Hawaii Part One May 2023
Day One
Heathrow Terminal Three was all accessible, smooth check-in process and security was very disability aware. There were disabled toilets, lifts and plenty of rest areas throughout the terminal which made the access easy.
We had breakfast in Splinters restaurant which was very nice, however the lighting was poor and dimly lit at the table, which made it difficult to read the menu.
Priority seating was available at the gate before we boarded the Virgin Atlantic flight which was via a flat walkway. A member of the flight crew came up to greet me and notified me that boarding was now underway.
After a smooth ten hour flight, we landed safely at Los Angeles International Airport and disembarked the plane via a walkway. LAX is fully accessible for disabled passengers, with disabled toilets, lifts and escalators. Some of the airport flooring is carpet, but it is thin and therefore easy to roam across for a wheelchair user and for wheeled baggage.
Immigration was very easy with a queue skip allowed for me to be taken to the front. We then proceeded to collect our luggage from baggage claim. We were actually out of the airport within an hour of landing.
We jumped on the shuttle bus to our hotel named Sonesta Hotel, which we had booked for one night. This hotel was situated near the airport and convenient. The hotel had a spacious reception area with a lowered desk area for wheelchair users. There were four lifts taking guests to all sixteen floors of the hotel.
The rooms were spacious with two double beds; the beds were a bit too high for my liking though. Air conditioning, a coffee machine, a fridge and a TV were the expected amenities from this hotel.
The bathroom consisted of a shower and bath all in one, but did have a grab rail on the wall inside the bath area which was good. There was a sliding door to enter and exit the bathroom.
The bar lounge was huge with a great selection of beers and the food was also excellent. I got rather tipsy as the beer went straight to my head, due to the fact that we were struggling to get used to the time difference.
Day Two
The next day, after a nice hearty breakfast in the hotel, we jumped into an Uber, which took us to the car hire place. This was allocated near the airport but at a distance which couldn’t be walked. We picked up a Toyota car which we had on hire for four days. We headed off to stay with our Californian buddies for three nights.
The next two days were spent catching up on each other’s news and chilling with our friends.
Day Four
After a nice nourishing breakfast, it was time for us to take in some nature as we ventured up into The San Bernadino Mountains. The mountains were a ninety minute drive via winding mountain roads to reach Big Bear Lake, and then drive another twenty minutes on to Lake Arrowhead. We stopped at Denny’s for coffee and pancakes. All was fully accessible here, with disabled toilets located within the main toilet areas. The menu’s at Denny’s had pictures, therefore were visually accessible to tempt you into ordering what you fancied.
Both the above lakes were accessible with a flat concrete promenade. Lake Arrowhead in particular was much larger and deeper.
Day Five
We dropped the hire car off and caught the airport shuttle bus to terminal seven in LAX. The bus had a step to enter and exit, but the driver helped everyone with their luggage.
There was a self-service system at the airport to check in with a lack of staff members to assist should you be struggling. Security was okay, but you had to remove your shoes. Terminal Seven was all flat with accessible disabled toilets.
Unfortunately, I had to stand at the gate for a while due to all the seats being occupied and no specific seating allocated for disabled people.
The flight United, allowed disabled passengers to board first, this was good as the flight was very busy with passengers.
Oahu
After a flight-time of five hours and nineteen minutes precisely, we landed at Honolulu International Airport. It was actually our first time of flying over the Pacific Ocean!
We got a taxi from the airport to Modern Hotel which was located on the coast of the famous Waikiki Beach. To enter the hotel it was via five steps, but a stair lift was available for wheelchair users. The hotel had a nice reception area, and this was where we checked in for four nights. There were three lifts available to take guests to all eighteen floors.
Our room consisted of two double beds, was spacious with air conditioning, a fridge, a coffee machine and a flat screen TV. There was plenty of United States charging outlets with USB sockets too.
The bathroom was spacious and consisted of a shower and bath in one. However, there was no wall grab rail on the wall, only on the side by the bath, so I had to be very careful.
As we had decided to stay local to the area, Red Lobster restaurant was situated opposite the hotel and it was a fine dining option. All was accessible with good lighting and flat ramped access throughout. The tables were well spaced out and the menus had some pictures of various dishes which was a bonus.
