop on Hawaiian Airlines from JFK to Honolulu, complementing United’s once-daily nonstop from Newark, makes the trip as painless as it ever could be. And here’s why it’s fantastic once you get there.

1. Because it is usually about 80 degrees, every afternoon, all winter long. Get a hotel room over on the Big Island, somewhere not too far from Hapuna Beach, one of the state’s prettiest stretches. Get up in the morning, turn on the TV and listen to Al Roker moan about it being 8 degrees in New York. Sip your lilikoi juice or your Kona coffee — harvested and roasted just up the hill — and feel like the luckiest person on the planet.

2. Because you can go off the grid. Anyone who wants can go off on their own in the Caribbean — but on many islands, the process and the cost can be burdens. In Hawaii? No big. You land, grab a car, stop at the Foodland and go for a drive. To your neat-o rustic treehouse on the Big Island or your simple villa in Maui’s idyllic Upcountry, which you booked through, say, Airbnb.com, a gold mine of reasonably priced lodging options. (We just snagged a fully outfitted garden guesthouse up in the coffee belt of the Big Island for $500 a week.)

3. Because there are world-class beaches that sit there mostly empty, nearly any day of the week. From beautiful Bellows Field in up-and-coming Waimanalo (open weekends) to majestic Makaha Beach up on the Leeward Coast beyond some of the island’s, ahem, less scenic towns, even Oahu is blessed with a ton of beaches most tourists don’t even appear to know how to find. You’ll be amazed at how much real estate (and parking) you’ll find at some of the world’s most magical beaches. Nobody selling trinkets, no all-inclusive hotels, no distractions — just white sand, green trees, blue sky and endlessly blue water. Follow the local golden rule, though — the more remote the location, the fewer valuables you ought to leave lying around unattended, either on the beach or in your car.

4. Because of the seafood. Have you been introduced? If so, you already know — the affordable seafood you can get in Hawaii is better than pretty much everything you’ve ever had outside of a high-priced sushi den. It is, generally speaking, worth the trip from anywhere. Start with silky, elegant poke — raw, marinated cubes of delicious ahi tuna — which can be found everywhere, including the nearest supermarket. Then move on to the locally farmed shrimp, served scampi-style, served out of many a truck on Oahu, though our favorite is absolutely Geste’s, a humble jalopy sitting in a dusty lot off of Maui’s Kahului Beach Road. And who doesn’t love a place where mahi mahi is essentially the local trash fish? There’s so much else to try — grilled Monchong, pink Opakapaka, delicate octopus, Kona crab. Try everything you can get your hands on.

5. Because the local food scene is off the chain. From the Fish and the Hog on the Big Island, to Prima and Salt and the Whole Ox in Oahu, to Star Noodle in Maui, Hawaii’s food scene is getting a major makeover. After years of Hawaii resting on its tired old Bev Gannon/Peter Merriman/Alan Wong laurels, a new generation of local cooks — excited to do more than overcharge tourists — is doing things more sustainably, more earnestly and much better. Hawaii has never not been passionate about eating, but suddenly, quality is the new quantity. It’s trickling down everywhere — even to, say, burger joints; there’s Village Burger in Waimea on the Big Island and Colleen’s at the Cannery in Haiku, Maui. Of course, the classics are still classics, from malasadas at Leonard’s Bakery in Honolulu to tasty saimin at Sam Sato’s on Maui and spam musubi and shaved ice at, oh, pretty much any proper corner mart, anywhere. Best of all? Prices, on balance, will appear downright cheap to visiting New Yorkers. Try finding that in the Caribbean.

6. Because you can see snow in the morning and lava at night. Just get in the car and drive. Hawaii boasts four of the world’s five major climate zones — the Big Island alone has whopping eight out of the 13 total sub-zones. This means that 100 percent desert and 100 percent rain forest can be found just a short drive away from each other; along the way — what the hell, right? — detour up a nearly 14,000-foot peak (the Big Island’s volcanic Mauna Kea) and hang out on the tundra for a while, where it might just be snowing. Fun, right? (Just make sure you have a four-wheel drive vehicle if you want to head to the top.)

7. Because you can learn to surf with a handsome firefighter. Where better to learn how to catch a wave than a state where the morning news includes a surf report from the weather guy? On Oahu, everyone loves the Honolulu city hose jockeys who own and operate Hawaiian Fire, one of the state’s most popular surfing schools. They’ll pick you up, take you out over by Kapolei — site of one of the island’s more reliable breaks — and show you the ropes for about $100 per person.

8. Because Honolulu is like the Miami of Asia. Barely tethered to the United States anymore, this chaotic and colorful city — with its lush gardens and parks and a never-ending string of awful, 1970s condo towers — is nothing like the rest of the country. An evening stroll down an increasingly glittery Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki, with its Gucci and Prada and Apple and Louis Vuitton stores and crowds of Japanese visitors, calls to mind Tokyo’s Shinjuku, while the neighborhood’s back-street ramen parlors and legit katsu joints and 24-hour convenience stores seal the deal. This is Tokyo for Beginners, and anyone who likes cities is really going to dig it here. Put on your walking shoes or rent a bike and explore. (Don’t forget the sunscreen.)

9. Because you can hike for days, through some of the hemisphere’s most inspired landscapes. Oahu might be crazy crowded in places, but the rest of the state? So much room. From a multi-day adventure on Kauai’s intense Na Pali coast (or the ridiculous red and green of Waimea Canyon) to the tropical Pipiwai Trail in Maui’s Haleakala National Park and nighttime lava-viewing treks at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island, there’s really no reason to be bored. Don’t feel like going it alone? Each island has at least one excellent outfitter — on the Big Island, definitely give Hawaii Forest & Trail a call — that’ll guide you through the process, meaning no anxious city person need be left behind.

10. Because island-hopping is easy. Hawaii might not the world’s most efficient place, but compared to St. John or Nevis or St. Barts, it’s freaking Switzerland. Here, competitively priced, frequent air service on non-terrifying planes links all of the major islands, meaning that if it’s Tuesday, it could be, say, Kauai for a nice daylong outing, no problem. Not that we advocate too much running around — that’s not how you do in Hawaii — but for claustrophobes and anyone anxious about never being able to get back here, no worries: Bounce around as much as you want. You’re on vacation. Do what you feel.

Follow David Landsel on Twitter @davidlandsel.