Surf Travel From Hawaii

[blahlah]

Hi 808 crew,

I am starting the process of planning a surf trip from Honolulu sometime during the months of march, april or may.

I have not yet decided exactly when or where i want to go.

I have gone on a few trips before, mostly using surf travel companies like http://www.wavehunters.com or http://www.waterwaystravel.com.

I was wondering if any of you have any suggestions for places to go that would be cheap from here, and whether or not I should go through a travel company. I have about a 9 day window for travel - that's all i can take off from work.

Places I have been:

Tahiti (Moorea)
Samoa (Samoana resort)
Panama (Santa Catalina)
Baja (various)

I wouldn't mind go back to any of those places but i wouldn't mind seeing something new too (i have been checking out the Tuamoto atolls trip through wavehunters - looks pretty awesome with a low skunkage factor). I guess I am just looking for the most fun for my time and money.

any suggestions will be most appreciated!

Thanks!
blah

[olly]

Tonga. meant to be really good the year round... but especially summer.
flights are around $800 i think. (i'm going this summer)

[slap a dap]

..............hey blahlah, not sure if Australia would be interesting but that time of year the Brisbane and Noosa area turns on due to the cyclones. Of course Snappers, Kirra and Burlieh Head will be crowded but the coast in that area is endless!

............was also curious how your Samoa trip was? Might be going there later summer. Halla with info when ya can.

[blahlah]

Tonga. meant to be really good the year round... but especially summer.
flights are around $800 i think. (i'm going this summer)

I'll check that out, thanks. Are you going with a travel company or are you going to find your own hotel? Looks like a good place to go without using a travel company because from what i have read you can get to the breaks pretty easy. The left in front of the HA'ATAFU BEACH RESORT looks pretty sick.

..............hey blahlah, not sure if Australia would be interesting but that time of year the Brisbane and Noosa area turns on due to the cyclones. Of course Snappers, Kirra and Burlieh Head will be crowded but the coast in that area is endless!

............was also curious how your Samoa trip was? Might be going there later summer. Halla with info when ya can.

Yeah, australia looks good but it might be a better trip for more than 9 days? How long did you go for? I definitely want to go someday but always pictured taking at least a month and getting a range rover camper type deal to really check out some out of the way spots.

Samoa was is a beautiful but I got a little skunked. I've talked to people that have scored pretty much the whole time, but I think they went in June. I think I went late in the season, August of 2002.

I stayed at Samoana resort through http://www.wavehunters.com/samoa/samoa.asp.

We just got some stormy weather and weak swell although we surfed mediocre Coconuts and Boulders. Boulders looked to have potential for pretty epic waves (I'm goofy) but we didn't really see it with any size.

The resort treated us real well, the guys are all aussies and are real nice.

Thanks for the tips.

[slap a dap]

............yeah blahlah, I did the camper traveling thing last summer for over a month and that still wasn't enough time! The country is huge (about the size of America) and coastline is ridiculous. Soooooooooooo much potential to surf by yourself or just a few. I would recommend taking a lot of time to discover the people and the land! Thanks for the info on Samoa. Peace

[olly]

blahlah, my girlfriend's Tongan so i'm going to meet the family if all goes to plan...
but from what she has told me the guys that own the Ha'atafu resort are really nice people. Surfing is really only just taking off there as far as i can tell... so i think with a little searching there'll be no one else there. I can't wait.
I'll ask her about other breaks, sounds like it's all pretty rural, so maybe tough finding hotels and things if you're on a time constraint. I'll ask her about it.
maybe i'll see you out there

[grateful]

Blah,
I spent a year in micronesia. Didn't surf while I was there (big regret -great diving) Since then I have seen it getting some notice and I hear there might even be a surf camp on the island I was at (pros -n- cons). I was on surfermag.com a while back and was surprised that they actually had books on most of the islands. Without saying too much, there is plenty of surf available on a single island-hopper from here... Tickets aren't too cheep (around $1000+) but accomidations are typically reasonable and accessable. I'm hoping to get out there sometime soon, but I'm not really sure what is the best time for surf...