Day Six
The next morning, we went out for a stroll and had a lovely but pricey breakfast with stunning views of Waikiki Beach. Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel for a chill day by the pool. The pool area was all flat and mostly wood, with plenty of sunbeds. There was a metal grab rail with wide steps to lower you into the pool.
The hotel had a very nice outside bar with some great craft beers accompanied by some delightful snacks. We had a drink there most evenings and sometimes in the day too. However, in the evenings it was a bit too dimly lit with on a small candle for the light source.
For dinner, we went to a nice Vietnamese café which was reasonably priced and rather pleasant.
Day Seven
We had breakfast in the hotel which was surprisingly cheaper than the previous morning, despite not much of a view. The itinerary for the day was to visit one of the most famous World War battle zones, Pearl Harbor.
On arrival at Pearl Harbor, we had difficulty finding a parking space; all the disabled bays were occupied. We were advised to arrive an hour prior to booking, which we had done. Pearl Harbor was very large and spread out. The pavements and walkways were slippery as some were made of marble and with the weather being damp, this didn’t make it any easier.
The ferry took us to USS Arizona Memorial, which was located over to the centre of Pearl Harbor. This was all fully accessible. There were two wheelchair users on board and ramps accommodated their needs whilst on board too.
We then visited the submarine museum. The cost of entry was $22 each and there were no concessions available. There was too much information to read inside the museum, so unfortunately I had to skip out a lot of the history, as I tire out easily. There were no seats to sit down on, to leisurely read the information, which made it more difficult.
USS Bowfin was a submarine and it was not accessible for wheelchair users as you had to enter the submarine via steps to the lower decks. There were handrails on both sides though. I was advised by a member of staff to fold up my cane and put it in my pocket so that I could hold onto both rails. I was happy to do this and take their advice. Inside, there were narrow corridors and navigating from hatch to hatch was rather challenging.
After four hours of checking out the historical landmark respectfully and walking over a distance of over three miles, we headed back to Honolulu. On the way back, we decided to do some retail therapy at International Market Place. I was surprised I had enough energy to walk around for another two miles! After purchasing some authentic Hawaiian shirts, it was time to head back to the hotel and rest our shattered legs.
Later that evening it was time to go for some dinner. We went to Red Lobster, but unfortunately it was fully booked and we were advised to try the Chart House restaurant around the corner. Here, there was a large staircase leading up one floor; there is an alternative route for wheelchair users to access the restaurant by lift which was located in the car park. This restaurant was rather dark with very dim lighting and with background music, so we both struggled to read the menus and communicate with each other.
Day Eight
After the usual Eggs Benedict for brekkie, at the hotel restaurant, as this was on our last full day on Oahu. This day was spent exploring the gorgeous coastline of the island. We drove eastwards along Highway 72, taking in some incredibly and beautiful scenery.
Halona Blowhole Lookout was one of the first scenic viewpoints along Highway 72. This lookout had a small car park with two disabled parking bays and had a flat concrete promenade. This area boasts spectacular views overlooking Halona Cove.
Further up the coastal route, Ka’a’awa Beach is a beautiful sandy beach, with views which reminded me of the TV show, Lost. There were plenty of parking spaces, toilets and shower facilities in the area.
There were many more beautiful beaches along the coastal route but unfortunately we had to continue on with our journey due to there being limited or no parking spaces available. These were Koko Head District Park, Lanikai Beach and Sherwood Beach to name all but a few.
After half a day of exploring Oahu’s gorgeous coastline and having some grub in Starbucks, we headed back to the hotel for some chillout time in our room.
Tommy Bahamas was the restaurant of choice for our last evening on Oahu and was recommended by a friend. The restaurant was located a short ten minute Uber ride from our hotel. This was a very lively joint with great local ales and delicious food. As it was a Friday, I had booked a table earlier and when we arrived requested a table with bright lighting. This restaurant is on the first floor (second floor in Hawaii) but there was a lift which we used.
Day Nine
After a hearty breakfast at the hotel, we checked out and got an Uber to Honolulu airport, for our flight to the Big Island. The airport was all fully accessible with lifts and disabled toilets.
The Big Island
We boarded our flight, which was Hawaiian Airlines, via a walkway. The plane was rather a small plane with one aisle and two seats either side. It was a low flying plane with low altitude due to a short flight. After 34 minutes of flight time, we landed safely on the big island in Hilo and disembarked the plane via a walkway. Hilo International Airport is partially indoors and outdoors with lifts, escalators and disabled toilets.