Enjoy

[blahlah]

blahlah, my girlfriend's Tongan so i'm going to meet the family if all goes to plan...
but from what she has told me the guys that own the Ha'atafu resort are really nice people. Surfing is really only just taking off there as far as i can tell... so i think with a little searching there'll be no one else there. I can't wait.
I'll ask her about other breaks, sounds like it's all pretty rural, so maybe tough finding hotels and things if you're on a time constraint. I'll ask her about it.
maybe i'll see you out there

Thanks, I'll check it out. I'll post if I decide to go there when and where I'll stay.

Blah,
I spent a year in micronesia. Didn't surf while I was there (big regret -great diving) Since then I have seen it getting some notice and I hear there might even be a surf camp on the island I was at (pros -n- cons). I was on surfermag.com a while back and was surprised that they actually had books on most of the islands. Without saying too much, there is plenty of surf available on a single island-hopper from here... Tickets aren't too cheep (around $1000+) but accomidations are typically reasonable and accessable. I'm hoping to get out there sometime soon, but I'm not really sure what is the best time for surf...

Enjoy

sounds cool - off the beaten path. that might end up being the better option than a pre-packaged resort trip. thanks!

[LGREANZ]

you should go to Bali. The surf potential can match Hawaiis winter swells.
super cheap right now, exotic, lots of flights from Hawaii.
Shallow reef barrels, Malaria, VD. Gotta have some danger.
Anywhere u go on a trip is gonna be a step backwards compared to the waves we get in the islands. It depends on what time of the year you plan to travel also so you gotta follow the swell patterns.
I think islands south of Hawaii are too hit-or-miss.
Indo is the place to go. Just rent the flick, "Second Thoughts" &
you'll be sold.

[maleko]

indo-ho's?!

[blahlah]

you should go to Bali. The surf potential can match Hawaiis winter swells.
super cheap right now, exotic, lots of flights from Hawaii.
Shallow reef barrels, Malaria, VD. Gotta have some danger.
Anywhere u go on a trip is gonna be a step backwards compared to the waves we get in the islands. It depends on what time of the year you plan to travel also so you gotta follow the swell patterns.
I think islands south of Hawaii are too hit-or-miss.
Indo is the place to go. Just rent the flick, "Second Thoughts" &
you'll be sold.

yeah, i've been thinking about that too, but i kind of feel the same about indo as i do about australia - it deserves longer than 9 days, but a mentawis trip might be fun.

i heard on the radio this morning that indonesia outlawed kissing in public. pretty nuts, although with the FCC here maybe we aren't too far off?

[LGREANZ]

not Indonesia the entire country, just Bali. 9 day is plenty of time.
the surf is at your doorstep practically, no need 4 search.
just fly and your there.

Mentawai boat trip you need 2 days to get to the boat from hawaii, an overnight passage to the islands, 10 nights on the boat, then another 2 days to get home. The travel part is a bitch but once you do it and your there you're stoked. Its a mission.

[blahlah]

not Indonesia the entire country, just Bali. 9 day is plenty of time.
the surf is at your doorstep practically, no need 4 search.
just fly and your there.

Mentawai boat trip you need 2 days to get to the boat from hawaii, an overnight passage to the islands, 10 nights on the boat, then another 2 days to get home. The travel part is a bitch but once you do it and your there you're stoked. Its a mission.

Good point, LG. I take you have been there. When did you go? What airlines did you take, and where did you stay?

I need to narrow down my travel dates. Thanks for the help.

[LGZ]

the best way to travel shop in hawaii is the travle section in the sunday paper. Lots of airlines fly to Bali, just depends on your style on how you want to get there. You can spend less and fly on some piece of crap airline, or go delux and get some fly/hotel deal through JAL, SING, or QUANTAS> .

Singapore Airlines and JAL are the most comfortable airplanes in the world & The Cocktail waitress are fine

[solobone2232oc]

i second LGZ on the cocktail waitresses