After collecting the luggage, we proceeded to collect the car which was a Jeep. We were then on the road to Volcanoes National Park,with a pit stop at Walmart to purchase some essentials.
I had a bed and breakfast reservation at Aloha Junction, in the town of Volcano. I was messaged on Booking.com by the owners on how to obtain the key for the room. There was a flight of steps to enter the accommodation which did have a hand rail to use, but this was difficult with the hand luggage.
We had a bit of a rest in our very spacious room which consisted of two queen beds. The shower was accessed by walking into via a slight step and there was no bathtub in the room. This accommodation did not have air conditioning, but to be honest you didn’t really need it as the temperature outside had dropped significantly, due to the remote area that it was situated in.
For dinner that evening we headed just up the road to Kilauea Lodge Restaurant. The staffs in the restaurant were very welcoming and they gave us some tips on what to do in Volcanoes National Park.
The food in the restaurant was very pleasant, there was a ramp from the car park to access the restaurant and it had toilets but I don’t know if they had disabled toilets or not. The restaurant was very well lit inside and the beers were great too! However, it was quite expensive.
Day Ten
After a good night’s rest, we had breakfast in our accommodation. It consisted of pancakes, fruits, yogurts and cereals. This gave us sufficient energy to explore Volcanoes National Park.
Volcanoes National Park was established in 1916 and is roughly 523 square miles in size. The park is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.
On arrival, we had to pay $30 for our private vehicle to enter the park, which was good value for money considering the enormity of the park. We stopped at Kilauea Visitor Centre which had disabled parking, toilets and a gift shop.
After purchasing some souvenirs, we headed to the Steam Vents which were a short drive from the visitor centre. This viewpoint was a short walk from the car park and offered us some very dramatic views. We could clearly see steam rising from the volcano crater, absolutely incredible!
We continued along the Crater Rim Drive which encircled the Kilauea Caldera. Other viewpoint’s that we checked out were Keanak?ko?i Crater and Kilauea Overlook, which were impressive too.
We drove to the south coast to Kupapa'u Point; this was where the lava flows into the ocean during an eruption from Kilauea Volcano, This viewpoint was quite windy with a steep but flat incline down to the coast.
At most viewpoints there were accessible toilets for all and were well equipped with hand sanitizer. There were at least two disabled parking bays at all of car parks. Most viewpoints were fairly easy to navigate, as most were flat, but were a bit grainy underfoot.
Please note that due to volcanic activity some roads were closed in May, but we made the most of this by taking in the dramatic scenery. After about five hours of exploring Volcanoes National Park, it was time to head to Kailua Kona which is located on the west coast.
After a two hour drive from Volcanoes National Park, we arrived in Kailua Kona; a lively resort on the west coast of the Big Island. Our accommodation was a two night stay at Aii Banyan Breeze, which was a condo / unit, with a self-check-in.
I was messaged with the code for the key safe to access the key to let us into the apartment. The only issue was that our apartment was up two floors with no lift.
The apartment was nice with all the basic amenities required, with a kitchen, coffee machine and ultra-freezing air-conditioning! Our arrival time was 5pm, so we had a rest in the apartment before heading out for dinner in the evening. We ate at A-Bays restaurant which was American based cuisine and good value. A-Bays were accessible from the start with disabled parking bays in the parking lot and accessible entrance into the seating area.
Day Eleven
The next morning, we headed off to Denny’s for a big American style brekkie. There was disabled parking onsite with disabled toilets facilities within the main toilet area. Breakfast was very reasonable for the large portions served.
The rest of this day was a ‘relaxing’ day with no planned itinerary. The apartment that we were staying in had access to a swimming pool, which was located across the road for guests to use.
That evening, after relaxing all day, we set out for dinner to a restaurant named ‘Island Lava Java’. Hawaii is famous for its beautiful sunsets. As the sun started to set when we arrived, we were greeted with an amazing array of oranges, yellows and reds. Stunning!
The food at Island Lava Java was mostly of American- Hawaiian heritage. We ate outside and made the most of the scenery. It did however feel quite dark where we were sitting which made it hard for me to read the menu. Another issue was that there were about five steps up to the patio area where we were seated to eat.
After a very nice but heavy meal, that I was actually unable to finish, which is so unlike me, we headed back to the apartment for more Big Wave beers, native to Hawaii.